Mouths dropped throughout the domain industry after the completion of Sedo’s most recent auction for .mobi domain names. The auction grossed over $1.5 million in sales, which could be a record for this extension. The sale of Music.mobi for $616,000 easily eclipsed the previous public sale record of Flowers.mobi for $200,000. In fact, Games.mobi also doubled the previous record, selling for$401,500.
The amount of money paid for these names is significant, and it shows there are people who feel strongly about the future success of the extension. I eagerly await to see who the buyer is and what is done with each of these high caliber names. Should consumer friendly sites be developed on these names, it would be significant in that others may follow suit, further boosting the relevance of .mobi.
Industry giants such as Bank of America (bofa.mobi), ESPN (espn.mobi), AAA (aaa.mobi) and others have built mobile-friendly website on the .mobi extension.
The adult industry has always had a major impact on the advancement of various technologies such as VCRs, DVD players, Web development, and probably even more that I can’t think of off the top of my head. I wonder what the impact would be if they began using .mobi domain names for handheld porn. Sure, it probably wouldn’t be openly welcomed by many, but when has it been? That could really advance the .mobi extension, as consumers become aware of it.
Courtesy of the Mobility.mobi forum and verified by Andew’s post on Domain Name Wire, below are some of the key sales from the Sedo Auction:
Music.mobi $616,000
Games.mobi $401,500
Sports.mobi $101,000
Movies.mobi $82,000
Game.mobi $61,000
Juegos.mobi $61,000
Videos.mobi $51,000
Photos.mobi $51,000
Sport.mobi $51,000
Job.mobi $43,600
SportsBetting.mobi $41,000
Radio.mobi $34,500
Fashion.mobi $32,000
Horoscope.mobi $30,000
Wine.mobi $30,000
Play.mobi $28,150
Video.mobi $25,555
Jokes.mobi $24,100
Flower.mobi $21,500
Dictionary.mobi $21,500
Musica.mobi $20,600
Movie.mobi $20,500
.mobi will suddenly become relevant when I can pick up my cellphone, text “music,” and be directed to the music.mobi website.
Then, and only then, will .mobi give .com a run for its money.
Best,
Ms Domainer
“mobi will suddenly become relevant when I can pick up my cellphone, text “music,” and be directed to the music.mobi website.
Then, and only then, will .mobi give .com a run for its money.”
No one is saying mobi will give .com a run for its money. But mobi will be a relevant extension. Just wait and see.
These .mobi sales are stunning, and I hope it portends well for the extension, since I hold several good .mobis myself, including DigitalVideos.mobi and JobAds.mobi. But the real question is, who’s buying? As you said, if it’s an end-user who will develop useful content, then we’re getting somewhere. If it’s just another domainer making a (large) speculative bet, it does not advance the extension. And there certainly are domainers who can afford to place a $600K bet on a domain name that might one day be worth $10 million.
“But mobi will be a relevant extension.”
I hope so, R. I have a few, including one of Elliot’s charity picks from last week (Rescuing.mobi–ha! I just picked up on the little joke–looks like mobi has been “rescued” in a big way).
I would like to see the TLD developed more, and a cellphone platform for .mobi direct navigation would be just the ticket. (DISCLAIMER: I have no inside info; I’m just speculating).
😉
I wonder if we’ll ever know the identities of those big buyers.
Ms Domainer
Elliot, with all due respect ESPN, BofA and AAA are BRANDS. They bring something to the party. Years of relationships, databases. In all cases a compelling need to serve their existing customers on the go- espn- so dad can take mom out to dinner and keep in touch with the game; aaa so you can track progress on your distress call when its 3 degrees and you are broken down with no heat; and b of a where 50 million people need access to their money. People have reasons to use these sites and the owners simply ping their audiences to bring them there. The MOBIs speculated on are quite a longer shot.
***UPDATED BY ELLIOT***
This is my point. When brands begin marketing their brand with .mobi, consumers may switch to use the .mobi. They may then believe the .mobi is the way to get access on their mobile browsers and use it for other sites. I agree that it may be a long shot, and in a previous post I mentioned this and mentioned that many people are registering worthless .mobi names, but I guess the same could be said for .com, too. Point is that if consumers begin using .mobi and know what it is, then other non-branded names become desired by other companies. Yes, all of this may be a long shot, but many domain registrations and purchases are a gamble. You have to be smart where to put your money to reduce your risk.
To answer my own question in comment #4:
http://alvaroalbarracin.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-am-acquiring-very-best-mobi-names.html
Evidently, the buyer does NOT plan to develop these domains.
Ms Domainer
#6 not developing the names would be a violation of the service agreement.
But then again, if you want to go by the the service agreement, the names lawfully belong to the owners of the dot coms with the same names. They are like stolen goods- totally unsalable. Buyer must have needed a last-minute write-off.
Ms. Domainer,
If you would like to let go of Rescuing.mobi I would love to take it off your hands as I and my wife are into dog rescue, particularly labrador retrievers. We are currently training two for therapy dogs.
In regards to .mobi, keep in mind that this is a global TLD. It is part of culture already in other nations and has gained a wide acceptance. I will not elaborate to take up space on Elliot’s site, but I assure you the proof is there. Not so much in the US, but we are not the “up to speed” as some other nations.
Most of the talk for and against appear to be coming solely from domainers, not the consumer. Ultimately that will be the deciding factor…the acceptance of the consumer. Doubtful a kid on the street is going to give too hoots about visiting a site that is not a dot com.
And presently, nothing says mobile better than .mobi in any language.
Yes, I am a big proponent of .mobi.
…and .com, .net, .info, .us, etc.
Jim Popejoy Says:
December 6th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
But then again, if you want to go by the the service agreement, the names lawfully belong to the owners of the dot coms with the same names.
That is a far, far stretch with no semblance of truth to it.
A word like music, games, sports, etc, are so generic they have no ownership and never will.
And if what you say were true, then the .com owners could theoretically “seize” each and every variant thereof…all 266 ccTLD’s and gTLD’s.
You’re right, Gerry; Europe is far ahead of the US in the use of their cell phones, and .mobi would be the perfect platform.
My rescuing domain is too new for sale. It’s still under that 60-day rule.
Ms Domainer
Ms. Domainer,
If in 60 days we are both still interested, Elliot know how to get in touch with me. It was one of those “DOH!” moments when I looked back. Actually a good domain for therapy dogs we are training and may expand to search and rescue. Undetermined at this time.
To Elliot, congrats on your fundraiser at Mobility. Some decent people there.
Continued success to you and your readers. This is one of the few blogs regarding domaining and marketing I have come to enjoy.
Gerry you might be as surprised as I was to discover that big companies like ATT, Verizon, Cingular and others have trademarked generics like you mention with mobi after it. Others have trademarked mobi for use on certain applications which might preclude someone from running that idea on any domain with a mobi extension. I believe the stakes are higher here where $ is being invested to deliver a service, not just a domain and that takes the generic out of it. For example traffic.mobi trademarked… more
I like you guys have bought a few .mobi sites and I think we need to really create a buzz around .mobi to help kick it off the ground. Just telling people you surf on .mobi can be effective.
I did not realise that some guys sink big money into *.mobi business. After almost 5 years it is clearly seen it was a waste.