A Hot Winter at NameJet
It’s cold in most of North America, but this winter has been hot at NameJet.
Winter at NameJet has been hot. In January the auction venue set a record with more sales above $2k than during any previous month. February racked up 121, which makes it the 3rd month in a row surpassing 100. Apart from December, 2014 ranged between 61 and 95 monthly sales >$2k … with a mean of 76. So if your impression has been that bids are climbing into higher price ranges more frequently, well, the data agrees with you.
Speaking of buying domains, Buying.com was February’s high sale at $69.2k. In contrast to previous months, in which I discussed a subset of domains in detail, I’ll continue with last’s month’s format and present the full list of 121 sales, divided into groups (somewhat arbitrarily) based on style. Let’s start with a trio of gerunds – i.e. words ending in “-ing” that can function as nouns or verbs in English:
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying.com | 69,200 | Removing.com | 5100 |
| Accommodating.com | 4601 |
The most familiar gerunds – such as “buying”, “printing”, or “fishing” – will often command high prices as part of 2-word domains. SignPrinting.com ($4.9k) and FloridaFishing.com ($3.3k) were each expired domains that I wrote regarding in separate weekly articles.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| SignPrinting.com | 4900 | PerformanceMonitoring.com | 4875 |
| FloridaFishing.com | 3281 |
Various other dictionary words were selling at NameJet last month at or below $5.2k. Piercer.com ($4.2k) reminds me of a vintage Simpsons clip. Meanwhile, there’s an interesting etymology behind Jibber.com ($2.6k) involving Mr. T.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bistros.com | 5200 | Piercer.com | 4164 |
| Unforeseen.com | 4101 | Unsustainable.com | 4101 |
| Evils.com | 3767 | Regularly.com | 2601 |
| Jibber.com | 2600 | Respectful.com | 2322 |
| Referees.com | 2300 | Understatement.com | 2200 |
| Obstetric.com | 2100 |
Linguistic and economic dominance are 2 sides of the same coin. So it’s no surprise that the languages predominantly appearing above the $2k threshold are English and Chinese. (At Sedo, if nowhere else, we’d have to add German.) Chinese, of course, doesn’t mean Chinese; in a domain industry context it still refers largely to pinyin, numerics, or what we’d call acronyms rather than IDNs. First, let’s get out of the way a very boring, altogether typical list of LLL.com’s:
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| YRY.com | 25022 | QUK.com | 14301 |
| GQT.com | 11800 | NDQ.com | 11209 |
| FOJ.com | 11200 | IUZ.com | 11001 |
| FJO.com | 9820 | XUC.com | 9311 |
| QEL.com | 9288 | EFQ.com | 8988 |
| EHJ.com | 8900 | XUH.com | 8801 |
| UMQ.com | 8102 | LVJ.com | 7267 |
The 4-letter .COMs can afford to be more interesting, since they have 33% more space for self-expression. 7 out of 8 here are pronounceable, the outlier being a repeating pattern – Vermont with a sticky keyboard. 3 of the 4 highest follow a CVCV pattern; and 1 of those turns out to be a .NET, oddly enough. Another 3 end in a 3-letter word, with the most expensive of the 8 combining that feature with the popular “e” prefix. An eHug is light years too cute for my frigid Scandinavian blood, but Facebook is full of mutually supportive sociable people who may soon be eHugging one another the world over.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| eHug.com | 4110 | FARU.com | 3900 |
| HULI.net | 2700 | YENY.com | 2510 |
| VVTT.com | 2400 | LWEB.com | 2300 |
| ENSE.com | 2200 | JCAP.com | 2100 |
There are a number of other categories of short domains, but we’ll just throw them together in a miscellaneous pile. Repetitive patterns tend to fare well in the Chinese market. And that serves to explain 575757.com ($2.6k), D8D.com ($2.6k), and iiiii.com ($5k), which I wrote regarding previously. The .NET and .ORG might not be for China; to me they look like Western end-user purchases.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4958.com | 6700 | 15U.com | 6189 |
| iiiii.com | 5000 | SUC.net | 2700 |
| D8D.com | 2610 | 575757.com | 2600 |
| DDA.org | 2001 |
Make of these Chinese pinyin domains what you will. Or see previous discussions regarding Xixia.com and Yuchu.com.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xixia.com | 19,488 | Yuchu.com | 11904 |
| DajinRong.com | 6800 | Hedai.com | 6100 |
| GanZhu.com | 2532 | SuiQu.com | 2300 |
| YouSao.com | 2120 |
Dominant though English and Chinese are above $2k at NameJet, other languages do appear frequently in the lower price ranges as part of my weekly articles. From time to time, they make it into these monthly reviews as well. Both of these Spanish domains are similar enough to English to be recognizable. One defines a medical field, while the other may serve as an upgrade for this Chilean holiday destination.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ortopedico.com | 2170 | CampoAventura.com | 2100 |
Returning now to English, here is a list of 2-word English items you’re welcome to trip over, paint lime green, lick, or fling at enemies. Well, maybe chucking a ranch home at Johnny Depp is a bit ambitious. But he’s probably been concussed by his fair share of blow dryers, hair sprays, and eponymous name plates.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| NamePlates.com | 9669 | BlowDryer.com | 3500 |
| PaperLanterns.com | 3200 | RanchHomes.com | 2209 |
| VinylSign.com | 2099 | HairSprays.com | 2075 |
| JoggerStroller.com | 2000 |
Another set of 2-word English phrases are conceptual rather than material. Some of these went surprisingly cheap. Considering how widespread identity theft is and how devastating its long-term financial implications, $4.5k seems low for StolenIdentity.com. MandarinChinese.com can only grow in importance. Notably, a few of the lower-valued domains are imperatives: PostBail.com ($2.7k), TradeCurrency.com ($2.5k), and BankOffshore.com ($2k).
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| CarAds.com | 5400 | BusinessAuctions.com | 4736 |
| PracticeRoom.com | 4601 | StolenIdentity.com | 4533 |
| MandarinChinese.com | 4005 | HighEfficiency.com | 3600 |
| VOIPNetwork.com | 3600 | VideoMonitor.com | 3100 |
| ExchangeStudent.com | 3100 | PostBail.com | 2700 |
| MobileTopup.com | 2500 | TradeCurrency.com | 2500 |
| GaySexVideos.com | 2400 | InvestmentPortfolio.com | 2301 |
| BankOffshore.com | 2000 |
Geographically defined domains can be detached as their own group. Real Estate is often at the higher end of this category. But if ever there was a city to prompt a spa-centric bidding war, Beverly Hills (home of the aforementioned Depp) is that city.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| DelRayRealEstate.com | 3300 | KirklandHomes.com | 2524 |
| BeverlyHillsSpa.com | 2000 |
On to some brandables now, you may go to MyDealer.com ($2.8k) and ask for cars, cannabis, or cocaine. He’s versatile. As puns go, Innovape.com ($2k) is clever without being annoying or sacrificing memorability. A number of of these, like NewLogic.com, were expired auctions that I’ve written regarding ahead of. And eAssist.com ($2.2k), alongside eHug.com above, is the second “e” prefix from February.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| NewLogic.com | 12600 | Retros.com | 4100 |
| VideoMax.com | 3200 | NeverFail.com | 2900 |
| MyDealer.com | 2777 | eAssist.com | 2199 |
| Innovape.com | 2000 |
I’ve chosen to separate the next half dozen brandables since they’re a bit longer and a bit more specific in application than those above:
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| SchoolOfBeauty.com | 3900 | EconomyAir.com | 3400 |
| SchoolNews.com | 3000 | HeliFlight.com | 2947 |
| TourismCenter.com | 2650 | StudentChat.com | 2322 |
Another six are perhaps not so niche-focused. Indeed, HowToDoStuff.com ($2.3k) is as disarmingly vague as possible. RemoteService.com ($3.6k) and OnlineAssistant.com ($2.1k) could serve any number of functions. Of course, these groupings are rather haphazard, since I could as easily have bundled those 2 with eAssist.com 2 tables higher.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| DailyMarket.com | 4700 | RemoteService.com | 3600 |
| HowToDoStuff.com | 2312 | BarGroup.com | 2311 |
| ZenDesign.com | 2310 | OnlineAssistant.com | 2082 |
[Update: see comments] Cyberquatting, anyone? There is only one Bryn Mawr that I’m aware of – the Philadelphia women’s college that for some reason rejected my sedulous application over a decade ago. And there’s nothing regarding Mary in Walmary.com ($3.5k). Walmart sits 1 key to the left.
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmary.com | 3455 | BrynMawr.com | 2785 |
Personal names sell from time to time. Both Budde and Gongre are surnames, and the former has branded a telecommunications website in .COM.AU. As stated by the Bible, Methuselah lived to the ripe old age of 969. Plus, I predict Methuselah will be next year’s #1 name for newborn baby boys. Mark my words!
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silvester.com | 4621 | Alain.com | 3400 |
| Budde.com | 3100 | Methuselah.com | 3005 |
| Gongre.com | 2514 |
There are quite a few ways to pair a sellable item with a word that suggests selling it, as you can see:
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| CarpetSale.com | 3100 | BuyAmmo.com | 2800 |
| GolfWholesale.com | 2621 | LumberSupply.com | 2600 |
| PhoneComparison.com | 2530 | DanceGear.com | 2401 |
| AviationSupply.com | 2300 |
Out of the 121 sales over $2k that finished during February at NameJet, all but 8 were .COM – in other words, 93.4%. The minorities were 4 .NETs, 2 .ORGs, and a pair of numeric .TVs that could function as channel identifiers:
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20.tv | 5000 | 30.tv | 5000 |
Half of the .NETs and .ORGs appear in the acronym charts. We’re left with these 3, the best of which by far is Bread.net:
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| TurkCell.net | 10,100 | Bread.net | 4200 |
| NOAH-Health.org | 2600 |
We’re approaching the season of nTLD drops, and it’s only a matter of time ahead of the fresh gTLDs (no longer so fresh) make their first appearance in one of my expired market articles. But .PLUMBING, .SERVICES, and .TIPS are by now represented indirectly:
| Domain Name | End $ | Domain Name | End $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| CommercialPlumbing.com | 3800 | ParkingServices.com | 3400 |
| GolfingTips.com | 2200 |
Would that be PPC ads or valet parking?
