Rick, I agree that minisites aren't where it's at, which is why I build my own custom sites through Joomla or Wordpress with at least 10 pages of real useful unique content. They rank well - better every day, and earn good money. However, my problem right now is Google's over-reaching on these accounts. Just last month I lost 2k because G suddenly decided I violated some archaic clause without warrant. This is the time to sue Google and change the way it does business. I am more pained by the loss of statistics than by the loss of cash. How can I sell my site based on prior revenue if it never existed? If we can get the domaining world to wake up and file a class action, we can cause major pain here for years to come. G is now a real monopoly and it is set against domainers. If we don't fight back, it will get much worse. Imagine if Google decides to de-index all of your websites simply because one site violated their expectations of "good webmaster content". It's not that far off. Think about it.

@ Kevin I was hoping you could see the hidden inference that a good salesman is in fact, educating the buyer, rather than "selling" in a pure sense. A salesman is still a critical component of every deal, and how he perceives himself is just as important. When I used to sell high end tech equipment, it was always about getting the customer to understand what they were actually getting out of a million dollars in routing, storage or virtualization. Domains are no different. Understanding their universal appeal, power in ranking, power in branding, and power in social memory takes time. Once the consumer is enlightened, the value of a domain is no longer in question.

There's a good reason why Rick is right and not just pumping up the value of domains. Domains do not need pumping. They do not need a salesman. All that is required is an educated buyer. Look through all the hidden transactions in domains between corporations that aren't disclosed until years later after a buyout. Numbers don't lie - that's the point. Corporations know that BIG.COM is worth alot more than QuiteBig.com. They always have, and for that reason you should fear them, because they are coming after the assets of domainers everywhere. If nothing else simply follow the litigation trail and you'll see that domains are big business for Trademark attorneys. Once they've caught the scent of money, there will be no shortage of lawsuits to take domains from their owners. AD.com is just the beginning!