Home Blog Page 1144

Sedo Sales Last Week: $1.31 Million

5

SedoSedo reported $1,310,000 in domain sales last week, including all public and private transactions (754 total sales). The leading sale of the week was Solo.com, which changed hands to the tune of $131,000. Two .DE domain names were next on the sales list at 35,000 Euros for Frage.DE and 34,000 Euros for GPS.DE.

Full sales list from last week is below.

solo.com 133000 USD
frage.de 35000 EUR
gps.de 34000 EUR
opn.com 25000 USD
nsp.com 22500 USD
gsma.com 22000 EUR
xensation.com 20000 USD
shop-list.com 10000 USD

AP Report: Companies to Forfeit Escorts.com Domain Name

An Associated Press report citing US District Court records states that “National A-1 Advertising Inc. and R.S. Duffy Inc. agreed to plead guilty to money laundering conspiracy and will forfeit $4.9 million, pay a $1.5 million fine and serve 1 1/2 years of probation.” This is allegedly related to the operation of Escorts.com.

The report on the ABC News website stated that the companies that were charged have “forfeited the domain name,” although a Whois record indicates that Escorts.com doesn’t seem to have been transferred yet. The website is no longer operational, and there’s a message on the home page that states, “This Domain is Not in Use.”

Just over a year ago, the FBI raided the company’s Philadelphia headquarters, although official word about the investigation entailed was not released. There had been some speculation that it was related to the Escorts.com website, but I don’t recall seeing anything officially released.

The companies that were mentioned employ a considerable amount of people, and I certainly hope this will bring closure to the situation, to give some level of job security to its employees.

Where Readers Come From

I read Aaron’s post yesterday, and that inspired me to look through Google Analytics to see where people who read my blog are reading it. I was pretty surprised that there are over 200 countries represented on the list, despite the fact that the US State Department only recognizes 195 independent states.

As always, I appreciate your taking the time to visit my blog.

Here are the locations of people who read my blog, in order of # of visits:

  1. United States
  2. Canada
  3. United Kingdom
  4. India
  5. Australia

Quidsi Buys Look.com for $400k

2

According to an 8k form filed by publicly traded Banks.com, the company sold Look.com for $400,000 on October 24, and Quidsi was the purchaser. A press release put out by Banks.com mentioned that it was a cash deal:

“With the sale of Look.com, we’re able to convert what has been a non-productive asset since we exited the search business into cash that will help build our core business going forward,” said Dan O’Donnell, Chief Executive Officer of Banks.com.

You may recall that Quidsi is the company that owns Diapers.com, Soap.com, YoYo.com, Wag.com, and possibly other websites.

It was just a few weeks ago (October 6) that the company put out a press release announcing that  Look.com was for sale. This came shortly after Look.com didn’t sell at auction, where the reported reserve price was somewhere between $500,000 – $1m.

A whois lookup shows that Quidsi has already taken possession of the domain name, although the domain name does not yet resolve. It is not yet known what will be built on the Look.com domain name.

A quick sale like this proves that great domain names can be sold quickly for a whole lot of money. Congrats to both the buyer and the seller.

Thanks to John Picchietti for the tip.

Premium .CO Domain Auction Starts

I mentioned this briefly yesterday, but today I have more information about the premium .CO auction on Pool  that begins today at noon and runs through November 7. This is a no reserve auction, and anyone who registers on Pool can bid on the domain names.

The auction is a “re-auction” of domain names from the original .CO landrush. I believe some of the names had initially been auctioned but bidders didn’t pay.

Listed below are the 100 domain names that are set to be auctioned. I bolded my favorites – keep in mind that I may bid on one or more auction.

1. 8888.co
2. aam.co
3. accidentlawyers.co
4. alec.co
5. anthony.co

Sunday Update

11

The east coast was hit with a pretty big snow storm this weekend, and I know a few people who lost power. Hopefully you made it unscathed – and if you live elsewhere, I hope it’s been a nice weekend. Here are some weekly updates:

– I try to send follow up emails after meeting with people at tradeshows, and I appreciate it when people do the same. The photo above is a cookie I received from The Parking Place that says “RIP PPC.” There was also a card with a note from Jenny Johnson (company VP). It’s a great way to remind potential clients and business partners to get back in touch, and especially appropriate with Halloween coming up tomorrow.

– To follow up with my article about creatively bridging the gap in a negotiation, another great way to bridge the gap is to ask for a product or service from the buying company. For instance, if you’re selling a domain name to Best Buy, perhaps you can ask for a gift card as part of the deal.

– Numeric names continue to be hot… I keep receiving emails on a 3 number .com name I sold last year. People also continue to ask if I have any or know anyone selling any .com numeric names (2,3, and 4 numbers). If you have any for sale, let me know and I will try and put you in touch with a buyer – no fee or commission necessary.

– There’s going to be a .CO auction with some premium domain names starting tomorrow on Pool. I am sure you’ll hear more about it tomorrow, but just giving a head’s up.

– I want to buy a more comfortable office chair and am looking for suggestions. I am thinking about a Herman Miller Aeron chair, but they’re expensive, and want some feedback if you’ve tried it. Other recommendations would be appreciated.