Some domain sales lists include domains that shouldn’t be on them.
When MicroStrategy announced this week that it sold Voice.com for $30 million, I noted: “This is a record–by a large margin–for a public domain-only sale.”
Some people took issue with this. What about CarInsurance.com? VacationRentals.com? Each of these has been reported as a domain sale for more than $30 million.
Yes, each of these has been reported. And misreported. Sometimes by domain investors who want numbers to seem bigger and often by press making domain stories. Even GoDaddy’s own site lists these domains above its Voice.com sale.
The problem with these other sales is that they were full web businesses, not just domain names.
Another domain often on the list is PrivateJet.com at just over $30 million. Right now that domain forwards to FlyVictor.com. So you’re telling me someone paid $30 million for that domain to forward it?
PrivateJet.com was a cash and stock deal. Equity in private companies is easy to manipulate.
Let’s say Andrew Rosener of Media Options decides he wants to buy Domain Name Wire to add to his domain media properties. Instead of paying cash, he buys it with equity from a company he just set up. He and I agree the equity is worth $50 million and he gives me half of the company. Wallah, he just bought Domain Name Wire for $25 million! But we all know that’s not really the case.
If a public company buys a domain with stock and there’s no lock up and it’s liquid at that price (e.g., not a penny stock or OTC), then it’s as good as cash. But equity in a private company is not.
The best list of true domain sales is at DNJournal. There is one on the list that I have an issue with (Fund.com) due to some weird stuff with the company, but I understand why Ron Jackson included it after much questioning.
So $30 million for a domain? Yep, that’s a record by a long shot, topped only by Sex.com for $13 million. It was actually more than $30 million because the buyer, block.one, paid a commission to GoDaddy.
Of course, these are just the public sales. Most big domain sales are never made public.
Wallah, voila, whatever…
You caught me. I guess it’s a common mistake: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2016/08/wallah.html
andrew,
Didn’t George K find an sec filing in the past on vegas or lasvegas.com that showed multiple long term payments on the name totaling somewhere in the high 8 figures?
larry
https://www.thedomains.com/2015/11/06/report-vegas-com-bought-lasvegas-com-in-2005-for-up-to-90-million-dollars/
“long-term payments” vs cash . . . I say disqualified.
Cars.com was also specifically valued the domain in the SEC filings.
Fund.com was bogus big time. It should be totally disqualified.
But Cars.com was just an accounting valuation attached to a big business.
Long term payments of cash. The worst you can do is try to calculate present value. You can’t just disqualify it.
That doesn’t mean anything. If the cash hasn’t been paid it isn’t sold.
And given how much cash was already paid, it should at least appear in the top ten list now.
It was also a site purchase, not just a domain
First time hearing that. Definite disqualifier then, but I definitely support a nine figure valuation beyond even $90m for LasVegas.com anyway.
Spot-on about CarInsurance.com, VacationRentals.com and PrivateJet.com, Andrew.
Interesting, didn’t know slots.com would be at #10. Pretty sure I personally had something to do with it going for $5.5 million instead of much lower (secret stuff, will not elaborate). Not sure why casino.com would not appear there as a tie at $5.5 million too, however.
lmao Ok sEcReT AgEnt man. don knotts as oo7 🙂
Look, “Randy,” are you just a garden variety troll, or can you tell me anything about what Uncle Sam did with all the vials of blood they took from us and where they keep all that? 😉
Yeah John was the broker, in between selling his 4 word .com’s.
LOL. You are genuinely starting to make me laugh, Snoopy dog, and not with you but at you sorry to say.
In October 2006, I brokered the sale of PRIVATEJET.COM for the buyer who, in 2012, alleged having sold it for “$30.18 million in cash and stock.” His lofty claim(s), like the pseudonym he used to identify himself in a wildly backslapping press release, is fiction:
https://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9204576.htm
Google the alleged 2012 buyer, “Nations Luxury Transportation.” The only company activity cited in the search results references the domain acquisition. Not even a follow-up press release on the company’s subsequent activities.
#PrivateJet.CON
@ScottRoss
I appreciate your input and providing the real story. I always figured that sale was “not right”. I actually asked one of the principals of the company over cocktails at Prime One in Miami about the “sale”. I never got a straight answer. I was there to hawk some of my own premium domains, but they weren’t buying.
I believe the company crashed (excuse the poor choice of words — for a private get company — it was owned by a young Russian oligarch?)
At Prime One Steakhouse in Miami Beach? That would likely be the seller, for whom I acquired the domain name.
Yes, in Miami Beach. We sat at the bar, while they were waiting for a professional athlete to arrive for their dinner reservations.
Voice.com is worth at least 30 million – great sale for both parties. This has been my favorite name “voice” since the iPhone. Hence why I own voice in lesser extensions (the farm leagues) I even prefer it over Chat, Cam, Stream, and I know a lot of you are thinking what about Sex,com — amazing name, incredible backstory, but I’d still go with Voice.com — call me a fool. I don’t mind.
On what gauge is Voice.com worth $30million? It is a major outlier. Great sale for the industry and will likely boost singular one word .com prices, but lets not fool ourselves this was market value. The buyer overpaid badly.
Two stalls is a market place beit the owner or competition
Voice.com is a product between companies with thousands of shares that add up to $ 30 million and this has happened on the Nasdaq, do not go around this is not a domain is a product of a buy – sell shares.
One thing is the stock market and another is the domain market.
Happy Day. Jose.
$25 Million for half my company? You are undervaluing MediaOptions!!!
🙂
Now it seems the plural wad an excellent buy.
https://www.domainsherpa.com/david-ciccerelli-voices-interview/
Lol Just registered 3 days ago Voice.com.co $30 saved $29,999,970 Great saving and guess what I can do any thing Voise.com can.
Anyone know why casino.com is not listed as a tie with slots.com for $5.5 million? Was casino.com not a pure domain sale either (and talk about a steal)?
Never mind – answer can be inferred here: https://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm.
I meant here: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/dnjournal-all-time-top-20-cash-domain-sales.htm.
Nobody, i repeat nobody, is paying 30 mil for a domain name, it will prove to be bogus like the other 8 figure “sales”
Domainers are dreaming that these sales are still out there
Looks well confirmed. You don’t appear to pass the smell test, however.
My reply is not appearing. Summary: your comment is what stinks.
Okay, well since that appeared: the sale appears well confirmed, but you do not appear to pass the smell test yourself.
.com is an established brand, short unique names are rare digital assets, that are actually considered real state now, unlike the other junk extension, I think it was an excellent buy with a marketing strategy behind on the sale
Andrew your column became rated S for stinks
Publicly announcing sales which may be inaccurate or misinterpreted can be deemed as enticement. The term ‘enticement’ refers to the act or practice of enticing, alluring, or tempting a person to buy domain names under the the pretense that they too can make similar sales.
A disclaimer should be visible on each blog, website or forum stating that there are no guarantees when purchasing domain names that the buyer will make any money if at all.
This is big business for the registrars as they do not care if you make any money or not they just want you to buy the domain names period. By announcing sales figures that sometimes cannot be proven, one should also state what was involved in the sale, such as: was there any website developed and equity.
People are buying so many worthless domain names and the only people that are benefiting from their misfortunes are the registrars. Its about time the domain industry starts to make a change and starts to educate the masses.
The amount of people that have come to me and said we have domain names similar to such and such which sold for millions so they expect their domains to sell for similar prices and I then have to painstakingly explain why the so called domain name sold for $$$M which sometimes I cannot as I do not have enough data to compare that to the sellers ‘domain name only’ offer.
If you are going to brag how much your domain sold for, at least state who bought it and why and in what circumstances so that the average Joe knows what to expect.
Furthermore I would be hesitant to make such claims publicly as I am sure the IRS would be interested to know where one got the money from to pay for the domain in the first place.
More info on how PrivateJet.com didn’t sell:
https://domainnamewire.com/2019/07/24/its-time-to-take-privatejet-com-off-of-all-of-those-domain-sales-lists/