My day started out pretty poorly. Not only was I late, missing the keynote speech, but I wound up having to return to my hotel for things I forgot. I did manage to get in some quality time when I returned to the Rio, prepared for the day.

Andy speaks my language
Andy Rodriguez of Andy Rodriguez Consulting spoke about Developing the Right Merchant Mindset. In his talk, geared towards merchants, far more than affiliates, Andy spoke of how merchants should be aware of their affiliates and their needs. He talked about how in the affiliate business, it is the merchants who need the affiliates. As an affiliate who’s still learning the ropes, it was good to hear. Judging by some of the questions that the merchants were asking, it seems that, like many affiliates, some merchants also find themselves learning as they go.

Booths, cars, and swag
Today was another day of talking to merchants and affiliate programs, collecting swag, and lots of walking back and forth down the long path from the Rio’s casino and lobby area to the conference halls. Kellogg’s also happened to have something going on at the Rio today, so it was even more crowded than yesterday. Affiliate Summit West sold out, prompting the sale of at least one full access pass on ebay for over $2,600. Today, everyone had their booths set up and they varied from simple to elaborate, traditional to cutting edge. I snapped a couple photos of ones that stood out to me. One, in particular, was RevenueWire. They threw a plasma TV on the wall, displaying the live dollar earnings for the day of their top affiliate. The $16,386 displayed on the screen when I stopped by around 4:00 or so was a powerful message that I’m sure turned at least a couple heads. ForexAffiliate, who is giving away a Saturn Sky tomorrow night also had a beautiful booth, as they should, being the Platinum sponsor. They were the one affiliate program that enticed me to become a new member on the spot, which wasn’t hard, given that I’ve been eying that Saturn Sky since it came out. Today, I collected a lot more literature than swag. Tomorrow will probably be all hand-shaking, but I intend to at least find out who’s handing out skate boards like candy, if only just to know.

Moniker: Funny, and full of surprises
After pounding the carpeted floor for a couple hours, I headed over to the Moniker live domain auction.

I watched a few domains get more than I expected and I watched quite a few sell for less than I expected. Someone certainly got a deal or two. The real treat was that, after becoming a late addition, Pay.com sold for $1,500,000. It was kind of exciting to be there for that, as it was my first love domain auction in person. Once or twice, I had wished I had registered for (and budgeted) being able to bid on a couple, myself. Here were some of the sales that caught my attention:

UKFares.com $25,000
Temp.com $400,000
NewYorkCityInvestmentProperty.com $600
ReverseLoans.com $15,000
Ornament.com $30,000
TaxFreeIncome.com $25,000
SnackPacks.com $25,000
For.net $25,000
AffiliatePay.com $4,500
CustomStereos.com $22,500
OnlineTrades.com $12,500
Blogville.com $5,500
WidescreenTelevisions.com $7,000
TropicalBeaches.com $10,000
Pay.com $1,500,000
Rental.info $7,000
AroundTheWorldCruises.com $8,500
CreepShow.com $5,500
ShortStories.net $4,000
GraphicsSoftware.com $1,500

XY7.com has us seeing green
The other day, Ian Fernando made mention of a Vegas-based affiliate that he was hoping to check out at this year’s Summit, XY7.com. Not only do they like sharp color on alternating shades of grays like me (see their site), they also seem like some down-to-earth guys who see at my level. Now, other groups at the Summit also charmed me, but they didn’t park their bright green Lamborghini directly in my path from the Rio’s entrance to the taxi stand.