The First 7-Figure Sale Reported This Year is in the Books - $2.1 Million Domain Goes to Chinese Buyer 

Seven-figure domain sales have been few and far between in recent years. Only two were reported all of last year and none had been reported this year - until this post. We have learned that an unnamed Chinese company, working through a New York based representative, has purchased the domain 114.com for a whopping $2.1 million in cash (plus an $18,690 escrow fee) in a private transaction. The deal went  through Escrow.com and a party to the sale gave Escrow.com permission to confirm the price that was reported to us. 

It is not yet known what 114.com will

Million dollar bills image from Bigstock

be used for (as of this writing the domain still resolves to a Sedo parking page). However, a former broker of this domain told us he understood "114" meant "information" to many Chinese consumers. So, we reached out to a Chinese speaking friend who told us "This is a very unique domain. It is like 411 (a phone number used for information in the U.S.) and more. People can also call 114 to reserve hotels, restaurants, etc." 

In the 10 years we have been tracking aftermarket sales for our weekly domain sales reports, this is (by far) the highest reported price ever paid for a numeric domain. 114.com is a virtual certainty to be the #1 domain on our new weekly Top 20 Domain Sales Chart when it comes out Wednesday evening. That will also put it at the top of our Year To Date Top 100 Sales Chart, more than quadrupling the $500,000 price reported just this past week for the current leader, Brand.com. 

The fact that the year's two biggest sales have been reported in the past two weeks may lead some to speculate that the improving economy is generating a return of blockbuster sales but it is probably a little too early to put on the party hats. Still, this kind of news can only be viewed as a good thing for the domain market and for the numeric domain category.

(Posted July 9, 2013)