Domain Name Sales
Domain name sales have always driven widespread interest in the domain name industry. No one knows when the first domain sale occurred, but it foreshadowed a vibrant market that was to emerge in the years ahead.
Novices should be informed that there is not one, singular market that represents all domain transactions. Most people are aware of Sedo and Afternic sales as well as those documented in Ron Jackson’s DNJournal. However, many sales are undisclosed and never become publicly known due to privacy & non disclosure agreements.
There are reasons why domain sales privacy is fundamental to good business. A buyer does not want others in the marketplace to know what he has paid, or can pay, for future acquisitions. And a seller does not want others to know the level of proceeds received from a sale because that seller often reinvests those proceeds into more purchases.
Publicly disclosed sales information can weaken future negotiations for both buyers and sellers. So “smart money” typically operate outside the public’s radar and prefer to keep quiet their most strategic moves and acquisitions.
This phenomenon greatly impacts public perception of domain sales and creates the somewhat false impression that all aftermarket sales are known. They are not.
Many people try to extrapolate domain trends from known sales data, but they are always operating somewhat in the dark since so many total domain name sales are never made public.
