Featured in the  Wall Street Journal - Forbes -  Bloomberg - Investors Business Daily -  ABC News - BBC News -  CNN/Money - MSNBC - USA Today - New York Times 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

The Lowdown
February 2023 Archive 
Subscribe to our RSS Feed

Welcome to the The Lowdown from 
DN Journal
- your source for notable news 
and information from all corners of the global 
domain name industry! 

The Lowdown is compiled by DN Journal 
Editor & Publisher Ron Jackson.


Sedo Rings Big Sale Bell for 2nd Week in a Row with 2nd Highest Domain Sale Reported Year to Date

Just last week Sedo posted what, at the time, was the second highest domain sale reported year to date with PFP.com at $353,000. Today, Sedo pushed that one down a notch to #3 for 2023 by announcing an even bigger one - Giveaway.com at $400,000. As of this writing, the buyer is unknown as the domain is under WhoIs privacy and does not resolve to an active website. 

We will be charting the Giveaway.com and PFP.com sale when our next bi-weekly domain sales report comes out Wednesday evening (March 1). Assuming nothing bigger is reported before then, Sedo will have two of the New Year's three biggest publicly reported sales. Help.com will retain a solid grip on the top spot after selling for $3 million the first week of January at Above.com. 

Image from Bigstock

(Posted February 28, 2023) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2023/dailyposts/0228.htm

*****

GoDaddy Introduces Payable Domains So Any Registrant Can Accept Payments With No Website Required

GoDaddy announced a new "Payable Domains" option today that allows anyone who has a domain registered there to begin accepting payments, whether or not they have a website. The option (that can be enabled through the registrant's GoDaddy back-end dashboard) is available to both new registrants and those with existing domains at GoDaddy. The only cost involved in using Payable Domains will be the transaction fees of 2.3% of the payment amount + 30 cents for each transaction. That compares very favorably to the cost at most other payment processors.

With this move, GoDaddy stated in their press release that they are "the first company to seamlessly bundle payment technology with the brand power of a professional domain – at no additional cost – to help small business owners start growing from day one." Payable Domains, powered by GoDaddy Payments, use branded pay links (incorporating the domain name) that the domain owner can share, allowing the customer to access their secure checkout page with one click. 

For example,  if a person registers the domain of their name or business, such as roohshad.co, they will then receive the corresponding Payable Domain, pay.roohshad.co, to accept payments. Once that first payment is received, domain owners can then link a bank account to their GoDaddy Payments account, complete the verification process, and receive payouts for transactions just as they would with any other payments service. Payments are securely processed with funds deposited into users' bank accounts as early as the next business day. 

In addition, small business owners can customize their Payable Domain with a company logo, product images, cost of their products or services, or other branded content to create a seamless checkout experience and maintain a personal and professional look.

Paul Nicks
GoDaddy President of Domains

GoDaddy President of Domains Paul Nicks noted, "While there's been innovation around add-on products for domain names, such as Domain Privacy and Ownership Protection services, not much has been done to enhance the capability of domain names themselves. Domains have largely been used as a digital identity for businesses, but with this new commerce capability we view the domain name taking on a far more versatile role for up-and-coming small businesses. The Payable Domain ultimately serves as an innovative and cost-effective tool for entrepreneurs to accept online payments before even setting up a website."

GoDaddy President of Commerce Osama Bedier added. "We're intensely focused on building connected commerce solutions that make growing a business easier, whether you've just named your business or are in the process of expanding its sales across the country. With Payable Domains, it's never been easier to start selling online."

(Posted February 23, 2023) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2023/dailyposts/0223.htm

*****

PFP.com Sold for $353,000 in 2nd Largest Publicly Reported Domain Sale of the New Year

We are continuing to see some nice aftermarket domain sales in these opening weeks of 2023. Today we learned that K-Ventures has completed a $353,000 sale of PFP.com via Sedo. As of this writing, that is the second highest publicly reported sale of the new year to date, trailing only the $3 million sale of Help.com at Above.com in early January (we will be charting the PFP.com sale when our next bi-weekly domain sales report comes out March 1.

The buyer of the domain appears to be 9GAG as PFP.com now redirects to one of their primary sites - Memeland.com. Further evidence of that is 9GAG's purchase of PFP.eth for 40eth on the same day. Congratulations to the seller, buyer and sales venue!

(Posted February 21, 2023) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2023/dailyposts/0221.htm

*****

Three Partners Form Dot UK Group and Make Acquisitions Aimed at Spurring Growth for UK Domains 

The Dot UK Group is a new entity on the domain scene but the three partners who formed it have a wealth of industry experience between them and they have wasted no time making their presence known with a series of acquisitions. The trio includes Ryan Ewen, the CEO of well established domain and website marketplace DigitalCandy.uk, veteran entrepreneur and attorney Jeff Behrendt and fellow domain specialist, Mo Zaffer

Ewen told us the group was formed to build a foundation designed to put UK domains back on a fast growth track. Ewen said, "Since 2014 when Nominet (the governing body for UK domain names) released the shorter .uk domain extension with rights of registration ceasing in 2019, there has been confusion between the traditional .co.uk and .uk extensions causing prices to plummet.”

Ewen believes that the services the group has acquired, combined with their experience, will reverse that trend and establish the new group as a major player in the UK domain market. Those acquisitions include:

Ryan Ewen
Co-Founder, Dot UK Group

Brandable.co.uk, a market platform positioned to be the place to buy and sell premium UK domain names. Ewen noted, "At present, existing platforms consider .uk and .co.uk domains as an afterthought – it means that when someone searches for a domain name, UK domains appear way down the list after .xyz, .io and several others, despite the UK market being one of the top countries for online business. As a UK company if you want to rank highly in Google and reduce advertising costs then a premium .co.uk or .uk domain gives credibility to your business."

Flip.uk – Currently Flip is one of the leading auction platforms for UK domain names. Ewen said, "For domain investors the ability to monetize domains and sell them quickly is key to running and growing a portfolio. Currently there are few outlets to achieve this and as a result the overall market is subdued. There will be some new features and a refreshed look which will further enhance the offering."

Another acquisition involved the purchase of a portfolio of domains rather than a domain service. Co-Founder Jeff Behrendt said, “Dot UK Group has acquired a 50-domain portfolio that includes ultra-rare domains like h.co.uk and h.uk, d.co.uk and d.uk, n.co.uk and n.uk, h.co.uk and h.uk, brain.co.uk and brain.uk and  vaccine.co.uk and Vaccine.uk. These domains will be listed for sale on Brandable.co.uk and will encourage other premium domain holders to list their assets on the platform. Premium assets sell well when they are listed alongside other premium assets.”

Co-Founder Mo Zaffer added: “It is time for the UK market to get the exposure that it deserves. We are excited to see how the forthcoming months will play out. These acquisitions demonstrate our commitment to the UK market and we are excited for further development within the UK space.”

In a related note, Ewen's company, DigitalCandy.uk has acquired the industry's original domain forum DNForum.com, in a separate transaction not related

Jeff Behrendt
Co-Founder, Dot UK Group

to Dot UK Group. As it has in the past, DNForum will continue to feature discussions about all TLDs. DigitalCandy is expected to release more details on that acquisition this week. 

(Posted February 20, 2023) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2023/dailyposts/0220.htm

*****

.ART Painted a Rosy Picture in 2022 with 39% Jump in Domains Under Management 

Every new year begins with a flood of reports from businesses around the world, summing up how they fared in the previous year. 2022 was one of those years that was a mixed bag with enterprises around the globe having to contend with the negative consequences of a war in Ukraine, inflation, a crypto crash and continuing supply chain issues that created strong headwinds for many. Despite those challenges other still managed to thrive with the .ART domain registry among those who were able to fill the 2022 review (.pdf file) on the registry's official blog with good news.

The report noted, ".ART continues to show strong and steady progress and has remained among the 15 fastest-growing domain name registries, according to data from Hosterstats.com. We ended the 2022 year with 232,307 .ART domains under management, a net domain growth of 39% over 2021. .ART’s consistent and stable growth is evidenced by numerous high-quality registrations, including some of the world’s best-known museums and art institutions, as well as a strong 1st-year renewal rate of 81% for premium names. Individual artists, art enthusiasts, and others associating themselves with “art” continue to be strong supporters of .ART."

Image from Hilbrandbos.art

.ART CMO Jeff Sass

Regarding their premium domain strategy, the review noted, " There are nine .ART premium name price tiers ranging from $70 to $10,000 with all premium names renewing at a low price of $30 per year. In 2022 we sold 5,734 premium domains, representing 5% of .ART names registered and 69% of domain registration revenue - increasing revenue for the .ART registry and its registrar partners."

.ART CMO Jeff Sass pointed out another plus, telling us, ".ART domains also work on ENS, so the same name can resolve to a DNS website and also point to a wallet, NFT, or any digital asset on the Ethereum blockchain. Also, .ART is the only registry to employ additional Whois data fields to record art object metadata. We also launched a charitable Art Therapy Initiative supported by our domain name sales." 

You can get more information about .ART domains names here: www.art.art.

 (Posted February 13, 2023) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2023/dailyposts/0213.htm

*****

One of Europe's Biggest Industry Events - Domain Pulse 2023 - Concluded Today in Switzerland

The biggest domain conference in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), Domain Pulse, completed its 2023 two-day event in Winterthur, Swtizerland today. This show, organized by registry operators SWITCH (.ch), DENIC eG (.de), and nic.at (.at), attracts industry experts, registry and registrar executives and a wide range of other stakeholders. Domain Pulse brings them up to date on the latest developments in the regional and global domain space. 

The Domain Pulse website (English version, German version) already has some photos from this year's event posted, along with full details about the agenda and the speakers who were 

on hand for the conference. Our friends at .it.com, who were among the exhibitors at Domain Pulse, also posted some photos on LinkedIn today, including an opening  day shot  (below) taken when moderator and highly regarded TV reporter Melinda Crane was on stage to welcome attendees.

In the photo at right are (left to right) Joanna Adler (Key Account Manager, Tucows,  Alessandro Baruffi (it.com Director of International Partnerships) and Francesco Cetraro (Director of Business Development, Acronis).

Alessandro, who is also seen below with Sedo CMO Christian Voss, noted that it.com's goal at Domain Pulse was to "meet potential registrars and promote awareness of it.com as a new cool domains zone going into General Availability. We aim to on-board large reseller registrars and partners to conquer the world of domains!"

As for Christian, we've gotten used to seeing the popular globe-trotting Sedo exec everywhere, including at the Internet Commerce Association annual meeting in Las Vegas just a couple of weeks ago.

 

(Photos courtesy of it.com)

(Posted February 7, 2023) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2023/dailyposts/0207.htm

*****

it.com Concludes Sunrise, Opens Early Access with Price List for 3,000 Premium Domains

it.com domain registry officials were pleased with their Sunrise registration period that ended January 31. Sunrise gives trademark holders an opportunity to secure domains related to their brands before general availability begins. The now open first stage of general availability is an Early Access land rush period, running until February 19, that is spotlighting the short list of domains the registry classified as premium names (only about 3,000 it.com domain were priced at premium levels). 

The administrator of the it.com registry, UK Intis Telecom, put together a priced list (in the standard .csv spreadsheet format) showing all of the premium level domains so anyone can see the exact cost of everything that is available (the prices range from $590 to $7,590 and the renewal cost is at the standard rate, not the 

Image from Bigstock

premium cost). During this stage registrants can also get any of the non-premium domains at standard registration rates (those price are set by the individual registrars).

Munir Badr, Senior Advisor to it.com, said, "We now want to encourage early adopters to choose from a wide variety of available domain names, both premium and general availability, while the going is easy." Registrants can search for available it.com domain names at wee-known registrars including 101domain, MarkMonitorMarcariaNomeasy, CSC GlobalEncirca, Key SystemsAEServerDomgate, and many others. A complete list of accredited it.com registrars is available on the it.com website.

UK Intis Telecom is now embarking on a global campaign to meet as many potential registrants as possible, face to face, by sponsoring or co-sponsoring key conferences and meetings throughout 2023. Those already include these (with others likely to be added):

  • 11/1/2022 - Contracted Parties Summit, Los Angeles, CA, US.

  • 2/6/2023 - Domain Pulse, Winterthur, Switzerland

  • 2/21/2023 - APTLD Meeting 83,  Vientiane, Laos

  • 2/27/2023 - Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain

  • 3/1/2023 - Affiliate World Dubai, UAE

  • 3/11/2023 -  ICANN Community Forum, Cancun, Mexico

  • 3/20/2023 -  CloudFest, Europa Park, Germany

  • 5/8/2023 - Nordic Domain Days, Stockholm, Sweden

  • 5/9/2023 - Middle East DNS Forum, Istanbul, Turkey

  • 6/12/2023 - ICANN Policy Forum, Washington DC.

  • 10/21/2023 - ICANN General Meeting, Hamburg, Germany

 

it.com invites registrars and potential partners to visit them at any of these events to learn how they can profit by offering it.com domain names and featuring them on their websites through landing pages or in domain search results. 

Joe Alagna, Advisor to it.com (seen at left), said, "New gTLDs were a boon and a windfall to domain name registrars, but they are no longer new. And a second round of TLDs are simply vaporware right now. The it.com domain name is new and it's a real opportunity for immediate sales, revenue, and customer satisfaction. Registrars can get accredited quickly and connect to their systems via EPP or WHMCS at https://get.it.com/for-registrars."     

(Posted February 3, 2023) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2023/dailyposts/0203.htm

*****


If you've been out of the loop lately, catch up in the Lowdown Archive!


We need your help to keep giving domainers The Lowdown, so please email [email protected] with any interesting information you might have. If possible, include the source of your information so we can check it out (for example a URL if you read it in a forum or on a site elsewhere). 

Follow us on 
Twitter

Like us on 
Facebook

Subscribe to our 
RSS Feed

 SITE LINKS: Home Page | Domain Sales Report | YTD Sales Charts | The Lowdown
 News Headlines | Get Email Alerts | Site Archives | Classified Ads | About Us | Email Us


No photos, text or content of any kind may be copied from this site without expressed written consent ©Copyright 2023 DNJournal.com - An Internet Edge, Inc. company.