Sedo, the domain name aftermarket and parking service, will auction 58 premium .mobi domain names.
.Mobi is off to a roaring start thanks to the future of internet-enabled mobile devices. Sedo has announced an agreement to auction 58 premium .mobi domain names that were reserved by the .mobi registry, mTLD / dotMobi.
Among the .mobi domain names to be auctioned by Sedo include Wine.mobi, Autos.mobi, Clubs.mobi, ATM.mobi, Pizza.mobi, Dentist.mobi, Music.mobi, Photos.mobi and Roses.mobi. The first auction will be for Roses.mobi and will launch on Valentines’ Day. I like ATM.mobi, which could be a mobile phone ATM locator. Music.mobi could be a big hit given the surge in press about mobile music over the past few years (Apple’s new iPhone announcement won’t hurt, either.)
I have long been a proponent of .mobi, but the aftermarket really took off after domainer Rick Schwartz shelled out $200,000 for Flowers.mobi at October’s TRAFFIC conference. Other notable .mobi domain name sales include:
Fun.mobi $100,000
Hot.mobi $40,000
Gamble.mobi $33,000
StockQuotes.mobi $27,000
Cams.mobi $23,600
Attorney.mobi $23,130
BetOnline.mobi $13,000
Party.mobi $13,000
Silverback.mobi $10,509
OnlineCasinos.mobi $10,500
The registry will sell remaining reserved domains through a number of venues. For some premium domains, such as news.mobi, weather.mobi, and sports.mobi, potential registrants must submit an RFP explaining how they will develop and promote the site. .Mobi wants to make sure the domain is used as planned, which will ultimately boost overall results of the domain. You can see examples of .mobi sites in this earlier Domain Name Wire post.
You can see a list of premium (and some of the reserved) .mobi domain names here. (Warning – big file)
**Update 2-16-07**
It looks like Sedo prematurely released this information about the .mobi auctions. The Roses.mobi auction didn’t launch on Valentines’ Day, and according to the dotMobi blog there’s no agreement with Sedo to auction these domains. Sedo announced the auctions in its customer newsletter, so it appears someone jumped the gun.
J. says
I’ve heard DomainSponsor is launching a .Mobi parking service with pages that adapt to the size and resolution of your mobile device.
Editor says
Sedo already has a .mobi service. But I question the value to the advertisers. They are using the same feed as the big screen ads. When people click on the ads they’ll be taken to a non .mobi or small screen site.