Joseph Peterson’s weekly roundup of expire domain name sales.
Last time, I looked at whether a sharp downturn in the Chinese stock market has inhibited Chinese domain sales. So far, all evidence I’ve evaluated suggests that it’s business as usual for the wholesale Chinese domain market: high peak prices and churning liquidity. Expired auctions at NameJet from the past week bolster that impression. Aggressive bidding placed Chinese-style domains in the #1, #3, #8, and #12 slots.
Those top 4 China-focused sales run the gamut: Pinyin, symmetrical 6-digit numerics, “HG”-prefixed numerics, and LLLs – all categories domain investors ought to be familiar with by now. I’m treading o shaky ground if I attempt Pinyin translation. Still, my best guess for ShangXiu.com ($5.6k) would be that it means “Top Luxury”. Chinese speakers are welcome to disabuse me of that hypothesis. DRF.net ($2.0k) is a reminder that LLL.net domains have emerged from their price slump. (If you’re interested, ask about monthly average prices for the past year.) Meanwhile, although HG0678.com seems strange, at $2.2k it ranks below other “HG” numerics NameJet has sold.
Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
---|---|---|---|
ShangXiu.com | 5620 | LatexGloves.com | 3766 |
885858.com | 3588 | Cake.org | 2623 |
FreshDaily.com | 2600 | Fictions.com | 2578 |
NewLoans.com | 2342 | HG0678.com | 2220 |
Puppeteer.com | 2200 | BigJoy.com | 2188 |
BitcoinAdvice.com | 2100 | DRF.net | 2017 |
Injure.com | 1900 | DataInsurance.com | 1700 |
Immunoassay.com | 1643 | AuroraTech.com | 1620 |
StrategicHealth.com | 1608 | OnlineWetten.org | 1600 |
Stema.com | 1500 | PICN.com | 1405 |
LVV.net | 1398 | NewMortgage.com | 1250 |
AmazingVideo.com | 1212 | HotPlanet.com | 1114 |
DOAB.com | 1018 | MUXA.com | 1009 |
OpalGroup.com | 1009 | SoulSeeker.com | 1006 |
Prominent though China is within these charts, English domains are hardly absent. You’ll see 5 expired dictionary words that sold above $1k and several more below. Those include Fictions.com ($2.6k), which might serve writers or readers; Injure.com ($1.9k); and Puppeteer.com ($2.2k), which is simultaneously a profession and a hobby. Quite the bargain, I’d say, since that domain can sell everything from puppets and puppetry lessons to event tickets and small private bookings. More of a surprise was Immunoassay.com ($1.6k), which is a relatively unfamiliar word for a certain kind of biochemical test. That’s not my field, but I suppose the term matters to the pharmaceutical industry.
Cake.org ($2.6k) is especially notable because of the TLD. Strangely, the second highest .ORG sale was a 2-word German domain: OnlineWetten.org ($1.6k). Yet the reason isn’t far to seek. Gambling domains typically outsell other niches, and “Wetten” = “Bet”. Beyond single-word domains, there are category killers like LatexGloves.com ($3.8k); descriptive phrases such as BitcoinAdvice.com ($2.1k) and DataInsurance.com ($1.7k); and brandable phrases as varied as FreshDaily.com ($2.6k), BigJoy.com ($2.2k), StrategicHealth.com ($1.6k); and SoulSeeker.com ($1.0k). It was also interesting to see 2 refinance domains at auction during the same week – NewLoans.com ($2.3k) and NewMortgage.com ($1.2k).
Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
---|---|---|---|
LoveChannel.com | 1002 | ZFJS.com | 840 |
SCFL.com | 771 | Splunge.com | 754 |
482888.com | 740 | LGAC.com | 710 |
Canoe.net | 710 | S4P.com | 692 |
CustomMenus.com | 679 | ZMBC.com | 670 |
JCBM.com | 651 | 2OM.com | 630 |
GoldFirst.com | 613 | Expectant.com | 610 |
MiniatureHorse.com | 599 | BusinessValue.net | 580 |
CCHSNJ.com | 573 | 36181.com | 556 |
Ginty.com | 522 | MUI.org | 510 |
Canoe.net can retail well above $710, but domainer uncertainty about .NET has depressed wholesale prices. Even so, BusinessValue.net reached $580. Graphic designers often get work creating CustomMenus.com ($679). (Worth noting, the singular sold for $112 on the same day.) MiniatureHorse.com($599) reminds me of a fellow I knew as a kid who kept a farm in the heart of L.A. where he lived past 90 raising miniature horses, growing kumquats, and tinkering with electric cars. Long live individuality!
Many of these LLLL domains and all of the mixed numeral / literal CCC.com’s are, of course, bound for China. However, China pays far less attention to 6-letter domains than it does to 6-numeral .COMs. It seems CCHSNJ.com must target the Camden County Historical Society of New Jersey. During the final minutes of the CityGovernment.com ($454) auction, I happened to be sitting next to a former gubernatorial candidate. Although I meant to ask his opinion of the domain, my phone rang; and he left. C’est la vie.
Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
---|---|---|---|
LDJK.com | 490 | SlingIt.com | 462 |
Hello-Radio.org | 462 | FreshSuccess.com | 462 |
City Government.com |
454 | 79419.com | 454 |
VBEN.com | 444 | MZKL.com | 439 |
EndSmoking.org | 422 | ALPIX.com | 410 |
ETSInc.com | 401 | Madeira Tourism.org |
400 |
TUFKC.com | 360 | 94521.com | 350 |
O1N.com | 310 | Directorio- Blogs.com |
295 |
Both EndSmoking.org ($422) and QuitNicotine.com ($79) sold last week – for widely different prices. The latter encompasses chewing tobacco as well as cigarettes. Many people probably think snuff is extinct; but I’ve known plenty of Navy sailors who’d “dip” while underway to stay alert. Despite its symmetry, 440044.com only fetched $206 – perhaps because “4” sounds like “death” to Chinese ears and is considered unlucky. Another promising domain that went quite cheap would be ParisClub.com at just $266.
Werbel.com ($250) is a surname. Americans will recognize Daytona as a Florida city; and DaytonaCollege.com ($213) predictably mirrors an existing .EDU website. If you love a good tune, then you’re a melomaniac. Melomanica.com ($233) seems to be related. Meanwhile, if you’re a developer interested in Steam who speaks Spanish, then PlataformaSteam.com used to be for you.
Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
---|---|---|---|
SilentUK.com | 279 | ParisClub.com | 266 |
48246.com | 260 | Itanium Solutions.org [sic] |
260 |
WolfCloud.com | 252 | Werbel.com | 250 |
Melomanica.com | 233 | Daytona College.com |
213 |
Ateck.com | 210 | 54716.com | 210 |
UniformLocker.com | 210 | JustLaunch.com | 209 |
Holliswood.com | 209 | Alarm1.com | 209 |
440044.com | 206 | Festival- Kinetik.net |
206 |
DetroitEvents.com | 205 | CityBlend.com | 203 |
Plataforma Steam.com |
200 | TConstruction.com | 189 |
HumanGenre Project.com |
163 | WeMakeup.com | 160 |
TConstruction.com ($189) is far cheaper than T.construction, which renews at or around $600 per year. The HumanGenreProject.com ($163) is, of course, a pun on “genome”. Very deliberately, as it turns out: Fiction and poetry “inspired by genes and genomics [that] sometimes … relate to a single gene”.
Yes, I know TNTSpamOvers.com ($100) has nothing to do with repeat spam. In fact, it’s a Texas moving company that specializes in hot tubs. Narutopedia tells me that Shikamaru is an animated manga character from the Naruto series. Perhaps so. Polonais.com ($89) is French for “Polish”. With a feminine “e”, it would be Chopin.
Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
---|---|---|---|
Periferia.org | 151 | XNAZ.com | 149 |
Shikamaru.com | 149 | Biotechnology Healthcare.com |
142 |
OVNB.com | 140 | KinderSurprise.com | 129 |
YBQO.com | 119 | NetworkTracker.com | 119 |
774999.com | 119 | CustomMenu.com | 112 |
SWStore.com | 111 | HSCDade.org | 110 |
Cunnilingus.net | 109 | VRRP.org | 101 |
PHPTeam.com | 100 | TNTSpamOvers.com | 100 |
Orange151.com | 100 | EmiratesNeon.com | 91 |
766.biz | 90 | ProxyPortal.com | 89 |
Polonais.com | 89 | Georgiou Gavrilakis.com |
80 |
RavePorn.com | 80 | LafayetteOEP.org | 80 |
Cunnilingus.net ($109) and RavePorn.com ($80) illustrate how budget-conscious adult webmasters are with domain purchases. BachtenDeKupe.net ($71) sits on the border of Belgium and France – apparently one of the bloodiest battle fields of WWI. Cronologico.com ($69) is Spanish for “chronological”, which is scarcely a surprise … but is a good deal. So is CouponsNearMe.com ($69) – perfect for a GPS-sensitive app that draws in local wanderers to shop.
Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
---|---|---|---|
EasyLoanPro.com | 79 | GoldEarrings.org | 79 |
Naspev.com | 79 | QuitNicotine.com | 79 |
Paraband.com | 79 | Barbell.org | 79 |
DSAMT.org | 79 | Extropic-Art.com | 79 |
Persimmon- Mag.com |
79 | MarketResearch Company.com |
79 |
AllPer.com | 74 | BachtenDeKupe.net | 71 |
Innovalyst.com | 70 | BerkeleyLakeah.com | 69 |
SCMama.com | 69 | ProfileJunky.com | 69 |
MySellers.com | 69 | BolliGroup.com | 69 |
MarkForGov.com | 69 | RickHager.com | 69 |
ConnectKansas.org | 69 | LenderVendor.com | 69 |
OurPDX.net | 69 | InteractiveMom.com | 69 |
SVBizInk.com | 69 | Risaff.com | 69 |
Semestral.com | 69 | Coupons NearMe.com |
69 |
RandomStore.com | 69 | Cronologico.com | 69 |
Whether you regard Splunge.com ($754) as a word or not depends on whether you speak fluent Monte Python. Anyone who wonders why corporate domain strategy tends to be so ineffectual ought to be aware of the board room’s “splunge” philosophy.
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