Country name domain sales?

[Optinom]

How do you assess the value of country-name domains? Especially in GTLDs like .com, .net, org, .info.

Here are some recent country name domain sales:

Macau.com $550k
Mozambique.com $82k
Malta.com $250k

Further, Canada.net was on sale recently with a BIN price of $100k & SierraLeone.com BIN at $135k.

Any tips on assessing the value of country-name domains in the GTLDs? Do you think .org names would have more value than the .nets in this case?

 

[scandiman]

Iran.com - $400,000 in this weeks DNJournal.

Consider the wealth, population, tourism, etc in evaluating geo domains.

 

[Alex]

GDP, population, economic growth. And continent. From this point of view I understand why Macau.com went for far more than Mozambique.com. Macau has casinos and a strong GDP, even with less than 1 million of population. Mozambique has no huge development potential, as it is not a huge economic power.

.info country names cannot be registered (only the long form) as they are reserved to the Governments of respective countries.

I have 30 long (official) country names like TerritoryOfGuam.com, StateOfNepal.com, RepublicOfSlovenia.info or RepublicOfIceland.info etc. Hope they will do well.

 

[Optinom]

Yea agreed with the above factors like GDP, population etc. But I'm kinda trying to quantify it in numbers, approximately. Why don't we see any country name sales in .net / .org ? Do you think Canada.net at $100k as cheap?

 

[Alex]

I like country names in .com or .info. they make sense there. Or even in .biz (though I don't like that tld).

Canada.net is surely worth a lot, but doesn't fit the extension at best. For .com there is obviously more demand, and I think domain owners are just waiting till a great offer comes for their country.org for instance. But there is not that big demand for it.

Let's also not forget that after the .com, the second most important extension for any country is its country tld. For example canada.ca is worth at least as much as canada.com.

Not sure I answered your question though. but I don't think we can quantify it, because each sale has its own particularities.

- Alex

 

[scandiman]

Let's also not forget that after the .com, the second most important extension for any country is its country tld. For example canada.ca is worth at least as much as canada.com.

Are there stats to support this at all? Hard to imagine a country code being worth more than a com.

 

[Alex]

No support for these, as I do not know of any country.cctld sales.

However, from my experience, country cctld's are first or second option at least in Europe. Without supporting my information with facts, I think that Deutschland.de would be close in to Deutschland.com. Or Espana.es to Espana.com. Just gut feeling.

- Alex

Are there stats to support this at all? Hard to imagine a country code being worth more than a com.

a little PS: I know several internet users who do not even hear about .net or .org and rarely heard about .com, as they mainly use their country tld. Though this is not the same with the US market.

 

[scandiman]

No support for these, as I do not know of any country.cctld sales.

However, from my experience, country cctld's are first or second option at least in Europe. Without supporting my information with facts, I think that Deutschland.de would be close in to Deutschland.com. Or Espana.es to Espana.com. Just gut feeling.

- Alex


a little PS: I know several internet users who do not even hear about .net or .org and rarely heard about .com, as they mainly use their country tld. Though this is not the same with the US market.

When you look at it from the native language that makes sense. I was strictly thinking of the English spelling. Hard to imagine the country name in a cctld would even be available to reg.

 

[mjposada]

More than a year ago, DNJournal.com reported the dn Macau.com sold for $550,000 and posted MacauBusiness's article about the transaction in July 2006 Lowdown column http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2006/july.htm
Well, according to this press release, http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-13-2007/0004607160&EDATE
Macau.com has been acquired by its competitor, GoMacau.com for an undisclosed amount.
MacauBusiness also did a story on GoMacau.com back in December 06
http://www.macaubusiness.com/index.php?id=637
The parent company of Macau.com acquirer, MKW Capital also funded several other Macau-related web company eg. MacauHR.com
http://www.mkwcapital.com/index.html

 

[Optinom]

No support for these, as I do not know of any country.cctld sales.

However, from my experience, country cctld's are first or second option at least in Europe. Without supporting my information with facts, I think that Deutschland.de would be close in to Deutschland.com. Or Espana.es to Espana.com. Just gut feeling.

- Alex

I dont think the country name with its extension will be as valuable as the .com. USA.us or Canada.ca looks more like redundancy to me.

More than a year ago, DNJournal.com reported the dn Macau.com sold for $550,000 and posted MacauBusiness's article about the transaction in July 2006 Lowdown column http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2006/july.htm
Well, according to this press release, http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-13-2007/0004607160&EDATE
Macau.com has been acquired by its competitor, GoMacau.com for an undisclosed amount.
MacauBusiness also did a story on GoMacau.com back in December 06
http://www.macaubusiness.com/index.php?id=637
The parent company of Macau.com acquirer, MKW Capital also funded several other Macau-related web company eg. MacauHR.com
http://www.mkwcapital.com/index.html

Yeah, Acc to Frank Shilling, Macau.com was undersold at $550,000 Source.

 

[Jo]

I dont think the country name with its extension will be as valuable as the .com. USA.us or Canada.ca looks more like redundancy to me.


Yeah, Acc to Frank Shilling, Macau.com was undersold at $550,000 Source.

Canadians and canadian businesses are crazy for their .ca's. Just about every commercial here has a .ca. We all type the .ca in when looking for products and info online too. Canadian domainers would go crazy for Canada.ca.