An deeper look at some of last month’s sales on NameJet.
If you didn’t catch Andrew Allemann’s insightful take on April sales at NameJet, it’s worth a read. This time, I’m filling in with some observations on last month’s sales — “observations” being a euphemism for knee jerk reactions and blind spots!
Out of 76 sales, I’ve picked 10 to look at:
Liao.com $100,000 – Mentioning this one would be obligatory for the price alone. Not only is the amount impressive, but it’s the 7th domain auction to make it into the 6 figures at NameJet since June 2011. Of course, it’s no secret that the Chinese domain market is a powerhouse. Being no expert on China, I can’t address the market value of the word “Liao”. Yet it appears to be rich in meaning: It’s a top 100 surname, a river, a dynasty (907-1105), and an abbreviation for the northerly Liaoning province.
SAI.com $50,100 – Marketing for this domain made prominent visual use of the japanese sword. That caught the attention of my Ninja Turtle generation. But, honestly, the real appeal of this LLL .COM is in its specific sequence of letters and their pronounceability.
YIA.com $12,322 – Actually, 12 domains (roughly 1 out of 6) were LLL domains: 9 .COM and 1 each of .NET, .ORG, and .TV. What strikes me about YIA.com is how little I like it. Visually, it’s fine. For acronym purposes, the letter sequence is fairly strong. But saying “YIA” aloud involves twisting the mouth into weird series of diphthongs: “Waa eee Aaa eee Eeh eee” or else “Yeeee uh”. I would have preferred to spend $10,400 on the more straightforward UTH.com.
SubstanceAbuseTreatment.com $3,332 – Yes, 38 out of 76 sales (exactly 50%) were 5 characters or less. But this 23-letter, 3-word domain had no difficulty selling. Word counts can be misleading. “Substance abuse” like “real estate” functions like a single word. Neither half alone conveys the meaning.
Privatized.com $3,301 – This one looks like less of a deal once you budget for the variants: Privatised.com, Privatize.com, Privatise.com. .COM may be the global extension, but “z” is not global English.
Kahvehane.com $2681 – Turkish for “Coffee Shop”. If you thought Starbucks was ubiquitous, go to the Middle East! There outdoor cafes have long been important gathering places. People probably don’t need the internet to find them, but the symbolism may justify $2.7k.
CallCenter.net $3,355 – Whether it’s telemarketers or customer service, call centers stay busy and keep money flowing. Very few decent “call center” domains exist in established extensions. So I’d consider this one to be undervalued. Even as a .NET, it ought to have sold for much more.
PontoonBoats.com $16,055 – Here’s a reminder of what an exact-match domain for a high-end product is valued at on the wholesale market. Buying just one actual pontoon boat would cost 2-5 times this much (or more). So if this domain can steer a customer from Business A to Business B, it probably pays for itself in a single transaction.
ResearchPark.com $2,700 – My alma mater, the University of Utah, created its “Research Park” in 1968, starting with 320 acres of land. One project from my former department (involving mind-reading brain implants) is based there in a new $11 million facility. They can afford this domain.
Submersible.com $2,255 – Nostalgia #2 for me, as a former submarine officer. Apart from submersible vehicles, this domain fits well with a wide range of products — from submersible heaters and submersible pumps to scuba diving. There’s also a company called SubmersibleSystems.com that ought to be interested. Having so many applications certainly helps.
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