Here’s what you could have paid for these incredible domains back in 2004.

Last week Alcove.com sold for over $100,000 in a DropCatch.com auction, spurring discussion on twitter about the escalation of wholesale pricing for domain names.

George Kirikos pointed out that if you really want to feel like you missed the boat, go back to DNJournal’s 2004 top sales report:

If you want to cry, go look at the sales under $100K in 2004:https://t.co/hWFCSW9i7r

— George Kirikos (@GeorgeKirikos) May 22, 2021

Indeed, you might cringe today to learn what you could have picked these domains up for in 2004:

MR.com $125,000 (and mister.com for $38,800)
Stop.com $62,500
Harmony.com $50,000
Actor.com $30,000
Gray.com $30,000
NQ.com $27,000
LH.com $27,000
Band.com $26,000
OW.com $22,250
Jacket.com $20,000
Grip.com $20,000
Loco.com $17,500
GZ.com $16,000
Warrior.com $15,000
AOM.co $14,502
FEM.com $14,000
PBI.com $12,500
Lust.com $12,269
Glossary.com $11,000
Mind.com $10,000

Before you kick yourself, here are a few things to think about.

First, a domain you bought for $25,000 in 2004 would need to sell for $125,000 today to represent a 10% annualized return or $270,000 for a 15% annualized return. (Granted, the two letter domains on this list would have returned more like a 25% annualized return at their peak.)

Second, it would also be hard to turn down some of the offers you’d have received on these domains since then. It’s like pointing to someone who bought bitcoin for $10 back in the day and then assuming you would have held onto all of it as it hit $1,000, $10,000, and $50,000. Or held on when it dropped to $30,000!

Third, people who sold these domains might have reinvested the proceeds into other domains that have appreciated.