A domain (from Old French demesne) once meant owning a specific piece of ground—real dirt with a castle on it. Not anymore. Virtual properties are now as valuable as real ones.
Need more proof? On Nov. 22, Colliers CRE, an international auction house based in London, plans to offer a set of 303 Internet domain names consisting of insurance industry standard terms with names such as AccidentInsuring.com, LifeInsuring.com, and MedicalInsuring.com, as Lot 53 in its property auction.
These are the cyber versions of exclusive territory, and their ownership brings with it all the rights and privileges due to the lord of the manor. According to Colliers, “The latest research reveals that over 80 percent of Internet users find the websites they seek by using search engines.”
Thus, a recognizable or easily remembered name directs a potential customer to the owner’s website. “This ability to direct people to a highly recognizable Internet address offers a company a marketing value that just can’t be otherwise bought.”
Colliers’ Lot 53 consists of three identical subsets of 101 insurance domain names each, grouped as “101 dot com,” “101 dot net” and “101 dot co.uk.”
Stephen Bellau, Colliers assistant director, is in charge of the auction and expects results to compare favorably with its usual business of selling high class commercial and residential property—the dirt kind. “We’ve set a guide price of one million pounds [$1.45 million] for the entire set,” Bellau said.
“As far as we know this is the first time a complete set of domain names has ever been offered at auction. We’ve maybe sold a handful of domain names,” he indicated, but they had never thought to include them as lots in a property auction until contacted by Transglobal Sales, acting for the owner. “It was just too good an opportunity to pass up.”
The announcement of the auction notes that recently more and more companies have been investing in and buying up domain names, some at very high prices. For example, according to Colliers, “Business.com” went for $7.5 million, “Loans.com” for $3 million, “Bingo.com” for $1 million, and so on.
Once you own a domain name, all you have to do to keep it is pay an annual registration fee. The virtual property is yours to use as you wish, as an individual web address, or to direct potential customers to your website. Just like real property, a domain name is unique, which helps explain why more and more companies are recognizing the value of a good one. No one else can use it without the owner’s permission.
“These domains are truly remarkable,” Bellau said. “They will enable the creation or expansion of a global Internet ‘insuring’ portal, sending anyone searching the Internet worldwide directly to the owner’s website. Can you imagine the international business they can generate?”
How much are “AccidentInsuring.com” and the other 302 domain names worth? Maybe Bellau’s £1-million guide price is too low or too high. The basic reason to have a sale by auction is to determine what a willing buyer is ready to pay a willing seller.
Colliers and the owner of the virtual properties, who prefers to remain anonymous, are betting that they’ll be worth a lot.
The sale is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22, at The Radisson SAS Portman Hotel, Portman Square, London W1. A complete list of all 303 domain names can be found on Colliers’ website at www.collierscre.com.
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