A Record Breaking, Six Figure .CO Domain Sale Will Be Announced This Week
2010 July 18
You will be reading about a six figure sale of a .Co domain this week.
This sale will blow that one away.
Although I can’t reveal the domain, or the buyer, I can tell you its going to be a record setting sale for a .CO domain and the Buyer is not only a public company, but a member of the USA Today Internet 50 stock index.
Its a major acquisition and a huge boost for the .CO extension not just because of the price, but because of the buyer.
Now I know your asking, ” Mike how do you know about it if, it hasn’t been released?
Good question.
I helped to facilitated the transaction.
Ok that’s all you get for now.
Don’t start guessing, (although I know you will)
I can’t say anything more for now.
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Let’s hope it is a truly generic term and not a TM or quasi TM typo domain.
Brad
cis.co ? tib.co ? flowers.co?
Whoever it is, I figure a year or two from now, they’ll have regrets over having wasted their $$$, just like those who bought .cm, .asia, .mobi, and other Fool’s Gold.
Six figures for a .CO is about as good of an investment as $200K for Flowers.mobi IMO.
Brad
Or $30K for LasVegas.asia
Amen to the comments. I have no idea why so many people have gotten worked up over this extension. What makes it so good?
Troy, I am positive it is the .COM typo aspect.
People can say all they want about the “Company” meaning, but the typo traffic is the real draw.
This extension is going to be a nightmare to TM holders.
Brad
pepsi.co
.co is getting more popularity as compare to .name. Why will it make equal good to .com domain
Brad, why on earth would anyone pay that much for a typo? I don’t think the numbers add up by far. Correct me if I’m wrong here but I can’t remember seeing a six figure .cm sale just because it was a typo.
Why did someone pay $30K for LasVegas.asia? Just because something sells for a high price in a new extension certainly does not mean it was a good buy or is a trend of things to come.
.CO is at least tied to a reasonable country, unlike .CM. Columbia has a lot more commercial value than Cameroon.
The majority of internet users have never heard of any extension past COM/NET/ORG and their local ccTLD. Many of these people who think .CO is going to take over are dreaming.
Generally the most a domain will ever sell for is at the initial launch auction. That is when interest is the highest and the newbie money is flowing in. Pick any extension in recent memory. The outcome is always the same.
Other than a handful of well connected people, the only ones who will make major money are the Registry itself and registrars.
I hope .CO has a reasonable dispute process as well, because this extension is going to be a nightmare for famous TM holders.
Brad
Here is an article that explains the process what a new TLD is released. The outcome can be predicted.
http://domainnamewire.com/2010/02/26/the-lifecyle-of-a-top-level-domain-fanboy/
Brad
Let me tell you why some people are worked up over it. Back in 1995 there were a lot of people asking about .co and how it can be registered, me being one of them. “co” as a short form for “company” was here long before the internet or .com. Practically speaking, .co seemed like a better extension than .com, back then, just because it was simply one letter less. If I could have gotten at .co 15 years ago, i would have. All these “other” extensions like .mobi and .tel are problematic because they never had a history. .cm was problematic because its launch and infrastructure were faulty. Clearly .com has become king and will remain so but I still like the practicality of .co, typo-bound or not.
However, i do agree with Brad that it would be nice to see .co standing by itself. It should work by itself as a good cctld. Sure it might be a nightmare for TM holders but business is never a “fixed” model, it’s always changing, and I’m sure most good businesses have enough acumen to adapt and do what is necessary to keep their TMs in tact.
My guess, it was sex.co or porn.co – I mean what other domain is valued so highly in any other extension?
By the way, whats the current bidding price for sex.com – anyone know?
I agree with Em John.
In 10 years from now .co could easily be the preferred domain extension. Companies, blogs etc which are starting up now, cannot find an ideal .com domain, and will therefore look for an alternative. .net, .org, ccTLDs are all ok, however .co is short, intuitive and can be an abbreviation for many terms plus .com.
is this single char .co ?
The sale of sex.com isn’t an auction so we don’t know what if any offers they have received
Yeah, I know. I put in my bid for a cool million (which was sedo’s minimum) but they kindly refused, lol. Was just wondering if you know what kind of serious offers they have received.
I agree, the sale has to involve a single char, as shrinking a link has and will become more popular in the future. I mean look at w.me t.me y.me, the big boys gobbled them up long ago. I would say a w.co, t.co, & y.co is wildly more valuable. Investing 100k+ in a one word to me just seems a risk to me at this point. Can u atleast throw us a bone & say if it’s a one char?
Six Figure .CO Domain Sale … I don’t think it will happen
about cis.co it’s a great domain … but with zero value … if it’s not already owned by Cisco, they can easily have it free via WIPO
IMO
flowers.mobi Part Deux
.CO is the country code (cctld) for Colombia.
Country codes were meant to represent …countries.
Countries have borders. CCTLDS should eventually become the “borders” of the Internet, which will serve to help identify and categorize.
IF that happens, countries that market their country code to mean something else, will need to re-think that marketing tactic.
On the other hand, perhaps this company has (or plans to have) a big presence in Columbia.
Here are my guesses:
i.co
co.co
com.co
insurance.co
loans.co
homes.co
jobs.co
mortgage.co
Steve:
In what planet do you live in brother?
Other than those that are already established (.co.uk, .de, etc..) ccTLDs will NEVER become “borders” of the internet. The internet is way too global for that already, and with new gTLDs coming online, the idea that ccTLDs “were meant to represent countries” will get even more diluted.
i do agree with Brad that it would be nice to see .co standing by itself. It should work by itself as a good cctld. Sure it might be a nightmare for TM holders but business is never a “fixed” mode
I could be wrong but isn’t .co kind of being used in major domain extensions now?
.co.uk, .co.in, and .co.nz and are being used as COmpany extensions. Of course its not the cctld but its already familiar to many of the world as a domain extension. Especially in India where they have more then 1 billion in population.
From what I read, the .co… version of these extensions are vastly more popular in their respective countries (and also for domainers) then their non-company extensions (.eu, .in, or .nz).
For me it would make scenes that shortening the extension would make the domain that much more valuable. Of course in the end, it will be the people and the companies who have the greatest input on what extension will become popular.
I mean domainers, would like to see it be pushed this way or that way but they actually have very little input on the value of the domains (mostly because they fail to develop them)
I would like to see more discussion on this topic.
Oh by the way, I just started looking at the .co domains to maybe/possibly register one. All the good ones are gone already. Starting to have to look into 2 or 3 word domains already and it hasn’t even made the official launch yet.
Maybe you guys will have better luck finding a single word domain that has more then 20k global searches a month. I cant find one… YET!
It is of course, only one possibility.
It is inevitable that all the new Generic TLD’s will dilute the domain space.
The more gTLD’s that are released, the more diluted things become.
There will be a flood of domains that will all be marketed to “stand for” something or mean something. And, that will work for some domains.
But, in the end, country codes will be the ones that can definitively be connected to something: the issuing country.
These “Internet borders” will really be reference points to help categorize things. Although, some countries will try to put tight controls on them just like they do their real borders. China is already working on it. But, the nature of the Internet will limit a lot of that.
But, you can bet your ass one thing. The politicians (governments) are eventually going to start controlling as much of the Internet world as they can …so they can TAX it. This means more regulations will be coming. Countries that want their economies to prosper through the Internet will start promoting their country codes and making policies that benefit their country codes.
Also note: Look at the last FAQ question on their site.
It basically say’s that .CO “Will Never” cease to be the country code for Colombia.
The Colombian Government has simply decided to market it this way.
Time will tell but…
COlorado, COmmunity, CO-op, COmpany, COrp, COmmunication, COllege, plus the verbal flow like .com
This baby’s first steps do indicate a potential runner. Could fall below .net in the world of commercial acceptance, it is really up to the major advertisers. (.org still has the non-profit feel) Will we start to hear .CO on TV commercials? Harvard.CO flows well for an alternative need site. What about the next start up HVAC repair company? PhoenixAC.CO ? I’d use it over Phoenix-AC.net. It is also hard to believe that Google will blackball like .CM since Twitter has announced they will be using t.CO as a url shortener. I doubt Google will not list Ashton Kusher’s next tweet with a link.
Accept for about 500 top generics, direct-nav typo will be dead in a decade, who under 40 just types in socks.com when looking for socks? At some point we need a cousin to .com/.net- what will our children use for their endeavors and emails?
It’s guessing time.
Let’s hope it’s not cis.co get it cisco
Hopefully it will be a one letter such a O for overstock, G for google or A for amazon.
I am sure the price is in the 250k range, but like you said price is not the big deal here, it’s the buyer that is counts.
idomainmedia.com
It’s got to be pepsi.co – their trading name is PepsiCo – it’s also their website name and a trademark so nobody else should be using it anyway.
Getting the public to care is key. And here is the problem – they don’t. They really don’t. They only went for dotCom because they had to. And in 99% of most business situations that counts most. As trivial as it sounds, many businesses won’t change their domain because they already have it on their business cards and stationary. DotCom’s had 25 years to brand itself on top of the fact that it is the only TLD synonymous worldwide with the Internet itself. ccTLDs gained a foothold because in many countries Nationalist identity means something to the locals. Most domainers are too immersed in the field to understand what the general public is really feeling. Just because something would impress us or sounds wonderfully logical means nothing to the masses. DotCo has a great team and, at the very least, I believe they will be a profitable company, but getting the masses to rebrand themselves all over again is an almost impossible situation. Nevertheless, I hope that dotCo hits the ball out of the park. Remember, the key to a TLD’s longevity is not how many people use it, but how many develop it.
hofman
They said the same thing about .mobi…
.mobi was going to change the world and every site was going to have a .mobi ending
.eu – another story for a later date
I don’t think Pepsi would be stupid enough to pay big bucks for something they can get for free. It really has to be a generic term. I would be shocked if a big sale was being promoted that was based on obvious squatting.
Brad
Happy to say that .co isn’t getting any of my money.
Same with .asia or .cm or .me etc.
ALL speculation and as usual less than 1% of .co will be developed therefore NO public recognition that only leads to confusion and adding value to the .com version.
All .com owners hope .co and .cm owners will develop so the sites will bleed traffic to .com therefore raising the value of .com even more.
If you want to SPECULATE in .co, that’s one thing but don’t confuse buying a .co with INVESTING in .co.
Two very different things.
But, good luck to all .co buyers.
Overstock buys O.co for $350K. I assume that is the sale. Interesting, but don’t think it tells much about the market.
They also use O.biz, and it didn’t mean much for .BIZ
Brad
cis.co
Who was the seller here ?
Amr
The Seller was the .CO Registry
Story is now at:
http://www.thedomains.com/2010/07/20/it-started-with-a-chat-at-a-cocktail-party-overstock-buys-o-co-for-350k/
I would not read much into the sale of O.co or any L.co in general. These are really not the same as a standard keyword.co
These are being negotiated by the registry itself to end users and there is a finite supply.
Brad
Great move on both parts.But out of all the cases ive seen of big companies registering their .co counterpart, ALL of them are only fowarding to their .co.In order for dotco to be succesfull they need BIG companies to come out with DEVELOPED domains, fowarded domains dont show up in SERPS.(see toys.com, lost its ranking).
Random Though: LOL I was sure eBay would be the winner for e.co
@David J Castello
“Just because something would impress us or sounds wonderfully logical means nothing to the masses.”
Agreed. But, here’s where I believe the disconnect occurs when it comes to marketing domain names and/or domain extensions:
Day after day, year after year, Madison Avenue creates desire and demand for thousands upon thousands of products and services where no such desire or demand existed before. How else could brand name goods sell for premiums that are often tens, hundreds or even thousands of dollars more than similar items that don’t boast a custom label that (apparently) conveys special status and distinction?
Madison Avenue casts its spell and most of us are only too happy to take out our wallets or open our purses and pay unreasonable, exorbitant sums of money because Madison Avenue knows exactly how to obtain the desired result. We scream at the gas pump yet spend the equivalent of $7 or $8 per gallon on bottled water. Brilliant.
Nevertheless, from my vantage point, it would appear that the domain industry would have us believe that the Madison Avenue marketing machine works for all products, services, concepts and categories – except domain names. Because when it comes to domain names, we let the raw market forces do what they will, and win, lose or draw, we’re obliged to accept the outcome. WHY?
Perhaps one day, a domain promoter will decide that after spending millions of dollars to get a new TLD launched, millions more must be spent to convince the actual end using public (not domainers) that this TLD is, indeed, the golden ticket that will bring fame, fortune and success beyond all imagination* for less than the price of an early morning coffee run at the office.
Unless the vaccine cocktail delivered to us during our formative years was actually labeled DPT-”D”, it seems to me that the public-at-large possesses no special domain marketing immunity and that our industry has the same ability to influence outcome and create demand just like every other business on this planet. Why we choose not to is a question I am unable to answer.
Perhaps the total dollars floating around this industry pale in comparison to the likes of products like the “Sham-Wow”, “Slap-Chop”, or the “Snuggie”.
What d’ya think?
*Results not typical. Actual results will vary.
Now that it’s revealed……that wouldn’t have been in my top 10-20 guesses. Congrats to the registry. Impressive figure.
It will be nice to start seeing big sales in the 3d.com and 3d domain markets,
Start facilitating those big guy..
I think it comes down to quality. In my opinion, stupidrandomdomain.com may fetch a few bucks, but stupidrandomdomain.co won’t. However, there’s something to be said for short, memorable domains regardless of the extension. Watch.it just sold for $10k. esp.de for EUR 5500. acx.eu for EUR 1500. At Sedo right now, videogames.info is bid up to $3k and even wop.info has a bid at $350. Knowing this, would you be willing to pay ~$260 a pop to register short, memorable, unbranded domains like snow.co, bye.co, or swim.co? I consider that a bit of a steal, frankly.
Wow…thanks for the heads up. This is so great…now I can own some premium domain names…I just bought an amazing premium domain home-for-sale.co Hope this is a good investment.
@SDM
Good points all.
The #1 problem is that Madison Avenue still doesn’t get what we do. And these guys are sitting on the bank vault. Their present mindset is that they would rather use a completely new URL to track their television commercials instead of sending all that new traffic to their client’s main web site. And they would rather spend a fortune on a 60 day advertising campaign instead of buying a great generic domain that will pipeline traffic to their client for years to come.
However, there is progress being made and, as the Stones would say, time is on our side. Michael and I had a business dinner in Laguna Beach this week with some gentlemen who are interested in branding their new travel company with our Traveler.com. One of them kept asking very pointed questions about the domain industry. He finally told me that he was once an executive in a major advertising firm and said, “Until you explained it to me I had no idea exactly why these names are worth so much. Now I get it.”
Eventually they all will.
.co = community, corporation… it has some chances there.
…and my guess is “love.co”
Finally I can buy the .co domain name at a reasonable price. I just bought radio.co from linuxhostingplans.wordpress.com/co-domain
i have bought 10 co-domain