Sales from NameJet last month — 10 notable
Here are ten of the more notable sales that took place on NameJet in June.
Every month NameJet sells dozens of domains above the $2,000 mark. Andrew Allemann took a look at April, and I followed his lead with May. Here I’ll be thinking aloud regarding 10 of the 69 finalized domain sales that NameJet noted for the month of June.
XCW.com $30,100 – Obviously, I ought to mention the gold medalist. Yet, although this LLL.com stands in the top position on NameJet’s rostrum, the silver came in just one dollar shy.
MobileLoans.com $30,099 – The fact that this domain and XCW.com sold for the same amount at the same venue at the same time yet represent very different domain categories begs the question, Which was the better use of $30.1k?
Deceptively simple, that question. Really, it only makes sense if we hypothesize one domain investor, cash in hand, choosing between interchangeable options. But it’s an apples-and-oranges reality. Purely for open-ended resale, neither one of these domains looks like a bargain to me. Still, one or both may be end-user purchases. And a business with a plan can justify paying for the perfect name in ways that defy comparison with the value others place on other domains. (MobileLoans.com was, in fact, formerly owned by an established firm.)
JIJ.com $8,900 + PXA.com $6,800 – LLL.com sales like these are why I think that XCW.com (at $30k) was no bargain for a reseller investor. If a buyer isn’t focused on a single letter sequence, then prices like these can be found.
Gainer.com $15,600 – At first blush, I was tempted to compare Gainer.com unfavorably to Gains.com, which had bids of $25,500 at NameJet the prior week. Wouldn’t a “gainer” just be an awkward “amplifier” or a wonky “winner”? Then I remembered that a “gainer” is a kind of forward-moving backflip. Beyond that, a gainer is also someone with a fetish for weight gain. If you’re that person, then Gainer.com may be the most desirable domain in the world for you. Value is subjective.
LocalLife.com $13,988 – Plain and simple, this one’s a first-rate brand name for anybody focused on local business and events. It’s by now used by various local websites, along the lines of locallifetacoma.org and locallifetx.com. Trouble is, it’s the national / international firms — not the local sites — that have budgets at or above $14k. One European travel firm right now uses the hyphenated version. If they don’t buy, then this domain may remain on the shelf for awhile. But not forever.
Synagogue.com $6,555 – There can be few symbols of Jewish identity more potent. Worldwide, nearly 14 million people have some stake in seeing this domain developed — and that’s assuming we gentiles do not. Few can claim this wasn’t affordable.
Helados.com $6,601 – I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! The Spanish-speaking world is enormous; and, unlike “ice creams”, the Spanish plural “helados” is quite idiomatic. So if IceCream.com is worth orders of magnitude more than $6.6k — and it is — then so is Helados.com.
Travel.ninja $2,300 – Let’s ignore the $7,120 sale of MedicalTravel.com and discuss this other travel-related domain, which sold for 1/3 that amount. Since sales of domains in fresh TLDs remain comparatively rare, even a $2.3k sale that wouldn’t be remarkable as a .COM deserves honorable mention as a .NINJA. This must be one of the top 10 keywords / industries. And “Travel Ninja” might be a good branding option for some firm, provided they obtain the matching .COM. Right now TravelNinja.com shows the same whois characteristics as Travel.ninja.
ClosingCosts.com $5,755 – I’ve decided to close with this domain since it’s boring. Out of the 69 sales, I could talk regarding a strong .ORG (Medic.org), a bargain legal term (Acquit.com), a personal name (Carlo.com), a possible case of cybersquatting (FredMyers.com), or another nTLD domain (Find.reviews) that just barely made it across the $2k border. ClosingCosts.com is just a generic phrase that describes money changing hands, framed in the extension so commonplace it’s taken for granted. And that’s why it achieved the price it did. Boring makes for more stable, more predictable market valuations. And when bidders agree, auctions succeed.
P.S. Someone asked me a few days ago if all the domains I write regarding here on Reglike.com come from expired auctions. Let me clarify. With the weekly articles, I’m monitoring auctions from the vantage point of an ordinary buyer. In that case, I note only on expired auctions; and I note final bids rather than sales, which may or may not happen later. But with this article, I’m writing regarding finalized sales — counting both expired and non-expired domains. Hope that’s clear!
