Author Archives: DomainNameWire

About DomainNameWire

Domain Name Wire is a blog that deals with the domain name sector. The blog covers a range of domain related topics ranging from issues concerning expiring domains, monetization, domain registries and registrars, ICANN, policy, law etc. The blog began in March, 2005, after Mr. Allemann had dropped out of meetings to become involved in domain portfolio company, iREIT. The project began as a hobby to keep him involved in the domaining business, and then became his full-time business.

Thu 29th May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
How many registrations will new TLDs get? - Most people think low five figures. We’re starting to get an idea of how many registrations new top level domain names can expect to get in the short term now that dozens have launched. This year’s Domain Name Wire survey asked “On average, how many second level registrations do you expect each new TLD to have one year after general availability for the domain starts?” The median response to this question was 12,000 and the average was 41,054. The average ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Ninjas win Wednesday’s conflict of a new TLDs - Ninjas attack cruiselines and vacationers. Ninjas win. Seven new top level domain names hit the market yesterday, and the .Ninjas sliced their way to the most new registrations of any of them. .Ninja recorded 4,535 new registrations in the zone file, which is a pretty good measure of how many domains were registered. (Note: today I’m using data collated by Namestat.org. Some of my zone file access has expired. I, like many others, don’t know why they have to ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Tadpole.com sells for $20k and .us compared to new TLDs - In this week’s Expired Domain Report, Joseph Peterson reports on the sale of Tadpole.com, plus a comparison of .us domain sales to the asking prices on new TLD premium domains. Once upon a time — specifically, once upon 22 April , 1992 — there hatched a Tadpole.  Like many a domain, it began as a primitive website but mutated as it matured.  Tadpole Computers supplied the world with “rugged … UNIX work stations, thin client laptops, and lightweight ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sex.xxx domain name sells as partial of $5 million deal - Multi-year deal for forty .xxx domains valued at $5 million. The domain name Sex.xxx has been sold as part of a $5 million deal between ICM Registry and Barron Innovations. The two parties pegged the price of Sex.xxx itself at a whopping $3 million. The $5 million deal includes 40 .xxx domain names including cam.xxx, phone.xxx and black.xxx. Each of these three examples were valued at six figures. A press release about the deal describes it as a “multi-year deal,” ... read more ...
Wed 28th May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Let’s combine on .wiki: A demeanour during who purebred .wiki domains - .Wiki tops 3,000 registrations by first day. Top Level Design released its first new top level domain name yesterday as .wiki hit registrar’s shelves. I count 3,166 domains in the zone file processed last night, which is a solid first day for a new TLD. I take a particular interest in .wiki because of its unique nature as well as my existing domain portfolio. .Wiki is rather unique among new TLDs for a couple reasons. First, it’s generic in the sense that anything ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Walgreens snaps adult general domain names in new TLDs - $67 billion pharmacy chain going after relevant terms in new TLDs. While I was going through .wiki registrations this morning I noticed that pharmacy chain Walgreens registered a number of generic terms under .wiki. It makes sense: why not own Haircare.wiki, Scooters.wiki and Prescriptions.wiki so they can control the conversation, not the other way around. When I started digging in I found that this wasn’t just a play on .wiki. Walgreens has been registering about ... read more ...
Tue 27th May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
This week in new TLDs: Ninjas and non-profits - A TLD.ninja’s overview of this week in new top level domain names. A handful of new top level domain names hit the market this week, and we’re not just talking about sprinkled donuts. Today Public Interest Registry launches three internationalized domain name (IDN) versions of its popular .org domain name: .орг Russian (Cyrillic) .संगठन Hindi (Devanagari) .机构 Simplified Chinese The domains are priced around $15 retail, but registrar coverage ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
In Da Club, 50 Cent, and New TLD marketing - .Club is spending a lot to promote .Club. That’s good news for .Club domain registrants. Last Thursday night .Club hosted a launch party at Tao Downtown in Manhattan featuring celebrity endorser 50 Cent. I just barely made it to the party thanks to bad weather, a presidential visit to New York, and the plane running out of fuel (necessitating an unexpected stop in Baltimore). But I made it for the last half of the party and saw Fiddy, albeit from behind velvet ropes. The ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
20 finish user domain name sales adult to $25,000 - Mobile app company and environmental consulting company among end user domain name buyers last week. Afternic and GoDaddy sold a combined $1.6 million worth of domain names last week. This is lower than usual, possibly due to the holiday weekend in the U.S. Here are twenty domain sales that involved end users; view previous end user lists here. AppDay.com $20,000 – GetJar, a mobile app discovery service. StandardInsurance.com $25,000 – I’m a bit confused about ... read more ...
Mon 26th May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Frank Schilling defends URS opposite indifferent .sexy domain name - Uniform Rapid Sexy. When Frank Schilling released his first handful of new top level domain names he also held back tens of thousands of second level domain names for himself. These were registered in the name of North Sound Names. Since the domains aren’t just held back as premiums for registration but are actually registered, they are subject to URS proceedings. Schilling has successfully defended the first such proceeding against one of his domains, a URS for ... read more ...
Fri 23rd May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Here’s what your favorite TLDs are (and a ones that will sell a most) - Your forecast for the best selling TLDs. This year’s Domain Name Wire survey asked you what your favorite new top level domain names are, as well as the ones you expect to get the most registrations. There was no clear runaway winner on which TLD you like the most. .Guru received the most votes. Although .guru is a fine domain name, I suspect that has a lot to do with it being on top of the registration leaderboard for the duration of the survey period. It’s top ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
EDR: Over 120 lapsed domain sales formula and analysis - This week’s Expired Domain Report (EDR) covers over ten dozen domain names sold over the past week, plus a look at the week ahead. What’s the value of a good book?  Or a piece of art?  If you thought you couldn’t put a number on such subjective, intangible components of human culture, guess again!  At least in .COM, a good book is worth $565 and a piece of art $616. Domains are often compared to real estate because they’re a finite resource people pay ... read more ...
Thu 22nd May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The many successful chairman in a domain name attention is… - Survey says… Who is the most influential person in the domain name industry? Frank Schilling, according to respondents to this year’s Domain Name Wire survey. 37% of respondents said Schilling was the most influential person in the domain name industry. The next highest was Rick Schwartz with 18% of the vote. Who would Domain Name Wire readers most like to have dinner with? Again, Frank Schilling. 26% picked Schilling as a dinner date, and the vote was spread ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
What domain names TNT and 16 others bought final week - TV network among end user domain name buyers at Sedo last week. Sedo had a lot of five figure sales last week that are still in escrow, meaning I can’t see who bought the domains yet. Most of them are likely end users given the price tags and domains. Still, I uncovered 17 end user domain names sales. This includes TV network TNT, which bought the domain name TNTBoom.com related to its new slogan. Here’s the list, and you can view previous end user sales lists ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Advertising a 6 word domain name on a radio? - Why is this new home community asking radio listeners to remember a six word domain name? I heard a radio advertisement yesterday for a new home community outside of Austin called Rocky Creek. Like many planned developments, this one was built in phases. Once the first phase was mostly sold they started developing the second. Now they’re selling homes in the third phase. The commercial ended with a call to action: “Visit Rocky Creek phase three now open dot com,” ... read more ...
Wed 21st May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
18 finish user domain name sales adult to $38,000 - SteamEngine.com among company’s top reported sales for last week. GoDaddy/Afternic teamed up for a better-than-usual $2.3 million worth of aftermarket domain name sales last week. Here are some of the sales made to end user. (As always, you may view previous end user sales lists.) SteamEngine.com $38,000 – Data center company SWITCH. I imagine this is a brand. MMSConnect.com $17,016 – Market technology company Demeure bought the domain name for its MMS Connect ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Report: How to Sell Domain Names on Marketplaces - Free report provides details for getting the most out of domain name marketplaces. Today I’m delighted to release my first in-depth Domain Name Wire report, “How to Sell Domain Names on Marketplaces”. I wrote this report in response to the numerous inquiries I receive from people trying to sell their domain names. You may download the 26 page report by filling out the form below or sending a blank email to sell_domains@getresponse.com. The report explains: • ... read more ...
Tue 20th May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Some of these new TLDs are doing utterly well - Applicants with low overhead or a smart growth strategy are poised to make a healthy return. There are a lot of new top level domain names I’d like to own as a business right now. Many of them. Consider .guru, which has about 57,000 domains registered and is growing by 100-200 names a day. There’s a decent chance that this growth will continue. It should get a small lift when name collisions get resolved, despite having a low number of domains on the list. It ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Domain Name Wire is Growing - DNW continues to grow with additional features and services. Your feedback is welcomed. A lot has happened in the nine-plus years since Domain Name Wire launched in March 2005. The domain name business has gone through its ups and downs. Business models have changed by necessity. Fortunes have been made and lost and made again. Domain Name Wire rolls with the ups and downs. Rather than rolling, hopefully it is prescient. As the site enters its tenth year, I’m testing ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New TLDs and a miss of cost caps - Registries can jack up prices, but they must give notice. One issue many people think may be a ticking time bomb with consumers and new top level domain names is a lack of price controls. I was reminded of this today by some comments on another post. Most existing gTLDs have restrictions on how much the registry operator can increase prices each year. New TLDs don’t. Here’s the contract language: (b) With respect to renewal of domain name registrations, Registry ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Garry Chernoff sells Scada.com domain name for $110k - Domain investor strikes gold with SCADA.com. Domain name investor Garry Chernoff has sold the domain name Scada.com for $110,000. The buyer is B-Scada, Inc. (Beyond SCADA). SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, and is a field I know a bit about thanks to a technology licensing deal I did nearly a decade ago. Chernoff says the deal was brokered by Darryl Lopes at DomainNameSales.com and was paid over a period of nine months. Chernoff has sold a ... read more ...
Mon 19th May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Big new TLDs week: .Luxury, Rightside and Travel Bonanza - An $800-per-year domain launches, Rightside hits GA, Donuts has a travel-focused week, and .best tries not to be .worst. Another big week is on tap for new top level domain including some new faces. Things get rolling today with general availability for .luxury. It’s a luxurious domain indeed, with a wholesale price of $400. Many registrars are charging a 100% mark-up, making the domain an $800 annual purchase. Luxury brands took advantage of reduced prices in the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Will DNA’s new TLD auction offer kickstart row set resolution? - New top level domain name applicants in contention sets have two remaining options for resolving who gets to “own” each string: Settle it amongst themselves or participate in an ICANN “auction of last resort”. So far a trickle of contention sets have been settled via private auctions (the first option), and the ICANN auctions are set to begin next month. On the face of it, the private auction is the way to go. The “losers” in such negotiations walk away ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
FlyPrivate.com owners sues FlyPrvt.com over blank vowels - Company alleges competitor is infringing its trademarks by using vowel-less version of its own name. One of strangest ways companies have tried to cope with the lack of cheap available domain names in the past decade is to drop vowels. A prime example was Flickr.com, which dropped the ‘e’ to save a bit of money (though it later acquired Flicker.com). If you take all of the vowels out of a word, does the word remain the same? It’s an interesting question, and ... read more ...
Fri 16th May 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
EDR: Guru renewals, NameJet, GoDaddy and more - In this week’s Expired Domain Report (EDR), Joseph Peterson takes a look at renewals of domains including the term “guru”, hits and misses in this week’s expired domain sales, and some domains to backorder for next week. Probably the most significant recent news for the expired domain market has been the emergence of DropCatch.com.  The previously closed system instrumental in building HugeDomains’s massive portfolio is now open for backorders.  Some ... read more ...