Domain name trading still a lucrative business

The new Top-Level Domains are coming. Nevertheless, the prices of classic .COM domains are still sky-high. Some figures from recent auctions are simply hair-raising!

One of the reasons why the new generic Top-Level Domains have been created was to provide an alternative to .COM domain names, which have become increasingly rare, often making them extremely expensive. With the arrival of this avalanche of new gTLDs, you would think that the prices of classic domains would drop like a stone.

But it is far from that. During recent auctions, several domains were sold at exorbitant prices. eBet.com beat all records, with a selling price of $1,350,000. Shout.com sold for an astounding $450,000, while Kosher.com reached the amount of $200,000. Some domains produced less impressive results, such as Baristas.com that raised $45,000, which is not that bad considering that many domains were originally registered for a mere $10 by their first owner.

In comparison with the classic gTLDs, things were a bit more complicated for geographic domains (or ccTLDs). A recent winner was xocial.co.uk, which brought in $14,900 during an auction. The Dutch electricien.nl raised €2,850, and cupjes.nl sold for a mere €726. “Alternative” gTLDs (.BIZ, .NET, .ORG) also achieved much lower results than their classic big brothers. An attractive domain name like forsale.biz did not sell for over €5,000, and television.info had to settle for $1,400.

But the big question remains: will the prices of these premium domains change when the first alternative gTLDs will go live? Will appartements.immo ever be worth more than appartements.com? This is mainly a question for investors. Most companies are already happy with the diversity offered by the new gTLDs, and especially with the fact that they immediately make their identity clearer.