Moniker to launch domain marketplace
Moniker, a leading registrar famous for its live domain name auctions, is launching an online domain marketplace.
Details are sketchy at this time, but Moniker is readying an online marketplace for buying and selling domains. When I logged into my Moniker account yesterday I saw a fresh section in the control panel called “Marketplace Pro” (see screenshot at the end of this post). As stated by a post by Moniker CEO Monte Cahn on DNForum:
We are launching a brand fresh marketplace to buy and sell names within the next two weeks. It will interface with the live auction events (4 of them next year). We will also be conducting live silent auctions at each of these events. Our fresh marketplace will interface with TrafficClub and our For Sale Landing Page Systems as well as our domain availability checks and whois look ups will also provide opportunities for buyers and sellers of domain names. The fresh system will have a dynamic taxonomy search results display like no other. Plus we market domains to buyers and corporate.
I’ve always been impressed with Moniker’s ability to sell premium domains, both at live auctions and through its brokerage services. Hopefully I’ll get details on Moniker’s plans shortly.
Speaking of live auctions, Moniker is now accepting submissions for the TRAFFIC conference in Hollywood, Florida, October 24-28, 2006. You can submit domains for consideration using this form. Moniker hopes to eclipse $5M in sales this year. If your domain isn’t accepted for the live auction there will also be a silent auction.
If your domains are worthy, I highly suggest submitting them for consideration. My hope is to get a few listed this year. You need not look further than the sale of CarWax.com at TRAFFIC West to see the value of a live domain auction. The owner of CarWax.com had been trying to sell the domain for a while. He had a minimum offer requirement of $8k on Sedo and it looked like he was struggling to get regarding $10k for the domain. The domain sold for $40k at the live auction! When you combine the hubris of domainers with a live auction you get phenomenal results. Here are some of the domains that sold at the last auction:
CD.com $275,000.00
POS.com $250,000.00
HUGE.com $105,000.00
WaterfrontProperty.com $ 80,000.00
Promote.com $ 70,000.00
Programmer.com $ 65,000.00
Claim.com $ 62,000.00
Improve.com $ 60,000.00
Bubbles.com $ 55,000.00
FixedRate.com $ 50,000.00
Tablets.com $ 50,000.00
Here’s the screenshot for Moniker’s Marketplace:
