Before we get started, we also want to emphasize that these are the highest value sales that have been reported in the past week. These are not average selling prices. One of the biggest impediments to making sales is pricing domains at unrealistic levels. For most of us, pricing domains at these levels will leave us waiting a very long time to make a sale!

Our initial report below starts with the top  sales (and other notable transactions) at Afternic.com last week. We are also including recent sales at Sedo (they do not currently list the sales dates on their site but have agreed to start furnishing us with weekly data beginning with our next report). We will add data from all other sources that make their top sales information available to us so that we can compile one master list. DomainSystems.com is the latest to come on board and their data will be included next week as well.

We will welcome all verifiable sales reports from companies, private sellers and individuals with knowledge of an important sale made through any channel. To contribute information for this column, just drop a note to [email protected]. (For our next update we will need information on completed sales (payment received and domains transferred) that occurred from Mon. Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 19).

Now, without further adieu,  the envelope please:

Top Sales Contracts at Afternic.com for the week ending Sunday, Oct. 12
(For this initial column Afternic data is for sales agreements. Starting with the next report, data from all sources will be for sales that have completed the escrow process.)

In looking at the  Top 5, I don't think many would be surprised by a good dictionary .com noun like evangelist.com going for what it did. The same is true for citrines.com. FastStart.co.uk may raise a few eyebrows though. A two-word domain in a country code domain like that would usually receive low appraisals from armchair quarterbacks. The same is true for AmericanSuperstar.com, a domain that is a bit long and is available in every other major extension except the .com. The fact that someone would pay $3,000 for it rather than take the .net for a registration fee underlines the continuing importance placed on .com by end users. SecureCash.com is a good example of a solid two-word term (one that is taken in all major extensions) that we think sold at a very reasonable price.

At Sedo, their current list of recent sales also shows some interesting purchases:
(these domains are completed sales but not necessarily from the last 7 days. Starting with the next report, all Sedo data will be from the previous 7-day period).

Musicals.com certainly fetched a nice price but a name like that should. If Tim Schumacher and Matthew Bentley's article about .DE in Domain Name Journal has not already opened your eyes to .de (the German country code), this sale of First.de for over $40,000 should! Strong country code domains can mean big business. If you need furthur proof, how about WellnessHotels.at (.AT is Austria's country code)? Excellent term but many domainers in English speaking countries probably would not have guessed it would go for four figures in .at. 

ConsolidateYourDebt.com shows that domains don't have to be short to attract a buyer, though I believe long terms still need to be very focused, as this one is, to have a good chance to sell for significant money. New extension fans will have to be heartened by the $1,700 sale of Alfatec.biz. The question is, are there a lot more sales where than one came from for holders of .biz, .info and .us. 

Another interesting sale on the Sedo list is nm3.com. It only went for $300, but the general consensus is that 3-character .coms (those mixing letters and numbers) have next to no value as they are readily available in thousands of combinations. It is all part  of what makes this such a fascinating business. Your sales prospects might not look good, but you're not out of the game until your domain expires!