In the last week, I have learned about 3 seven figure domain name sales that closed this month. I know two of the three names, but I do not know the sale prices for any of these domain names. To my knowledge, none of these sales are going to be reported publicly. These sales will end up being more along the lines of hearsay, although I heard directly from principals on two of the three deals.
I had a fairly routine August in terms of domain name sales. I sold seven domain names with one Afternic sale from August 24th still pending payment. None of these sales were noteworthy from a value perspective. I spent quite a bit more on acquisitions in August than I made in sales, including the acquisition of MLR.com.
When I look back on the year, August will likely be one of the worst months for my business in terms of revenue. This isn’t a surprise since the Summer months are typically slower than the rest of the year.
Despite my own slow month, I think it is pretty clear that the domain name aftermarket is humming. A quick look at the DNJournal year to date sales report shows how strong the market is right now. As they say, this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of domain name sales.
You would need to break the six figure market to even get in the top 88 publicly reported domain name sales right now. I bet by the end of the year, a $100k sale would not even make the list of the top 100 sales for 2021. This is remarkable considering a $60,000 sale made the chart last year and a sale just shy of $60,000 made the chart in 2019.
Digital assets are on a tear this year, and the domain name aftermarket is hot right now. This may go down as the best year in history.
MLR.com? Now that’s a nice acquisition depending on what you paid.
God enabled me to buy a really nice one this year, and last year too. Not for sale, but as an end user since I’m an end user first, domain investor second. Also a bunch of other less expensive nice ones this year too. Same deal – end use, nor for resale. I would definitely like to sell one like mlr.com though. Doesn’t seem to fit into my usage goals if I had it. I have not had any domain sales this year, but it seems a number of my actual listings get a fair amount of attention. I guess no one wants to pull the trigger yet. Plus I’ve priced a number of them with what might cause a little sticker shock. Yes, I often don’t follow the Rick Rule about not pricing. Has worked well for me actually. My feeling is that it has to be a “Rick Scwartz” level domain in order to use that rule. And without question, some I definitely would not price, along those lines.
Wow! How many web-based businesses do you have now, John?
Well it’s all just one business if you ask me, Bradley. 🙂 Don’t want to go into it though, lol.
Probably only have about 500 domains now. Most not for sale, but a big bunch are. Two nice sales last year, more than paid for the nicest one I bought for use then. Now that was divine providence indeed. At times in the past have had over 1000 domains, but I don’t think I’ve ever carried as many as 1500 or more at one time. I tend to do spring cleaning and cull the flock, letting a lot go. Occasionally regret a few too, though fortunately not many.
Oh wait, would be closer to 600 now… 🙂
I’ve never dropped a domain that resold for 6 figures, to my knowledge.
At least a dozen that sold for 4 figures – turn the page, move on
I had a decent last 2 weeks in August, after a few weeks of domain drought.
Most big sales I’ve had in the past required NDAs. The atty repping one buyer insisted I couldn’t own any domains beginning with Co as it could be construed as “similar to the domain” her client had just purchased from me. That clause was excised from the agreement.
Bottom line: most big deals go unreported as they are initiated by well-known brokers/IP acquirers and their lawyers go overboard in protecting their clients. But maybe that’s just a way to pad the bill, suggesting clauses they know won’t get accepted.