Porn.com Sells for More Than $9.5 Million in Deal Moniker Claims Is Largest Cash Sale Ever 

Moniker.com announced today (May 15) that it has brokered the sale of Porn.com to MXN Limited for more than $9.5 million. The exact price and terms of the transaction were not disclosed but Moniker said this is the largest all-cash domain transaction in history. In total value, they said it would be the second largest domain sale overall after Sex.com (which reportedly sold for approximately $12 million in cash and stock in January 2005).

Moniker CEO Monte Cahn said “Porn.com will prove to be a valuable asset for MXN Ltd. because of its significant number of daily visitors, established type-in traffic in addition to being the top domain in the adult industry.”

By Ron Jackson

At the T.R.A.F.F.I.C West Live Auction in March, Porn.com attracted a bid close to $7 million but did not meet the owner's reserve. Moniker continued working with interested parties and finally completed a sale this week. Knowledgeable sources say the price paid for the domain would be approximately 5-6 times its annual earnings.

Unfortunately we will be unable to chart the domain since the exact price was not released (MXN had put out their own press release earlier in the day and said the price was over $9 million, then Moniker followed with a release pegging the minimum figure at $9.5 million). We will add a footnote to our Year To Date chart to record the sale and price estimate.

Though no other blockbuster sales were reported this week, all of the domains on our new Top 20 chart hit the five figure mark. The leader of that pack was InstantApprovals.com, a name that David Evanson sold to Experian for $60,000. Afternic.com/BuyDomains.com occupies the #2 slot after selling SaleByOwners.com for an even $50,000. That was one of three chart entries for that venue. 

SnapNames.com placed more names on the leader board than any other venue - seven in all - including #5 MyOrder.com at $27,050. Meanwhile Moniker, in addition to brokering that $9 million deal, marked up three wins on the Big Board, topped by #4 MobileLove.com at $30,445. In a pair of private transactions, Rick Latona of DigiPawn.com purchased #10 MakatiCity.com for $20,000 and #14 Makati.com for $12,500. 

.Com swept 18 of the 20 chart entries. Only #12 Asbestos.net and #17 SocialWordJobs.co.uk managed to break .com's stranglehold on the Top 20. Here's a look at the complete leader board for the week ending Sunday, May 13:

.Com Supporting Cast

As always, there was a huge supporting cast of solid four-figure sales this week. The winners at SnapNames included SurfHawaii.com ($6,643), MyVacationRental.com ($6,600) and Eighteens.com ($6,399). QuickDrop.com added $5,711, ToySale.com tallied $5,299 and MoneySuppermarket.com (typo) sold for $5,200.

Also at SnapNames, SelfDivorce.com drew $5,001, TallahasseeFL.com contributed $4,667 and SecuredCard.com kicked in $4,600. FNET.com fetched $4,101, GolfClubWarehouse.com chipped in $4,099, RapidCitySD.com delivered $3,801 and FilePorn.com posted $3,766. SnapNames sold another 20 .com domains ranging from $2,000 to $3,600. You can check those out in the chart below:

Back at Afternic/BuyDomains, the ActiveExchange continued to produce heavy sales volume. SunGreen.com sowed $6,800, JOQ.com corralled $5,900 and three others; NovaGenesis.com, BarnSupplies.com and 4Real.com returned $5,000 each. VoiceInc.com recorded $4,800 while Confia.com and Equimed.com dispensed $4,688 apiece.

MiniPages.com produced $4,150, Yoog.com yielded $4,008 and ITSupply.com tacked on $4,000. ATMCash.com withdrew $3,999, ISTOnline.com and BillingSystems.com brought $3,888 each and Jardim.com clicked for $3,850. Afternic/BuyDomains had another 46 .com sales ranging from $2,000 to $3,500. Those are listed in the table below:

Afternic/BuyDomains had over 225 more .com sales ranging from $1,925 all the way down to the $250 paid for WakeUpCanada.com.

Back at Sedo, Picasa2.com provided $8,000 and FamilyRoots.com generated $7,000. PartyWisely.com, CelebrateWisely.com and BoardingServices.com attracted $6,000 each and Gesture.com generated $5,000.

Hunting Moon Domains sold Siser.com ($5,000) and MyVideoSearch.com ($3,500), NameDrive.com drummed up $5,500 for DigiDance.com and Enom's Club Drop landed $3,800 with CraigsListing.com. At TDNAM.com, CPay.com sold for $3,583, GuaranteedEngines.com cranked up $2,505 and DigiBid.com banked $2,282.

Global Contenders (.biz, .info, .mobi, .net & .org)

The .nets ruled the Global Contenders chart this week, sweeping 14 of the 20 positions, including the top spot with Asbestos.net at $15,240. As you saw earlier, that sale at Moniker.com also made the all-extension leader board. 

.Info also enjoyed a very strong week with five chart entries, including #2 Solar.info, sold for $8,500 at NameDrive. Justin Godfrey hit the daily double, selling Guns.info and Pics.info for $6,500 each in a private transaction.

.Org managed to get only one name on the top sellers list this week, #3 KRP.org, a domain that went for $8,000 at Moniker. Here's how all of the GC leaders stacked up for the week ending May 13: