$25.7k in Chinese-dominated week for expired domains — BenPao.com at
Chinese buyers pick up the top spots the prior week.
Thanks to mulled cider and holiday caroling, this article appears later than usual. Fa la la la la! While these auctions took place the week prior to Christmas (December 16-22), we decided against publishing on Christmas Day.
As you can see, China came back with a vengeance. 10 sales over $2k were 4-letter .COMs, proving that category hasn’t been completely diverted from the expiry cycle following all – not yet. As many as 17 of the top 30 auctions might be credited to China. Even the hyphenated F-Z.com ($4.9k) went to someone in Hong Kong.
Topping this list are a couple of 5-figure Pinyin domains. BenPao.com ($25.7K) means “to run” (奔跑 / bēn pǎo). And KaiYao.com ($10.5k) means “to prescribe medicine” (开药 / kāi yào). We all know that pharmaceuticals are big business. Well, it seems Chinese domain investors know it too and will often buy domains for the same reasons we do in the West – meaning meaning and relevance for end users, not just artificial scarcity among short character strings.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BenPao.com | 25,700 | NJ | KaiYao.com | 10,500 | SN |
| BeanTown.com | 7600 | NJ | 58R.com | 7300 | NJ |
| Edinburgh Hotels.com |
6611 | NJ | 11345.com | 5309 | NJ |
| F-Z.com | 4900 | NJ | WJR.net | 4400 | NJ |
| Glasgow Hotels.com |
4159 | NJ | KidZui.com | 3400 | NJ |
| TXMS.com | 3300 | NJ | TXMR.com | 2999 | NJ |
| KCWL.com | 2809 | NJ | FuelPrices.com | 2800 | NJ |
| WKYH.com | 2722 | NJ | SDTS.com | 2650 | NJ |
| EDDS.com | 2602 | NJ | FMRS.com | 2600 | NJ |
| Energetica.com | 2576 | NJ | LVSA.com | 2440 | NJ |
| DWND.com | 2381 | NJ | RBKD.com | 2160 | NJ |
BeanTown.com ($7.6k) is a nickname for Boston, Massachusetts, where the puritans used to bake beans on Saturday to avoid cooking on Sunday. Even the Beantown Tavern in North Carolina bills itself as a “traditional Boston bar”. One possible end user would be a training camp in Massachusetts called Beantown Classic, which organizes showcase tournaments for Women’s ice hockey. But Boston isn’t a given, since the Beantown.Cafe in Sierra Madre, California, appears to be thinking only of coffee beans.
KidZui was an internet browser especially designed for children. Evidently, a Wikipedia article wasn’t enough to ensure the project’s longevity. Some time between 2006 and now, those kids began browsing with somebody else.
Energetica.com, which to English speakers looks like an invented “brandable”, is also simply the Portuguese adjective for “energy”. That meaning accounts for Brazilian websites like Energetica.ind.br and CEIEnergetica.com.br. (“CEI” = Companhia Energética Integrada; so their domain actually refers to the word twice.)
Yet there are Energetica brands scattered across the entire planet: both Bolivia and India have their own Energeticas; in Australia, Energetica designs websites; in the Netherlands, Energetica sells nutritional supplements; renewable energy news is gathered at Energetica-International.com; and an investment initiative for Aberdeen in Scotland’s energy corridor uses the subdomain Energetica.uk.com. Alongside EdinburghHotels.com ($6.6k) and GlasgowHotlels.com ($4.2k), that would make quite the week for Scottish domains.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webmasters.org | 1802 | NJ | 9987777.com | 1601 | NJ |
| Alcohol Delivery.com |
1510 | NJ | SolarFuel.com | 1500 | NJ |
| 999298.com | 1410 | NJ | Drunk.org | 1311 | NJ |
| 366168.com | 1303 | SN | iJack.com | 1282 | NJ |
| SkySpan.com | 1236 | NJ | SUEL.com | 1210 | NJ |
| 6878999.com | 1111 | SN | ChildPolicy INTL.org |
1001 | NJ |
| RenChun.com | 969 | NJ | AppServe.com | 913 | SN |
| 1711888.com | 913 | SN | CrazyPC.com | 865 | NJ |
| APNews Registry.com |
849 | NJ | Digital Wireless.com |
825 | NJ |
SkySpan.com ($1.2k) could upgrade SRPSkySpan.com, a Georgia-based supplier of commercial outdoor umbrellas. Or it could help Australia’s SkySpan – a manufacturer of skylights – go global with .COM. Actually, there’s yet another Australian SkySpan in the very same niche as the U.S. firm; and they have websites at both Skyspan-Umbrellas.com.au and SkyspanShade.com.au. Same product category? Same brand name? Quite crowded, eh! Ownership of SkySpan.com may not settle who the “real” SkySpan is, but I daresay it would influence which of them consumers gravitate towards.
RenChun.com ($969) may be a personal name. APNewsRegistry.com ($849) must refer to the Associated Press. Adding “INTL” as an abbreviation for “international” – e.g. ChildPolicyINTL.org ($1.0k) – is the sort of awkward makeshift we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the years. Naming conventions like that arise due to pressure from perceived domain scarcity and a reluctance to go long. But I predict that such fallback options will become less common in the future, partly due to greater TLD variety.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PrintWeb.com | 760 | NJ | YunBaiKe.com | 759 | NJ |
| MidTown RealEstate.com |
755 | NJ | Intelligent Finance.com |
742 | NJ |
| LocateIP.com | 730 | NJ | AutoriteApsara.org | 716 | SN |
| UpChucky.com | 701 | NJ | Hypios.com | 699 | NJ |
| 223773.com | 695 | NJ | LaCruz.com | 665 | NJ |
| KYRE.com | 651 | NJ | 322877.com | 630 | NJ |
| GFES.com | 629 | NJ | NHAD.com | 610 | NJ |
| 116363.com | 610 | NJ | BettingAmerica.com | 589 | NJ |
| EMIF.com | 586 | NJ | BankCapital.com | 585 | NJ |
| PeneSalud.com | 550 | SN | DEAX.com | 529 | NJ |
| JS531.com | 521 | SN | Elope.net | 511 | NJ |
| MeritCare.com | 511 | NJ | Castix.com | 492 | NJ |
Numerics had a relatively lackluster showing, compared to Chinese Pinyin and LLLL .COM domains this stretch and also measured against their own performance during previous weeks. A single 5-digit domain scored $5.3k; but, apart from that, results at SnapNames and NameJet fell between $303 and $1.6k. Mainly these are 6 and 7-digit .COMs, of which there are 1 million and 10 million possible, respectively. If all 7N domains were registered, then on average 27,397 would expire or be renewed daily.
At $511, Elope.net is the biggest .NET auction in this list following WJR.net ($4.4k). AutoriteApsara.org ($716) isn’t “auto rite” for cars; it’s French (autorité). You see, the Cambodian authority that manages the ruins of Angkor, capital of the medieval Khmer empire, is called APSARA.
LaCruz.com ($665) could be a surname or any number of place names throughout Latin America. UpChucky.com ($701), which sounds for all the world like vomit, was apparently owned by someone named Chuck. Near as I can tell, it spent 15 years as a site for jokes and novelties.
Fresh York isn’t the world. NYC isn’t Fresh York. Manhattan isn’t the whole of Fresh York City. Midtown is merely a slice of Manhattan. Yet MidtownRealEstate.com can still easily fetch $755.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScreenPlay Writing.com |
445 | NJ | VMCW.com | 429 | NJ |
| RoboticVacuum.com | 415 | NJ | NeedForDrive.com | 411 | NJ |
| HealthyTraining.com | 402 | NJ | KMG-Ethiopia.org | 402 | SN |
| EXCB.com | 400 | NJ | RechargeNow.com | 399 | NJ |
| AiDaMi.com | 389 | NJ | BlockLand.com | 389 | NJ |
| DigiTab.com | 382 | NJ | PerfectBlinds.com | 362 | NJ |
| AutismOnline.org | 360 | NJ | 717880.com | 358 | SN |
| ZWNews.com | 350 | NJ | UCOX.com | 350 | NJ |
| RBLN.net | 344 | SN | AWVN.com | 343 | NJ |
| HLSD.net | 342 | NJ | BroadWorks.com | 341 | NJ |
| PCWH.net | 340 | NJ | XPLS.net | 340 | NJ |
| Motivational.net | 340 | NJ | HealthIndustry Council.org |
339 | NJ |
| ZQSP.net | 339 | SN | 997595.com | 331 | NJ |
| LCSM.net | 331 | NJ | UNKD.com | 330 | NJ |
| Automir.com | 329 | SN | GFFC.net | 329 | SN |
| TLTT.net | 320 | NJ | MTCT.net | 319 | SN |
| AEAX.com | 310 | NJ | QLUZ.com | 304 | NJ |
| ZMWG.net | 304 | SN | NNYS.net | 304 | SN |
| HQMR.net | 304 | SN | 9978899.com | 303 | NJ |
| 211919.com | 300 | NJ | LNKK.net | 300 | SN |
Motivational.net ($340) reminds me of this self-help seminar, which is right up domainer alley:
Automir seems to be a Russian brand name. It spans multiple automotive websites. Indeed, the ccTLDs run the gamut from Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Bulgaria to Russia, Germany, and the USA. Judging by the logos, these may be separate firms.
ScreenPlayWriting.com ($445) would usually be called simply “screen writing”. A possible meaning for AiDaMi.com ($389) is “love rice”, since dà mǐ (大米) is “rice” and “ai” can mean love. Then again, ái dǎ (挨打) means “to get thrashed” or “take a beating”.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSLF.net | 299 | SN | FunSilly.com | 295 | NJ |
| BFZJ.net | 294 | SN | ZJQT.net | 292 | SN |
| FWWP.net | 291 | NJ | LKRJ.net | 291 | SN |
| DTLY.net | 289 | SN | GZCR.net | 286 | SN |
| HXJT.net | 284 | SN | KSTH.net | 284 | SN |
| MQYM.net | 284 | SN | GQDM.net | 284 | SN |
| CGMX.net | 284 | SN | ZQLS.net | 281 | SN |
| WHKZ.net | 281 | SN | MSKS.net | 281 | SN |
| GZQW.net | 280 | SN | WHNF.net | 280 | SN |
| 115HH.com | 280 | NJ | CCHR.net | 280 | NJ |
| TFWB.net | 280 | NJ | CPDS.net | 279 | NJ |
| KHCJ.net | 279 | SN | DGZC.net | 279 | SN |
| WDC.biz | 276 | SN | HZKQ.net | 275 | SN |
As you can see, 4-letter .NETs enter the chart at $344 and go all the way down to (and past) my $250 cutoff. Within that range, LLLL.net domains outnumber everything else. There are nearly 80 of them.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCJN.net | 274 | SN | CDNL.net | 271 | NJ |
| KlarNet.net | 270 | SN | ICLP2013.org | 265 | NJ |
| RPNS.net | 262 | NJ | DKNR.net | 262 | NJ |
| JKXY.net | 261 | SN | DMPJ.net | 261 | SN |
| FNLX.net | 261 | SN | ZZFQ.net | 260 | NJ |
| NHVU.com | 260 | NJ | Frety.net | 260 | NJ |
| THML.net | 260 | NJ | Idaho SnowBiz.com |
259 | NJ |
| NXBL.net | 259 | NJ | FBCD.net | 259 | NJ |
| Baltimore Velo.com |
259 | NJ | LFNX.net | 259 | SN |
| QDLD.net | 255 | SN | TGHW.net | 255 | SN |
| QDXF.net | 255 | SN | QDWQ.net | 255 | SN |
| DGQS.net | 255 | SN | SQPR.net | 255 | SN |
| SPNW.net | 255 | SN | LJKD.net | 255 | SN |
| PJGQ.net | 255 | SN | YSWP.net | 255 | SN |
| MPNT.net | 255 | SN | MFRW.net | 255 | SN |
| KPKM.net | 255 | SN | PPBK.net | 254 | SN |
| RDFG.net | 254 | SN | SNTJ.net | 254 | SN |
| QNSD.net | 254 | SN | DTKS.net | 254 | SN |
| SSKX.net | 254 | SN | RRedWare.com [sic] |
253 | NJ |
| WCGX.net | 251 | SN | MQNM.net | 251 | SN |
| DGLL.net | 251 | SN | JSLS.net | 250 | SN |
| Mangda.com | 250 | NJ |
