NEW YORK, NY – If ever you considered getting that “big name” in a .com extension, there may never be a better time than right now. The domain auctions are, for the most part, a ‘wholesale market’, so most people expect auction prices to be, well – better than average. However, most would not expect the “super–great” deals we all saw at NamesCon this year (2018), which were potentially better than any year past. And talk about “Great”… its .com version (Great.com) sold for $900,000.00 from a floor bid. Despite some sporadic chatter in the blogosphere of it not panning out, auction pioneer, Monte Cahn says “it’s a done deal”.
The scene at NamesCon 2018. World Famous Auctioneer Wayne Wheat (left), live auction pioneer Monte Cahn, from RightofTheDot (center) and NameJet’s Jonathan Tenenbaum administer the live auction at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Tuesday, January 30th,2018.
But aside from that big sale, things seemed kind-of-quite this year, with more than a few three character .com domain names such as IMK.com ($23,000.00) that were sold at what seemed to be record pricing accompanied by a fairly quiet floor audience. MVC.COM was another three character which sold for $28,000, BOJ.COM for $35,000 – while others (such as ROI.com, IBF.COM and SCU.COM were passed on. The dynamite name PayPerClick.com (which represents a super-lucrative business) sold for just $100,000.00.
I will sum up the entire live auction in this clip below where World Famous Auctioneer Wayne Wheat begins to question the crowd and states “Three Letter Name Guys, What’s Going on Here?” check it out below.
Many names did not garner high-enough bids and they were moved to the online auction which will continue until February 8, 2018. If you are a .com seller, it’s looking more and more like a good time to sit on your names and let the market bounce back. However, if you are a buyer, I would begin looking to hone-in and strike for some deals you may have expected would be too good to be true in years past. I’ve always felt that I am a good reader of expression, and many there, myself included, were shocked at the deals to be had.
Congratulations to all the winners and sellers.
A list of prices for the domains sold in the live auction is online at NamesPros posted by user Ategy.com
The Chinese domain market has collapsed.
The new tlds have collapsed.
Bitcoin is collapsing as we speak.
Let’s get back to reality please, no more get rich quick nonsense.
Great.com selling for $900,000 wholesale says it all.
There is a great opportunity in the domain aftermarket for a New Kind of Platform. A platform that does more than passively put up landing pages that wait for passers by to find them. There are many existing businesses, as well as new startups that would probably invest in solid domain names in the mid-level price range of 5K and up …IF they only knew those domains were available to purchase. Such a platform would need to Actively Engage the business and startup community. They would need to cultivate relationships with businesses and organizations and educate them about the value of good domain names and show them how they could recoup their investment by reducing spending on advertising, SEO and search engine placement costs. It won’t be something that happens overnight. It will take work and effort. But, there is a niche there that is waiting to be filled. In short, the domain aftermarket platform needs to become “Active” instead of Remaining “Passive”.