The domain name America.com will be auctioned off by Sedo/GreatDomains from May 22 to 29, 2008. This is without question one of the most valuable geographic domains on the Internet. Despite the press release stating it was appraised at 3.5 to 7.3 million US dollars by different appraisal companies, inculding Sedo and Afternic, I think this could turn out to be a $10 million domain name. At least, I have no doubt the domain’s fair end user value can be found north of $10M, but let’s wait and see how much it will go for in the end. The exact reserve price is not known, but it has been set above $1 million. According to the press release, which you can find at the end of this article, major corporations have already expressed interest in America.com.
Press release:
NYON, Switzerland, May 5 /PRNewswire/ — The most beautiful domain name on the Internet, America.com, is to be auctioned off through GreatDomains.com and Sedo.com from May 22 to 29, 2008.
Major corporations have already expressed interest.
The record selling price for a domain name could be broken.
Past records include:
- Vodka.com - 3,000,000 USD
- Korea.com - 5,000,000 USD
- Casino.com - 5,500,000 USDThis year, sales of domain names have been setting record after record, for example:
- Pizza.com - 2,600,000 USD
- Fund.com - 9,999,950 USDAmerica.com was appraised by independent evaluators like Duff & Phelps, Sedo and Afternic within a range from 3.5 to 7.3 million US dollars (files available upon request).
We feel that America.com is a very valuable premium domain name. The timing of this sale in our opinion though is not good in the current auction market place. A name of this quality should be privately placed. The dynamics of auction sales are inferior to an end user placement. It is a shame that its owners chose an auction format. As auction multiples are typically lower than end user sales.
I would generally agree with you. But let’s not forget that Sedo successfully ran the auction for Pizza.com, which was ultimately sold for $2.6 million. Moreover, there are a couple corporate buyers interested in America.com, according to the press release. So it is possible that Sedo or the domain owner promoted the domain in advance of the auction to attract more interest and to make a high sales price more likely.