Erotica.com sells for $850,000: Sexy Internet domain names still big business

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Internet Domain Names Grow to 177 Million in 2008, Latest VeriSign Industry Brief Shows

The Internet added 24 million new domain names in 2008, according to the fourth quarter 2008 Domain Name Industry Brief published by VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world.
The year 2008 ended with a total base of 177 million domain name registrations across all of the Top Level Domains (TLDs). This represents 16 percent growth over the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2008, more than 10.1 million new domain names were registered across all TLDs. The composition of the domain name industry and rank order in terms of base size remained consistent in the fourth quarter. The five largest TLDs in terms of base size were .com, .cn (China), .de (Germany), .net, and .org.

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Hells Angels Sue Alleged Cybersquatter for $2 Million

There are two types of cybersquatters: big, systematic cybersquatters and small, just-don’t-know-any-better cybersquatters.

Sometimes it’s the big guys that get hit with lawsuits, but a recent case shows even the small time cybersquatter can be hit hard.

That’s the case of Fawn and Terry Myers, who are named in a lawsuit alleging they registered about 20 domain names related to Hells Angels. Either Fawn or Terry subsequently listed the domain names on eBay with titles such as:

“Hells Angels Domain Name HA-MC.COM USA Europe RARE Dot”“Hells Angels Domain Name ALL 81 LLLL.com 4L USA EUROPE”

Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation sued the Myers this month on 20 counts of cybersquatting at $100,000 each.

Many small time cybersquatters think a UDRP is the worst that can happen to them. This case shows that’s not true. I asked Hells Angels’ attorney Fritz Clapp today why the company chose to file a lawsuit rather than UDRP. He cited the delay in UDRPs as well as the attention this case will draw to other people that might cybersquat on Hells Angels’ brand.

Clapp first contacted Terry Myers through the eBay contact system. Myers allegedly wrote a terse response to Clapp before listing another related domain name on eBay. Clapp contacted eBay, which removed the auctions.

You’ll find the eBay listings somewhat humorous, so I’ve uploaded a copy here (pdf).
Among Myers claims in the eBay listings:

I b.s. you not, once this name is sold, it will NEVER be up for sale EVER again. Buy it now, it will go FAST. First off, I would like to say I have no HA affiliation and the purchase of multiple 4 letter (LLLL.com) and 5 letter (LLLLL.com) domain [sic] was quit [sic] by accident. I did not correlate the 81 with the Hells Angels identification at time of purchase. I have purchased 100’s of four letter .com domains prior to them running out before November 2007, and some after that went up after expiration. I was contacted by a person outside the United States interested in purchasing 81EU.com for a European web site. A brandable four or five letter dot com domain name now days goes for $3800 all the way to $1,000,000 +.

Huh, at $8,181.81, I’m shocked this domain name didn’t sell within minutes
GoDaddy was named as a defendant in the original lawsuit, but was dropped after cooperating. In at least one of the eBay auctions, Myers wrote “If auction is canceled on ebay, please go to domainsite host (godaddy). It will be placed for auction there.”

The City plans to raise cash selling .nyc domains

As officials search for cash to help plug the city's widening budget deficit, City Council members say they’ve found a relatively painless way to generate millions of dollars for the city. It will come from the Internet.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced during her state-of-the-city address Thursday that the “.nyc” domain will start generating a fresh stream of revenue for the city next summer.

dotNYC, a private group, has asked the city to let it sell Web addresses such as www.GrimaldisPizza.nyc or www.EmpireStateBuilding.nyc for about $10 a pop to people, corporations and small businesses. In return, the company would give the city one-third of the domain's profits.

However, a city spokesman says officials have not yet chosen a partner for the project. The city may decide to send out a request for proposals.

“A local business won't have to outbid a guy in Kansas to get TonysPizza.com,” Ms. Quinn said. “They'll be able to get TonysPizza.NYC, a name associated with the greatest city—and home of the greatest pizza—in the world.”

She said the city will generate millions of dollars per year through the system just by giving its permission to allow .nyc to be created.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is responsible for approving requested domain names. ICANN, which was founded 10 years ago, is expected to begin approving new domains named for cities and states this summer, although the sites may not go live until mid-2010. Until now, only 21 domains, such as .com, .org and .edu, have been accessible. Country and continent codes have also been in use, including .us in the United States and .fr in France.

During a Thursday address, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the ".nyc" domain will start generating a fresh stream of revenue for the city next summer.

Webfusion to Offer Customers .us Domain at $0.99

PHILADELPHIA, Feb 11, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Earlier this week, Webfusion launched a promotion that gives their customers the opportunity to register a .us domain name at $0.99. With over 9 million .us sites in Google's index, this promotion offers customers the opportunity to show their patriotism and express their individuality in an arena that is becoming increasingly difficult to enter due to limited domain name availability.

As President Obama ushers in a new era of change, Webfusion offers Americans and companies doing business in the United States an opportunity to distinguish themselves in an increasingly .com world while showing their patriotism to the United States.

Webfusion is celebrating this new era by offering its customers the opportunity to register the .us domain for a year at $0.99 with three months of free Web hosting included on the

"Techie" hosting package. This special promotion on .us domains will be good on purchases made by May 31, 2009.

"The .us domain offers the opportunity for our customers to distinguish themselves online while celebrating this new era of 'change' in America," said Thomas Vollrath, CEO of Webfusion. "We are pleased to join the nation in celebrating this new era with a special rate on this patriotic domain."

Webfusion's hosting plans appeal to beginners, businesses and techies alike by offering up to 400GB Web space, 5,000GB monthly traffic and 100 MySQL databases. All our packages include first-class technical support and are backed with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so customers can try the service at no risk.

About the .us domain
The .us top-level domain (usTLD) was established in 1985 as the official country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States. It is administered by NeuStar. The expanded second-level .us domain launched on April 24, 2002, enabling companies, nonprofits, government entities and individuals to establish unique, memorable American addresses online.
About Webfusion

Webfusion was founded in 1997 and entered into the American market in December 2008. It offers domain name registration and easy-to-understand Web hosting packages. Hosting starts from just $2.99 a month and domain names are only $0.99 with any hosting package. More information can be found at www.webfusion.com.

Tucows Sells $1M Domain Name Portfolio; Domain Parking Flat

Domain name wholesaler Tucows Inc (AMEX: TCX) has sold a portfolio of 2,553 domain names for $1 million, the company announced in its quarterly earnings call yesterday. That’s an average of $392 per domain name. In a filing with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission, the company reported thatthe same buyer has rights to purchase up to $1.8 million morein domain names under similar terms between now and June 2010.

On the conference call, Tucows CEO Elliot Noss said the continuation deal gives a buyer rights to buy expired domainnames from Tucows as they expire. The company just inked a deal to send domain names to NameJet. It sounds like Tucows has a separate deal to offer expiring domains to a third partybuyer either before domains go to NameJet or sell remnants that aren’t purchased at NameJet. I have contacted Tucows for clarification.

In a positive sign for the domain name parking business, Tucows reported that its domain name parking revenue flatlined over the fourth quarter, ending a trend of dropping revenue.Tucows continues to grow its domain name registration business,with new registrations up 9% compared to the same quarter lastyear and renewals up 15%. Since its domain names are mostly sold through resellers such as web hosts, Tucows says it has a higher proportion of domain names in use (as opposed to parked)compared to other domain registrars.

The company also announced it is purchasing up to 4 million shares of its stock for 32-45 cents each

Fly.com sells for 1.8 million

Last Friday, travel site Travelzoo announced that it had purchased the domain Fly.com for $1.8 million. Not a lot of details were released about the transaction, so I contacted Travelzoo to find out a bit more. Mindy Joyce, Travelzoo's senior marketing director got back to me and answered a few questions.

Chris Crum: Obviously fly.com is a tremendous domain to have for a travel site. How did this transaction come about? Did Travelzoo approach Fly.com or vice versa?
Mindy Joyce: Travelzoo was considering names for its new travel search engine when we became aware of the availability of Fly.com through a domain broker. We recognized the name as a perfect match to Travelzoo’s renowned approach: simple, fun, and world class.

CC: Who was behind Fly.com before Travelzoo purchased it?

MJ: Decline to answer due to confidentiality agreement with former owner.

CC: When do you expect Travelzoo's version of Fly.com to go live? [note: nothing was up yet when I contacted Travelzoo]

MJ: A beta version of our travel search engine is already available at http://www.fly.com/. It includes a number of innovations, such as our simultaneous search for fares in all cabin classes so users won’t miss a great fare in any cabin, at-a-glance Summary view, and “Why Me” boxes, which provide users with useful information. For example, users searching NYC-SFO would see “Why

Me” boxes that highlight in-flight entertainment and Internet options available. And this is just our beta version. We expect to officially launch Fly.com within a couple of months.