I just received word that Overstock has acquired another single letter “O” domain name. The company purchased O.co.za via Sedo for $9,000. The .co.za extension is South Africa’s ccTLD.
Overstock also made two other public “O” domain name acquisitions within the past year: O.biz and O.co.
Some people believe the company may be making these efforts in order to be in a better position for when O.com comes available. That would make sense, especially in light of their US trademark for O.com.
It will be interesting to see if Overstock continues to acquire “O” ccTLD domain names. It would seem that these public sales could impact their negotiation ability.
Another reason they won’t be in business much longer.
“Some people believe the company may be making these efforts in order to be in a better position for when O.com comes available”
This latest acquisition leads me to believe the statement above may be true. That’s a really obscure cctld extension that would likely have little value to their bottom line. Therefore, O.co.za is part of a larger precedent setting strategy. Maybe.
I agree ..
Maybe is right …
15 Million judgment against them, etc
I think the only thing that there Overstocked
in these days is fools gold …
If Overstock is in fact going after o.com, this is a very savvy show in brand protection.
South Africa is a lucrative, growing market of nearly 50 million English speaking people using the co.za extension. Any company who invests large sums of money into a .com, needs to be aware to protect their domain by securing it in other English speaking nations.
If Overstock is in fact pursuing o.com, they not only just tapped into the very lucrative sub-Saharan market (with an internet in on the horizon), but also saved money by grabbing this important tld first.
@Ben – “South Africa is a lucrative, growing market of nearly 50 million English speaking people using the co.za extension.”
I did not realize this. That makes their O.co.za acquistion something more than what I suggested. A good number of companies with a global presence have secured their company name in a wide variety of cctld’s. Now I’m curious if Overstock have done the same. To become synonymous worldwide with a single letter is pretty ground-breaking. I’m not aware of any company ever having done that.
@ Ben
with an internet in on the horizon
———————————–
SMOKE SOME MORE,
(I got some swamp land in florida, you can sell)
It would not suprise me if .Co gave it
to them for FREE just to KEEP THE HYPE GOING …
Long ago I remember reading that the the single letter .coms would never be released. Is that not true?
Not that many of you care though .mobi is popular in South Africa. I know it’s not popular in US. They all have cellphones. the m. in front of the name does not look good. I predict .mobi will make a comeback regardless if they change the tech or not.
On the O thing- If google or apple can’t get O or G then overstock will have a tough time getting O.com if they want it.
That judgement thing will pass in my opinion- I mean who really wins here, what are you going to do give everyone a buck on the settlement. You know who makes the money.
And if that did prevail oh look out other companies- It would be a hay-day….
@Landon- sorry typo. I had meant to say, “with an internet boom on the horizon”
Co.za is a high traffic extension that has seen a huge internet spike over the past couple years. It is still fairly unknown to most domainers but should come into the mainstream soon enough
@M Menius
Walmart has recently made a large bid to buy out MassMart and enter the South African market
@ Ben
So Clever,
Like that make a pea of a difference …
Your silly hype (contrived sales pitch)
is so obvious and self serving!
@Landon
I didn’t write this story. Elliot did. I’m just giving my opinion on a market I like, because there is tremendous potential for growth. Look at the numbers yourself
A total waste of time and money, there’s nothing wrong with the domain Overstock.com IMHO
They must have money to burn.
@ Ben
TRUE you are ‘no smart enough to be
in a position as Elliot …
BUT .. you did make a fool of yourself by
implying silly speculative advice of which you
know nought about …
Stay in your cubicle box and dream …
for your words are not even that of a good salesman,
but you do have a talent for misreading opportunity
for child like folly.
DO have another drink! …
@Landon- sorry typo. I had meant to say, “with an with
an Internet in on the horizon.
If they are planning on setting up country specific commerce sites on them and their respective cctld purchases represent good markets for them then it would ultimately seem like a good investment for them