Brothers Michael and David Castello are founders of CCIN (Castello Cities Internet Network), a portfolio of domain names and city-based websites that has been amassed since 1994. Previous sales from the brothers’ portfolio include Whisky.com for $3 million, Rate.com for $725,000 and Driven.com for $225,000.
Yet, the portfolio still boasts some of the best geographical domain names and some highly sought after one-word names. Using DomainIQ’s reverse WHOIS toolkit, we’ve picked out ten of our favorite names.
Nashville.com
One of the most famous domains owned by CCIN is Nashville.com. It has been developed into a city guide with numerous advertising opportunities for local brands. Nashville is a music lover’s nirvana and attracts over 14 million visitors per year.
Nashville.com was acquired by the brothers in 2003 and was reportedly the only geo domain in their portfolio that wasn’t acquired in the 1990s.
Eel.com
Aside from being a three-letter .COM, “eel” is also the name of a common fish. These types of names have a tremendous value to both domain investors and end users, and would easily fetch a six-figure fee.
Dust.com
As with many of the Castello Brothers’ domain names, Dust.com has been developed into a content website, attracting both type-in and search traffic.
Dust.com is the type of generic one-word domain name that could very easily be turned into an easy-to-spell brand name. In fact, there are several pages of companies listed on LinkedIn that have “Dust” in their name.
Cost.com
Cost.com is a huge financial domain name that has the added advantage of being short and memorable. The domain hosts a very basic website, but any buyer with a vision and a budget could transform the name into something big.
Services such as a wholesale outlet (buying items at cost), or a price checker, are just two potential uses for the name.
TGIF.com
Usually, our “Top 10” lists are a melange of two and three-letter domains as well as one-word .COM’s. It’s rare to include a four-letter acronym, but in this case, the domain is such a well-known acronym that its inclusion is almost mandatory!
The popularity of TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) can be proven by simply visiting Twitter and searching for #tgif on any given Friday.
Adopt.com
Adoption is, surprisingly, a multi-billion dollar industry. IbisWorld estimates that in 2018, the adoption and child welfare industry had revenues of $16 billion. Adoption domain names have performed relatively well, too, with Adopting.com selling for $125,000 in 2015.
This category killer name has been developed by CCIN into a resource for parents and agencies to reference.
Wednesday.com
Weekday domain names some of the best brand names. In 2017, Dapulse changed its name to Monday and acquired Monday.com in the process. The owner of Friday.com wants at least $30 million to sell the name, according to the domain’s website.
The Castello Brothers’ Wednesday.com may not be worth $30 million, but it is in an exclusive little club of day names.
Suit.com
According to Statista, revenue from the sale of suits will amass $2.6 billion in 2019 in the US alone. Some of the world’s biggest fashion brands have dedicated outlets for suits, one of the staple icons of global business.
The name was featured in a 2013 Heritage Auctions sale but failed to sell with a starting price just under $100,000.
Room.com
Hotel domain names have been one of the most profitable niches for a couple of decades. Travel sites such as Trivago, Expedia or LateRooms have millions of combined customers and make small fortunes from the travel industry.
The Castello Brothers’ Room.com would be at home amongst the largest brands in the travel industry. A memorable, four-letter domain name such as this could be the perfect name for a small brand looking to make a big impact in the industry.
PalmSprings.com
We close out the Top 10 with another geo domain name, which has also been developed out by the Castello Brothers. Palm Springs is a desert resort in southern California and is apparently a very popular place to retire.
In a 2011 @DomainSherpa interview, Michael Castello revealed that they had previously turned down $5 million for PalmSprings.com.
Yet, the portfolio still boasts some of the best geographical domain names and some highly sought after one-word names. Using DomainIQ’s reverse WHOIS toolkit, we’ve picked out ten of our favorite names.
Nashville.com
One of the most famous domains owned by CCIN is Nashville.com. It has been developed into a city guide with numerous advertising opportunities for local brands. Nashville is a music lover’s nirvana and attracts over 14 million visitors per year.
Nashville.com was acquired by the brothers in 2003 and was reportedly the only geo domain in their portfolio that wasn’t acquired in the 1990s.
Eel.com
Aside from being a three-letter .COM, “eel” is also the name of a common fish. These types of names have a tremendous value to both domain investors and end users, and would easily fetch a six-figure fee.
Dust.com
As with many of the Castello Brothers’ domain names, Dust.com has been developed into a content website, attracting both type-in and search traffic.
Dust.com is the type of generic one-word domain name that could very easily be turned into an easy-to-spell brand name. In fact, there are several pages of companies listed on LinkedIn that have “Dust” in their name.
Cost.com
Cost.com is a huge financial domain name that has the added advantage of being short and memorable. The domain hosts a very basic website, but any buyer with a vision and a budget could transform the name into something big.
Services such as a wholesale outlet (buying items at cost), or a price checker, are just two potential uses for the name.
TGIF.com
Usually, our “Top 10” lists are a melange of two and three-letter domains as well as one-word .COM’s. It’s rare to include a four-letter acronym, but in this case, the domain is such a well-known acronym that its inclusion is almost mandatory!
The popularity of TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) can be proven by simply visiting Twitter and searching for #tgif on any given Friday.
Adopt.com
Adoption is, surprisingly, a multi-billion dollar industry. IbisWorld estimates that in 2018, the adoption and child welfare industry had revenues of $16 billion. Adoption domain names have performed relatively well, too, with Adopting.com selling for $125,000 in 2015.
This category killer name has been developed by CCIN into a resource for parents and agencies to reference.
Wednesday.com
Weekday domain names some of the best brand names. In 2017, Dapulse changed its name to Monday and acquired Monday.com in the process. The owner of Friday.com wants at least $30 million to sell the name, according to the domain’s website.
The Castello Brothers’ Wednesday.com may not be worth $30 million, but it is in an exclusive little club of day names.
Suit.com
According to Statista, revenue from the sale of suits will amass $2.6 billion in 2019 in the US alone. Some of the world’s biggest fashion brands have dedicated outlets for suits, one of the staple icons of global business.
The name was featured in a 2013 Heritage Auctions sale but failed to sell with a starting price just under $100,000.
Room.com
Hotel domain names have been one of the most profitable niches for a couple of decades. Travel sites such as Trivago, Expedia or LateRooms have millions of combined customers and make small fortunes from the travel industry.
The Castello Brothers’ Room.com would be at home amongst the largest brands in the travel industry. A memorable, four-letter domain name such as this could be the perfect name for a small brand looking to make a big impact in the industry.
PalmSprings.com
We close out the Top 10 with another geo domain name, which has also been developed out by the Castello Brothers. Palm Springs is a desert resort in southern California and is apparently a very popular place to retire.
In a 2011 @DomainSherpa interview, Michael Castello revealed that they had previously turned down $5 million for PalmSprings.com.