According to a press release from ICM Registry, Clips4Sale has purchased $700,000 in . XXX domains.
The exact domains were not mentioned in the press release but one of the included domains sold for $300,000.
Here is the full press release:
“ICM Registry, the operator of the new .xxx top-level domain (TLD), announced today that it signed a major deal with Clips4Sale, the number one downloadable video clip site, for 30 premium adult-entertainment related domain names.
A spokesperson for Clips4Sale said, “With our current plan to significantly increase our market share, taking the opportunity to acquire highly visible domain names that specifically relate to our business was an obvious choice. These 30 new domains will enable us to be predominant in certain niches within .XXX as well as provide additional avenues to promote our producers and their content to a new audience.”
“We are delighted that Clips4Sale has decided to participate in the .xxx domain, they are one of the few companies able to compete against free and pirated content, primarily because of the uniqueness of their offering,” said ICM Registry sales director, Vaughn Liley. “Being able to prosper in the current economic climate speaks volumes about their business model as well as the popularity of user generated content. As an innovator and a company that thinks differently, Clips4Sale make an ideal business partner for .xxx.”
The all cash, $700,000 transaction includes one .xxx domain at $300,000 and two others at over $80,000 each. The $300,000 domain will join gay.xxx in the top 15 domain sales of the year. The new owners plan to reveal the names purchased when the sites launch early next year.
These purchases clearly mark the value of the new .xxx domain and serve as a strong endorsement from leading adult entertainment companies as to how and where they are investing for their future growth.”
I´m very curious to see which ones they bought.
I just invested $170 in .xxx domains if I end up getting the ones i pre ordered that is.
Adult companies were the loudest objectors at the creation of .XXX
This DEFENSIVE BUYING is why.
I see lots of purchases, and hold back of many details hmmm
Help me understand how a new domain extension rolls out by doing deals before the door opens to the public?
I know Frank bought a lot of .xxx domains and other Players in the industry and I guess that’s all fine since I assume ICANN approved everything but it seems a bit unfair for a new registry to sell off domain BEFORE they are available to the public.
Just my thinking.
@Rob,
What’s even worse is I applied for some and paid a rediculous application fee. I was denied and they kept the application fee saying it is non refundable. Pure BS. Not sure how they can justify that but they do. In this case it was Go Daddy, but most adapted the same policy.
The proof is in the numbers. Although I am not investing in the .xxx extension I can definitely see the potential here.
@ Rob
I tend to agree. The winners in these new extensions are always the registry and insiders.
The average person never really has much of a shot.
They are normally left fighting for scraps.
Brad
@Rob and @Brad
These premium Generic Names have been available for enquiries and purchase by anyone who cared to ask for months now, as per our contract with ICANN. Most registries who have launched in recent times like .co and .mobi operated exactly the same type of premium Generic program, see goal.co and/or hotels.mobi for examples.
Just sitting there waiting for enquiries.
There are still several hundred names marked in the Whois as Premium Generic just sitting there waiting for folks with good ideas or a plan to enquire.
In addition , literally thousand of very valuable and keyword names were allocated in Landrush and Sunrise and the “early birds” on Tuesday will get some very short memorable names if they have bothered to apply for them.
First, the nay-sayers claimed that .XXX would fail. Now, they are complaining that the names are really valuable but should be given away for less than they are worth! This discussion has gone from beyond ridiculous and back again.
It sounds like lots of sleeping people are just mad that Frank Schilling and Mike Berkens got some of the best deals in history because they were smart and adopted early. I say congrats!
ICM’s success has already spoken for itself and will continue to as more time goes on.
“…Clips4Sale has purchased $700,000 in . XXX domains…”
If .porn .sex are on the market,
Clips4sale has to spend more money to secure .porn .sex as well…
More money spending…
I was under the impression that with GoDaddy, if you pay the application fee but don’t get a .xxx domain a refund is given. Is this not true?
Those who are not active in the adult industry will only see 2 things:
1. A porn company bought .xxx domains.
2. A porn company supposedly paid $700k for them.
Those who are active in the adult industry immediately notice what’s going on:
ICM approached a company that never had any real impact online. Clips4Sale is struggling and has been struggling for a while now. Webmasters have been reporting a decrease in c4s sales and delays in payments (see GFY) and have been moving away from c4s.
You’ve got to hand it to the ICM Registry; they do know how to pick their prey. ICM Registry gets to use the name of a porn company in their PR and a has-been fringe porn company that never managed to get on the web 2.0 train gets the illusion of a second chance.
@Stuart Lawley,
Thanks for posting here and explaining the opportunity.
So you are saying that these .xxx domains that sold were sold through a Request For Proposal process and sold to the best development partner?
I thought that was the process for allocating reserved or premium domains.
It seems that these domains were simply sold to whomever was willing to write a large enough check and not put out to an RFP bid.
@Corson I agree that it is absolutely preposterous to say “I’m opposed to .xxx AND I’m really pissed off that I didn’t get the best .xxx”. This outrage is pure hypocrisy. However, your conclusion that “ICM’s success has already spoken for itself” is EQUALLY preposterous. The domain has not gone live yet. In fact, general availability has not even opened. There is an IRP pending, and two law suits have been filed. Yet, you have declared it a success. Sure. If you consider extracting/extorting vast amounts of money from America’s system of Higher Education to be the measure of success, then ICM has had success. But, if you define a successful TLD as one that is live and drawing consumers, then no reasonable person could agree with you.
ICANN is corrupt and all of this insider trading is sickening. All of the players, need to do jail time and pay restitution for ruining .com
@ Ann. Kuch
I think that many reasonable people can see that 80,000 Sunrise Applications easily makes .XXX the most successful new extension ever. This is not to mention all of the six-figure sales that have came out of the Founders Program including the ones that this article refers to and we are all commenting on.
The value of .xxx domains dropped by at least 20% this afternoon. You might want to read gfy.com or one of the other industry boards.
@ Ann Kuch
Disagree. The value of .XXX domains did not drop by 20% today and there is absolutely zero justification to say they did. Claiming they did is TOTALLY preposterous especially because nobody expected Manwin and ICM to have a business relationship after Manwin sued them.
Manwin’s actions today were totally predictable and if anything, will only hurt the value of Manwin’s company and brand. This seems like a very weird and stupid position to take so early in the launch of the first and possibly only adult extension.
@Corson You (domainers) keep arguing that .xxx is not like other TLD’s. It is not like .mobi and others because it is all about ADULT. Because this is not about the DOMAIN, it is not something at which domainers are expert. Because it is all about ADULT, it is something at which the adult industry is expert. You might learn something by listening to the experts. The value of every single .xxx went down by AT LEAST %20 today.
P.S. Fabian neither speeks hyperbolically, nor does he make empty threats. When he says that this is just the beginning, you can guarantee that this is just the beginning.
What most forget is adult business has been suffering for a while due to tube sites and free porn. “Show me the money” is how you should think of it.
@Gary,
No they kept my application fee and claimed it was non refundable.
goood like..thankss
Domain 90210.xxx is now available for purchase.
90210.xxx It’s Beverly Hills Baby!
I GOT VCR.XXX
if a well-known domainer who’s been at this since the 90’s is saying something is questionable with how .xxx is doing business, perhaps something is indeed afoot. it’s at least a clue to take a closer look. caveat emptor.
people keep mentioning the (immediate) success of the _registry_. that’s great if you’re the one running the registry. traffic is irrelevant to such “success”. it’s all about reg fees.
but if you’re a common _domainer_, then traffic matters. no traffic, no demand, no income. maybe something to think about.
It’s too bad the world is becoming more and more full of crooks.
Congrats to RG3!
I’ve purchased
raptors.xxx
quiznos.xxx
nationalpost.xxx
Are they worth anything?
“Are they worth anything?”
Potential lawsuits.
Brad
Hype.xxx and RedSquare.xxx
Godaddy helped me buy my .xxx domain but wont help me sell it. They will not allow me to sell it in the auction. Nor will they allow me to sell it as a premium domain. Thoughts?
I bought ebonyass.xxx
Hey I just purchased resume.xxx i don’t care if its worth anything now …prepared to wait and see…