$31.4k and other expired domain name sales — EXUE.com for
During the first week of the Chinese Fresh Year, Chinese buyers remained active, as I noted last time. Although many predicted a lull in purchasing, prices stayed on course. Domains had expired. Back in December or January. And buyers still showed up to bid on them as ahead of.
Now, ending the “Monkey’s” 2nd week, China is showing its first bit of growth following more than 2 months of decline. You can see this most clearly by looking at LLLL.com “CHIPs”. By the first week of February, this category had sunk to $1.7k – $2.2k. Now they’re up, with 8 selling between $2168 and $2560. That’s a gain of regarding $350 (15%) in a week or two. We’ll see where this volatile market goes next.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXUE.com | 31,401 | NJ | 79558.com | 6720 | NJ |
| BlueZone.com | 5199 | NJ | Cashy.com | 4356 | SN |
| StreetDance.com | 3936 | NJ | V92.com | 3600 | NJ |
| Besso.com | 3500 | SN | BBQ.org | 3433 | NJ |
| OmegaHat.org | 2700 | NJ | AmericaSpeaks.org | 2607 | NJ |
| DiGui.com | 2605 | SN | BZMY.com | 2560 | NJ |
| GDTL.com | 2501 | NJ | BLWK.com | 2460 | SN |
| AustinCondo.com | 2439 | NJ | PGMJ.com | 2400 | NJ |
| GCNW.com | 2301 | NJ | GreyGhost.com | 2280 | NJ |
| CHKM.com | 2265 | NJ | PSKR.com | 2208 | SN |
| NSXD.com | 2168 | SN | HeartFailure.org | 2100 | NJ |
By far the highest sale the prior week was a 4-letter non-CHIP. In Chinese, xué (学) means “science” / “learn” / “study”. Perhaps that’s why a Chinese bidder grabbed EXUE.com for $31.4k. So far during 2016, only 3 expired domains have cleared 5 figures at SnapNames or NameJet; and they’ve all been Chinese … even Tesila.com. Significantly, the biggest was another 4-letter non-CHIP. Remember hearing regarding TOOT.com a month ago? Well, it wasn’t bought for its English meaning following all – only for its symmetry.
BBQ.org ($3.4k) sure looks like a barbecue. But these days who knows? Maybe the American buyer regards it as Chinese! By the way, .ORG was on a roll the prior week, racking up 6 auctions over $1k. Those ranged from medical conditions like HeartFailure.org ($2.1k) and Osteoporosis.org ($1.6k) to brandable phrases like AmericaSpeaks.org ($2.6k) and CollegeUp.org ($1.1k). Social impact – that’s the underlying theme.
In case you’re wondering, OmegaHat.org ($2.7k) is a 16-year-old open-source project enabling statistical computing in browsers. Uglier than sin, that website, but back-links galore. BlueZone.com ($5.2k) looks like a website called BlueZones.com, which tells people how to live longer. Besso.com ($3.5k) is a surname used by a number of firms, counting this UK insurance group. Finally, we’re back in China with DiGui.com ($2.6k) – Pinyin for “recursion” or “recurrence” (递归 / dì guī).
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60358.com | 1825 | NJ | SleepTech.com | 1769 | NJ |
| 7XF.com | 1710 | NJ | SiteClub.com | 1609 | NJ |
| Osteoporosis.org | 1600 | NJ | MyCookBook.com | 1575 | NJ |
| GoToCitrix.com | 1550 | SN | CrimeLine.com | 1500 | NJ |
| WECG.com | 1461 | SN | HG915.com | 1460 | SN |
| GhostFace.com | 1383 | SN | GlassMart.com | 1378 | NJ |
| PromptCare.com | 1220 | NJ | Emara.com | 1125 | NJ |
| CollegeUp.org | 1076 | NJ | 41720.com | 980 | SN |
| DSMA.com | 955 | NJ | WhiteFog.com | 930 | NJ |
| CDBurner.com | 911 | NJ | Fasti.com | 899 | NJ |
A few years ago, when we listened to music on CDs and transferred data via CD-ROM, when exact-match domains led more quickly to high SERP rankings, CDBurner.com would have sold far above $911. Even now, it’s worth more. Plenty of CDs out there worth copying. My storage unit is filled to the ceiling with them.
Emara.com ($1.1k) is the surname of a laser eye surgeon as well as the owner of a Saudi Arabian construction firm founded in the year 1427. Don’t be too shocked; that was just 10 years ago! Among the Romans, Fasti.com ($899) were chronological lists of notable events. Ovid wrote a poem called “Fasti”, which is generally translated as the “Book of Days”. These days, there’s an archaeological project called Fasti. And apparently “fasti” means “splendors” if spoken today in Rome by an Italian.
SiteClub.com ($1.6k) and SleepTech.com ($1.8k) both suggest nTLD variants. Still, Site.Club cannot be registered, and Sleep.Tech would cost $6.5k per year at GoDaddy. In the case of PromptCare.com ($1.2k), Prompt.Care is by now registered.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESGN.com | 898 | NJ | MakeApps.com | 883 | SN |
| Vican.com | 881 | SN | 49407.com | 826 | SN |
| CarterObservatory.org | 811 | SN | Tebon.com | 800 | SN |
| EquityMortage.com | 781 | SN | 444426.com | 780 | NJ |
| CunCunDa.com | 780 | SN | TFSI.com | 767 | NJ |
| SpaBeauty.com | 760 | NJ | ElectionPoll.com | 755 | SN |
| HotRodGarage.com | 730 | NJ | ShantiBit.com | 712 | SN |
| BackPainEurope.org | 710 | NJ | Sassenberg.com | 705 | SN |
In the USA, there’s a Vican making pumps; in Sweden, furniture. Vican.com ($881) might upgrade the domain of either. Tebon.com ($800) matches a fitness guru named Becca Tebon. But there’s also a Chinese website built on the matching .COM.CN. Sassenberg.com ($705) is a German town. What CunCunDa.com ($780) means in Chinese I’m not sure.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAFISud.info | 700 | NJ | eSoho.com | 695 | NJ |
| TeleTouch.com | 685 | NJ | 1982888.com | 679 | SN |
| 9988777.com | 676 | NJ | Diluted.com | 665 | NJ |
| LaVitrina.com | 616 | NJ | KnowTheWay.com | 609 | NJ |
| 7373.biz | 600 | SN | KidQuest.com | 579 | NJ |
| PJIA.com | 575 | SN | EBMX.com | 543 | NJ |
| RRRRB.com | 534 | NJ | HiPlaza.com | 529 | SN |
| Rouen-Musees.com | 526 | SN | FalseAllegations.com | 510 | NJ |
| OneDB.com | 507 | NJ | ZAFG.com | 505 | SN |
In Spanish, LaVitrina.com ($616) means “The Showcase” – literally a shop window or display case. “LaVitrina” is also the title of a ravishing piece of art. Really, give it a glance! Rouen-Musees.com ($526) are museums in Rouen, France.
Apparently, GAFISud.info ($700) stands for el “Grupo de Acción Financiera de Sudamérica” – “a regional inter-governmental organization which brings together the countries of South America in order to combat money-laundering and terrorism financing”.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXOB.com | 500 | SN | DZD.biz | 495 | SN |
| Propagator.com | 495 | NJ | Wikapedia.com [sic] | 484 | SN |
| ANDZ.com | 482 | NJ | BTIKansas.com | 482 | NJ |
| KitchenLine.com | 469 | SN | Receivables Financing.com |
467 | NJ |
| VKCM.com | 460 | NJ | 3832222.com | 460 | SN |
| Wired965.com | 459 | NJ | Chudak.com | 454 | SN |
| PrankVideo.com | 450 | SN | CargoKing.com | 436 | NJ |
| WhoIndia.org | 430 | NJ | QuickHouse.com | 425 | NJ |
Chudak.com ($454) means “poor”, “wretch”, “pauper”, and “wimp” in Czech. It’s also some poor wretch’s last name! In Poland, meanwhile, it’s a coal firm. A Propagator.com ($495) is a contraption you can buy that helps seeds germinate.
| Domain | End $ | At | Domain | End $ | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DH100.com | 425 | SN | NookDevs.com | 424 | SN |
| Wilders.org | 410 | NJ | Embedr.com [sic] | 410 | NJ |
| PassionArt.com | 409 | SN | MotorCityRocks.com | 405 | NJ |
| SouthernBBQ.com | 402 | NJ | Proaktive.com | 401 | SN |
| Problem Playground.com |
400 | SN | 饮水机.com (xn--nqvr4in00c.com) |
396 | SN |
| Outdoor PressRoom.com |
390 | SN | VTGrocers.org | 385 | NJ |
| Canada Directory.net |
379 | SN | M0T.com | 375 | SN |
| NYBlues AndJazz.org |
375 | NJ | Marquel.com | 371 | NJ |
| WBEK.com | 370 | NJ | PTGU.com | 360 | NJ |
| ZGTI.com | 360 | NJ | 991213.com | 354 | SN |
| YVWP.com | 350 | SN | HVMO.com | 350 | NJ |
| CREHST.org | 350 | NJ |
Just 1 month ago, I pointed out a Chinese IDN sale – only the 2nd ever in these charts. (The first had come 6 months prior.) And I suggested that we might see a trend beginning. It isn’t a huge trend, but it’s there. The 6th IDN so far – 饮水机.com (yǐn shuǐ jī), which means “drinking fountain” – sold for $396.
SouthernBBQ.com ($402) gives us our 2nd “BBQ” domain this stretch. Y’all can be sure that one ain’t Chinese. Marquel.com ($371) is a man’s first name here in the States. Detroit is the city in MotorCityRocks.com ($405).
Exactly a year ago, I noted that CREHST.org had expired and sold. Whoever bought it didn’t set much store by it; for here it is, having expired and sold again – coincidentally for just 5 bucks less than last year.
