The .Club registry will be running a series of auction for 1 and 2 character .Club domain names, it was announced this afternoon at THE Domain Conference. Coming up for bid are domain names such as C.Club, HJ.Club, JD.Club, and others – 25 domain names in total.
The registry set up a page on its website to share details of the auctions, which will run from October 29 – November 5th. Judging by the auction venue and non-industry standard auction timing, it appears that the registry is trying to tap into the Chinese domain investment market with this auction.
Here are some of the details about the auction that can be found on the auction page within the registry website:
“Beginning October 29th and ending November 5th, .Club Domains and EachNic.com bring you a series of five fast moving auctions that will last three days each.
Domain sales specialist are here to help you each step of the way, you can bid directly online from the EachNic.com platform or through a third party auction concierge.
It’s a great chance to bid on these scarce domains at reserve prices much lower than their market prices. Leverage the power of these domains as brand-able abbreviations and memorable shortcuts.”
This auction could also be a coup for the EachNic.com auction platform. I had never heard of the company before learning about the auction. As such, I recommend that people who are interested in bidding should do some research to learn more about the platform prior to bidding to know the auction rules and other pertinent information about the platform.
Listed below are the domain names that the registry will be auctioning, along with the reserve prices for each auction. You can visit the auction page on the .Club website to see the auction dates and other details that should be noted:
HJ.CLUB $5,000 USD
JC.CLUB $5,000 USD
YM.CLUB $5,000 USD
JS.CLUB $5,000 USD
GZ.CLUB $5,000 USD
PC.CLUB $5,000 USD
YX.CLUB $5,000 USD
QC.CLUB $5,000 USD
DK.CLUB $5,000 USD
PK.CLUB $5,000 USD
ZS.CLUB $5,000 USD
CG.CLUB $5,000 USD
SQ.CLUB $5,000 USD
KF.CLUB $5,000 USD
ZI.CLUB $5,000 USD
YC.CLUB $5,000 USD
DS.CLUB $5,000 USD
YQ.CLUB $5,000 USD
ZQ.CLUB $5,000 USD
TB.CLUB $5,000 USD
C.CLUB $50,000 USD
JD.CLUB $10,000 USD
PJ.CLUB $10,000 USD
LY.CLUB $5,000 USD
GW.CLUB $5,000 USD
Based on what they picked the letter combinations for the auction? Why not all single and double character names are gonna be released?
Probably want to keep some to work out deals privately with startups and other companies that want them. Also, I presume they believe the value will increase over time, and that will enable them to drive revenue in the future.
I doubt they will sell more than five from that list, if any.
What seems unfair to me is that there are many related trademarks registered with TMCH (for example: JD) that .club registry is ignoring and is not going to tell to bidders. It’s a shame!
Can acronyms be trademarked. Jd.club could be short for jeweldiamonds.club
Jon, nobody is saying that JD has only one meaning. And yes, it can be trademarked.
The point is that ICANN came with the protection mechanism, let trademark owners annually pay for the TMCH registration, but in many cases (such as short marks) there is no protection at all, no possibility to apply for matching name in Sunrise period (because there is/was none for such short names), allowing registries to keep valuable names for future profit.
For ICANN, the money is the only what matters. I see absolutely NO benefit of new gTLD. ICANN and registries make nice money, registrars make some money, very few domainers make some money on it. And … big brands and corporations are pushed to spend a lot of money to protect confusion, etc.
It is just a question of time, when those brands and corporations will start to drop the names they have registered in new gTLD. It’s going to happen, trust me.
Here’s the official press release about the .Club auction:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/single-and-double-letter-domains-launch-clubs-first-china-auction-2015-10-07-111733024