Several notable .BIZ domain sales were picked up the other day by Domain Name Wire. Casinos.biz was purchased through Sedo’s online brokerage for $19,000 as verified through their RSS feed of recent sales. And All.biz was sold for a very substantial $61,750. Neither site is developed yet although both domains lend themselves to good branding possibilities for the buyer(s).

PremiumDomains.biz recently sold InjuryAttorney.biz and PersonalInjuryAttorney.biz in private deals, as well as MedicalMalpracticeLawyer.info through an online brokerage.

On a different note, www.Methadone.US which was developed in the first quarter of 2011, has experienced consistent week after week growth since going live January 23rd. The site has a wealth of original content, a U.S. city clinic directory, online assessment, and several other tools & resources.

.BIZ Domain Names, Domain Sales .biz, Domain Sales, Sedo

The old adage “There’s only one chance to make a good first impression” can certainly apply to domain name brokerages. Customer service is apparently a low priority for some brokerages, namely Afternic. Not good.

I recently sold a domain through Afternic that transferred into the buyer’s account over a week ago. Afternic is still waiting on the buyer’s “confirmation”. Of course, Afternic have already been informed that the domain is in the buyer’s possession, and a simple whois search shows this.

Sedo, on the other hand, has consistently performed well for me over the years. Consequently, I have both bought and sold domain names through Sedo’s brokerage, with complete satisfaction, including a few premium domains. And I have been very pleased with Sedo’s service in every transaction. As a matter of principle, I will not spend money with a company that fails to deliver acceptable customer service. So Sedo is in, and Afternic is out.

As a result of Afternic’s subpar response and assistance, there will be no purchases made by me through their brokerage. A first impression can open the door for future business. Blow that, and you lose customers. It’s a pretty simple concept: don’t aggravate your customers, or waste their time. Is that such a complicated lesson?

Buy Domains, Domain Brokerage afternic, domain broker, domain brokerage, Sedo

Sedo’s 2009 market study is out and summarizes sales data from all of last year. Sedo reported that their company comprised 64% of the top 100 domain sales for 2009.

The 4th quarter of 2009 was marked by a 5% sales increase. Increases were attributed to a surge in geographical and descriptive domains. These types of domains have long been considered the gold bullion of the domain name industry.

Of particular interest was Sedo’s specific mention of the internet’s official .BIZ (Business) web address in the study. They indicated …

In terms of the best-performing extensions for average sales price, Sedo’s study saw the sharpest rise in .biz domains. This growth can be attributed in part to the growth in sales of one character .biz domains, which first became available through the .biz registrar in September 2009.

Jeremiah Johnston, COO of Sedo, said that he expects to see ongoing demand for premium domains as marketers & businesses leverage domain names to meet their goals.

Among some of the hottest categories of domain sales from 2009 were city domain names and employment domain names. Getting more into the game are marketing and advertising firms who are beginning to realize the power that generic, quality domain names have in attracting consumers.

Sedo’s Johnston is quoted as saying that domain names which match the search terms of a particular business are in demand. An example of this would be a domain like DenverRealEstate.biz which was just sold by my company a day ago. The buyer being a real estate company located in Denver. Get the picture?

To shop for premium domains, visit: PremiumDomains.US or PremiumDomains.biz 
or our Sedo Portfolio.

.BIZ Domain Names .biz, Sedo

The T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York live auctions ended yesterday with modest results. The Rick Latona auction had a net of $1,295,000 (including the sale of geodomain Rio.com for $450,000) and the Moniker auction generated $415,000 in domain sales (NY.biz $7000, MultiVitamins.com $45,000, I.biz $17,000, TrademarkLawyers.com $24,000).

The relative turnout was small leaving one to ask “What’s the next stage in the evolution of domain name auctions”?

Earlier this year, Moniker participated in a very innovative approach by partnering with real estate auction company, J.P. King, in a San Francisco event aimed at selling a large portfolio of real estate domain names. The auction preparation and marketing appeared to be very well done. However, the auction was cancelled due to lack of interest by the real estate industry. This was a result of the auction portfolio consisting of only lower-tier long tail domains like HoustonRealEstateListings.com.

It’s time to take a new approach. Instead of hosting a pure domainer conference with domainer topics, take an industry-specific auction to the National Realtors Conference & Expo or the National Insurance Conference … where true end-users with community-based businesses will be located.

Such an auction would contain only geo-targeted and generic domains names which tightly fit that industry’s niche. The auction would contain quality domains at a range of price points and would cover geo-locations such that professionals from all over the U.S. (or Canada) would see relevant domain names specific to their business and their city. In other words, the name selection and pricing would be very enticing.

The marketing of this auction event would occur months in advance and coincide with the larger conference’s promotion such that they too can publicize the auction. 5% of all sales would be given to the larger industry association such that they retain a vested financial interest in the auction’s promotion & success. There would be 2-3 good quality domains raffled off to increase attendee interest.

Local media coverage would be actively pursued. But most importantly, a direct mail would be sent to everyone registered for the conference, and in that mail a link to the auction inventory which would be posted & updated regularly so that people don’t have to guess what domains will be offered.

Any domain auction is ALWAYS about the quality of the names and to a lesser though significant extent, the price. The most important thing moving forward for major auction venues & events is to narrow the selection down to include only quality domain names.

Buzz, excitement, interest, and commitment-to-buying are built upon enthusiastic want or need for a domain asset that makes sense to a company wanting to expand their internet reach. Placing 10 high-quality domains alongside 200 low-quality domains is a losing strategy. Most buyers will not waste time browsing through a dime store when they are in search of a jewel. Particularly when it comes to business.

High-profile, high-standard auctions looking to attract quality clientele must avoid the bargain basement mentality & approach. And that begins with inventory. Don’t try to sell a 1974 AMC Pacer to Ferrari, Lamborghini, or even Ford Taurus buyers.

Domain Auctions bido, Moniker, Rick Latona, Sedo

The Sedo auction of single letter and single number .biz domain names is closing. It appears that the majority of domains will be sold in the $7000 – $60,000 range with e.biz coming in near the top at $66,001, 1.biz going for $32,003, m.biz closing for $15,611, and d.biz at $26,110.

These domain names will make great brandable, easy-to-remember web portals for general business purposes. Acquiring a very short domain name is rare and typically expensive.

The Neustar Registry, who oversee the .biz web space, have been in need of some creative marketing to draw greater attention to the .biz web address. It is not clear if this recent auction will achieve significant promotion for the .biz extension. I will be watching registration numbers over the next month to determine if a spike of interest was indeed created.

In any event, .biz continues to be adopted gradually by businesses around the world. While not hot in the aftermarket yet like .com, the address is very logical and a very good fit for the variety of businesses, corporations, and organizations establishing and/or reinforcing their presence online.

.BIZ Domain Names .biz, Sedo

The .BIZ web address is presently at 2,015,168 total registrations worldwide. Neustar Registry Services, who oversee the .biz top level domain, will be auctioning off the majority of numerals 1-9 (as in 9.biz) and a majority of the single letter domains (A through Z) in an online auction which will begin September 23 and last through September 30.

The selected auction house is Sedo, and details of the .BIZ auction are located at Sedo.biz. Sedo will soon be accepting bids online for those with a qualifying Sedo account and who have passed a basic standard certification. Having previously purchased (or sold) domain names through Sedo will allow a potential bidder to meet the standard certification requirement.

.BIZ has grown year over year since its original release in 2002 despite dismal marketing by the Neustar registry. Even without notable registry promotional support, .BIZ has been adopted by a wide variety of businesses across the internet. It now ranks as the 10th leading web address in the world including all country code and top level domains. .COM is currently the leading internet extension worldwide in terms of total registrations.

Several blogs have written about whether the single number/letter .biz auction will significantly boost global interest in the internet’s official business web address. It’s difficult to say with any certainty what effect the .biz auction will have on public perception. .BIZ has actually grown from the grass roots up in a gradual but steady adoption which has increased every year since 2002.

I am a fan of the .biz web address and see it as an incredibly logical web space that will only continue to grow with time. I also predict a considerable rise in business registration & use as more companies discover .biz as a viable, and more affordable alternative, to .com and country code domains.

.BIZ Domain Names .biz, Sedo

I almost don’t believe what I’m seeing. ParisFrance.com is on Sedo with a current auction bid of just $3998 (3100 EUR) and the reserve has been met. That’s right … the .com. 

Paris, France is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world with approximately 45 million visitors annually.

I try not to be skeptical, but with under two days left in the auction, bids for a geodomain like this would easily be in six-figures and climbing rapidly. There is whois protection on the domain. That alone raises my suspicion about the authenticity of this possible sale (with only a nominal bid of $3998). Going to watch this one … and look for details.

Update (2/12/09): The Sedo auction has concluded and the winning bid was $12,100 EUR ($15,644 USD based on today’s exchange rate). Read more about the sale here.

.COM Domains france, paris, Sedo

Facts.info is currently available to the highest bidder in an ongoing Sedo auction. The current bid is $3000 EUR which is $3956 U.S. dollars, and the reserve has been met. I was the original registrant of Facts.info in 2002 and had previously sold this domain at auction in April 2007 for $2550.

It is an excellent fit for the .info (information) domain extension since facts & information are at the very core of what makes the internet so powerful. Mr. Harald Ebert of Barcelona, Spain is the present owner and looks to make a nice return on his investment.

Facts.info would make a logical brand & online identity for a wikipedia type website, online encyclopedia, news aggregator, or research center for a major university. Online education and degrees are big business being so well suited to live streaming over the internet. I’ll be interested to see if this nice name is possibly acquired by a known educational institution, or is purchased by a domain name investor.

.INFO Domain Names, Domain Sales .info, Afilias, Domain Sales, Sedo