In a post last month I wrote about  seeing a noticeable uptick in my domain sales despite the severe recession underway in the general economy. The first quarter of this year wound up being a record one for me and it came on the heels of a record year in 2008. As I reported in March, others who cater to small business end users, like NameMedia's AfternicDLS were also seeing increased sales at the low to middle end of the market favored by start-ups with limited capital. 

I just got the new issue of Time Magazine (cover dated April 20) and it has a major article confirming that what I have been seeing is not a fluke. I had opined that the pick up in sales was being fueled by people who had lost jobs in the recession and who, with replacement jobs so scarce, decided to try starting up their own business. The most cost effective way to do that is to set up shop on the web and many of my customers have been telling me that is exactly why they are buying a domain from me.  

In a story titled "The New Internet Start-Up Boom: Get Rich Slow", Time's Josh Quittner weighed in on the trend, writing, "The economy might be melting down like a pat of butter on a hot Hummer roof, but for some people — you, maybe? — this could be a very good thing. 

The upper corner of the Time Magazine 
cover dated April 20 highlights an article 
on a new Internet Start-Up Boom.

Here's why. At no other time in recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new kind of company. Possibly a very profitable company. Let's call these start-ups LILOs, for "a little in, a lot out." These are Web-based businesses that cost almost nothing to get off the ground yet can turn into great moneymakers (if you work hard and are patient)."

As Time stated, the new new start-up companies have tight budgets so their impact is being felt at the lower end of the domain aftermarket. Those who deal in higher end names are not seeing the same kind of surge, though blockbuster sales have not gone away entirely. Case in point, RickLatona.com sold Webcam.com for $1,020,000 in an online auction that ended Sunday. We'll get a further reading on the high end of the market when both Latona and Moniker.com stage live auctions at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Silicon Valley conference later this month (April 27-30 in Santa Clara, California).