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It’s estimated that more than 500 urls have been bought and sold for $1 million or more.
We scoured domain name resource DN Journal and put together a list of documented million-dollar, domain-only sales. Some have been squatted on for 20 years and have only recently traded hands.
Not surprisingly, sex and gambling-related domains are some of the biggest money makers.
Check out the most expensive domain names of all time >
NOTE: Web businesses have other assets and are not domain only sales, so they were not eligible for this list. For example, Insure.com was bought for $16 million as a fully-operating, profitable company. DN Journal only reports domain names sold after 2003 because prior sales are not verified by credible sources.
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MM.com — $1,200,000
Date sold: July 2014
MM.com was sold for $1.2 million through Sedo in July 2014. It was purchased by Hangzhou Duomai E-Commerce Co., Ltd, a company behind other domain names Game.com, JZ.com and 4.cn.
eBet.com — $1,350,000
Date sold: October 2013
A man named Rick registered eBet.com in 1996 and held onto it until last September when he agreed to sell the domain.
“Network Solutions contacted me on August 29th with a $50,000 offer. I did not think anything of it as I get these all the time,” Rick wrote on his blog. “I countered at $1.8M and went about my business. On September 3rd voila the buyer comes back at $1MM…So I think, how to get that number where I can live with and at the same time they can live with. So I counter at $1.35MM and that was my final offer. I hear nothing until the following Friday. September 16th. They accept the offer!”
Cameras.com – $1,500,000
Year sold: 2006
“Cameras.com attracted the highest bid in the live domain auction conducted by Moniker.com at the recently concluded T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East Conference in Hollywood, Florida,” The DN Journal wrote in 2006.
“The winning bidder, Sig Solares (the CEO of Parked.com), wasted no time ponying up the $1,500,000 due, making that domain the first from the live auction that we have seen change hands.”
Russia.com – $1,500,000
Year sold: 2009
Sedo.com brokered the deal back in 2009. Paley Media, based in Seattle, sold the pricey domain off.
Tandberg.com – $1,500,000
Year sold: 2007
“Tandberg Data, a leading global supplier and manufacturer of backup and archiving solutions, decided to take the cash offer for Tandberg.com from Tandberg, a leading global provider of visual communication products and services with dual headquarters in New York and Norway,” The DN Journal wrote at the time of the sale.
The deal was actually completed in December 2006 but wasn’t made public until early 2007.
Ticket.com – $1,525,000
Year sold: 2009
Ticket.com raked in a lot of cash for Afternic.com when it was sold off in October, 2009. BuyDomains brokered the transaction.
DataRecovery.com – $1,659,000
Year sold: 2008
Minnesota’s Associated Computers, Inc sold the domain to ESS Data Recovery on February 1, 2008. ESS had been trying to buy the domain for a long time.
Auction.com – $1,700,000
Year sold: 2009
Auction.com was rumored to be selling for even more money — $2.5 million. But it came in at $1.7 million, and was purchased by Real Estate Disposition Corp.
Dating.com – $1,750,000
Year sold: 2010
Dating.com was acquired at the at DOMAINFest auction in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in May 2012. The next highest domain name to go at that auction was Boardgames.com, for $450,000.
Fly.com – $1,760,000
Year sold: 2009
Travelzoo spent big bucks on Fly.com in January 2009.
Seniors.com – $1,800,000
Year sold: 2007
It was a big 2007 for a man named Page Howe. He sold two domains that year for 7-figures each. He sold Guy.com for $1 million, and Seniors.com for $1.8 million.
37.com — $1,960,800
Date sold: March 2014
37.com was sold for $1.9 million during a private sale in March. The domain was purchased by Chinese game-maker 37Wan
Computer.com – $2,100,000
Year sold: 2007
In October 2007, Computer.com cleaned up at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. / Moniker domain name auction. WallStreet.com was almost sold for $3 million there, but it didn’t “meet the set reserve prices,” according to DomainRich.
114.com — $2,100,000
Date sold: July 2013
114.com was sold privately for $2.1 million in mid-2013. It was bought by a Chinese company.
KK.com — $2,400,000
Date sold: November 2013
KK.com was sold through Moniker/SnapNames brokerage firm for $2.4 million in late 2013. The domain was owned by the Castello Brothers, who have been snatching up a bunch of valuable domain names since 1995.
Youxi.com — $2,430,000
Date sold: March 2014
Youxi.com (which means “games” in Chinese), sold for $2.4 million in a private sale in March 2014. It was purchased by Gamewave Group Limited.
Investing.com — $2,450,000
Year sold: 2012
Forexpros.com bought Investing.com earlier this month for $2.45 million. It was the largest domain sale of the year.
Social.com — $2,600,000
Year Sold: 2011
Moniker brokered a deal to sell social.com for $2.6 million in July, 2011.
CreditCards.com – $2,750,000
Year sold: 2004
ClickSuccess L.P, a firm that sells financial tools and products online, purchased CreditCards.com in 2004. It was the biggest domain-only sale in years. Casino.com was part of a massive $5.5 million deal in 2003, but its sale included a number of other assets.
Shopping.de – $2,858,945
Year sold: 2008
Unister GmbH purchased the domain to go along with its portfolio of other destination sites, including Auto.de, News.de and Kredit.de.
Candy.com – $3,000,000
Year sold: 2009
G&J Holdings purchased Candy.com for a sweet $3 million in 2009. Toys.com outdid that earlier in the year though, when it was bought by ToysRUs for $5.1 million.
Vodka.com – $3,000,000
Year sold: 2006
A billionaire in Russia who founded the country’s largest vodka maker purchased Vodka.com for $3 million in December 2006.
Sex.xxx — $3,000,000
Date sold: June 2014
Sex.xxx is the most-expensive .xxx domain name. In June it was sold for $3 million through ICM Registry. Barron Innovations bought it as part of a larger $5 million deal with ICM Registry which includes more than 40 keyword domain names.
Whiskey.com – $3,100,000
Date sold: March 2014
Whiskey.com was sold by Castello Cities Internet Network in a domain-only sale, and it was purchased by Michael Castello 19 years ago, in March 1995 when it cost nothing to obtain.
“I had the original registration in March of 1995, and I registered it for free,” Castello wrote in DN Journal. “I always liked Scotch whisky, but the real reason I registered Whisky.com was because of the Whisky a Go Go night club in Hollywood. I always enjoyed “The Whisky”, with its musical heritage and scene where the likes of The Doors and Janis Joplin played. Years later, I even offered Whisky.com to the owner’s son and he told me he didn’t need it since they already registered WhiskyaGoGo.com. That rejection would prove to be good for me.”
MI.com – $3,600,000
Date sold: April 2014
China’s Xiaomi purchased MI.com in the biggest domain sale of 2014 during a private sale. It’s said to be the most expensive domain name purchased by a Chinese Internet company, and Xiaomi intends ot use it to make its brand name easier to remember.
IG.com — $4,700,000
Date sold: September 2013
Igloo/NetNames helped sell IG.com for almost $5 million in September 2013. It was purchased by London’s IG Group; it was previously owned by Brazil search engine iG.
Clothes.com – $4,900,000
Year sold: 2008
Zappos coughed up almost $5 million for the domain, Clothes.com. Now both are owned by Amazon.
Toys.com – $5,100,000
Year sold: 2009
ToysRUs paid just over $5 million to have the powerful domain name, just months before Candy.com was acquired for $3 million.
Slots.com – $5,500,000
Year sold: 2010
As TechCrunch pointed out at the time of the sale, that’s more than $1 million per character.
Diamond.com – $7,500,000
Year sold: 2006
Odimo.com handed over the domain to an online jewelry retailer, Ice.com in a private sale for one of the priciest domain name swaps of all time.
Porn.com – $9,500,000
Year sold: 2007
At the time of its sale, Porn.com was the biggest, all-cash transaction for a domain name ever and the second largest domain sale behind Sex.com’s $12 million exit. Moniker helped sell the domain to MXN Limited.
Fund.com – $9,999,950
Year sold: 2008
Clek Media brokered a deal that few people believed were real: Fund.com was purchased in an all-cash deal in 2008.
Sex.com – $13 million
Year sold: 2010
Sex.com entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest domain-only sale in history. Escom LLC sold it to Clover Holdings Ltd.
Other expensive domain names not listed by DNJournal (either because they were sold prior to 2003 or other assets were sold with the domains):
Insurance.com $35.6 million in 2010
VacationRentals.com $35 million in 2007
PrivateJet.com $30.1 million in 2012
Internet.com $18 million in 2009
Insure.com $16 million in 2009
Hotels.com was sold for about $11,000,000
Fb.com sold for $8.5 million in September 2010
Business.com for $7.5 million in December 1999
Beer.com 2004 $7 million
iCloud.com by Apple for $6 million in March 2011
Casino.com 2003 $5.5 million
Asseenontv.com 2000 for $5.1 million
Korea.com sold for $5 million in January 2000
Freeport.com sold for $4 million in February 2008
GiftCard.com by CardLab for $4 million in October 2012
yp.com sold for $3.85 million in November 2008
Shop.com sold for $3.5 million in November 2003
AltaVista.com for $3.3 million in August 1998
Software.com sold for $3.2 million in December 2005
Wine.com sold for $3 million in 1999
Loans.com sold for $3 million in January 2000
Loans.com by Bank of America for $3.0 million in February 2000
Pizza.com sold for $2.605 million in April 2008
Tom.com sold for $2.5 million in December 1999
Coupons.com sold for $2.2 million in January 2000
England.com sold for $2 million in December 1999
Express.com sold for $2 million in March 2000
Telephone.com sold for $2 million in January 2000
Savings.com sold for $1.9 million in February 2003
Mortgage.com sold for $1.8 million in March 2000
Branson.com sold for $1.6 million in June 2006
Marketingtoday.com sold for $1.5 million in September 2005
Source: Domaining, Wikipedia
For more ridiculous ways people have made money, check out:
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