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Drops Today - Jan 2016

Scott.L

Top Contributor
What the.....

TafeOnlinecourses .com .au $10,000
That's a ridiculous amount of money for this domain...possible error ?
 

Scott.L

Top Contributor
I wonder what happens? Is it refunded or is it negotiated...I've often wondered what would happen if I made a mistake it can't be corrected, it's locked in....do you think netfleet count on it...the first bid is higher due to impulse buy...
 

chris

Top Contributor
Well done Netfleet!

I see the new owners have quite a few names in this space, they also have onlinetafecourses.com.au for example. It does seem like a lot for this particular name, but as you say @neddy online education is big business!
 

neddy

Top Contributor
Well done Netfleet!

I see the new owners have quite a few names in this space, they also have onlinetafecourses.com.au for example. It does seem like a lot for this particular name, but as you say @neddy online education is big business!
I agree with you Chris (and Scott) regarding the price paid. Seems really high. Particularly when you consider their other recent purchases were:

  • learnings.com.au 25-Nov-15 $250
  • accreditedonlinetraining.com.au 11-Sep-15 $250
  • onlinetafecourses.com.au 21-Jul-15 $ 300
  • tafeshortcourses.com.au 18-Jul-15 $500

All purchased on Netfleet.

However, competition for names in this sector is heating up as I wrote in my article. So perhaps put high bid down to "fear of loss"?
 

DamianLondon

Top Contributor
Great article Ned; agreed the space has been hot for a while.

Some other past sales:
14/11/2015 coursesonline .com .au $8,447
19/08/2014 tafecourses .com .au $5,621
30/07/2014 training .com .au $33,121
03/07/2011 computertraining .com .au $5,500
28/08/2013 opentraining .com .au $3,500
 

James

Top Contributor
What the.....

TafeOnlinecourses .com .au $10,000
That's a ridiculous amount of money for this domain...possible error ?

I don't think it's an error they just target that market heavily.

We have several clients in the Online Courses segment it's a strong market which has been growing the last few years.

Neddy is correct with his analysis. Just this market is flooded now so much competition it's crazy.
 

Scott.L

Top Contributor
yeah, but is competition rising, search volume for this category is declining, A basic search using free tools from google such as, google trend and google keyword planner indicates a downward search trend since 2014 for the keywords, Tafe, Tafe courses, Tafe online courses, the search volume during peak times has also declined and the trend since 2004 for these keywords is not rising but rather consistently declining. My attitude is, the buyer dramatically overpaid and if this was a traditional auction “visible bids” it would have sold for about $250 bucks, a very different outcome.
 

neddy

Top Contributor
yeah, but is competition rising, search volume for this category is declining, A basic search using free tools from google such as, google trend and google keyword planner indicates a downward search trend since 2014 for the keywords, Tafe, Tafe courses, Tafe online courses, the search volume during peak times has also declined and the trend since 2004 for these keywords is not rising but rather consistently declining. My attitude is, the buyer dramatically overpaid and if this was a traditional auction “visible bids” it would have sold for about $250 bucks, a very different outcome.
Scott, you make some good points, and I definitely agree with you re "overpaying" - but here comes the HOWEVER! :)

Search isn't everything.

If you make decisions on buying or selling domains based predominantly on "stats", then you are doing yourself a disservice imho.

I know of many domains bought and sold for decent 4 figure sums that have had next to bugger all search. I rarely use stats - except when it suits me!

If a buyer wants particular domains in specific niches, then they will pay for them - particularly if they think that a competitor may grab them. And Netfleet has a sales team that makes potential buyers aware of this fact!

Even as a domainer I have overpaid for domains. I do this sometimes when I want to try and control a vertical or particular niche - or if I don't want a fellow domainer to get it on the drops! :D You can then "average" your prices.

Just my opinion ...
 

James

Top Contributor
yeah, but is competition rising, search volume for this category is declining, A basic search using free tools from google such as, google trend and google keyword planner indicates a downward search trend since 2014 for the keywords, Tafe, Tafe courses, Tafe online courses, the search volume during peak times has also declined and the trend since 2004 for these keywords is not rising but rather consistently declining. My attitude is, the buyer dramatically overpaid and if this was a traditional auction “visible bids” it would have sold for about $250 bucks, a very different outcome.

Scott I do think they over paid for this domain though I'm sure ROI can be made. The thing is PPC in online education is crazy expensive many spend millions a year on campaigns. Many in the market are moving into content, SEO and domain acquisition to look for other effective ways to drive leads other then Paid acquisition because the cost point is too high for many head terms.

Scott let's say a lead In his market is $50 as a estimation, they only need 200 leads to yield ROI on the initial acquisition.

Plus it's not just about looking at the search volume of the keywords used in the domain.

Think about all the other potential TAFE + Geo terms you can build out on a domain such as this.

I think you are looking at this from one dimension which is search volume on terms used in the domains alone, you need to use a broad and creative approach.
 

Scott.L

Top Contributor
It can be often Frustrating to determine market sentiment or an accurate value in the domain name space especially when, statistical information cannot present a clear picture of actual market competition or value.

I see from your feedback that the value of a domain name is worth what the buyer is willing to pay. And yet, this value is driven by the fear of the buyers perceived competition against him. In other words, the buyers actual perceived value is imaginary and not based on any market indicator other than, the speculation that competition is greater than it actually is.

I think there is a lesson to learn in this situation, a lesson I know I haven't yet fully understood....I like some of you have overpaid for domains, I guess this little misunderstood aspect of domaining is the luckiest aspect of domaining. If domain names were based on an absolute, it would never offer any value.
 

James

Top Contributor
I think with these specific education domains the market has been quite hot so people are in the position to pay more. It's similar to property people overpay in some areas.

The guys who acquired this site are clearly not amateurs they own good domains just look into their other domains they hold. That been said we have noticed some down turn on media spend in the segment with government changes to VET courses this could also impact domain spend in my eyes. Budgets have cooled that is for sure.

I'm happy to chat to anyone about the Online Education segment Its a vertical we have 6+ years experience.
 

Scott.L

Top Contributor
You make a good point James. Government can change the market trend very quickly via policy. A good example of policy changing market trends was when the Gov introduced the carbon tax; I received a huge amount of traffic to CarbonTax.com when it was introduced. I remember the massive wave of "Environmental" domains been snapped up, now those websites are gone and allot of those domains are now static or expired.
 

snoopy

Top Contributor
My attitude is, the buyer dramatically overpaid and if this was a traditional auction “visible bids” it would have sold for about $250 bucks, a very different outcome.

That is really what it comes down to. I don't know exactly what the this is worth but I would guess it is some small fraction of what they paid. This is a win to Netfleet's blind bidding system. This is the type of thing they want to happen.

For those talking about ROI, is that likely after such a big mistake? My guess it this is money down the drain. The words aren't even round the right way.
 

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