James Westers Blog - Pacific Octane

As I sit and filter through the random offers of $10 here and $140 there- I see something very, very appealing: I see a chance to make a difference.  The case study titled Case Study 001 conducted over this last month would be seen by many domainers or people around the World that are familiar with “domaining” as unsuccessful.  The thing about case studies and any form of measured performance is you are opening yourself up to public scrutiny.  I am very aware of this fact and am ready to take the onslought of bloggers, journalists and “professional domainers” opinions as they come.

In the title of this post, I have stated that this case study is the dawn of a new understanding.  I believe in the evolution of understanding.  I believe in the evolution of branding.  I believe in the evolution of marketing.  I believe in the evolution of business in general.  I’ll use Coca-Cola for an example.  When the branding and marketing of Coca-Cola’s most successful product, “Coke”, was looking to become vulnerable to Pepsi, the whizz kids at Coca-Cola sat back, created their brilliant charts loaded with stats and data based on feedback from the public and their existing customers and they created “New Coke”.  It was horrendous.  It was like backwash from a can of Pepsi.  It was so bad, that they actually gained some marketshare on Pepsi by people that were Pepsi drinkers actually having to taste how bad this product actually was in comparison to the “Old Coke”.  Was this one giant step in a 2 phase marketing plan to actually launch “The Original” and rebrand their beverage as the leader in the beverage industry that would later be so popular that when someone ordering a beverage at a cafe would say “Yes I’d like a Coke and make it a Pepsi”.

Why I am bringing this example to light is because I view things differently regarding the .au market.  I believe in development over type in traffic.  I believe in evolving the name sake of a keyword or catch phrase into something of value, not an onslought of negativity in today’s understanding of a current market that is sliding backwards.  When someone has a solution to the .au domain market- please, find me, tell me how much they’re charging to monetise a portfolio and we’ll be your first customer.  However, with this said, we are in the race to do just that.

Our Case Study 001 was taking the top 100 domain names we had that were proven already successful in the .com and even .fr markets and putting them up for offering at only 1% of the sold proven value of any of our .net.au names.  We were close on a couple of offers, but we feel that accepting those offers would’ve jeopardised the integrity of the case study so we have declined all offers.

We will be publishing our case study findings here on this blog as well as the www.pacificoctane.com website within the next 2 weeks.  I do want to give a special thanks to Mr. Greg Ellis, the Business Editor at the Illawarra Mercury for covering our case study story.  I would also like to thank domainshed.com.au for putting together our special page for the conducting of this case study.  I would also like to thank Mr. Alan Gray of www.NewsBlaze.com for picking up the story and classifying it as a top story for the domain industry.

Have a great day and thanks for the read.

I’ve been hearing and reading over the last few weeks that the .com.au domains aren’t valuable and that they are far less valuable to the .com king of extensions because people type in “mysearchthingy.com” or what’s known as ‘type in traffic’.  In speaking with these people and them not only listening to what I have to say, but even acknowledging the mere possibility that some of what I say is possible… I’ve decided to go ahead and prove a point and share a statistics graph of one of our .com.au websites.

So I’ll stand by my research and my theory into our business plan for advancement in the .com.au domain extension as well as the lowly “not worth nothing” .net.au extension as well. 

James Wester

The case study titled Case Study 001 by Pacific Octane is coming to the end of the first week.  I wanted to blog a bit about what has transpired over the course of this week in a “bloggy” sort of way that touches on our logged information.

With 4 bids directly offered to us on xmas.net.au, nasty.net.au, addictedgames.com.au and addictedgames.net.au sold together followed up by the strongest “bid” for business via our auction starting price of $700.00AUD for prize.net.au for $400.00.  I appreciate the offer, but the only domains we will be discounting POSSIBLY will be the .com.au/.net.au grouped name auctions.

I now believe that after speaking with several people over the course of this week that our place in the “domaining industry” is a bit outside of the box.  We are developing websites as rapidly as we possibly can, but we’re still interested in the domaining industry in regard to selling a domain name outright based on potential value cross referencing these values:

keyword density

marketability

type of business to establish whether it would be to individually create a website online business or extend a branding to an existing business or online business

demographics for what content will be on the website when developed

overall revenue generation assessment based on a marketing strategy to launch the website

roi projection and risk assessment from concept to purchase through development to “in the black” to surpass all ongoings

I had a conversation with a competitor yesterday.  It was the most inspiring conversation of only 15 minutes that I’ve had in the last year because this person “GOT IT!” and I admire them very much as well as wish them well in their endeavors.

Getting back to the case study, I believe that “domaining” in regard to the .au extension is going to become very popular.  I also believe that we’ll still manage to sell some of domains that we are conducting the case study with and a few will sell for decent figures.  However, I tend to think that over the course of the next 3 weeks of  Case Study 001 I will have personally nailed down over $100,000.00 in developing only 10 domains.  The irony to that is I’m developing a domain that I was offered $10.00 for 3 days ago.  I’ll make that one public upon completion in a month or so.

Thanks to all for their valuable input at audomaining and dntrade.

James Wester

This morning I awoke at 4am feeling very cheery about what our company is embarking on over these next 30 days.  I get my Google news alert for our industry and I click on an article that made my first fresh, hot cup of Jamaican Blue coffee go cold.  This is the article that I read that made that happen.

Now, after you’ve read this, I would like for you to go and read this——> My way of possibly saying what Larry Bloch should’ve said needed to say.  Click here.

Basically a fair assessment of reading what was written and almost depicts the same thing in this early stage of the market is the way it was said and delivered.  How about this example.  When someone gains a bit of weight, would you walk up to them and say “Hey FATA$$ I see you’ve been shopping for MUCH BIGGER CLOTHES” and laugh in their face… or would you say something like “Hey mate how ya going.  Looks as if you’ve put on some stay warm for the Winter padding- good to see you.”  ???????????????????????????????

Hello there.  While you’re reading this- I’ll introduce myself properly to you.  :)  My name is James Wester and I’m the COO of Pacific Octane Pty Ltd.  We are a small start up company in a very large market of tough competitors and an unstable branch of an industry that is already proven Worldwide.  It is my job to TAKE RISKS.  It is my job to SPECULATE accurately or as accurately as possible.  It is my job to RESEARCH, STUDY, LEARN, NETWORK and above all, GROW as a PERSON and as a COMPANY.  I will look up to and admire people like Rick Schwartz in the domaining industry and Sir Richard Branson with the Virgin Group because they are risk takers and Do’ers.  *shaking head*  Okay now that this has taken up about 2 hours of my day, I’ll let you get on to reading what my reply was to Mr. Serpo’s article in direct reply to that of the Netregistry CEO Larry Bloch.  Enjoy your day… and when someone tells you that you’re too ugly to be in movies- have a look at Steve Buscheme.  When someone tells you that your dreams are too big and you’ve only got twenty dollars in your pocket- have a look at Walt Disney.  Please visit our friends on PacificOctane.com.  Most are far smarter than I am and have a lot of good things to say.

—————————– My Reply ————————-

Pacific Octane is conducting a case study based upon what Mr. Bloch has stated prematurely in my opinion.  With all due respect to Mr. Bloch, I would like to believe that one could speculate that with any new market there will be growing pains until things are running properly.  I ask this question of the statement “the system was bound to fail”:  Do you look at a 3 month old child and say “Ewwww that’s one ugly baby! They’re so ugly, they’ll never amount to anything!” and then 20 years later you see that ugly baby on the cover of a magazine.

I will say this in the very early stages of any new market brought into an existing industry; “We need to network strongly, establish a very durable core existence within the framework of the Australian market and keep what is ours for the greater good of our future in virtual real estate.”  How much is ANYTHING worth?  It’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.  People and companies have different reasons for purchasing domains just as we do buying clothing for example.  I can go shopping and come home estatic over my new purchase.  I can whip my new shirt out of the bag and say ‘How nice is this! AND you’ll appreciate that I got it on SALE for HALF PRICE!’ and whilst my wife is cringing holding her tummy from boisterous laughter, she says ‘That has got to be the ugliest thing that I’ve ever seen you buy.  Please tell me that half price was $1.’ when in fact I had paid $100 for it.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and people have reasons for buying things at certain prices and feeling good about it.  When we bought our daughter her first car 3 months ago, it was purchased for $6,000.00.  The wholesale market and traders were telling me to purchase it for $3,500.00 to $4,000.00 and caryard ads were advertising the same car for $11,990.00.  Asking price and paying price is relevant in the scope of use for the domain name just like every other good that is traded around the World.

What will ruin this market quicker than anything is negativity and statements such as the one that the CEO of Netregistry has made above.  He is a CEO of one of the most recognised companies in the domain industry and yet, he has just made a statement of personal assumption of a new market not officially 60 days old yet.  Shame on you Mr. Bloch.

James Wester
COO Pacific Octane Pty Ltd
www.pacificoctane.com

Year to date sales as of May 2008 include veteransloans.com that sold for $35,000.00 USD.  Our case study with our domains has us listing both of our relevant .au domains veteransloans.com.au and veteransloans.net.au on DomainShed.com.au for a starting price of 10%, which is only $3,500.00 AUD.  Click here to go directly to the auction if you would like to bid on these domains.

Please remember that when you are enquiring about one of our domains in this case study, it is mandatory that you agree to supply us with the details: Country and State of origin, age, gender, occupation, education and ultimately if you are the purchaser, we can make known to auDA the amount in which it was sold for.  We are NOT interested in your name or company name to be made public unless you allow us the opportunity to promote you and or your company for the sale.  We believe in transparency and intend on keeping your private details private.

Year to date sales as of May 2008 include atty.com that sold for $48,900.00 USD.  Our case study with our domains has us listing both of our relevant .au domains atty.com.au and atty.net.au on DomainShed.com.au for a starting price of 10%, which is only $4,890.00 AUD.  Click here to go directly to the auction if you would like to bid on these domains.

Please remember that when you are enquiring about one of our domains in this case study, it is mandatory that you agree to supply us with the details: Country and State of origin, age, gender, occupation, education and ultimately if you are the purchaser, we can make known to auDA the amount in which it was sold for.  We are NOT interested in your name or company name to be made public unless you allow us the opportunity to promote you and or your company for the sale.  We believe in transparency and intend on keeping your private details private.

Year to date sales as of May 2008 include comparer.FR that sold for $44,968.00 USD.  Our case study with our domains has us listing both of our relevant .au domains comparer.com.au and comparer.net.au on DomainShed.com.au for a starting price of 10%, which is only $4,496.80 AUD.  Click here to go directly to the auction if you would like to bid on these domains.

Please remember that when you are enquiring about one of our domains in this case study, it is mandatory that you agree to supply us with the details: Country and State of origin, age, gender, occupation, education and ultimately if you are the purchaser, we can make known to auDA the amount in which it was sold for.  We are NOT interested in your name or company name to be made public unless you allow us the opportunity to promote you and or your company for the sale.  We believe in transparency and intend on keeping your private details private.

Year to date sales as of May 2008 include airland.com that sold for $38,500.00 USD.  Our case study with our domains has us listing both of our relevant .au domains airland.com.au and airland.net.au on DomainShed.com.au for a starting price of 10%, which is only $3,850.00 AUD.  Click here to go directly to the auction if you would like to bid on these domains.

Please remember that when you are enquiring about one of our domains in this case study, it is mandatory that you agree to supply us with the details: Country and State of origin, age, gender, occupation, education and ultimately if you are the purchaser, we can make known to auDA the amount in which it was sold for.  We are NOT interested in your name or company name to be made public unless you allow us the opportunity to promote you and or your company for the sale.  We believe in transparency and intend on keeping your private details private.

Year to date sales as of May 2008 include pinup.com that sold for $35,000.00 USD.  Our case study with our domain has us listing our relevant .au domain pinup.net.au on DomainShed.com.au for a starting price of 1%, which is only $350.00 AUD.  Click here to go directly to the auction if you would like to bid on this domain.

Please remember that when you are enquiring about one of our domains in this case study, it is mandatory that you agree to supply us with the details: Country and State of origin, age, gender, occupation, education and ultimately if you are the purchaser, we can make known to auDA the amount in which it was sold for.  We are NOT interested in your name or company name to be made public unless you allow us the opportunity to promote you and or your company for the sale.  We believe in transparency and intend on keeping your private details private.

Year to date sales as of May 2008 include quickly.com that sold for $45,100.00 USD.  Our case study with our domain has us listing our relevant .au domain quickly.net.au on DomainShed.com.au for a starting price of 1%, which is only $451.00 AUD.  Click here to go directly to the auction if you would like to bid on this domain.

Please remember that when you are enquiring about one of our domains in this case study, it is mandatory that you agree to supply us with the details: Country and State of origin, age, gender, occupation, education and ultimately if you are the purchaser, we can make known to auDA the amount in which it was sold for.  We are NOT interested in your name or company name to be made public unless you allow us the opportunity to promote you and or your company for the sale.  We believe in transparency and intend on keeping your private details private.