We have several interesting items to close the week with. For starters, .CLUB has become the first new gTLD to hit 100,000 registrations made by registrants who actually paid for their domains (a couple of others crossed 100K earlier by giving away a massive number of domains, most of those being .xyz domains stuffed into accounts of Network Solutions customers who didn't ask for them).

.CLUB CEO Colin Campbell said, "We've seen an increase in not only entirely new businesses springing up specifically around the .CLUB domain, such as shaving.club, but also from companies that are creating micro sites within their larger sites as a private, members-only address that offers additional benefits and privileges for 'club' insiders. We believe we have sold more than any other new domain because the word CLUB is so meaningful, and has recognition all over the world. It is easy to remember and allows for a great, catchy domain name."

	In the face of continually shrinking payouts the PPC arena continues to see consolidation and some players leaving the field entirely. Many Hitfarm customers were surprised to receive an email from the company this morning announcing that they will cease operations October 1, 2014.

Hitfarm is one of the oldest players in space and one of the most well-known with its leadership including one of the most successful domain investors of all time, Kevin Ham, and his brother Don. The farewell email said, "At this time we want to thank you for your past business and tell you how much we have appreciated having you as a client. We wish you continued success"

We got word of a BIG .ca sale today - one of the biggest ever for a two-word domain in the Canadian ccTLD. iREx.ca has sold UsedCars.ca to the Edmonton-based Mike Priestner Automotive Group for a cool CAD $126,000  (USD $115,920 at today's exchange rate - price
includes $6,000 GST).  The buyer paid iREx.ca another CAD $42,000 ($38,649 USD with price  including $2,000 GST) to add Trucks.ca to their collection.
Congratulations to Wayne Haroutunian at iREx on the sales and to the Priestner Automotive Group on acquiring those two category killing domains. It would appear to be a win win situation for both iREx and an end user that is perfectly positioned to utilize those domains in a way that should allow them to make their money back many times over. Adam Strong Last, but certainly not least, kudos to Donna Mahony for coaxing veteran domain investor Adam Strong into the spotlight for a very nice profile published on her blog. Adam, one of the industry's true good guys, has never been one to seek attention or talk about himself, so those who don't know him may not be aware of just how successful he has been and how highly regarded he is among his peers (just one indicator of that is Adam being one of the nominees for T.R.A.F.F.I.C.'s 2014 Domainer of the Year Award). In the kind of self-effacing fashion you would  expect from the humble Midwesterner, Adam told Donna, "All in all, I’ve faired pretty well in this business. I’ve made a lot of mistakes...That should be the focus really. Making mistakes and fixing them and moving forward having learned from those mistakes."

Before signing off today we also want to wish our U.S. readers a Happy Labor Day weekend. Most American business will be closed Monday (September 1) as Americans celebrate a holiday that serves as the unofficial end of summer, complete with cookouts or trips to the beach for many. Have a great break and we'll be back with you next week!