Has Rick got a monster sale lined up for ‘Tickets.mobi’?

I visited Tickets.mobi today.

The domain is owned by legendary domainer and entrepreneur Rick Schwartz. Rick paid $60,000 for the domain in 2008. I was of the same opinion then as I am now of the domain. That is that it is one of the best domains possible, and Rick got it at a knock down price. Tickets, are not only a mass traded item online, but are also expensive items that can be shipped for peanuts. You also can startup in this business, (unlike selling expensive items like caravans realistically), or use affiliate schemes and ppc. The fact there are some many shady scammers in this area too, quite sickening really, when you go looking for tickets online and the majority of the public trust google adsense clicks and too often they go to a scam site, as theyre so lucrative. For this reason, I think its best advised people go to the big names , like TicketMaster (who incidentally have a mobile site at Ticketmaster.mobi  mobile ticketmaster, google) online to buy, or in the future generic mega domains that can be developed into beacons of trust and memorability.

The reason, I’m posting this article is because I have noticed some changes over at Rick’s domain. More on that in a bit.

Many know Rick as a BIG .com player, of course he is, but he also invests in .mobi . Here is a great post by Rick a while back on his blog: www.ricksblog.com/my_weblog/2…-mobi-fan.html

[quote]

“Secret .mobi fan spotted and revealed!!

Morning folks!!

In September 2006 .mobi was released. I did not think much of the extension. Just another dotcom wannabe. I laughed as most are still doing and moved on. Then about 3 weeks later another thought occurred to me and I made a quick about face. What did I see? If I tell ya, I’d have to kill ya. But at that moment I saw something that would allow only a very NARROW but hugely successful amount of .mobi’s that could change the world. Besides the obvious company names and trademarks that would be snapped up by their respective companies, I identified less than 10 generic domains that could have great value in the future. The one that led my list was Tickets.mobi. It joined flowers.mobi which was also in the list. Why? Well, let’s look at how these two industries were transformed by the internet, perhaps more than most or even all others. 20 years ago when I would call 1-800-FLOWERS, I bought stuff but would never see it. The Internet changed that. I finally had a visual to go with the dollar amount. That transformed the buying experience for millions. Same with tickets. Before, you would call an 800# and got what you got after cross examining the operator on the other end of the phone line. The Internet gave me the visual and now we can all see the exact seat we get.

So as I sat and identified the industries that could once again be transformed by .mobi, the list was short and narrow. But like other things, IDEAS come about and that short and narrow list is likely to fatten up.

For example, last Tuesday night, Jim McCann said they were working on a system that you will be able to send a “Virtual Bouquet” to someone sitting in a nightclub you might be at. So never discount how things can be transformed by a new idea. Will that happen at flowers.com? No.They have a separate site for that. Today a dotcom. Tomorrow……who knows. Especially when matched up with GPS or as a default extension. Do any of us know how this will unfold? No. But it does not stop folks from putting blinders on and actively rooting against something. Step back folks. Don’t be guilty of the same things others have done to you. Open minds seize opportunities that closed minds will never see.

Now that I got the #1 .mobi I have aimed for since day one, (Tickets.mobi) it will be interesting to see how the old guard domainers learn I am a big .mobi fan. (No surprise for some) I see it as the next best extension to dot com and really nobody needs to agree with me. The more folks disagree, the more I know I am on the right track. So save the naysaying for 5 years not 5 minutes. Then we can discuss why so many of my good friends missed such a winner. They will just say…..”Damn, Rick was right again.”

Here is the reality. In 5 years the domain may be worth between $0 and $60,000. It may also be worth between $60,000 and $60 million. I decided to place my bet on the latter. Place your bets where you may. At the end of the day, I will trust my gut more than any other set of factors. My gut says this will be a $60,000 loss or the single biggest payday of my life. Only had that feeling a few times before. Porno.com, Men.com, Candy.com, Property.com, Tickets.mobi. So then the question becomes: “Why did I buy flowers.mobi for more than tickets.mobi? The answer is pretty simple. Flowers.mobi was the only other .mobi released that was in my top 10 list and since tickets.mobi was not yet out there, I wanted a foot in this door. Porn.mobi was also on the short list as is sex.mobi and some other obvious ones. Domainers will not decide if .mobi hits or not. Businesses across the world will decide. They may see it as a way to capture another market. Another generation. They may see things we don’t see. The thing that will decide the future of .mobi is not domainers. It is businesses across the world and advertising dollars spent.

btw, the FIRST question that Jim McCann asked me was “What did I think about .mobi?” I told him it is too early to tell. The answer won’t reveal itself for 3-5 years. What folks did not know when he was there is that Jim McCann was the LONGEST domainer in the room. He started in 1992!! While others are still struggling with their initial sites and online presence, here we have Mr. Cutting Edge himself and his focus comes down to one word, “Mobile”! Their focus for the future is the mobile, on the go, younger audience. Will that help .mobi? Stay tuned!

Have a GREAT Day
Rick Schwartz”
[/quote]

Okay, back onto  Tickets.mobi

Now for those who know Rick, he is a master salesman of domains. He rarely develops, and when he does, it is invariably bad. He likes the 1994 look. Hope you don’t mind me saying that Rick! lol

Well, actually it’s very rare for Rick to get anything developed at all, not without reason. So I was surprised to see Tickets.mobi developed.

Ok, it’s very lightly developed, bujt the thing that really surprised me was the links to the mobile version of Tickets.com

Now, I don’t know, I may be wrong. This maybe a simple affiliate scheme. I don’t see affiliate codes in the links though and not sure if they do a straight affiliate scheme. I do know they offer ticketing solutions as part of their 9k alexa flagship website.

Maybe Rick is letting them consider purchasing the domain, maybe it really is a a simple little affiliate setup. Only Rick knows. But I can smell Rick onto a deal here. Just remember where you heard it first when Tickets.mobi sells in the near future for mid $xxx,xxx. Just a gut feel.

The mobile version of Tickets.com is mobile.tickets.com and that uses the usablenet.com url so I’m guessing this is an affiliate setup for now.

Here’s a screenshot of the site homepage:

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Here’s a screenshot of one of the links:

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I note the site is developed by mobiManage , and the mobile tickets.com pages are coming off usablenet.com who we have mentioned many times before for their work with major players in developing their mobile and .mobi campaigns and development.