June, 2014 | Domain Holdings

DN.com For Sale – A Domain Holdings Exclusive

June 20, 2014/by Alan Dunn

Domain Holdings is proud to announce another big brand has chosen us to exclusively represent the sale of a super-premium asset – DN.com

Originally registered in 1997, DN.com is a super-premium domain name held by the same owner for well over a decade and as far back as WHOIS records show. This domain is new to the market having never been available on the aftermarket before and consisting of 2 incredible letters with very reasonable price expectations.

We expect heavy interest in this domain so now is the time to contact us and show interest.

Did you know that approx. 75% of all 2 letter.com’s are owned and/or in use by big brand domains?

2 Letter .com domain names continue to get rarer every day. With less than 200 (by our estimates) not in use by Big Brands the value of these domains continue to rise and it’s rare to find such a high quality 2 Letter domain name available at all.

Check out our list of brands who own 2 Letter .com’s as many of these are gone forever. If you are a brand owner or domain investor then we urge you to contact us about DN.com as soon as possible.

For more information contact your account rep or email [email protected] to learn more about this opportunity today.

Ready for the World Cup?

June 18, 2014/by Giuseppe Graziano

As I am writing you this, the World Cup of soccer has just begun in Brazil and right downstairs, they just installed a giant screen for the soccer fans. The match currently on air is Portugal VS Germany and Portugal is losing … badly.

I usually do not care that much about soccer, but I admit that when the World Cup comes I love to follow the matches and support my team. Italy won this weekend against England (making me VERY proud):

Sorry, but I could not resist posting this picture 🙂

Going back to domains, last week I wrote an article about the status of the numeric market and I obtained some interesting articles in response that I thought I’d share with my readers. One is from Shane Cultra and another great one is from John Poole. They support a completely different theory regarding the future value of numeric .coms, stating that we are just about to enter a bull market.

Regardless of whoever is right, this week I wanted to try a different approach and send you a quick analysis of the best deals available at this moment, as we secured some new inventory under exclusive. This could be a great starting point if you are just starting to invest in domains.

Bouncy.com – $19,000 (price reduced)

– Why I like this name?

Because it is short, pronounceable, intuitive and extremely brandable and it comes in with a package of other extensions like .net, .org, .biz, .de and .eu. Whenever somebody is looking to start a business, you should always look to secure the complementary assets to protect the traffic directed to your brand.

– How much are similar names priced at?

Usually comparable assets of this quality, range from a minimum of $5k to over $50k.

– What are the possible usage/benefits of owning this name?

Ideal for a B2C business, possibly in the gaming or mobile space.

Package of four 3 letter .com domains: VJZ.com, OJQ.com, VYH.com, UYR.com

– Why I like these names?

I do not personally like the names per se, but I do like the asking price – $48k for the package. At this asking price you can rarely go wrong since the floor price for LLL.com is close to $8k, making it one of the most reasonable price available for LLL.com on the market.

– How much are similar names priced at?

LLL.com can be very rarely found under $10k, and retail price often goes in the $15k to $30k range.

– What are the possible usage/benefits of owning this name?

Build a business that requires some “gravitas”. A three letter .com always gives a certain authority to your business. Think DHL.com or ABJ.com (abj.com is fictitious). Customers will think that your business has been around for a while whicj will in turn result in added credibility, and therefore more sales.

The other common usage for these domains would be obviously to park them and flip them for a higher price by selling them individually to end users or domain investors looking to pay above market price.

P9.com price reduced from $70,000 to $55,000

– Why I like this name?

LN.com usually command the same degree of authority of LL.com, but they are much cheaper while retaining the same memorability.

– How much are similar names priced at?

Floor price for these type of assets is around the $35k mark (unless it contains a “0” or “o”).

– What are the possible usage/benefits of owning this name?

Branding a business that has a strong B2C and B2B component internationally. Think about the multinational j2.com and/or how good a [email protected] email address sounds.

WQ.com – $500,000

– Why I like this name?
It is a two letter .com with letters that are considered premium in China. We already received offers in the hundred of thousands USD for this domain and it would be likely on sale not for long.

– How much are similar names priced at?

On the wholesale market, LL.com have a floor price closer to 280k, depending on the quality of the letters. On the retail market, these assets have commanded record prices throughout 2013 & 2014, like IG.com $4.7M or MI.com $3.6M.

– What are the possible usage/benefits of owning this name?

Branding a business that requires a massive amount of authority; flip the domain to an end user; invest in an asset that might appreciate in value.

In addition to these domains, we also have some new and updated inventory. If you are interested in purchasing any of these names, or simply submitting an offer, just reply to this email and I will get in touch with you.

Domains for Sale (price is intended in USD)

auq.com – $12,000
nki.com – $18,000
knd.com – $19,000
giu.com – $20,000
0k.com – $29,000
jgi.com – $17,000
0h.com – $27,000
ekq.com – $11,000
ouj.com – $11,000
zvy.com – $10,000
284.com – $70,000
083.com – $80,000
upv.com – $16,000
ysu.com – $19,000
vvo.com – $19,000
qlq.com – $16,000
hmi.com – $27,000
nus.com – $30,000
ceni.com – $9,000
pami.com – $12,000
sufe.com – $5,000
zafi.com – $5,000
gego.com – $12,000
puvi.com – $4,000
lipi.com – $8,000
meya.com – $5,000
mofe.com – $5,000
anahata.com – $27,000
olanda.com – $16,000
nzq.com – $11,000
xaqu.com – $3,000
nuqe.com – $3,000
nuqo.com – $3,000
pufe.com – $4,000
xpf.com – $14,000
koq.com – $10,000
tica.com – $13,000
3427.com – $9,000
4684.com – $10,000
5451.com – $10,000
6420.com – $9,000
6435.com – $9,000

View more of Giuseppe’s domain stories by signing up for his exclusive newsletter –

Have a fantastic week – from Lisbon!

Giuseppe Graziano
Director of Business Development, Europe
E: [email protected]
M: (+1) 561-819- 8468 (US)
M: (+351) 961-150-279 (PT)
F: 1-954-681-4920
S: ggrgraziano
QQ: ggrg

Are We In a Bubble?

June 10, 2014/by Giuseppe Graziano

As the summer approaches this side of Europe, last weekend I went to visit one of my mentors in Lourinha, a great beach location in the center of Portugal:

As we sat on the beach bar, looking the sun going down in the Atlantic, we discussed – among other things – what is the current status of the domain industry.

MARKET UPDATE

Numerics have been increasing in price like there is no tomorrow. Floor prices have practically quadrupled during the past 6 months. While you could purchase a NNN.com (containing a 4) for about $16k last December, it is now rare to find any below $60k.

NN.com, that could be purchased in the low to mid six digits, have now a floor price closer to $700k. It is exactly like a real estate market where the major sellers purchased all distressed properties to artificially increase the asking price of the properties.

On the other hand LL.com have had a much slower but steadier increase over the past 2 years at rates of 5-10% per quarter, with evaluation ranges depending on the quality of the letters and floor prices now closer to $230k. LLL.com have also slowly increased and reached the $8k floor price, moving from a $4.5k floor price last December.

NNNN.com are now impossible to find under $6k and LN.com have floors closer to $35k (if not containing an “o” or “0”). Assets that used to be practically worthless, like NNNNN.com, suddenly started to have face value.

The question is now – are we in a bubble?

BUBBLE?

I get this question a lot and my answer is YES, we are in a bubble. This is for a few reasons:

A. The “traceability” of liquid assets.

While it is difficult to identify the top 100 one word generic domains, numeric and short letter domains are very easy to trace for anyone that knows how to use an excel spreadsheet and a mass whois extractor. A higher number of people are trying everyday to track the prices of these assets by emailing the contacts listed in the whois records.

In turn, this caused sellers to be literally inundated by price inquiries. Now, think about this: if you own a property that used to get one or two inquiries every other month and is now getting 20, it is human nature to think that your property is VERY valuable – or, at the very least, much more valuable than it used to.

B. The increased numbers of brokers.

While the market prices were growing so quickly, a lot more brokers saw an opportunity to get inside the market and finding buying opportunities on behalf of investors. Some of them, in order to include their commission, re-listed the domains at higher prices.

As a consequence, buyers saw a dramatic, day-by-day increase on the asking price of such assets, creating pressure to secure the domains as early as possible and putting them in weaker negotiating position.

C. Inconsistent demand from end users.

While it is true that numbers have a universal appeal, how many end users you know are willing to spend more than half a million to brand their business with an anonymous number? It is intuitive that British Airways should use BA.com and Western Union WU.com, but how many businesses do you think are looking to pursue a 64.com priced close to $1m USD?

It seems to me that the fundamentals are just not in place to sustain such a growth, and the increase in price is purely caused by market speculations.

D. Seller’s liquidity.

Usually anyone who owned numerics or short domains, registered or bought them in bulk. As some of these investors started to sell part of their portfolio, they no longer have the need for liquidity, therefore reducing the inventory available at market price.

The next question I get is – When is the bubble going to burst?

FUTURE OUTLOOK

This is a harder question to answer. I believe that the market for liquid domains will crash as soon as another economic indicator like the housing market in China and/or the stock market will crash. Typically May is a selling month in the stock market, and Wall Street just reached new heights. I found a very interesting article regarding the expected correction to take place on Wall Street last month.

Since the domain market follows the economy, I would not be surprised to see the market crash at the very first signs of panic in the Chinese housing market. We are not there just yet, however we might get there as soon as the end of the year. For what concerns the stock market, it could be in August, when a few people would be looking to cash out their profits. But, not to be pessimistic, the rising trend might last a little longer – maybe after experiencing a short term correction.

Therefore the third question is – Is this the right time to sell?

Well, maybe. For sure the upside now looks very limited – although everything happened till today was not expected 🙂

Back to my short trip in Lourinha, as we set to leave and went to the bar to pick up the tab, to my surprise, the two beers were €1,40, the equivalent of $1 each. At the current market prices, you could practically buy 100 beers with a NNNNN.com just hand registered a few months ago on GoDaddy for $2. Good way to put things in perspective 🙂