Savvy buyers found bargains in 2006.
I just reviewed all of the publicly disclosed sales from domain aftermarket Afternic in 2006. Domain values are in the eye of the beholder, but I found some domains that seem like bargains. I would have gladly put up the money to buy these domains:
IPOWeekly.com – $99 – a great financial domain for initial public offerings. The domain currently does not resolve.
Tofu.cc – $100 – a .cc bargain? I only say that because the domain sold on Sedo for $1,000 shortly after the Afternic sale. The domain currently forwards to tofu-tofu.com, a fashion site.
RankEngine.com – $195 – perfect domain for a search engine optimization site. The domain currently resolves to a hosting page.
NorfolkRestaurants.com – $210 – any city name followed by restaurants.com should sell for more than this. The domain currently does not resolve.
EasyPoll.com – $550 – great domain for a free web site poll service. Currently parked.
iUnitedStates.com, iAustralia.com – $875 each – iCountry.com domains for under $1,000? And for major countries? iAustralia.com forwards to BookAustralia.com.au and iUnitedStates.com is a parking page.
Principals.com – $1,000 – who wouldn’t buy this domain for $1,000 in a heartbeat? Currently parked.
Quotes.us – $1,000 – this financial .us domain could easily resell for more in the coming years. Currently parked.
Zilker.com – $1,000 – I’ve written about this one in the past. BuyDomains let this one go on Afternic for way too little. The buyer was an individual with the last name Zilker, but Zilker is a popular park in Austin. Zilker Park is home to the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, played host to a recent Rolling Stones concert, etc. Domain currently resolves to a hosting page.
VideoAd.com – $1,095 – video ads will be hot in 2007. Currently parked.
RatePlans.com – $1,160 – rate plans for cell phones, long distance, etc. Currently parked.
EmployeeBackground.com – $1,300 – background checks are a big business and pay-per-click prices are high. A background checking company can instanly grab goodwill using this domain. Domain currently resolves to a hosting page.
iOpenHouse.com – $1,500 – a good real estate domain. Currently parked.
InkPad.com – $1,500 – so many uses for this domain beyond selling inkpads. The domain will be used for an online printer ink store, but could also be used for copywriting services, PR, etc. One of the biggest steals of the year!
Detected.com – $1,890 – good one word domain. Currently resolves to hosting page.
ArtExhibits.com – $2,500 – great two word combo that is highly searched. Domain forwards to Suite101.com.
Decay.com – $2,900 – I have a confession to make. I was the seller of this domain at only $2,900. It was a profit for me. But the domain resold for $12,000 by the end of the year, so the buyer did well for himself.
Keep in mind that these are only the bargains on Afternic. These domains jumped out at me as great values although there are certainly many others. Also, there were many bargains on other exchanges and through private transactions.
Justin Allen says
Great article, I agree with you wholeheartedly at some of these sales. I think there is a great deal of money to be made in secondary market domain names being sold to reseller and then resold if your willing and smart enough to sell in the right “neighborhoods”.
Justin Allen
http://www.namebio.com
Stephen Douglas says
I think all of us at one time or another knew we were letting a valuable domain go for cheap in order to consolidate some niches and use the money to purchase higher valued domains for those niches. And also, we just did it because we “second-guessed” our own instincts for the domain’s value. I have two domains currently with decent bids on them that I’m holding out on, one I converted to an instant auction on Sedo – “FundLoan.com” – I can’t come to a clear value on this domain other than I know it’s worth at least $1500 minimum.
So I look a domains always with a “minimum” value eye… so that I won’t sell for less than I think it’s minimum value is. However, that doesn’t mean any domain can’t go for tens of thousands of dollars more to someone who really wants the domain. TwistedBrains.com, anyone?
Stephen Douglas
Successful Domain Management™
DomainRelevance.com
“Own Your Competition™”
RaviLA says
I agree domain names are changing perceptions and creating a whole new world for people who are rookies as well as those who are seasoned domain people (aka: domainers).
Ravila