Most expensive web domains
There's a lot of crazy purchases out there, but who would have thought that buying something that's 'virtual' could rake in such a high price! While web domains are integral for a good business, getting a memorable one is especially important. And from the list below, you'll see just how much getting that one popular word (or two together) could be.
So here are the top 10 most expensive web domains of all time! At least up until this article was written.
10. Casino.com and Slots.com - US$5.5 million (RM18 million)
All they have in common is that they're both gambling related. But they were bought from different purchasers and were even bought years apart, with Casino.com being bought in 2003 and Slots.com bought in 2010. Another thing they have in common is that they both cost US$5.5 million each!
9. Beer.com - US$7 million (RM23 million)
With such a popular beverage being bought with such a high price, you would hope to find everything you'd want to know about beer with this URL. But while it was bought in 2004 for US$7 million, type this URL out and you'll get nothing but a dead page with links to other sites instead. How very disappointing! We reckon it was bought for an investment.
8. Diamond.com and Business.com - US$7.5 million (RM25 million)
Diamond.com was originally owned by Odimo Inc. who then sold their stock and inventory to Ice.com, a European jewellery retailer in 2006. Business.com was originally created in 1999 and through the years was heavily competed for until it was finally bought by R.H. Donelly. Both found their investment of US$7.5 million into getting these web domains completely worthwhile.
7. FB.com - US$8.5 million (RM28 million)
This web domain was quickly taken from the ever popular and growing Facebook.com, who bought the domain name from the American Farm Bureau Federation, which originally used fb.org. It was then reported that the URL had cost US$8.5 million!
6. Porn.com - US$9.5 million (RM31 million)
I suppose many wouldn't be surprised that this web domain made it on the list and that it fetched US$9.5 million! But if you think this is the highest price tawdry sounding web domains can fetch, check out number 3. As for this one, it was bought by MXN Ltd. during an auction.
5. Fund.com - US$9.9 million (RM54 million)
Here's another expensive web domain that is currently dead, but it does state that it's under construction. The site was run by a financial services company, but due to many complications related to shady companies and businesses, the sale of Fund.com being at US$9.9 million is nothing short of controversial.
4. Hotels.com - US$11 million (RM33 million)
David Roche, the CEO of hotels.com, revealed to BBC that they had acquired the domain hotels.com in 2001 for US$11 million. The company was then sold years later for US$1.1 billion. This goes to show that investing in the right web domain can actually be a good investment for business!
3. Sex.com - US$13 million (RM42 million)
It appears all is fair when one is trying to buy a racy web domain name; apparently the sale of this one included some shady deals including falsifying letters and faxes! The saga seems to be ongoing, but it was last sold in 2010 for the amount of US$13 million.
2. PrivateJet.com - US$30 million (RM98 million)
Who would have thought that a word that encapsulates such a luxury and niche market would come so close to being the most expensive web domain? Nations Luxury Transportations LLC bought the domain for US$30.18 million, and they're known for being an aggregator of businesses serving in the luxury market.
1. VacationRentals.com - US$35 million (RM114 million)
How could such a simple web domain rake in so much cash? Story is that the Founder and CEO of HomeAway, which is a holiday rental site, bought the domain just so that Expedia couldn't get their hands on it. So it was bought at US$35 million!
Web domain names can really be big business! If you're lucky enough to have scored a memorable and even money-making web domain name, you may be able to become the next millionaire!
This was brought you by MICHELLE BROHIER from RinggitPlus.com. RinggitPlus compares credit cards, personal loans and home loans to help Malaysians get more for their money.
