Level domain name hits market for $3. 5 million+ — .Buzz top

Owner of .buzz plans to exit the business through an auction.

The .buzz domain name can be yours–for a minimum bid of $3.5 million.

DotStrategy, the firm behind .buzz, is holding a sealed auction for the domain.

.Buzz has always fascinated me, and not just since of the unique characteristics of the domain itself. It has essentially been led from concept to execution by one person, Bill Doshier, who had no prior experience in the domain name business.

I wrote regarding .buzz ahead of it launched, and also interviewed Doshier for a podcast at the beginning of the year. On the podcast, Doshier discussed a market opportunity for .buzz that he didn’t foresee when he applied for the domain name–the marijuana business, which has been growing thanks to legalization in certain parts of the United States.

.Buzz right now has 9,300 registrations. Its wholesale price is a hefty $25 per year, although registrars have offered prices lower than this on initial registrations.

The numbers aren’t huge but are respectable for an individually run top level domain name.

60% of registrations are at GoDaddy and eNom accounts for 15%. More than half of registrations are made for more than one year.

There could be some quick upside for the buyer. There are 47,000 reserved domain names that could be released through the registrar channel. There are also 975 adult/vice names that Doshier decided to hold back indefinitely to keep them out of the namespace. The buyer can release these to the market.

Does this make the domain worth $3.5 million? The market will have to decide.