Expired Domain Note: Three Cheers for China!
Once again, China dominates expired domain name buying.
And the Chinese feeding frenzy continues. Those who hype have cranked their hype knobs up to 11 in order to take advantage of the moment. Strike while the iron is hot! Oh, but this market demand is real nevertheless. Domains will probably never be more liquid than these China-favored categories are today; and prices (for now at least) are consistently high … possibly still climbing.
12 of the top 20 expired domain auctions at NameJet and SnapNames the prior week can be credited to China, leaving just 8 English-language domains (40%) for the West. If that isn’t evidence enough, just look at the 5-digit numerical .COM sold by SnapNames for $26k! As for the 6-digit item, $4.1k isn’t as high as last month’s pair; but it’s still not bad for a domain nobody on planet earth cared to register at all until 3 years ago.
Indeed, this phenomenon is quite young. Whatever may ultimately transpire, the surge in China’s appetite for domains has been prolonged and steady. I’ve covered it for over a year. When June popped China’s stock-market bubble, the Chinese domain market didn’t even acknowledge that disaster as a speed bump. Instead, buyers accelerated as Chinese money, fleeing the catastrophe, looked to domains (rightly or wrongly) as a safe haven.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| InsuranceHealth.com | 29900 | NJ | 77787.com | 26055 | SN |
| STime.com | 4532 | NJ | 666635.com | 4103 | NJ |
| KLB.net | 2319 | NJ | VPorno.com | 2100 | NJ |
| OKE.net | 2100 | NJ | MLR.net | 2040 | NJ |
| BJKP.com | 1818 | NJ | JewishCulture.org | 1800 | NJ |
| DNAPolicy.org | 1710 | NJ | HG5918.com | 1659 | SN |
| CBNK.com | 1619 | NJ | N2I.com | 1522 | NJ |
| CBKK.com | 1505 | NJ | CCSX.com | 1450 | SN |
| AutoSeek.com | 1445 | NJ | LearnLink.com | 1408 | NJ |
But the #1 sale wasn’t Chinese. Veteran domainers will remember a time ahead of Google algorithm updates when backward phrases commanded more traffic than they do today. A phrase like “insurance health” matches the search queries we tend to enter. First we look up “insurance”; then we add another term as an afterthought to qualify and refine the results.
In general, EMDs (exact-match domains) are no longer the shortcut to ranking success they once were – even if they can still be an notable factor if reinforced by other quality signals. Consequently, the market value of most backward, query-like domains has taken a nose dive. That didn’t affect InsuranceHealth.com ($29.9k), still. Why not? Possibly since the name actually functions as an attractive “brandable”. Certainly the niche itself is immensely lucrative. Also, I did suspect that the domain might have once been a developed website, chock-full of back links; but that seems to be untrue. What do you think?
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DGFQ.com | 1317 | NJ | DirectVideo.com | 1309 | NJ |
| DXLD.com | 1300 | NJ | 669388.com | 1250 | SN |
| KNYB.com | 1230 | NJ | FDJM.com | 1219 | SN |
| OAM.net | 1200 | SN | Efraim.com | 1150 | NJ |
| WNHJ.com | 1130 | NJ | TimBurton Collective.com |
1105 | SN |
| 7078888.com | 1020 | SN | EnlargePenis.com | 1015 | NJ |
| HelpSpy.com | 998 | NJ | DataVisualizer.com | 995 | NJ |
| YearOfTheBat.org | 901 | SN | KJ22222.com | 855 | SN |
| Startup Investment.com |
828 | NJ | YAI.net | 810 | NJ |
| KJ8877.com | 796 | SN | SantasLandNC.com | 794 | SN |
| Prezzie.com | 765 | NJ | e-Land.com | 725 | NJ |
| MusicStore.net | 701 | NJ | AlaskaRentals.com | 701 | NJ |
Americans may not recognize Prezzie.com ($765), but it’s English slang for a “present”. One of the many words that colonized only Great Britain’s later colonies – South Africa, for instance. Efraim.com ($1150) is a Biblical man’s name, more commonly spelled “Ephraim” but rare in any case. It’s also the name of 1 of the 12 tribes of Israel.
.NET placed 3 LLLs in the $2.0k – $2.3k range, plus another pair at roughly half that amount. (Its LLLLs are down around $139, which is where 4-letter .COMs would sell last year if you were lucky!) You’ll also notice a couple of 2-word .NETs: MusicStore.net ($701) and DesignBum.net ($594). But my favorite .NET buy in these charts is Madame.net ($430).
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1356888.com | 700 | SN | FloWrite.com | 671 | NJ |
| 2068888.com | 670 | NJ | SuperBuddy.com | 641 | NJ |
| NuclearWeapons Free.org |
615 | NJ | OAMS.com | 615 | NJ |
| DesignBum.net | 594 | SN | ScionCorp.com | 591 | NJ |
| JS6661.com | 581 | SN | CycleSales.com | 563 | NJ |
| CorporateRun.com | 561 | NJ | VaporJuice.com | 560 | NJ |
| ThePinchJournal.com | 526 | SN | JS8599.com | 526 | SN |
| Novem.org | 525 | SN | 21CT.org | 510 | NJ |
| Lawrimore Project.com |
510 | NJ | IEZO.com | 510 | NJ |
| 8687999.com | 500 | NJ | RKimball.com | 500 | NJ |
.ORG is doing quite well also. It ranked #10 and #11 with a pair of 2-word domains selling around $1.8k. A 4-worder, YearOfTheBat.org, fetched half as much ($901). You’ll see another 3 within the $510-$615 range. Personally, I think offering nuclear weapons free of charge is a bad idea.
Looking at the sales above, you could deduce – even if you hadn’t heard it a million times – that “8” is lucky and Chinese buyers love repetition. Although I do like FloWrite.com ($671) as a brand name, I can’t help wondering how many people will write “flow” with a “W” and flow right past some future website. Designyc.com worries me even more. We do write “flo” to be cute, but we’d never leave off the “N” from “design”.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LiveHotel.com | 477 | SN | SC-CC.com | 466 | SN |
| HCLA.org | 460 | SN | Karcreat.com | 459 | NJ |
| GummyLump.com | 454 | NJ | 520066.com | 451 | SN |
| AbbeyDale.com | 450 | SN | Madame.net | 430 | NJ |
| RawCannabis.com | 412 | NJ | BIUT.com | 410 | NJ |
| CoffeeScience.com | 380 | NJ | JS0202.com | 376 | SN |
| ICAmericas.net | 360 | NJ | DesigNYC.org [sic] | 325 | NJ |
| JonHassler Theater.org |
310 | NJ | RZEZ.com | 305 | NJ |
| PJ115.com | 300 | SN | Mamnon.org | 294 | SN |
| Market Montage.com |
289 | NJ | HowsYour News.com |
284 | SN |
| PGXU.com | 280 | NJ | XNXU.com | 280 | NJ |
| MZAE.com | 280 | NJ | RZNA.com | 280 | NJ |
| RZEK.com | 280 | NJ | LinkTEve.com | 276 | SN |
| WJWE.com | 270 | NJ | CyclingLife.com | 270 | NJ |
RawCannabis.com was a good buy at $412. Both CyclingLife.com ($270) and CoffeeScience.com ($380) deserve to be used. The name GummyLump.com ($454) surprised me. Sounds like chewy sticky candy, doesn’t it? Yet it seems to have been a baby toy store specializing in wooden blocks. Dates back 16 years.
HowsYourNews.com ($284) gives me an excuse to share this bit of stellar journalism. (There’s an even funnier clip here, but it might offend those who dislike jokes regarding grim topics.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TknnvlcLsYI
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VST.org | 265 | NJ | OurUniverse.com | 260 | NJ |
| SurvivorsINTL.org | 260 | NJ | Panozzos.com | 255 | NJ |
| XUYC.com | 252 | NJ | IYTX.com | 252 | NJ |
| Jardines Verticales.com |
243 | NJ | 8225555.com | 240 | SN |
| Canadian Citizenship.com |
240 | SN | CEXZ.com | 232 | NJ |
| Retuers.com [sic] | 232 | SN | NikonHS.org | 225 | NJ |
| DEYJ.com | 221 | NJ | JACK.info | 221 | NJ |
| BalancedYoga.com | 220 | NJ | IEConnections.com | 211 | NJ |
| RedIsWhite.com | 210 | SN | 877806.com | 209 | SN |
| CoffeeGrowers.com | 205 | NJ | EurasiaHealth.org | 205 | NJ |
| 6Cloud.com | 205 | SN | 998137.com | 204 | SN |
| 661239.com | 202 | SN | YQDE.com | 197 | SN |
JardinesVerticales.com ($243) are vertical gardens in Spanish. An excellent buy. So was CoffeeGrowers.com ($205). All work and no play, but Jack.info ($221) isn’t such a dull boy. If Retuers.com ($232) looks like Reuters to you, then you’re not alone. I wonder what bidders meant by RedIsWhite.com ($210). Any ideas?
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RayNews.net | 195 | SN | YouTicket.com | 194 | SN |
| PleasantDental.com | 186 | SN | AmericanFly.com | 179 | SN |
| Arkansas Mortgage.com |
175 | NJ | AttorneyAustin.com | 170 | NJ |
| WorldPlaces.com | 170 | NJ | 4WebGames.com | 170 | SN |
| CineMafia.org | 169 | SN | Love International.com |
169 | SN |
| MNAPA.com | 169 | NJ | SumoWrestler.com | 166 | NJ |
| eSpaceSD.com | 165 | NJ | Protecting Creation.org |
162 | SN |
| JS66222.com | 161 | SN | KlyneEsopus Museum.org |
160 | SN |
| Tepfer.com | 160 | SN | XQIF.com | 160 | NJ |
| TexasFarmers.com | 160 | NJ | VOQP.com | 160 | NJ |
| PosterDesigner.com | 160 | NJ | BlackStar Review.com |
155 | SN |
| 007388.com | 154 | SN | Maddoc Software.com |
152 | NJ |
SumoWrestler.com sold for regarding 1/10th the amount I expected. Lucky buyer! LoveInternational.com ($169) might end up either a charity or a dating site, depending on your reading of “love”. TexasFarmers.com ($160) is bound for development eventually. If I had to pin the tail on this donkey, I’d guess … farmers … in, um, Louisiana?
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100kBluePrint.com | 150 | NJ | 66666.co | 149 | NJ |
| Lighthouse Seminars.com |
148 | NJ | Silver-Modz.com | 141 | SN |
| ChilliClub.com [sic] | 140 | SN | SalesAction.com | 140 | SN |
| RedCrossNNJ.org | 140 | NJ | CDJX.net | 139 | NJ |
| Caribbean GamingShow.com |
131 | SN | WineByDesign.com | 130 | SN |
| PJ39999.com | 130 | SN | DiveLight.com | 130 | SN |
| Reno.Travel | 125 | SN | PaintWithMe.com | 124 | SN |
| BranchDavidian.com | 122 | NJ | HebrewCollege.com | 119 | NJ |
| GNYC.net | 114 | SN | 155835.com | 114 | SN |
| ScorePinellas.org | 114 | SN | EuropeanSpirits.org | 111 | NJ |
| Neurofisiologia.org | 111 | NJ | MetroBooks.com | 110 | NJ |
| 591.club | 110 | SN | ComeHear CMSD.org |
110 | SN |
| R999999.com | 104 | SN | BJRRJ.com | 104 | SN |
| CosminTRG.com | 101 | SN | Designers United.com |
100 | SN |
| Nazaha.com | 100 | NJ |
PaintWithMe.com ($124) would have been great for Bob Ross. HebrewCollege.com ($119) matches the existing .EDU. Transliteration can be very ambiguous. Arabic has 2 letters that could be represented by “Z”, another 2 for “A”, and another 2 for “H”. That means Nazaha.com ($100) can be interpreted in 2^3 = 8 different ways. As نزاهة, it means “virtue”, “purity”, “honesty”, “integrity”.
This just in: Someone has purchased OurUniverse.com in its entirety for $260. To quote another news reporter: “I, for one, welcome our fresh insect overlords.”
