| [10:45 AM] MacTimes.com Up For Sale At eBay
Jason Pierce has placed MacTimes.com up for auction at eBay, marking the end of the site. Citing other business interests that were expanding, Mr. Pierce said it was time to move on. According Mr. Pierce:
At this point my company has grown and we are moving into areas which prohibit us from really focusing on mactimes.com. Of course this is not our last Mac resource, I am sure we will be back at some point, it will after all be hard to stay away ;-)
The site is being auctioned with a starting bid of US$100,000. This does not include the MacTimes archives or other site structure, though that too is negotiable. According to the sale information posted at eBay:
Every year companies spend millions promoting their online brand identities. A year ago hearing a radio ad for a web site was unheard of. Today it is common place. Web sites such as autobytel.com and others are plastering their URL across every advertising medium they can find. These companies are not only promoting themselves, they are building the brand recognition of their web site domain. Unfortunately most of the great web site domain names have been taken. Those left now are hardly worth promoting. Fortunately not all web site or businesses go on forever. Every so often a great domain goes up for sale. Here is your chance! Mactimes.com is for sale. The starting bid is reasonable and we have not set a reserve price. For those looking to build on an established Macintosh resource, or for those looking to build a new Mac centric business, no better domain exists. Established early in 1997, mactimes.com is and has been known and respected in Mac circles for several years. With mentions by MacHome Journal, MacAddict, MacWeek, and various national newspapers, there are few Mac fans who are not familiar with mactimes.com. Why are we selling such a great domain? To move on. Our company has grown and moved in directions unforeseen back in 1997. Many of our online efforts now involve much more than the Mac community. Are we abandoning the Mac online? No. We will be back with new resources that, although they may not be totally Mac centric, are every bit as exciting and useful. Unfortunately the mactimes.com domain is no longer part of our online strategy. Of course that means it can now become part of yours. Who is the domain for? Mactimes.com has the name and brand recognition. Now it is up to you to decide how to use it. Macintosh resource, online reseller, you choose... What you get... the mactimes.com domain. We are not selling the back archives, our receivables, payables, or any business interests over than the domain itself. We are however willing to provide access to back archives if you plan on continuing the site as a Macintosh resource. If this is the case we will also leave in place the various back end admin systems we have developed and implemented to make running the web site easier. Questions on the domain may be mailed to [email protected].
Head over to eBay and check out the status of the auction!
The Mac Observer Spin: We wish Jason and the rest of the staff at MacTimes the best of luck in their new ventures. MacTimes was a bright spot in the Mac community for a long time and it will surely be missed. In the meanwhile, it will be interesting to follow the auction. No bids have been placed yet, but the auction just started yesterday. At the price level Mr. Pierce has set, casual bidders are locked out. Should some big players get involved, this could get really interesting.
MacTimes - MacTimes eBay Auction
|