Is 2018 Shaping up to be a Good Year for Top Reported Domain Sales? Short Answer “Not Exactly”.

Morning Folks!!

So, since 2005, Ron Jackson's DNJournal has been chronicling the top reported domain sales each and every week as well as a "Top 100 Chart" for each and every year. A LOT of work! Thanks Ron!

I took the liberty of adding up all those reported sales starting in 2005 and segregated by year. It doesn't tell all but it does tell a story. Especially of you study each and every sale during those 14 years. Some incredible deals!

Now please don't remind me that most domain sales are not reported. They are not. And of course Yung Ye's $162 Million won't appear nor Mike Berkens $35 Million. Nor will many many many others that we will never hear about that have quietly walked into the sunset.

That all said, it is what we have and it still tells a lot about things.

2005---$16,383,221

2006---$29,870,018

2007---$44,250,718

2008---$44,347,756

2009---$34,622,312

2010---$44,393,336

2011---$23,081,833

2012---$18,248,594

2013---$28,243,313

2014---$43,096,937

2015---42,890,000

2016---$27,558,000

2017---$27,400,000

2018---$23,070,000

Total $447,516,030

And these are just the top 100 each year.

The average year...$31,965,430

2018 not shaping up to be a big year. However there is still time and a blockbuster deal could turn things around on a dime! However, as of now, 2018 ranks among the 3 lowest years as you will see below. And may I remind you that was with intense selling pressure out there. Everyone and their grandmother is trying to sell their domains these days. That was not the case in many of those prior years where it was not a selling frenzy but was a buying frenzy.

So if you look at it through that lens, and I do, that illustrates weakness. Not terrible. But weaker. Will that change for 2019 and 2020? It should! With the issues social media is having, domains will end up as the beneficiary as folks want to control their own destiny not having the likes of Twitter and Facebook control their own narrative.

2018 was a good year for business. Companies have good cash flow and many sitting on large chunks of cash. As they see Sears closing up and many others following, can't we finally make a really good case for 1 domain worldwide that rivals and perhaps exceeds 3000 stores ready to collapse with overhead more than $8 a year after the initial buy which is still a FRACTION of what it cost to build ONE Sears Store? I REFUSE to abandon that foundational mindset that I have! That is why I refuse to give away domains for pennies on the dollar. My vision is stronger than theirs. And it's based on simple common sense and math.

Whether we compare domains to real estate and associated costs or the cost of a Super Bowl Ad or the cost of a 30 second spot on TV, the domain name remains a bargain that business has overlooked but NOW are FORCED to revisit!

The forecast for 2019 and 2020 are looking pretty damn good the way I see the universe! But it can only look good if you have positioned yourselves well and own domains that 3rd parties need, want and desire. Our job is to show value when compared to alternatives and look at the future while doing so.

Rick Schwartz



12 thoughts on “Is 2018 Shaping up to be a Good Year for Top Reported Domain Sales? Short Answer “Not Exactly”.

    1. Rick Schwartz

      The domain INDUSTRY is dead!
      There is no coherent industry. The Verisign’s comments were not responded to by the INDUSTRY.
      There is no Domain Industry.
      It was responded by many Lone Wolves.
      There is no DOMAIN INDUSTRY.

      I am talking about DOMAINS themselves and their value and how the marketplace values them.

      Reply
        1. Michael

          He’s “The Domain King”
          He never proclaimed to be the domain industry king.

          Re: the domain industry being dead, the term industry in this context implies a healthy balance of governance and organized suppliers to provide a check on that governance. Rick is simply pointing out that there is no organized supplier, and therefore no competing force to balance the equation. Thus, no industry.

          Reply
      1. Mike

        Everyone is raising prices for all things across the board, I guess most are not concerned by 50 cent increases, or don’t see the big picture.

        The same government you praise approved this deal, without little review, or recourse from the public. Backroom
        Politics played a role here. There was a reason Corwin was recruited away. The company with the bigger bankroll bought the boat to get across the swamp first.

        Reply
  1. RaTHeaD

    i believe more and more of the top names are in use or have gone into hands which they will never come out of. it might be interesting to look into the quality of the top 100 names and compare then year to year.

    Reply
  2. Mike

    The exchanges that are reporting are doing less sales, the bigger players are daddy and uncle frank included are not. The sales are happening, believe me, bigger, and better but you never hear of them, and you never will.

    The domain industry is thriving, I started out, clueless, reading domainking.com for every word back in 1998 ish, aol dial up. There was nothing back then, there is a lot of secondary buyers entering the markets today, good names still need a home. Every time I go to the mall, more and more shuttered windows. People don’t want to talk, they want to text, click, and receive, no human contact.

    Reply
  3. Jeff Schneider

    Hello Rick,
    We see,as you do, a Dramatic rise in (.COM Equimoditty Platform Asset)Values in 2019 and beyond. This increased Demand will be driven, in no small part, by to powerful Fundamentals, explained in this LinkedIn Institutional Investors release. = https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mother-all-tax-shelters-really-jeff-schneider/
    JAS

    Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger) Former ( Rockefeller I.B.E.C. Marketing Intelligence Analyst/Strategist) (Licensed C.B.O.E. Commodity Hedge Strategist) (DomainMaster)https://www.UseBiz.co

    Reply
  4. Neil

    To sell a Domain Name will be more and more difficult.
    Why?
    Because of Trademarks, which are restraining the possibility to buy a domain registered after the trademarked was issued.
    The seller must have a very “old” domain name to have a chance to sell it. The Trademark is blocking the entire category.
    Also, the nowadays businessmen invent their own ugly domain names: feverr, biscuittt, brlrdrfr, to avoid spending money for a normal domain name.
    I hope that sooner or later online commerce will be the only shopping way for super-duper-busy customers, so everybody will “go” shopping by left-right clicking mouse, from the kitchen, living room or balcony. No more long lines at the cash register, no more arrogant sales persons, no more road accidents driving to the super crowded mall. Just clicks. So, a new prosperous era for poor domainers is approaching…What do you think about that,
    Domain influencer king?

    Reply

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