Select Domain Name Purchases

The demand for premium generic domain names has been growing over 25% annually.  And the value for the most desirable of these generic domain names continues to climb, regardless of the vagaries of economic fluctuations.

The price one pays for a premium domain name is dependent, of course, upon its perceived value.  Within the past 3 years Z.com sold for $6,784,000; eBet.com sold for $1,350,000; Invest.com sold for $5 million; and Medicare.com sold for $4.8 million.  Want more numbers?  Try this out... So far in 2015 the domain names 360.com sold for $17 million and 345.com sold for $800,000.  In 2014 37.com sold for $1.96 million while 100.com sold for $950,000.  In 2013 114.com sold for $2.1 million. MyrtleBeach.com reportedly sold for $6.5 million.  If such site-specific domains can garner those kinds of valuations, imagine the potential value of covering the entire U.S. with eUS.com or dominating the European Union States with EUS.com.  For the discerning investor the value of eUS.com is indeed compelling… and again, for far less than the cost of a 15 second Super Bowl ad!

Some examples of recent sales of generic domain names are:

a.  eBet.com, a domain name with limited applicability, sold for $1,350,000 in 2013.

b.

In 2015 just the domain name 360.com sold for $17 million.

c.

eBet.com, a limited applicability domain name, was bought for $1,350,000 in 2013.

d.

The domain name eFlowers.com sold for $1 million.  Additionally, partially developed ePregnancy was purchased for $2,150,000 in 2009. 

e.

TOYS.COM. Toys-R-Us paid $5.1 million to acquire toys.com in a 2009 bankruptcy court auction.

f.

In 2014 BTC.com, QNB.com, and Check.com were each purchased for $1,000,000.

g.

CLOTHES.COM. When Amazon paid $928 million for Zappos last July it was discovered that Zappos had just bought clothes.com for $4.9 million.

The list of stories could go on and on.  (See attached limited list of recent domain sales.)  It should be noted that big sales seldom get reported when private companies are involved and public companies are often able to disguise exact sales numbers in financials.  It is estimated that the actual list of private high-priced investment grade domain name sales is at least seven times larger than publicly known.