Domain Holdings Q2 Report 2014

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Q2Domain Holdings is extremely proud to report our Q2 results showing almost $10,000,000 USD in sales. These results are not just a testimony of success for our team but further acknowledgment that our brand continues to earn trust around the world. During Q2 we celebrated a lot of success and also introduced many new features for both buyers and sellers. Some of the main highlights from Q2 were:

  • $9,935,618 in Total Q2 Sales
  • $764,278 Average Weekly Sales
  • 79.21% of ALL Sales End Users
  • 28% Increase in New Relationships
  • 22% Increase in Numeric Domain Sales
  • Over 12,000 + Phone Calls
  • Over 72,000 Targeted Emails

More End Users

We handled transactions for great brands like PolicyMic, Wickr, Mark Cuban Investments, Liberty Tax and many more with 79.21% of all sales to end users (compared to 76.25% in Q1)

Custom Portfolio Management

Started the rollout of custom portfolio management for large owners of premium domains offering custom landing pages, a dedicated broker, portfolio valuation services, portfolio auction management and more. While this is currently an invite only offering we are open to discussing the program with any premium portfolio owner who is interested in increasing overall sales. View some of our custom for sale landing pages by visiting 95.net, 617.com or designerclothes.com

More Inventory

Signed several exclusive corporate deals to handle existing inventory from of some of the world’s most notable brands.

More Training

Invested thousands of dollars on further sales and negotiation training for our brokers and tools to help refine our outbound sales approach.

While we celebrate our success in this report we should also look beyond the numbers and note that the value of premium domain names are growing due to the combined efforts of the industry and greater public awareness. From the success of the new GTLD’s to the millions of new dollars being invested in promoting existing options there never has been a time with such extensive global marketing finally supporting the industry we love so much.

View the full Q2 report below or download the PDF version here.

The rest of 2014 promises to be an incredible year and I hope you enjoy the data we can share. We are extremely proud to be part of this industry and look forward to reporting even higher sales next quarter.

Sincerely,

Alan Signature

Q2 Report 2014

 

$50,000 – A New GTLD Sold

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SoldWhen the new GTLD’s started rolling out earlier this year almost everyone had an opinion. Some said they would fail while others praised the innovation in this space. Fast forward a few months later and over 1,000,000 new GTLD’s have been registered. I’m not sure about you but I think they have been an astounding success for a number of reasons.

  • A wealth of big corporations have been buying up solid brand domains for possible development and not just brand protection. From Lonely Planet (travel.photography) to RetailMeNot (100’s of .codes domains) to well, just about anyone.
  • It’s not only big brands they are also thousands of small business who now own a cool domain and as months pass we will see further adoption.
  • Donuts (the monster in this space) rolled out early access pricing where premium domains often have a $1,000 a year renewal fee and if you want to buy it on Day 1 of the EPA program it could cost you $10,000 or more. Well, it hasn’t stopped those with the budget. They are selling them faster than Krispy Kreme’s in many extensions.
  • Heck, Google has even come out and said they are investing in the domain space on a registrar level.

Why is this Important?

All of this translates to more money and interest in the domaining space as a whole. This is not a zero sum game but an expansion of the industry we love so much.

Even the infamous free give away by .XYZ has people talking about these new domains and if you go back a few years ago that is what almost everyone wanted – more press about domains. Whether or not you agree with .XYZ’s approach no one will remember this in five years but they probably will remember the extension.

All in all the negative opinions on these new GTLD’s generally come from a lack of understanding about the cost of marketing, a reactive action to protecting .com or a simple disbelief about domaining in general. The fact is they are here, people are buying and they work. End of story.

Does this mean you should invest in a new GTLD?

Monday morning quarterbacks. Doesn’t everybody love them? There is no right answer for this because it depends on so many variables. 20 years into this industry we are still looking for a valuation tool that has the accuracy of a real estate appraisal so to answer yes or no to such a vague question is impossible.

One company that does deserve an award in this space however is Donuts. By pioneering the EAP pricing model for these new GTLD’s they have created separation between investment and speculation. This is extremely important since any new GTLD needs adoption long term and by adding a higher price value many premiums are in the hands of people who will hopefully use them some day.

What name did we sell for $50,000?

A couple weeks ago we sold Luxury.Estate for $50,000 USD

Personally I think it was a very fair price for the buyer and the seller and for domain investors you should know that this domain was purchased on day 5 of the EAP program roughly costing under $200. That is $49,000 + return on a 60 day investment of less than a couple hundred bucks.

Yes, these new GTLD’s do not work at all 🙂

Don’t get wrapped up in the drama folks. The industry is going to make these a win and when they do – we all win.

It’s not a race, it’s a marathon.