Report: Jig.com Domain Name Cost $85k

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I think Merlin Kauffman is one of the most likeable guys in the domain industry. He attends just about all of the tradeshows and events, and I don’t recall ever seeing him without a big grin on his face. Merlin is a young guy, and his company has amassed a portfolio of great generic domain names.

This morning, I read an article on TechCrunch about a startup called Jig, which operates on Jig.com. The startup, was founded by Joshua Schacter, who also founded Delicious. It was incubated in Schacter’s Tasty Labs, which received a  reported $3 million in funding in November of 2010.

In doing some research, it appears that Merlin Kauffman’s company, True Magic, LLC, owned Jig.com as late as April of 2011. In May, the domain name was acquired by Tasty Labs, although the sale does not seem to have been publicly reported at the time.

In addition to the TechCrunch article, noted venture capitalist Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, one of the companies that funded Tasty Labs, wrote an article on his blog about Jig.com to help introduce the startup. In the comment section, someone asked what the price of the domain name was, and Schacter replied “$85k.”

I reached out to Merlin for a comment and will post it when I hear back. He travels extensively and I am away in California right now, so it might not get updated very quickly (same as comment approval).

Thanks to Larry Erlich for the tip.

Sedo Offers White Paper to Help Domain Owners Sell More Effectively

As you can see week in and week out, domain owners sell a lot of domain name inventory in Sedo. While their brokers generally handle the highest value sales (some of which aren’t ever reported), the vast majority of sales seem to take place on the platform, either with buy it now pricing or via negotiations.

Sedo has posted a white paper online with advice for domain owners on how they can more effectively sell their domain names. Whether you are posting your names for sale on Sedo or another aftermarket platform, its a worthwhile read.

You can download the white paper for free on Sedo’s website, and you don’t have to have an account to get it. Check it out and perhaps you’ll learn a thing or two to help sell your names.

Favorites.com Sold for $165k – Did .CO Owner Buy It?

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According to a post Mike Mann made on my Facebook wall, his company sold Favorites.com for $165,000. The domain name had been previously listed for sale at Domainer Mardi Gras in 2009, but it did not sell.

The new registrant of Favorites.com has privacy protect on the domain name, so I can’t be sure about  who owns it. However, the message on the landing page is that same message that is also on Favorites.CO as well as on f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e-s.co (in fact, Favorites.CO forwards to f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e-s.co but Favorites.com does not). Favorites.CO and f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e-s.co are both owned by an Andy Weinstock.

While we’re discussing this, I want to give some advice to domain investors. Go through old auction sales lists to see what names didn’t sell and are still owned by the same people. Now might be a good time to contact them and make an offer.

Afternic Sells Over $1m in Domain Names Last Week

This week’s sales report from Afternic lists about $525,000 in total domain sales, with YouPrint.com leading the way at $12,000. The domain name was sold by Tucows’ YummyNames.

As the title of this post indicates, Afternic actually sold over $1,000,000 worth of domain names. According to a post by Andrew Allemann, Afternic privately sold a $540,000 domain name, and the company can’t post information about the sale.

Here are the public sales from last week:

youprint.com $12,000
addressable.com $10,800
am3.com $10,000
animalworld.com $10,000
pizzapomodoro.com $7,500
SellingCar.com $7,500
secure.me $7,000
adventistas.org $6,500
dmec.com $6,471
approved.org $6,400
4506t.com $6,300
jobon.com $5,600
usfoods.net $5,200
fondu.com $5,000
eyeblog.com $4,988
clipinhair.com $4,800
globalpartnership.com $4,588
lifeflo.com $4,370
168bet.com $4,200
idealfloors.com $4,188
ALASKAAPP.com $4,000
reaal.com $4,000
cloudysky.com $3,888
getthinnow.com $3,688
insidetracker.com $3,688
actionsoccer.com $3,660
civilprocess.com $3,500
hostingmatch.com $3,500
ladiesforum.com $3,488
qmee.com $3,360
artfun.com $3,200
plaquebusters.com $3,188
plusones.com $3,188
phaze2.com $3,088
dhelp.com $3,000
plantshop.com $3,000
remedyplus.com $2,988
simplestorage.com $2,942
webdelux.com $2,888
phonefashion.com $2,800
unemploymenthelp.com $2,800
ddsdirect.com $2,788
spiritministries.com $2,788
graphicom.net $2,788
acex.net $2,788
styleblitz.com $2,688
stylemodel.com $2,688
yourfusion.com $2,688
archetypes.net $2,688
brighterchoice.com $2,627
knowledgeengineering.com $2,600
metrologistics.com $2,600
cameronpeters.com $2,588
embracetoday.com $2,588
memorynow.com $2,588
twggroup.com $2,588
thelo.com $2,587
cruiseplanners.net $2,573
ypunto.com $2,510
envisionhealth.com $2,500
jamclub.com $2,500
topcompanies.com $2,500
coffeevend.com $2,488
legendarysports.com $2,488
liquidgrass.com $2,488
magicdome.com $2,488
superservice.net $2,488
heart-smart.com $2,389
opencellar.com $2,388
quickgo.com $2,388
theopenforum.com $2,388
buckbook.com $2,377
boosteducation.com $2,300
sunshinegallery.com $2,300
dailyroast.com $2,250
connectafrica.com $2,230
fertilize.com $2,088
mdkonline.com $2,088
sunconcept.com $2,088
vietnamtravelforum.com $2,088
superbox.org $2,088
bsmart.org $2,088
jpc.biz $2,077
inhomeeldercare.com $2,022
pillowpuff.com $2,016
animalgifts.com $2,000
bigcool.com $2,000
caternet.com $2,000
decheng.com $2,000
globalfacilities.com $2,000
nightaway.com $2,000
rollnow.com $2,000
saladbars.com $2,000
socialinterface.com $2,000
speedycomputer.com $2,000
urbannoise.com $2,000
filesearch.net $2,000
FirstInterchange.com $1,995
centresofexcellence.com $1,988
openmodels.com $1,988
friendlymarket.com $1,988
freightconnections.com $1,900
grandline.com $1,900
fullclips.com $1,900
fidu.net $1,900
petpartners.org $1,900
WhereInTheBible.com $1,895
affordablesurveillance.com $1,888
physicianstoday.com $1,888
bottomlesspit.com $1,888
musiciansgrapevine.com $1,888
contactpartners.com $1,888
apartmentsedinburgh.com $1,888
sharebookmarks.com $1,888
ecocity.net $1,888
plainshop.com $1,860
readyfitness.com $1,850
revolutionprinting.com $1,800
codeadvisor.com $1,800
insideoutsource.com $1,788
trekcentral.com $1,788
thenewweb.com $1,788
mobileannex.com $1,788
maxharvest.com $1,788
getthinstaythin.com $1,788
answertown.com $1,788
swampstomp.com $1,750
seafooddirectory.com $1,700
corporatehustler.com $1,700
domainsearchtool.com $1,699
texexpress.com $1,690
childoftheuniverse.com $1,688
elbancopopular.com $1,688
systemsrepair.com $1,688
rnsoncall.com $1,688
naturesgoods.com $1,688
methodwriting.com $1,688
fuzzyducks.com $1,645
arkadas.org $1,620
cohenusa.com $1,600
fitness-health.com $1,600
justlivetv.com $1,600
broadgatehomes.com $1,600
shopinuk.com $1,588
alternativefund.com $1,588
packagingquote.com $1,588
parentinghelp.org $1,588
telltheboss.com $1,580
fashionparades.com $1,550
islamiclife.com $1,530
rpublishing.com $1,500
networkingseminars.com $1,500
espanaverde.com $1,500
chinazh.com $1,500
wellnesslinks.com $1,500
cerah.com $1,500
MedicalLending.com $1,500
affiliaterecruitment.com $1,500
ManagingYourCareer.com $1,500
mobilewallet.net $1,500
BabysittingJobs.net $1,500
prisonwall.org $1,500
worldofpeace.com $1,488
truckhelp.com $1,488
allbank.net $1,488
kisi.net $1,435
michigandisposal.com $1,429
businessshield.com $1,400
indiaweb.net $1,400
IloveTravelling.com $1,395
stealthpilot.com $1,388
stafflist.com $1,388
aquisi.com $1,388
affordablehousinggroup.com $1,388
beyondtheobvious.com $1,375
nutsandbolts.org $1,349
easylime.com $1,330
clubchallenge.com $1,300
Lakah.com $1,295
CityWorth.com $1,295
makemyparty.com $1,250
stockenthusiast.com $1,250
leadkey.com $1,250
homeschoolcafe.com $1,200
solutionspeople.com $1,200
themural.com $1,200
febbraio.com $1,200
ecocruise.com $1,200
jadvertising.com $1,200
jukeboxonline.com $1,200
globalcourage.com $1,200
smartnetsystems.com $1,200
webespacio.com $1,200
infoprotector.com $1,200
breathemagazine.com $1,200
GriffGriffith.com $1,195
teamfm.com $1,190
silvertriangle.com $1,188
dynamiclevel.com $1,188
creativelife.net $1,188
karenmichelle.com $1,160
victoryone.com $1,150
carrentalsnyc.com $1,088
trade-street.com $1,088
techshoponline.com $1,088
pestcontroladvice.com $1,088
nurseunion.com $1,088
educationpartners.org $1,088
usanahealth.net $1,088
justplaysports.com $1,050
scorewire.com $1,050
copernico.net $1,050
elabel.org $1,045
memorymark.com $1,000
familymortuary.com $1,000
urbanprotocol.com $1,000
dutyfreemall.com $1,000
templand.com $1,000
allshampoo.com $1,000
blindsdiscount.com $1,000
allupgrades.com $1,000
localplants.com $1,000
northernspain.com $1,000
trophyhusbands.com $1,000
ecopartysupplies.com $1,000
emotionregulation.com $1,000
CommunicationTest.com $1,000
myadviser.co.uk $1,000

Sedo Records Nearly $700k in Sales

SedoSedo sent its weekly sales report for last week, and it closed around $700,000 in sales. The reason I use an estimation is because the company mixes in EU and British Pounds in its sales list, making it a bit difficult to calculate an exact number in USD.

Leasing the sales chart this week is a two letter domain name, ZY.com, which sold for $105,999. It’s pretty remarkable how much the 2 letter .com market has dried up in the past couple of years. The full (public) sales list is below:

zy.com 105999 USD
marketport.com 19000 USD
pikup.com 17000 USD
7c.com 15500 USD
daidai.com 13000 USD
upmany.com 10000 USD
gamesbox.com 10000 GBP
asiascore.com 10000 USD
prodentis.com 9000 EUR
tablette.com 8250 EUR
filme-online.com 7140 EUR
orginalprints.com 7000 EUR
ssllc.com 7000 USD
fab.cc 7000 USD
rheuma.info 6500 EUR
boomads.com 6400 USD
whe.com 6100 EUR
sunrisefinance.com 6000 USD
coollemon.com 5500 USD
autostoeltjes.com 5500 EUR
juegosdemariobros.pe 5500 USD
ganzeinfach.de 5500 EUR
glump.com 5400 EUR
norgesglasset.no 5300 USD
hospital.info 5111 USD
favourites.com 5100 EUR
careworx.com 5000 USD
petspyjamas.com 5000 EUR
technama.com 5000 USD
promocroisieres.com 5000 EUR
haier.pl 5000 EUR
hifi.ca 5000 USD
groove.me 5000 EUR
etfs.info 5000 USD
geburtskarten.com 4500 EUR
ecohosts.com 4500 USD
clickblue.com 4300 USD
fitcompany.com 4000 EUR
totlol.com 4000 USD
tc.tc 4000 EUR
zocdoc.de 3570 EUR
clickups.com 3500 USD
bubblie.com 3500 USD
teakmeubelen.com 3500 EUR
consulting-center.com 3500 EUR
megs.com 3500 USD
wphub.com 3500 USD
twelvefold.com 3500 USD
photography.ch 3500 EUR
lineage2.eu 3500 EUR
carpetcompany.co.uk 3430 EUR
einfach.com 3300 EUR
legalhelp247.com 3250 USD
yallam.com 3000 USD
stylerocks.com 3000 EUR
halloween-candy.com 3000 USD
traumrock.de 3000 EUR
genus.info 3000 EUR
rummy.mobi 2800 USD
gold-shop.ch 2790 EUR
smk.se 2778 EUR
777.tv 2777 USD
finegoods.at 2750 EUR
loungebar.com 2600 USD
theswapshop.com 2500 USD
mgood.com 2500 USD
vipcode.com 2500 EUR
happybirthdaywishes.com 2500 USD
meetup.es 2400 EUR
couponcoach.com 2250 USD
alves.com 2250 USD
bancaonline.com 2210 EUR
physiopraxis.de 2100 EUR
moebel24.com 2000 USD
ometz.com 2000 USD
payyou.com 2000 USD
jasicher.de 2000 EUR
iuniversity.org 2000 USD
grl.de 1995 EUR
genus.tv 1984 USD
work4.me 1953 USD
bethebeast.com 1899 USD
bikes.info 1757 USD
fractionallistingservice.com 1750 USD
mmofan.com 1750 USD
lovemodern.com 1695 USD
rugzakken.com 1650 EUR
bubblehub.com 1625 EUR
misimpuestos.com 1586 USD
grantway.com 1550 USD
crmm.com 1550 USD
hushentertainment.com 1500 USD
cam10.com 1500 USD
moms365.com 1500 USD
mom365.com 1500 USD
swarmshop.com 1500 USD
atoh.com 1500 USD
globalprojectsolutions.com 1500 USD
leathertools.com 1500 USD
ultra-rich.com 1500 USD
mobilegay.com 1500 USD
rezil.com 1500 USD
thermografie.at 1500 EUR
splinterworks.net 1500 USD
fishing.pro 1500 USD
mobilegambling.net 1500 USD
tagesticker.de 1428 EUR
agbook.com 1400 USD
hateordate.com 1400 USD
golfclubreviews.net 1400 USD
psychologen.eu 1399 EUR
brandnature.com 1395 USD
dividendincome.com 1350 USD
ecrypted.com 1350 USD
acidrefluxremedies.com 1325 USD
raja.in 1300 EUR
josera.org 1299 USD
decker.ch 1250 EUR
alexcity.com 1200 USD
mensplatinumrings.com 1200 USD
yourkarma.com 1200 EUR
awes.de 1200 EUR
carhiremajorca.co.uk 1200 GBP
designleuchte.de 1200 EUR
eurofunk.de 1199 EUR
gesundepferde.de 1190 EUR
homecarpetcleaning.co.uk 1150 GBP
korey.com 1100 USD
broadfields.com 1100 USD
directauto.org 1100 USD
restinvest.com 1095 USD
talkfrog.com 1000 USD
moderndiningtables.com 1000 USD
ongus.com 1000 USD
facesandplaces.com 1000 USD
dundee360.com 1000 USD
redhotlaw.com 1000 USD
beeproduction.com 1000 USD
superbox.co 1000 USD
sigsauer.in 1000 USD
iaas.it 1000 EUR
thorsten.de 1000 EUR
garten-profi.de 1000 EUR
imd.tw 1000 EUR
campingsitalie.nl 1000 EUR
beamerhuur.nl 1000 EUR
marrant.fr 1000 EUR
schwarzkuemmeloel-versand.de 1000 EUR
privatcredit.ch 1000 EUR
oag.org 1000 USD
faehre.net 1000 EUR
schmuckshop.eu 999 EUR
securitydirect.de 999 EUR
gabelstapler.biz 999 USD
sadomania.com 995 USD
papertrail.co.uk 995 GBP
propertybuyer.co.uk 995 GBP
scoopbox.com 990 USD
stopsigns.net 955 USD
lascookies.com 950 USD
onlinefinance.eu 950 EUR
tesolprogram.com 920 USD
nordmanntannen.de 920 EUR
nunsploitation.com 900 USD
financialmeans.com 900 USD
freemium.es 900 EUR
creditrepaircompanies.net 900 USD
sigaro.org 900 EUR
finanz-filiale.de 875 EUR
fotoanimales.com 860 EUR
brandpal.com 850 USD
ireference.com 850 USD
seniorenzentralruf.de 850 EUR
gynäkomastie.de 820 EUR
apartmentsale.com 810 USD
planetvalue.com 800 EUR
beamtenkredite.com 800 EUR
apbrain.com 800 EUR
mymallorca.com 800 EUR
slow-cow.ch 800 EUR
mcnail.de 800 EUR
lutsch.eu 800 EUR
wir-trauen-uns.de 800 EUR
grando.pl 800 EUR
binsrus.com 790 GBP
zld.de 790 EUR
lina.de 773 EUR
bettervoicemail.com 750 USD
locads.com 750 USD
vegasjackpot.com 750 USD
iclou.com 750 USD
motorsexpress.com 750 USD
launchware.com 750 USD
castley.com 750 USD
invisidata.com 750 USD
bergbau.ch 750 EUR
ditto.fr 750 EUR
einkaufsfee.de 750 EUR
presse-anzeigen.de 750 EUR
joinup.eu 725 EUR
modelspoorwinkel.nl 714 EUR
dcserve.com 712 USD
x-fashion.com 700 EUR
kuhua.com 700 EUR
crosser.com 700 USD
eatlean.com 700 USD
datacell.org 700 USD

Quick Sales Tip: Don’t Click The Ads

I want to share a quick tip with you regarding selling domain names to end users. It’s one of those tips that may seem obvious, but I am sure it’s happened before and it’s something you may or may not have considered.

When I try to sell a domain name to an end user, I pitch it to companies who are advertising on Google via Adwords for that exact keyword. I figure, if they’re spending money trying to attract people who are searching for the keyword, perhaps they’d like to buy the exact match domain name and build a website to help the rank organically.

One thing I never do though is click on the ad to visit the website. Not only is it rude for the domain owner to make the potential advertiser pay to hear his or her pitch, but it can also cost a sale and business contact if the website owner is tracking the leads and sees that the visitor goes straight to the contact page.  This is especially true if it’s an infrequently searched term and is much easier to track. It will piss off the website owner if you made him pay $2.00 to read your domain sales pitch.

No advertiser wants to do business with someone who is so lazy that he or she can’t cut and paste the url into a different window and opts to make the advertiser pay for his or her visit.

This is something that you may or may not have considered, but if there are just a few potential buyers for one of your domain names, burning one bridge by doing that can kill any chance of a deal.