Donuts has privately sold the CO.ltd domain name for $115,000, according to an email I received from Mason Cole. The company that acquired the domain name is Chinese-based Hangzhou e-business Institute.
Just a couple of sales like that and the entire $185,000 application fee for the extension would be paid for in full!
Here’s the information that Mason shared with me this afternoon:
Donuts said today it has sold co.ltd to the Hangzhou e-business Institute for a sum of $115,000. This represents yet another high-value premium second-level domain name by a new registrant in a Donuts domain name. The news follows on the continual uptick in registrations in new “not-com” domains, which now total more than 23 million.
The following is a statement from Donuts co-founder and EVP of Business Development Dan Schindler:
“This is strong affirmation of the utility not only of the ‘.Ltd’ domain name ending, but of new domain names in general. These meaningful, memorable and searchable names are not only registered, but put to active use, as you’ll definitely see with co.ltd in the very near future. We’re seeing more and more examples of marketplace adoption that show the value of these online identities.”
Horsefeathers. There is no not-Com movement. Instead, there are fools who are easily parted from their money.
That’s what they said when the automobile came along too – “who’d want one of those? It’ll pass.”
Let’s not get too complacent; there are extensions which will fly for various reasons – and especially if the .com equivalent remains an expensive alternative purchase.