Domain Market Study 2nd Quarter 2011

Transcription

1 Domain Market Study 2nd Quarter

2 At of the end of, Sedo s global Domain Marketplace now boasts over 18 million domain names listed by more than 1 million members worldwide. In, Sedo s Domain Marketplace saw close to Sedo s All-Time Top 3 Sales 18% $25,000,000 in global sales and maintained stable average sales prices across all TLDs. Even considering the record-breaking sale of Sex.com in Q4, overall sales numbers in Q1 and remained consistent with previous quarters and growth trends. $3,000,000 $2,500,000 51% The notable sale of Gambling.com for $2,500,000 during also marks Sedo s third-highest published domain sale of all time (following last year s sale of Sex.com at $13,000,000 and Sedo s 2006 brokering of Vodka.com for $3,000,000). Highlights of what you ll find inside our complete Domain Market Study: How.com sales compare to other TLDs in, as compared to previous quarters Which sales channels buyers tend to prefer Breakdowns and evaluations of average and median sales prices $13,000,000 Sex.com Vodka.com Gambling.com Sedo, ::

3 TLD Sales 1. Division of Generic Top-Level Domain (gtld) and Country Code Domain (cctld) Sales for Accounting for 52% of all TLD sales,.com remained the marketplace s dominant extension. For other gtlds,.net came in a distant second with 6% market share, demonstrating the continued strength of.com as a key 18% investment choice for business owners and domain portfolio holders alike. Overall in,.de continued to be the most frequently traded cctld on the marketplace, accounting for 18% market share, while.co.uk and.eu each accounted for 6% of the market. At 18%,.de was also the second most frequently traded TLD, surpassing gtlds such as.net,.org and.info. 6% 6% 52%.CO Maintains Position as a Top TLD The pie chart to the right shows a breakdown of domain extensions (gtlds and cctlds) that contributed to at least 1% of the overall 6% 5% transaction volume of. TLDs that did not contribute at least 1% have been excluded from this chart. The chart also illustrates the staying power of.co, which has maintained similar sales figures to both.nl and.es since its debut on the top TLD list in Q1. While still a small percentage of overall domain sales, the continued presence of 3% 2% 1% 1%.co as a top TLD marks it as a valuable contender for investment and as a valid alternative to.com and other top gtlds..com.org.de.info.net.co.co.uk.nl.eu.es Sedo, ::

4 Sales Volume in $ $40,000,000 $35,000, Sales Growth As seen in previous quarter over quarter comparisons, sales in remained predominantly consistent with those in previous quarters, with the exception of Q4, which saw a dramatic increase due to several high-value sales. The graph to the right shows trends and growth in sales volume per quarter. With the record sale of Sex.com removed from the overall volume of Q4, represents the strongest quarter Sedo s $30,000,000 $25,000,000 $20,000,000 $15,000,000 $5,000,000 $0 $21,568,780 $20,507,143 Q3 $36,995,239* sex.com Q4 *sex.com sold in this quarter. $21,273,575 Q1 Number of Domains Sold $24,578,341 Domain Marketplace has seen in over a year. These recent figures illustrate the steady, if not upward, trend in domain sales following 12, s economic downturn. 11,500 11,000 10,500 10,000 9,500 11,146 10,085 10,326 10,608 10,600 Q3 Q4 Q1 Sedo, ::

5 Division of Sales Type 3. Division of Sales Type 5% 7% The chart to the right displays a breakdown of the various channels used for domain sales through Sedo s Domain Marketplace during. The 5% Offer-Counteroffer channel remained the most popular, accounting for 41% of all sales. This decrease of 2% from Q1 shows that buyers may be looking to other sales channels, such as Buy Now listings. Domains purchased via Buy Now listings (domains listed by sellers with 15% 41% fixed prices) resulted in 27% of all sales in, remaining consistent with the previous quarter. The continued strength of Buy Now domain listings indicates that a quick, easy purchase process is still an attractive prospect 27% to potential domain buyers. Marketplace Auctions have reclaimed their position as the third most popular sales channel with 15%, illustrating an increased interest in domain auctions among sellers who have received offers. Offer-Counteroffer Fixed Price Marketplace Auctions Auctions Brokerage External Transfers Sedo, ::

6 Domain Sales per Price Category 2% 1% 4. Domain Sales per Price Category At 49%, virtually half of all sales through Sedo s Domain Marketplace during Q1 were $500 or less. This price category saw a decrease in to 45%, indicating an overall increase in the value of individual domain transactions this quarter on Sedo s Domain Marketplace. 8% 4% Domain sales priced at $5,000 and under were the most frequent, accounting for 48% market share. Domain sales in a price range of more than $50,000 accounted for only 1% of the market. The chart to the right reinforces the fact that most domains can safely be valued at 2- to 3-figure amounts, with few exceptions. It also clearly 40% 45% indicates that domains are an asset within the reach of business owners and investors, no matter how large or small their budgets may be. up to $500 up to $10,000 up to $2,500 up to $50,000 up to $5,000 $50,000 and up Sedo, ::

7 5. Number and Price Comparison (gtlds) Average Sales Price per gtld in $ The average price of.com domains in reached $3,114, a 20% increase over Q1. It is important to note that, average.com sales prices for Q3 Q4 Q1 were also higher for every quarter over the last year, excluding the record-breaking sale of Sex.com. There was also a notable increase in both.net and.info sales prices, with other major gtlds holding strong not far behind..com.net.org 2,401 1,673 1,135 2,511 1,675 2,736 5,753 1,856 1,552 2,595 1,584 1,423 3,114 1,611 1, Number and Price Comparison (cctlds) Average sales prices remained relatively stable in as compared to previous quarters. Due to a confidential, record-breaking sale, the.es extension had the highest average price at $3,540, followed by.fr at $3,473. Although cctlds are a lower proportion of marketplace sales, it is notable that premium cctlds maintain a strong and consistent value from quarter to quarter..biz.info.de.at.fr.es.co.uk , ,466 1,725 1,999 1, Q3 1,449 1,057 4,819 1,093 1, Q4 1, ,182 1,502 2,030 1, Average Sales Price per cctld in $ Q1 1,263 1,688 2,466 2,031 1,610 1,275 1,005 1,430 1,130 3,473 3,540 1,824 Sedo, ::

8 7. Median Sales Prices Median Domain Price per gtld in $ Median sales prices for gtlds remained fairly consistent quarter over quarter. However there was a significant increase in median sales Q3 Q4 Q1 prices for gtlds across the board. The.com extension, for example, hit a median price of $700, an increase of nearly $200 over the same quarter of the previous year..com.net.org biz.info Top 10 Public Sales Sedo s Top 10 Public Sales was a strong quarter for.com domains. Sedo s Domain Market- Domain Sale Price place saw the impressive brokering of Gambling.com for $2,500,000, and other.com domains accounted for nine of the top ten sales of the quarter. gambling.com wellnessfinder.com $2,500, ,000 datacenter.com $352,500 consolidation.com $220,000 billionaire.com $215,000 mai.com 80,000 navidad.com $100,000 defiance.com ese.com business.co $90,000 $85,000 $80,000 Sedo, ::

9 Performance in Q1 and in $ 9. The Continued Popularity of.co and.me After a solid start in the first quarter of, two new Top Level Domains -.co (the cctld for Colombia) and.me (the cctld for Montenegro) - held steady in. Despite being country code TLDs,.co and.me function as desirable alternatives to generic Top-Level Domains (gtlds), predominantly in English-speaking countries. While the average prices of.co.co.me Average in Q1 1,205 1,201 Average in 3, Median in Q Median in and.me domains were almost the same as those in Q1,.co boasted an increase in average sales price to $3,297 during. The.co extension also continued to show growth with a median price ($525) that was substantially greater than that for.me domains, and more than $200 higher than its median from the previous quarter. Sedo, ::

10 10. Conclusion By comparison with Q1, Sedo s Domain Marketplace experienced increases across the board, boosted by high-value sales such as Gambling.com. Given ICANN s approval of new gtlds applications, and the increase in the average sales prices of.co and other cctlds, it seems clear that Sedo s Domain Marketplace will see an increase in the market share for many new TLD sales over the coming quarters. Finally, Sedo s recent launch of the first domain name price index, IDNX, further validates the value of domain names as an economic indicator and as a solid investment for both business owners and individuals, and we look forward to seeing how the domain industry trends in Q3 based on this invaluable new tool. Top 10 Categories 1. Software 2. Religion and Spirituality 3. Regions, Country, Cities 4. News and Media 5. Employment 6. Consulting 7. Domain Industry 8. Insurance 9. Lodging 10. Humor Sedo, ::