And more expired domain name sales — Constipated.com, Roper.com
Last time, China was conspicuously absent from the high end of NameJet / SnapNames expired domain auctions; and I proposed 1 theory as to why. Since then, Chinese-style domains have made a comeback; but they’re clearly playing second fiddle.
China placed 3 sales among the top 10, ranking #4, #5, and #6. In the top 20, another 5. Reaching out to the top 30, you’ll find just 3 more Chinese domains. That’s a fairly uniform 37% spread – 32% by spending. Compare that to China’s presence in top NameJet auctions overall during November. My estimate there went as high as 77% by count and 85% by spending.
This discrepancy is very significant. It means that China dominates bidder attention where owner sellers are found behind the auctions, but China is far less significant within the hands-off expiry cycle. Two factors are in play:
- The most sought following Chinese-style domains have been accumulated by resellers, leaving the expired market increasingly barren.
- Seller marketing always distorts buying patterns. That’s the point.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roper.com | 19,100 | NJ | Constipated.com | 12,301 | NJ |
| Medical Doctor.com |
11,100 | NJ | WeiFan.com | 9320 | NJ |
| 92926.com | 6100 | NJ | TPSG.com | 5000 | NJ |
| GoMax.com | 4600 | NJ | Masuo.com | 4400 | NJ |
| Archivo.com | 3300 | NJ | Bellon.com | 3200 | NJ |
| 58675.com | 3100 | NJ | Mimos.com | 2700 | NJ |
| FastApp.com | 2601 | NJ | LYMY.com | 2503 | NJ |
Roper is a surname. But people name their firms following themselves. (For a family business, that’s more regarding trust than vanity.) Consequently, Roper.com ($19.1k) matches multiple brands: clothing, appliances, pumps, imaging, public opinion surveys, etc. Similarly, Masuo.com ($4.4k) is a Japanese personal name, which has lent itself to railway stations, sushi restaurants, and the like. Conceivably, the buyer may turn out to be Chinese.
WeiFan.com ($9.3k) is Chinese Pinyin for “violate” (违反 / wéi fǎn). As in:
The remaining 10 Chinese domains were evenly split between numerics and 4-letter .COMs. But that Pinyin item outsold them.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HG4988.com | 2330 | NJ | TWKG.com | 2201 | NJ |
| WJKL.com | 2131 | NJ | CECY.com | 1925 | NJ |
| Gendercide.org | 1690 | NJ | OnRequest.com | 1644 | NJ |
| SliverCoin.com | 1600 | NJ | GATT.org | 1600 | NJ |
| Azana.com | 1421 | NJ | AIKK.com | 1400 | NJ |
| SmartMesh.com | 1319 | NJ | 2004.net | 1210 | NJ |
| IXL.net | 1109 | NJ | Juber.com | 971 | NJ |
| FishStick.com | 962 | NJ | 84908.com | 920 | NJ |
| ZQIT.com | 915 | NJ | IRConnect.com | 863 | NJ |
| FlameProofing.com | 787 | NJ | Chile-USA.org | 787 | NJ |
| 33288.net | 761 | NJ | BottinWeb.com | 710 | NJ |
Precious metals are the oldest store of monetary value I can think of. So it’s interesting (and faintly amusing) to see which trendy domains eclipsed SilverCoin.com ($1.6k). Juber.com ($971) is a surname. Gendercide.org ($1.7k) looks like a pun on “genocide”.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 261288.com | 704 | SN | Dresser.net | 675 | NJ |
| TombInns Design.com |
664 | SN | BanDUI.com | 626 | SN |
| EuropeOfTales.net | 625 | SN | OPSD.com | 620 | NJ |
| Graysons.com | 610 | NJ | TBICardiff Airport.com |
606 | NJ |
| StyleMatic.com | 602 | NJ | Citizen-Soldier.org | 551 | SN |
| LemonSalt.com | 529 | NJ | Kurihara.com | 526 | NJ |
| ProtectionAnd Advocacy.com |
510 | NJ | AuthorityPro.com | 510 | NJ |
| Grovelands.com | 509 | NJ | Premier Listing.com |
475 | NJ |
| 991889.com | 470 | NJ | 3221111.com | 461 | NJ |
| CargoTerminal.com | 457 | NJ | GrrlGamer.com | 456 | NJ |
| SCAR2014.com | 445 | SN | XiaoHaiGui.com | 430 | NJ |
| EQFB.com | 425 | SN | 91166.net | 425 | NJ |
| Harbauer.com | 425 | NJ | Vintage Blades.com |
418 | NJ |
| Provox.com | 411 | NJ | AJAG.com | 405 | NJ |
Grovelands.com ($509) matches a recruiting firm built on the matching .CO.UK; Graysons.com ($610) an instrument shop and a hotel. Both are surnames. We’re seeing a lot of those lately. Harbauer.com ($425) is another; one Harbauer is a German firm specializing in air and water purification.
The “grrl” in GrrlGamer.com ($456) isn’t a typo; it’s a female-empowering growl. Grrrr! In BanDUI.com ($626), “DUI” stands for “driving under the influence” of alcohol (or other intoxicants). It’s the legal term for drunk driving here in the states – what Brits perversely call “drink driving”. VintageBlades.com ($418) might upgrade this site straight razors. Kurihara.com ($526) is a Japanese city.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmartPolymers.com | 403 | NJ | DwyerLaw.com | 382 | NJ |
| PVTN.com | 379 | NJ | WallaShops.com | 378 | SN |
| NovoDesign.com | 375 | NJ | Potato2008.org | 370 | NJ |
| ClinicPlus.com | 363 | NJ | Otavo.com | 359 | NJ |
| FEJZ.com | 350 | SN | XBUC.net | 343 | NJ |
| Octagon Properties.com |
343 | NJ | WWWG.net | 340 | NJ |
| 288328.com | 327 | NJ | CRRRR.com | 320 | NJ |
| MauiPhoto.com | 320 | NJ | Hair-News.com | 305 | NJ |
| AJUT.com | 300 | NJ | SplitStone.com | 298 | NJ |
| GolfIsland.com | 298 | NJ | APEW.com | 290 | NJ |
| BeautyMasters.com | 281 | SN | NXWI.com | 280 | NJ |
| UHBU.com | 269 | NJ | GreenLime.com | 268 | NJ |
| ZSVB.com | 261 | NJ | VLQU.com | 260 | NJ |
| VQEL.com | 260 | NJ | Orlando Ballet.com |
260 | NJ |
SmartPolymers.com ($403) are very cool. Plastics that switch from hard to soft on command? Materials that become transparent or water-permeable when desired? Substances that remember their shape? Smart fertilizers? You get the idea. Scads of applications. Shrink wrap is a familiar example.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArtsCenter OldForge.org |
254 | NJ | NovaStudios.com | 247 | NJ |
| DareTo Prepare.org |
240 | NJ | Shanghai Media.com |
235 | SN |
| BGJK.net | 230 | SN | CircleOf Inclusion.org |
220 | NJ |
| PUHU.net | 220 | SN | ZCDJ.net | 220 | SN |
| JWJG.net | 220 | SN | TXKW.net | 220 | NJ |
| NCastro.org | 220 | SN | SKXP.net | 219 | SN |
| YCSF.net | 218 | SN | MDNB.net | 215 | SN |
| Arsenale2012.com | 211 | SN | AidsAction.org | 211 | NJ |
| TracStar.com | 209 | NJ | HHKB.net | 209 | NJ |
| MYTK.net | 205 | SN | HBYD.net | 205 | SN |
| PermaShield.com | 205 | NJ | Billiga.com | 205 | NJ |
| KWMR.net | 201 | SN | YMSB.net | 200 | SN |
| CCGL.net | 200 | SN | TFBB.net | 200 | NJ |
| 523368.com | 200 | NJ | MPSF.org | 200 | NJ |
As with the prior week, China is most in evidence in the lower price range – among 4-letter .NETs. I see a couple around $340, but everything else falls below $230. If you were to look at LLL.net’s, you’d see some very impressive sales lats week; but those were not expired auctions. 4-letter .NETs remain 1 of the Chinese categories not yet extinct within the expired domain market.
Now, some disclaimer must be given regarding all my references to “Chinese domains”. When attributing sales to China, I primarily look to the domain style itself and not the buyer’s nationality. So, for example, if an American buys a “CHIP” like TWKG.com ($2.2k), then I give the tally mark to China. That stated, if a Western-looking short domain is purchased by a Chinese buyer, then I also give credit to China.
The underlying assumption is that Western domainers hope to be suppliers for China but Chinese domainers seldom aim to sell to the West. With expired domain auctions, the buyer’s identity is frequently unknown at the time of writing. So I cannot assign credit based on nationality.
The other assumption is that Chinese-style domains will ultimately be owned by actual Chinese registrants. Yet with so much speculation and wishful thinking these days on the part of non-Chinese domainers, it’s likely that many seemingly Chinese domains will never reach China. We’ve seen huge numbers freshly registered in TLDs with minimal history of Chinese market demand. What ought to we call them? Maybe they’ll become Chinese, or maybe they’ll wind up plain “Chinesey”.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFCR.net | 199 | SN | CZPL.net | 199 | SN |
| YMSJ.net | 199 | SN | 685667.com | 198 | NJ |
| YZFQ.net | 195 | SN | WSZN.net | 194 | NJ |
| SYBS.net | 191 | SN | GBKP.net | 191 | SN |
| PNMS.net | 191 | SN | Flutter.net | 190 | SN |
| SNJC.net | 190 | SN | JS5505.com | 190 | SN |
| JFRT.net | 190 | NJ | NijiToMidori.org | 190 | NJ |
| Indo JobHunter.com |
189 | SN | SJSL.net | 187 | SN |
| SXPH.net | 185 | SN | LKN.biz | 184 | SN |
| ZMK.biz | 184 | SN | QQLP.net | 183 | NJ |
| WJWC.net | 183 | NJ | KZXY.net | 180 | SN |
| MTQR.net | 180 | SN | BYCX.net | 179 | NJ |
| RYTP.net | 175 | NJ | GGMB.net | 175 | NJ |
| XPCL.net | 175 | SN | TNQ.biz | 174 | SN |
| Mercator Minerals.com |
174 | NJ | SXN.biz | 174 | SN |
| HowTo DayTrade.com |
172 | NJ | PGMP.net | 171 | SN |
| GNTR.net | 171 | NJ | BKSH.net | 170 | NJ |
| YNRY.net | 170 | NJ | YGXX.net | 170 | NJ |
| 613196.com | 170 | SN | Morgan Museum.org |
168 | NJ |
| MyHomeSpa.com | 164 | SN | ZKYUN.com | 164 | SN |
| NQYJ.net | 162 | SN | SZRT.net | 160 | SN |
| TSRT.net | 160 | SN | 823116.com | 159 | NJ |
| PBFZ.net | 158 | SN | MKTB.net | 158 | SN |
| 3861.org | 154 | SN | HoerZentrum.com | 151 | SN |
NijiToMidori.org ($190) was a political organization – part of the green movement within Japan. Hoerzentrum.com ($151) would be “hearing center” in German, unless I’m mistaken. A number of websites could upgrade to that domain.
What do we think, folks? In future years, will 4-letter .NETs be traded mainly outside the expiration cycle – as 2 and 3-letter .COMs long have been? If they’re mostly bought up by resellers and market values stay high enough to justify renewal, then that’s the likely outcome. Or will market demand subside, causing some owners to drop their LLLL.net inventory, putting it back on the expiry cycle next year? If 4-letter .NETs vanish from the expiry cycle, that doesn’t necessarily mean prices will have gone up further – only that liquidity incentivizes owners to sell rather than drop. Will we see China and expired domain auctions part ways? Or will buyers simply move on to some fresh category where domains continue to be abandoned?
