2007 Domain Name Wire survey concludes; results to be released this week.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2007 Domain Name Wire survey. Greater than 300 domain name investors and service providers from 50 countries responded to the survey.

The results of the survey will be released in separate articles this week.

Before providing the results, let’s take a look at who participated:

-17.4% of respondents own 1,000 or more domains
-84% of respondents consider themselves domain investors
-52% of respondents are in the United States
-The next biggest representation is Canada, with 7.2%

Results for the survey will be released in this order:

1. Domain registrars – what are the most important factors when selecting a registrar? Which registrar is best?
2. Domain parking – which parking services are people using and which one is best? What “revenue per thousand views” (RPM) are domain owners earning? What will happen to this RPM in 2007?
3. Domain sales – where are prices headed? Which sales venues do people use and which one is best? How do people prefer to securely pay for domains?
4. Expired domains – which expiring name service do people use most often?
5. Other issues – what are the biggest threats to the domain name industry? How is ICANN performing?

50 respondents to the survey will be randomly selected to receive a free domain registration from Dotster. Winners will be notified shortly.

Program will test registrars, registrants for accurate whois records.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) just published a report about the accuracy of domain name whois records and announced new initiatives to improve accuracy going forward.

Whois accuracy is a major problem and handling by registrars is inconsistent. On one extreme, registrar GoDaddy canceled the registration of FamilyAlbum.com because of inaccurate whois information. On the other extreme are registrars that don’t respond to reports of invalid whois information. In the middle are registrars who suspend the use of domains for inaccurate information.

Currently, domain name registrants must include accurate contact information in the public whois database. This includes name, address, phone number, and email address. Whois requirements might change going forward.

ICANN’s report shows that Internic’s Whois Data Problem Report System (WDPRS) received 50,189 reports of inaccurate whois data in the 12 month period ending February 28, 2007. Many of these reports were duplicates and one entity submitted nearly 40% of the reports. These numbers don’t include reports that were sent directly to a registrar and not through WDPRS. .Info domains have the most inaccuracies as a percentage of total registrations for any major TLD, followed by .net and .com. .Info domains have long been abused by spammers seeking to hide their true identities, as registration for .info domains are typically cheaper than other TLDs.

To help address the problem, ICANN is launching a new accuracy audit this year:

-ICANN will sample domain names from each accredited registrar.
-Domains with inaccurate whois data will be reported through WDPRS. ICANN will use an alias so that registrars are not aware that these domain inquires are being tracked by ICANN.
-ICANN will verify accuracy 45 days after submitting the domain through WDPRS.

Registrars that do not respond to the WDPRS inquiries will receive warnings from ICANN.

NeuStar’s rational for increasing prices: Everyone else is doing it.

.Biz registry NeuStar is raising wholesale prices 7% to $6.42. NeuStar’s rationalization for raising prices has nothing to do with increased security or management costs. Instead, NeuStar basically said “everyone else is doing it, so we’re going to do it too.”

NeuStar’s letter to ICANN about the price increase states “NeuStar is taking this action to align .BIZ domain prices more closely with those of competing global TLDs.”

VeriSign started the trend by hiking .com prices 7% and .net prices 10% effective later this year, the maximum allowable under its contracts with ICANN. NeuStar may raise its prices 10% per year.

.Org registry Public Interest Registry announced a price hike to $6.15 per domain. .Info registry Afilias is also increasing prices to $6.15.

Wholesale prices are those the registry charges accredited registrars to register, renew, or transfer a domain. The registrar then tacks on its profit margin in registration prices. Many registrars sell registrations for $1.00 more than registry fees, so they will have little choice but to increase prices later this year as these increases go into effect. Registrants can save money by renewing domains before the price hikes.

Silent auction next month may eclipse $10M…with one domain.

Moniker’s live domain name auctions have been the talk of the domain name industry over the past year. The company, in conjunction with TRAFFIC and other conferences, has sold big ticket domains including Cameras.com for $1.5M and Families.com for $650,000.

But all past sales might be dwarfed by Moniker’s next auction in conjunction with the Casino Affiliate Convention in Amsterdam May 3-5. The irony is that this auction is a silent auction, not a live auction. You’d think a silent auction would not bring in big sales …until you saw the list. One domain — Poker.com — may sell for more than any entire auction that Moniker has held in the past. The reserve for Poker.com is over $5M, and I suspect it is actually an 8 figure reserve. Poker.com may well be the most expensive reported domain name sale ever. Other key domains include Slots.com and ePoker.com.

The online gambling industry has seen its ups and downs over the past year. The biggest market for internet gambling is the United States, but congress passed a law last year effectively shutting down U.S. gaming. The law, known as Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, held banks accountable for facilitating online gambling transactions. This had a chilling effect on gambling firms, with many public firms losing much of their value and gambling site leaders being hauled off to jail when they set foot in the United States. This had a chilling effect on gambling-related domain prices.

But the fortunes of online gambling companies may be changing. First, the World Trade Organization ruled that the U.S.’s ban on online gambling created unfair competition. Then, U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank introduced a bill this week that would allow online gambling but require registrations and precautions.

Will the WTO and Frank’s actions be enough to reverse the fortunes of internet gambling companies? Two years ago Poker.com would have easily sold for over $10M to a gambling company flush with cash. But after a year of turmoil we’ll just have to wait to see.

Auctions for 06.com, Rex.com reach for the stars.

Sedo is positioning itself for some big domain name sales over the next week, including Rex.com, which is currently at $395,000 with one bidder. A sale is never a sale until the domain is transfered and money is in the bank, but I imagine Sedo would have removed this bid by now if it wasn’t from a legitimate buyer. Rex.com will be one of the top 5 sales of the year thus far if the sale goes through, and the biggest ever on Sedo’s auction platform.

But Rex.com isn’t the only trick up Sedo’s sleave. The domain aftermarket has several other domains grabbing attention. 06.com has 20 bids and is currently $80,000. With that many bids you can rest assured that this transaction will go through. The 06.com auction closes this morning. Geisha.com is attracting attention at $16,000 with over a day left but its reserve isn’t met.

GoodBook.com, on the other hand, has met its reserve with one bid at $17,000. Sedo also has a very high .info sale with Booking.info sitting at $11,500 with one bidder. Afternic’s top auction right now is KnowYourRisks.com at $10,000. I’ll be surprised if any of these three domains receive more bids, but they will be notable sales even at their current prices.

Sedo recently closed a sale for LiveGigs.com at $20,000.