Numeric domain name values are rising. #Sedo is taking submissions for premium numeric #domain auction in September. https://t.co/9ICuZ4ZuaM
— Kathy Nielsen (@NewDomainsSedo) July 2, 2014
With numeric domain names continuing to sell for high prices, Sedo announced that it will be running a “premium numeric domain auction” in September. I assume this means they will be looking for very short numeric domain names (NN, NNN, and NNNN) in popular extensions. Hopefully the lead time will give them a chance to reach out to their buyers and other known buyers to help facilitate deals.
If you are interested in submitting a domain name for the auction, listed below are the important dates to remember:
- Submission Period: July 1st – 31st, 2014
- Selection Period: August 1st – 8th, 2014
- Auction Period： September 3rd – 10th, 2014
According to the auction page on the Sedo website, “Numeric Domains have continuously broken sales records in the past few years! This trend is originating from China, but now spreading over the world.” I certainly wish I would have kept my numeric domain names, but I didn’t anticipate them to increase in value so much over the last few years.
Here is the submission criteria I found on Sedo’s website:
Premium Numeric Domain Auction :: Application Criteria
The domain must be a PURE NUMERIC domain, consisting solely of numbers to the left of the dot.
Extensions:
1) Preferred TLDs : .COM/ .NET / .CN / .COM.CN
2) Other TLDs or ccTLDs might be accepted if the domain quality is extraordinary and the reserve price is reasonable
Length：
1) Preferred length: maximum of four numbers or less
2) Names with more than four numbers, but less than or equal to six might be also considered if the quality and reserve prices are more than appropriate, such as:
The number is easy to remember and has a high commercial value.
The reserve price for the domain is reasonable
The domain doesn’t infringe any third party rights (e.g. trademark rights)
My numeric sales have been very good.
For example, there are only 9,999 NNNN domains. Compared to 457,000 LLLL domains. Moreover, there are 17,000 LLL domains compared to 999 NNN domains.
What is shocking is how many people have not realized there are only 99 N-N domains.
The tricky part of buying NNN, NNNN domains is knowing what they mean in China.
Are we in a bubble? Who knows?
The main problem with putting a numbers only domain name with Sedo is the reserve price allowed. Since I own several NNNN.com domain names, I am watching the sales on multiple Chinese auction websites. The minimum price for any NNNN.com domain is no less than $10,000 USD. Depending on the domain name, it can go as high as $500,000 USD. If the domain owner is not Chinese, and the whois shows that, you can expect lowball offers. Example – A few months back, I sold the domain name 0006.com in a Chinese auction and got $10,000 for the domain name. Two months later, the domain name was sold for $15,000. The same domain name cannot be bought today for $100,000, so if you own any numbers domain names (NN.com to NNNN.com), don’t rush. You may be surprised if a year from now the minimum price for a random NNNN.com domain name reaches $25,000.
Check this auction for NNNN.com ($1.00 =6.2 RMB)http://www.4.cn/hotsale/index/tag/72