Monthly Archives: May 2005

Tue 31st May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain speculators see triple-digit returns - Domain name intelligence company Zetetic published new research last week showing that domains bought and sold on the aftermarket are experiencing an average gain of 377%. This number is somewhat misleading because it is an average and not a median. The median resale was for an 83% return. The sample size was only 74 domains that were bought and resold, but this is still encouraging. The median domain was bought and resold within 8.8 months. For more, see Zetetic’s ... read more ...
Fri 27th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Falwell domain quarrel could have implications for giveaway debate on internet - The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing a case about a domain name critical of Rev. Jerry Falwell. A lower court decided that the domain Fallwell.com was basically trademark infringement. Celebrities usually win rights to their domain names and variations thereof. But politicians do not–sites critical of politicians are generally considered free speech. I’d say the main issue in this case is whether Falwell is a celebrity or politician. He is certainly ... read more ...
Thu 26th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sedo sales volume continues to increase - Sedo.com, a leading domain name aftermarket, sold over 1,000 domain names in April. This compares to 866 domains in March, and is indicative of booming domain name values. Sedo sold 1,016 domains for a total of $1,597,901, or an average of $1,555 per domain. I’m not a fan of averages because one domain can skew the results, but it’s always good to see numbers go up! ... read more ...
Wed 25th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Innovations.com sells for $108,000, .US domain sells for $25,000 - Innovations.com sold for $108,000 on Pool.com this week. Not only was this a huge domain sale, but keep in mind that this was an expiring domain! In other words, someone owned this 6-figure domain name and let it expire. Oops. This week also saw the highest-ever reported domain sale for a .US domain–VOIP.us changed hands for $25,000! That will make people reevaluate their .US domain portfolios Here are some other notable sales on DNJournal’s sales list, just ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Will “tack-on” fees crush domain name registration prices? - I hate getting my cell phone bill each month. In addition to the price the phone company quoted me, they tack on regulatory charges, taxes, and other fees. It really adds up. I’m afraid that domain name registrations might be headed in the same direction. It started with GoDaddy, which decided to advertise its domains for $8.95, but then tack on the $.25 ICANN-imposed tax on most registrations. Most other registrars simply include this cost in their advertised ... read more ...
Tue 24th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
No word nonetheless on Yahoo “Adsense” launch - I received an e-mail from Yahoo yesterday, sent to their “Publisher Notification” checklist. I was excited and hoped it would be a message inviting me to join the new Overture ad syndication program. Unfortunately, it just said that that program is still not ready and invited me to check out Yahoo’s latest search features. The more I think about it, I wonder if Overture (ok, I need to start calling it Yahoo) will be able to compete on keyword bids with Google. ... read more ...
Mon 23rd May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
2 domain name attention conferences flog off this week - This week has been marked on the domain name industry’s calendar for quite some time. Anticipation is growing for 2 different and unique domain name conferences kicking off later this week. In Seattle, the Domain Name Roundtable runs May 25 to May 27. This event is put on by the folks at Name Intelligence, one of the most popular domain name research companies. You may know Name Intelligence for its popular WhoIs.sc site. The Domain Name Roundtable looks to ... read more ...
Fri 20th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Register.com woes continue - Register.com, once a leading candidate to knock Network Solutions offs its perch, is again having financial problems. They missed filing their latest 10-Q with the SEC (again) and received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq (again). This begs the question…what happens when a big domain registrar goes belly up? Register.com Press Release ... read more ...
Wed 18th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Another large 3-character domain name sale - 3 character domain names continue to sell and the prices keep going higher. (See OLT.com Sells for $93,000.) Last week EOL.com sold for $43,000 according to DNJournal. An even shorter domain, 58.com, sold for $26,000. Drop service Pool.com snagged a couple good domains. Users paid $23,000 for TravelPages.com and $18,500 for PollyPockets.com. In the .info world, it came to light that Medicine.info sold last year for $25,000, making it one of the most expensive ... read more ...
Tue 17th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Afternic adds eNom, raises fees - Afternic, one of the first and most popular domain name aftermarkets, has signed an agreement with eNom to share listings. Now people searching for domains at eNom can see Afternic aftermarket listings. Afternic also announced it will increase annual membership fees to $19.95. You can join Afternic before June 1 and only pay $9.95 for a membership. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DesignerShirts.com, subsequent era video diversion domains sell during Afternic - Afternic is having a great week for domain name sales with a flury of top dollar sales since Saturday. Among the top sellers is DesignerShirts.com, which cracked the 5-figure mark and sold for $10,000. With Microsoft’s latest XBOX 360 announcement, activity is growing for speculative video game domain names. x360.com went for $5,000 and PS3Games.com went for $3,000. A handful of short .nets and .orgs went for $1,000 each: 515.org, 536.org, 878.net, and Y5.net. ... read more ...
Mon 16th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy theme of SPAM scam - It appears that GoDaddy is the subject of a recent virus SPAM campaign made out to look like renewal emails, according to the this notice on GoDaddy’s web site. Big companies typically become the subject of such attacks (e.g. eBay, Amazon). But I have to wonder if some of this is in retaliation to recent GoDaddy moves, such as auctioning off its expiring domains. Regardless, be careful. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Review of Unmined.com - As a domain name investor, I’m always excited to see new products and services to help me find the best domain names. Most of my time is spent buying existing domains and expired domains. Recently, I came across a new service that helps you find unregistered domains. You can register domains for under $10–far less than the cost of expiring domains–so finding good unregistered domains can be profitable. Granted, there aren’t a lot of great domains that aren’t ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain name financier posts record revenues -

Premium domain name investment association Communicate.com (OTCB: CMNN.ob) announced record income for a initial quarter. Revenue for a entertain approached $1M, and initial entertain net income increasing 195% compared to a initial entertain of final year.

Communicate.com owns one word domain names such as Perfume.com, Karate.com, Boxing.com, Brazil.com, and Importers.com.

Via: domainnamewire.com

Fri 13th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Top domain names failing soon - Here’s a list of good domain names sure to grab attention when they drop over the next five days. You can backorder these domains at services like Pool and SnapNames for as littles as $60. Tipped.com 5/16 Waddles.com 5/17 Manicuring.net 5/15 CitySmart.com 5/17 – has been registered since 1995 MyWines.com 5/17- has been registered since 1995 CompuSystem.com 5/13 – registered since 1996, good compound combination uby.net 5/15 FreeWwebs.com 5/15 – 1122 Overture ... read more ...
Thu 12th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain registration “come-ons” identical to credit label industry - You get offers in the mail or see them on TV every day. “Get 0% APR on a new Visa” “Pay just 1.9% interest on a new MasterCard” Then you read the fine print, and find out that the interest rate is an introductory rate, only to shoot up to 20% after 6 months. Lately, I feel like the domain name industry is using the same tactics. It went mainstream with GoDaddy’s $3.99 domain name offer. It sounds good on the surface, until you read that you must purchase ... read more ...
Wed 11th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Marchex domain name association posts 142% income increase -

Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX) announced a initial entertain gain yesterday. Marchex is famous for purchasing 100,000 domains for scarcely $165M final year.

-Revenue was adult 142% from a same entertain final year.
-The association expects $86M income this year.

Just another pointer of a flourishing domain name market…

Via: domainnamewire.com

 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
NewsWeek covers flourishing domain name market - Newsweek has an article about the growing domain name market. It discusses how the market is growing again after the bubble. Among the points it makes: -Sedo has seen its transactions triple between 2003 and 2004. Sedo explains that the market is mature now, and that domain names sell based on revenue multiples and proven success. -Marchex purchased 100k domain names in November for about $165M, which was an 8x annual earnings multiple. They now have more than ... read more ...
Tue 10th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
AutoLine.com sells for $42,000 - I love Tuesday evenings. Why? Because that’s when DNJournal releases its weekly sales report. The report includes top sales from Sedo, Afternic, Pool, SnapNames, and more. This week’s top sale was AutoLine.com, which went for $42,000 at SnapNames. That means that someone let this valuable beauty expire. It’s as if you won the lottery for $42,000 and forgot to cash in your ticket! After last week’s 3 5-digit three character domain sales, IAD.com went ... read more ...
Mon 9th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Are Overture register numbers being manipulated? - Domain names that get type-in traffic are among the most valuable on the resale market. To calculate the number of type-ins a domain name receives, domain buyers use the Overture inventory tool. By typing in a domain name (including the extension, e.g. domainnamewire.com), people can see how many times people searched for the domain name the previous month. If 50 people typed the domain+extension in a search engine by accident, many more must have typed in in their ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Update on TrafficClub domain parking program - A few weeks ago I wrote about TrafficClub, a new paid domain name parking program from Moniker. I’ve been happy with the revenue so far, and now have month end stats for April: -RPM (revenue per 1,000 page views) was $18.43 -RPM for domains generating at least 75 views ranged from $4.66 to $104.24 Overall I’ve very satisfied. In the first 7 days of May I’m still running over $18.00 RPM. Although some claim higher rates from other programs, this is the highest ... read more ...
Fri 6th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Testing GoDaddy’s new lapsed domain auctions - I placed some bids on GoDaddy’s new TDNAM, which right now consists mostly of expiring domains once registered at GoDaddy. I just “won” one domain today. When placing a bid on an expiring domain you are presented with a disclaimer that says the domain can be renewed by the previous registrant. It’s somewhat unclear when you take ownership of the domain. Here’s the email I got from GoDaddy: Dear Andrew, Congratulations! You have placed the winning bid ... read more ...
Thu 5th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy places 60 day reason on failing domains - GoDaddy is now auctioning off its own expiring domains (see this posting). However, it appears they are placing a 60 day hold on all expired domains won at auction before the winner gets control. This certainly reduces its value!! Since GoDaddy has more active .com domains than any other registrar, GoDaddy’s new expired domain system will send major ripples through the expiring domain market. With Network Solution and Bulk Register’s expired domains going to ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy launches domain name aftermarket, will auction off lapsed domains - In a move that might send ripples through the domain name aftermarket, GoDaddy has launched a domain name aftermarket for reselling domain names. The biggest news is that it appears GoDaddy is auctioning off its expiring domains through the service, thereby preventing rival drop services from snagging their domains! The service is sure to undercut rivals on commissions and fees: -$4.95 annual membership -7.5% commission with only a $10 minimum -No buyer fees However, ... read more ...
Wed 4th May 2005
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
OLT.com sells for $93,000 - What a week for domain name sales! According to DNJournal 2 three letter domains sold for 5 figures this week. Not only did OLT.com sell for a whopping $93,000, but MGL also sold for $17,500 at Afternic. Another 3 letter domain, ZDU.com, was snapped for $3,550. But three letter domains weren’t the only thing selling this week. MyShopping.com went for $47,000 at Pool. FitnessEquipment.com sold for $25,000 at Sedo. Two .info domains sold for high numbers as ... read more ...