Why Envelopes.com purchased two more category-defining domain names
Firm’s experience with Envelopes.com convinced it of the power of category-defining .com domain names.
Yesterday I wrote regarding how BIGNAME Commerce, the parent firm of Envelopes.com, purchased Folders.com and Bags.com. I caught up with BigName Commerce CEO Seth Newman this morning to learn more regarding the firm and its latest acquisitions.
Envelopes.com is a 46-year-old family owned business that was previously known as Action Envelope. In 1999, the firm passed on the opportunity to by Envelopes.com for just $10,000.
Newman obviously came to regret that decision. Following eight years of negotiation, he finally purchased the domain name for $400,000 in 2009 and rebranded the business.
As his latest acquisitions show, Newman strongly believes in the power of generic, category-defining domain names. But he points out that not all category-defining domain names are ideal.
“I am a tremendous believer in [category-defining domains] and I think that for a non-branded product, it is the best thing to have,” Newman stated.
The non-branded part is key, he explained.
“If you ask someone what their favorite brand of envelopes is, or folders, they don’t really have one,” Newman stated. “Whereas, if I sold jeans online I wouldn’t want to be Jeans.com since people search for jeans by brand.”
Newman believes that good domain names help with search results. At the same time, there are some downsides.
“In the day and age we live in where we do business on a number of marketplaces, we really can’t use [the Envelopes.com] brand,” Newman stated. “We needed to create a subbrand called LuxPaper, which we use in these channels.”
Marketplaces like Amazon and Staples do not allow sellers to use domain names in their seller names, so Envelopes.com is not permitted. (Other types of firms with .com in their name have encountered this issue on sites like Yelp.)
The firm’s success with the Envelopes.com domain helped Newman make the Bags.com and Folders.com acquisitions. They are an expansion of the firm’s customizable business products lines.
A domain broker Newman previously worked with recently approached him regarding Bags.com, and Envelopes.com moved quickly to acquire it. The firm also sees a lot of upside in Folders.com, an operating business that will undergo a refresh.
As the firm expands beyond envelopes and stationery, it created an umbrella brand over its business with 95 employees called BIGNAME Commerce.
The name choice is no accident.
“The name BIGNAME is regarding operating big generic category-killer domain names,” stated Newman. “We want to be a big name in the businesses we run and these names allow us to do that.”
