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June 19, 2019

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Biggest Public Cash Domain Sale Ever Reported & Year's Highest Non .Com Sale Headline This Week's Chart

As most of you probably know by now, the biggest publicly reported all cash domain sale of all time was revealed Tuesday (June 18, 2019). With the $30 million sale of Voice.com more than doubling the $13 million paid for previous record holder Sex.com back in 2010, media outlets around the world, both inside and outside the domain industry, reported the landmark sale (including us, of course, with an assist from George Kirikos who was the first to send us some of the key information as the story started breaking).

The GoDaddy Domain Broker Service was credited with facilitating the sale in which seller MicroStrategy Inc., a public company listed on the NASDAQ (under the symbol MSTR), sent Voice.com to buyer Block.one, a company that is using Voice.com to launch a new blockchain-based social media platform called Voice. 

We maintain a chart of the top 20 all cash domain only sales reported since we began our weekly domain sales reports in 2003. In light of the Voice.com sale I think it is worth repeating something I have pointed out in the past that remains a problem. Several other sites (the most notable probably being Wikipedia) have published lists with titles like "List of Most Expensive Domain Names" that are actually a mishmash of assets that are very different from one another -  mixing sales of developed online businesses in with domain only sales, as well as purchases paid in whole or part with common stock (sometimes of dubious value) and even listing uncompleted purchases (like Vegas.com that is being paid for in installments that still have years to run). 

By Ron Jackson

Unfortunately, others pick up and copy this mis-information across the web - reinforcing a pervasive lack of understanding of the differences between a domain name, a website and an online business. Of the four domains Wikipedia lists above Voice.com, the top three were all either a sale still to be completed (Vegas.com) or online businesses with existing revenue streams (Insurance.com and CafrInsurance.com). The fourth (PrivateJet.com) changed hands in a stock/cash combination whose actual value was unknown (and widely questioned at the time). It is too bad that this lack of awareness will, at least in some circles, keep the actual #1 cash sale of a domain name only (now Voice.com) from getting all of the recognition it rightfully deserves.

The same could be said for the GoDaddy Domain Broker Service, who can now accurately claim the #1 publicly reported sale of a domain name. They did receive an undisclosed commission beyond the $30 million paid for Voice.com, and that would be enough for some, but they shouldn't have to watch credit for their achievement go to others who were playing an entirely different game. 

All of the commotion surrounding the Voice.com sale overshadowed another outstanding sale that would have led our latest weekly all extension Top 20 Sales Chart almost any other week of the year. That was Sedo Senior Broker Dave Evanson's $400,000 sale of Casinos.org in what was the biggest non .com sale of the year to date. Voice.com or no Voice.com - that is worth popping the cork on a bottle of champagne for Dave and Sedo!

Also notable this week was a nice group of five 3-letter .com sales made to Chinese buyers by Graham Haynes. All five landed on the top half of the leader board with #3 ZKJ.com at $49,980 leading the quintet. If Graham's name sounds familiar - it should. He is the guy who paid $650,000 for Furniture.co.uk in 2016 (in a deal brokered by Dave Evanson - another name that keeps popping up)! The UK based investor/developer used the domain to reinforce his thriving furniture retail business. Graham doesn't usually make his transactions public but he decided to put the 3-letter .com sales out there (made over the past 3 months) because he felt too much has been made of a Chinese buying slowdown. He wanted to show that the market for short, desirable .coms is still alive and well in the Far East.

While the .coms dominated again this week, the non .com gTLDs and ccTLDs each has three entries on the elite list. Sedo had two of the three country code sales with the other - #13 LoveLetter.co at $15,000 - going to David Lizmi. Overall, Sedo led all venues with a dozen charted sales including six of the 14 .coms. EmpireNames.com also helped the .com cause with #9 NPay.com at $25,000.

Here's a look at how all of the sales leaders stacked for the week ending Sunday, June 16, 2019:

HealthInsurance Services, Inc
eHealthInsurance Services, Inc
eHealthInsurance Services, Inc

The DN Journal Top 20 
Highest Reported Domain Sales - Mon. June 10, 2019 - Sun. June 16, 2019
(Foreign currency to U.S. Dollar Conversions Based on Rates in Effect June 19, 2019)
  Domain

Sold For

 Where Sold
1. Voice.com $30,000,000 GoDaddy Domain Broker Service
2. Casinos.org $400,000 Sedo
3. ZKJ.com $49,980 Graham Haynes
4. AYX.com $47,750 Graham Haynes
5. FGRE.com $35,000 Sedo
6.
tie		 XYH.com $29,980 Graham Haynes
6.
tie		 ZJH.com $29,980 Graham Haynes
6.
tie		 ZTJ.com $29,980 Graham Haynes
9. NPay.com $25,000 EmpireNames
10. iFold.com $22,500 Sedo

11. Bitnet.org $18,200 Sedo
12. Melatonin.de €14,875 = $16,660 Sedo
13. LoveLetter.co $15,000 David Lizmi
14.
tie		 4U.tube $12,000 Sedo
14.
tie		 Finko.com $12,000 Sedo
16. One.network €10,000 = $11,200 Sedo
17. Alps.ch €9,700 = $10,864 Sedo
18.
tie		 Cruisemate.com $10,000 Sedo
18.
tie		 SleekFashion.com $10,000 Sedo
20. BitcoinInc.com €8,849 = $9,911 Sedo

Keep in mind that these are the highest value cash only sales that have been reported to us in the past week. This column is meant to be an educational tool, not a complete list documenting ALL high value domain sales. Such a list is impossible to produce because many sales are kept private at the insistence of buyers, sellers or both. Our procedure for verifying the accuracy of domain sales reports is available here.

CLICK HERE for our Year-To-Date Top Sales Charts

Click Link Below for
The All-Time Top 20 All-Cash Domain Sales Reported By DNJournal.com
 (2003 to Now)

.Com Supporting Cast

Sedo led the .com supporting cast of four-figure sales with DiscreetRX.com at $9,880, FitBag.com at $8,000 and ForSchools.com at $7,500. Lyres.com landed $6,980 while SoloSolo.com and Vahdat.com drew $6,000 each. PCElectric.com plugged in $5,995, Dobinsons.com delivered $5,750 and Prime24.com produced $5,500.

Sedo had 27 more four-figure sales ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 that are listed in the table below:

Additional Sedo .com Sales Between $2,000 - $5,000
ursell.com $5,000   tnso.com $2,999
skinplus.com $4,999 osmolality.com $2,995
motife.com $4,880 masnegocios.com $2,850
dominoeffect.com $4,000 madeyours.com $2,776
iooa.com $3,999 brandsuccess.com $2,600
pargo.com $3,999 cryptohippo.com $2,500
youbelong.com $3,750 dxdai.com $2,500
fintechsystems.com $3,361 globalstartup.com $2,500
americanstock.com $3,326 pdf24.com $2,240
superfeel.com $3,150 hempathletic.com $2,200
fanmix.com $3,000 lotb.com $2,050
gdsa.com $3,000 babyed.com $2,000
nimbuz.com $3,000 tezaur.com $2,000
zidd.com $3,000  

Elsewhere, DomainDomme.com used the Undeveloped platform to sell LadyHemp.com for $4,000.

Country Codes

The ccTLDs were, of course, led by that trio of sales you saw on the all extension leader board above, with Sedo $16,660 sale of  Melatonin.de leading the way. The biggest sale in this group that you haven't seen yet is #4 on our latest Country Code Top Sales Chart. That is also a Sedo sale, Placement.co at $8,000. BrandableNames.com rounded out the first five with Edibles.us at $7,650. 

Sedo swept 14 of the 18 sales reported from this group this week. The only other venue with multiple sales was DomainLore.co.uk with two - #17 Circles.co.uk at $1,686 and #18 Bulgaria.co.uk at $1,323.

Here is how the top ccTLD sales stacked up for the week ending Sunday, June 16, 2019:

Domain Name Industry Newsletter

Country Code Top Sales Chart
Highest Reported ccTLD Sales - Mon. June 10, 2019 - Sun. June 16, 2019
(Foreign currency to U.S. Dollar Conversions Based on Rates in Effect June 19, 2019)
  Domain

Sold For

 Where Sold
1. Melatonin.de €14,875 = $16,660 Sedo
2. LoveLetter.co $15,000 David Lizmi
3. Alps.ch €9,700 = $10,864 Sedo
4. Placement.co $8,000 Sedo
5. Edibles.us $7,650 BrandableNames
6. Robin.co $6,000 Sedo
7. Raeucherofen.at €3,900 = $4,368 Sedo
8. EnergieMonitor.de €3,800 = $4,256 Sedo
9. Dara.us $3,999 Sedo
10. Hundewiese.de €3,570 = $3,998 Sedo

Domain Name Industry Newsletter

11. Schnidde.de €3,500 = $3,920 Sedo
12. Goldfinch.co.uk £2,999 = $3,779 Sedo
13. EBO.io €3,000 = $3,360 Sedo
14.
tie		 FTG.eu £2,500 = $3,150 Sedo
14.
tie		 Consonant.io $3,000 Sedo
16. Holo.me $2,500 Sedo
17. Circles.co.uk £1,338 = $1,686 DomainLore.co.uk
18. Bulgaria.co.uk £1,050 = $1,323 DomainLore.co.uk

CLICK HERE for our Year-To-Date Charts.

If there are country code extensions in our report that you are not familiar with, you can look up the nation each extension goes with here. 

Non .com gTLDs (.net, .org and others, including new gTLDs)

The Non .com gTLDs were, of course, led by the 800-pound gorilla at Sedo that sold for $400,000 - Casinos.org. You saw the top three in this category on the all extension leader board above so highest sale you haven't seen yet is #4 on our latest weekly Non .com gTLD Top Sales Chart - Sedo's sale of One.network at $11,200.

Only 11 sales were reported from this group and six of those were new gTLDs including a pair of .club sale made through GoDaddy. Butterfly.club and Fox.club tied for #10 at $1,500 apiece. 

Here is how the non .com gTLD sales stacked up for the week ending Sunday, June 16, 2019:

Non .Com gTLD Top Sales Chart
Highest Reported Non .Com gTLD Sales - Mon. June 10, 2019 - Sun. June 16, 2019
(Foreign currency to U.S. Dollar Conversions Based on Rates in Effect June 19, 2019)
  Domain

Sold For

 Where Sold
1. Casinos.org $400,000 GoDaddy Domain Broker Service
2. Bitnet.org $18,200 Sedo
3. 4U.tube $12,000 Sedo
4.