25 Highest Paid Domain Names In The World | Updated

The words”domain” and “name”  might seem strange to you when placed together, however, a domain name is something you are already familiar with. 

A Domain name is an address of a website or in other words a website name. Whatever easy-to-remember address is typed into a search box to find your website is your domain name.

Examples of domain names are www.simmy.com, www.whatever.ng.  With over 300 million domain names around the world, it had proven to be quite popular.

Domain names are usually managed by domain registries that are also in charge of assigning and reserving domain names to registrars.

When you enter a domain name in your web browser, it first sends a request to a global network of servers that form the Domain Name System (DNS).

These servers then lookup for the name servers associated with the domain and forward the request to those name servers

HOW VALUABLE ARE DOMAIN NAMES

Your domain name is as valuable as your business name. The domain name serves as an online “ business card”. It represents your online entity. 

Domain names are now an essential aspect of any business. Whether the use is mainly for email, a company website, or part of a marketing campaign anyone starting a business must secure a domain name.

Domain names are as important as properties and only knowledgeable and prolific investors and business owners understand the current importance and future value.

Some people often wonder why people would go the length to pay a large amount to secure domain names.

Here’s why, if you knew that a currently empty cheap land would accrue so much value in the next few years, would you not choose to get it? Looking at all you stand to gain.

It’s however not just okay for you to get a domain name, you should ensure you get a GOOD domain name.

HOW TO CREATE A GOOD DOMAIN NAME DOMAIN FOR A WEBSITE

When choosing a domain name, it might seem like a lot of brain and time work with deciding the perfect domain name, however, it’s not as hard as it usually seems.

Choosing a domain name is something every website owner needs to ensure they get right and so we have 10 tips that will help you in selecting the best domain name.

1. Go with a .com

While the .com is just one of the many domain name extensions(TLDs)( we have .ng, .it, .edu, .biz and so on).  it might just be right to go with the common .com. Why?

First, it is simple and easier for your users to remember, in fact, most people just type in .com naturally, some even have phones that automatically pop up .coms. 

Imagine your website is cars. ng and your customers keep inputting cars.com you would lose traffic and they would lose interest. 

Secondly, newer domain extensions like .baby .music and others can make your business appear less credible. The .com seems to give websites a tech-savvy, professional, and authentic unique look.

Thirdly, It’s smart to avoid that risk by sticking with .com. It would surely save you a lot of str

In special cases that your website is meant to cater to a local audience, you could consider going for a local TLD. For example, if your website is aimed at selling cheap cars to Canadians you might want to consider using .ca to make it more relatable to Canadians.

Although, it is not advisable if you have plans to expand outside your current location. In the meantime, you can link the .com to your local domain, so, no matter which addresses someone visits, they still end up at the same website.

If you find out that the .com of your keyword is in use, you could consider buying through some domain name sellers we would be mentioning later in this article.

2. USE A SHORT DOMAIN NAME 

Using your .com is just one part of the process, selecting the domain name is another part. The length of the keyword matters.

Of course, you might be tempted to include a long more explanatory keyword, however, you have to be mindful of the length as longer keywords lead to more typographical errors. 

Your users are normal people that could make mistakes at any time so why not make things easier for them by picking a short easy to remember the name. 

It is usually advisable keeping your domain name under 15 characters. Avoid hyphens and symbols, words alone will do. Never create a domain name with hyphens because it is easier for your users to experience typo errors that way. 

3. PICK A BRANDABLE NAME

We have advised you to pick a short name, however, you have to ensure the name picked is brandable and unique. The name should be peculiar enough that it sticks to the mind of your users.

For instance, YouTube, Uber, Google, Twitter are not actual words and so it makes them peculiar and easy to remember.

And so when you translate it as YouTube.com, Uber.com, Google.com e.t.c it sticks better and makes it stand out compared to names like traveltocanada.com. The short, peculiar, and brand-able name do it better.

4. Purchase lookalike TLDs

Another thing that would be advisable to do is purchasing TLDs that look like yours. For instance, if your domain name is drinkit.com, you might want to purchase other TLDs that seem like it examples are drunkit.com, drink.it, dinkit.com, drinkit. ng etc. to avoid loss of traffic or user errors.

Purchasing the look-alike domain name would not only drive more traffic to you but also prevent your competitors from getting your users.

5. Research your chosen name

Before you finalize the purchase or creation of a domain name, ensure it’s not in use. You could pick up your phone and type in that domain name to see what pops up.

At times, it might be disheartening to see that your chosen name has been picked but not to worry you could buy out the owner of the wanted name.

Just like buying a house and building one is different from the other, purchased and created domain names are different and so you have to be careful with buying from another person.

6. Check the domain history through way back machine or who.is too

There are different ways you can look up a domain name’s record. One of the common ones and one anybody can get access to is the way back machine.

This is one of the most unique domain research tools. It lets you enter a time machine and have a look at how any website used to look in the past. Who. is also helps you check your domain names history. 

7. Avoid stressing yourself if your perfect domain name has been picked

You could try buying out the domain name owner however if it’s not possible there’s nothing to worry about.

You should just ensure you focus on growth strategies to build your business presence. Besides, you could be chanced to buy the name in future. 

8. Get your corresponding social media account

The impact of social media is becoming increasingly high. For any business that wants to gather a great audience and customers, you would need social media accounts.

People rely more on social media, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram e.t.c to buy or sell things now, as a strong social media stand is a great business pusher.

You would need social media accounts to support your business. You should probably get an account that matches your domain name, that would go a long way.

9. Picking a domain registrar

One mistake people make is picking the wrong domain registrar. A domain registrar is in charge of registering your domain name and ensuring your domain name is officially allotted to you. 

You must ensure you pick a good and reliable registrar to avoid future problems with your domain.

You wouldn’t want to be accused of using someone’s domain name in the future after paying a registrar to ensure the validity and official ownership of your domain name.

An example of reliable registrars is Godaddy. 

10. Domain settings

It is advisable you lock your domain as well as put it on auto-renew. You would have to lock your domain to avoid it getting stolen. People get their domain names stolen regularly through different means.

If your domain user account or password gets into the hands of the wrong person, it’s trouble. Locking your domain is quite easy.

Some domain registrars offer a feature in which they keep your domain in Registrar-lock status, which curbs unauthorized trials at domain transfers.

Your registration data and DNS configuration cannot be altered until you unlock your domain name.

HOW MUCH DOES A DOMAIN NAME COST?

This question remains in people’s minds, as they would often wonder how much a domain name could cost. Some factors determine the price of a domain name. 

• Availability of domain name

If the name you chose is not available I.e possibly belonging to another person, to buy it from the current owner might be expensive. 

• The cost of a domain name differs based on the domain extension (such as .com, .org, .net)

Domain registrars: The different domain registers have various buying and selling plans as well as sales commissions. Various other reasons also exist. 

The average cost of a domain name ranges between $0(free) to $20 if it’s available through a registrar, however, If you have to buy it from a private party, it will cost whatever you’re willing to pay and whatever they’re willing to sell it for. ( it could even cost as much as $10 million).

Buying from private parties is usually expensive although it depends on the domain name.

NOTE: Your domain name is not permanent and so you must pay an annual fee to ensure the domain name is yours for that duration.

If you prepay for 8 years, it means the domain name will belong to you for 8 years and failure to pay could lead to loss of domain name.

The annual fee is usually close to the amount you registered it.

HOW TO SELL YOUR DOMAIN NAME FAST

Selling a domain name is not as easy as snapping your fingers but If you are willing and ready to let your domain name go, there are various avenues through which you could sell it fast and get your money back.

Those avenues include person-to-person sales or domain sales facilitators. 

You could decide to search around for people to buy your domain name yourself but you should probably take note of these things to do 

• First, evaluate your domain name to increase your chance of getting paid well for it.

Test your domain name with our “ how to create a good domain name “ mentioned above. Ensure it successfully scales through that by being short, brandable, without hyphens, having a good history e.t.c.

You could also choose to enlist the help of professionals in evaluating your domain name and determining its market value.

• Once you have properly evaluated it and determined Its market value, you would have to decide how much you want to sell it I.e the price.

Although most domain names, especially aftermarket domain names, sell in the three to four-figure range, if you have a premium domain name, you can often price below fair market value and makeup to six or seven figures. 

• Most people search online for domain names they want, to see if any pops up. When buyers are choosing a domain they want to buy, they will often type the domain into their browser to see if it pops up.

To fast track your sale you should create a landing page on your website as this would help you find buyers. There are several creative ways to point buyers to such a landing page.

The most common method is to place redirects. Make sure to create landing pages for each domain you’re selling. Avoid placing redirects on unrelated sites, you wouldn’t want to confuse buyers.

Most landing pages have an invitation form end-users can use to collect more information, along with contact data.

• Now you can move to pick a sales avenue. There are various points you could sell through including auction sites like Godaddy ( auction sites will deduct a commission from your selling price, however, it’s worth it).

You also could sell your domain names through marketplaces like  NameCheap and Sedo. Check some domain marketplaces below.

•  Consider using an escrow service 

Some marketplaces and auction sites have their escrow service. Research the marketplace or auction site you intend to use, and if they don’t employ their escrow service, it’s a good idea to hire one yourself.

Escrow services make large money transactions much more secure because the buyer will not receive your domain until payment has been made in full.

HOW TO BUY AND SELL DOMAIN NAMES FOR PROFITS

1. Check out your target population: For any business plan to work out you must map out your target population. Would you like to sell to IT companies? If so you should be looking towards technology-inclined keywords. 

Who are those you would like to sell to? They would help you in picking out brand names

2. Understand the basics of the business: Do your research and find out every area you need to know.

3. Pick a good, short, and brandable name.

4. Ensure it is properly registered and has no legal issues

5. Evaluate your keyword and Select your marketplace

5 BEST DOMAIN MARKETPLACES/ SALES POINTS

When looking to sell your domain name, you might have to consider selling it through domain sales points. Here, we have the best domain sales points to share with you.

1. GODADDY

GoDaddy is an organization that comprises humanistic experts centered on building people’s ideas, branding their business, and exposing them to credible customers.

One of the various people-centered aspects of Godaddy that we would examine for the purpose of this article is the Godaddy auction. 

Godaddy Auction is a very important aspect of the Godaddy registry. It is centered on helping customers easily buy and, /or sell domain names.

To be able to successfully carry out domain trade, you would need to sign up as a member and also pay a minor membership fee of $4.99/year.

With the payment of the fee, you would be entitled to bidding, buying, or selling domain names for free.

HOW THE AUCTION WORKS

After signing up and purchasing a GoDaddy Auctions membership, you would need to fill in the domain name you want to sell in the “Domain Name” and “Confirm Domain Name” fields.

Next is to choose a “Listing Type” from a drop-down menu. You would have to choose between three listing options. 

• Offer/Counter Offer: You are allowed to offer the domain name at a particular price. Potential buyers will then respond with an offer of a lower price, which you are permitted to either accept or reject.

• Offer/Counter Offer With Buy Now: The buyer and seller can negotiate price through this listing type or a buyer can simply purchase the domain name at the listed price.

• Buy Now Only: In this type of listing, there are no negotiations. Domain names can only be bought for the listed price.

GoDaddy COMMISSION RATES( HOW MUCH GODADDY CHARGES FOR A DOMAIN SALE)

GoDaddy like other domain sales businesses (although cheaper than most)has commission rates I.e. amount to be deducted after the sale.

These are the commission rate you would have to select from.

• First, you must have signed up and paid the annual fee of $4.99. 

.•  Your commission to be paid depends on the price of the domain name. 

Domain Sale Price Commission Rate

  • $0-$5,000 20 percent (with a $15 minimum)
  • $5,001-$25,000 $1,000 plus 15 percent of the amount over $5,000
  • $25,001+ $4,000 plus 10 percent of the amount over $25,000

2. SEDO

The second on our list of best domain name marketplace is Sedo. Sedo had been a platform where many successful trades have been carried out.

For instance, the sale of sex.com and several other transactions. Sedo offers numerous services for buyers and sellers. Examples are free registration, free transfer, free parking, etc. 

You could park or enlist your domain name for sale with no charges. You only have to pay them a commission after the sale. 

The commission of the successful sale depends on the type of listing and TLD. More info at sedo.com

SEDO DOMAIN LISTING OPTIONS AND  COMMISSION RATES

– Park and buy now:  Commission rate is 10%

– Buy now and make an offer: commission rate is 15%

– Domain auction sale: commission rate is 15%

– SedoMLS partners sale: commission rate is 20%

3. NAMECHEAP

It’s no strange news that Namecheap, an international web hosting and domain registration site made it to our list of 5the  best domain name marketplace.

With more than 2 million customers, past successful transactions, and more than 5+ million domain names under management it has rightfully earned its place.

If you’re a customer at NameCheap and you have listed domain names you have no cost at all to pay except a static 10% commission on each domain sale. 

4. NAMEPROS

If you are looking for a domain registrar/ marketplace that would not charge you any commission upon the successful sale of domain names, that’s Namepro.

A network with over 1+ million members with over 1+ million threads and 6+ million posts that still allows free membership for everyone who wants to join in this community.

However, note that with no fees and commission you are only allowed to create up to 2 active domain listings for sale.

If you want to list more, you need to upgrade your account to the Supporter or Business account and that would cost you a little amount.

– Holding a  Namepro supporter account you would pay $5 monthly

– Holding a business account, you would pay $10 monthly

– Holding a business yearly account you would pay $99 annually 

Remember, namepros doesn’t charge any fees or commissions on your successful domain sales.

5. eBay

eBay is one of the largest marketplaces in the world for selling anything.  eBay also stands as a domain marketplace. Buyers do not pay fees, you are simply to register a free account and purchase your domain name.

 However, if you’re a seller, you are allowed to list up to 50 free listings with a free account.

If you have more than 50 domain names you would like to sell want to sell, you would have to  buy an eBay Store subscription, the price is from $19.95/mo with a yearly subscription

25 HIGHEST-PAID DOMAIN NAMES IN THE WORLD 

1. Name: LasVegas.com

Ownership: VEGAS.com, LLC

About: Lasvegas.com is a travel agency that specializes in satisfying various travel needs. Lasvegas.com was mainly purchased to bring more online traffic to the travel agency alongside its previous domain name VEGAS.com. 

This domain was purchased in 2005 by VEGAS.com, LLC is a huge $90 million sale. 

The seller and former owner of the domain, Stephens Media, agreed to a contract that started out with an initial $12 million payment. The remaining sum for this domain sale is payable until 2040.

The agreement specified that a $12,000,000, one-time payment be made upon execution of the agreement along with monthly payments of roughly $83,000 for 36 months, $125,000 for the next 60 months, and then $208,000 for the next 36 months.

Pay: $90 million

2. Name: CarInsurance.com 

Ownership: Quinstreet

About:  In 2010 QuinStreet made headlines by purchasing 3 top domain names at high rates within 13 months.

After recent purchases of Insure.com and Insurance.com QuinStreet bought CarInsurance.com on November 8, 2010. QuinStreet being a vertical marketing and online media company from California 

Before the purchase, the domain was already a highly productive consumer site for surveying and shopping for auto insurance policies, making it QuinStreet’s top treasure.

With that single purchase, QuinStreet solidified its place as a market leader in online insurance at a time when internet shopping was taking off. 

Pay: $49.7 million

3. Name: Insurance.com 

Ownership: QuinStreet

About:  This domain name also happens to be owned by Quinstreet. It was gotten a few months before coinsurance.com and it must have brought in quite a large amount of profit for QuinStreet to have decided to still purchase car insurance.com after this. Its year of purchase was also 2010. 

Pay: $35.6 million

4. Name: VacationRentals.com 

Ownership: Brian Sharpies, founder of Home Away 

About: Although most domain purchasers will not come out to blatantly say it the way Brian sharpies did, most of them got their domain names to avoid their competitors getting it.

In the history of tourist domain names, vacation rentals seem to be the most expensive them all. 

It was bought in 2009 by Brian Sharpies, founder of Home Away who previously bought the French site Abritel in 2007.

Brian sharpies agreed during an interview that he purchased this domain name to avoid his competitor Expedia doing it as he found out expedite had plans of getting it.

That reason aside, vacationrentals.com was doing quite well before the purchase and it still represents a marketplace for vacation bookings around the world.

Pay: $35 million

5. PrivateJet.com 

Ownership: Nations Luxury Transportation, LLC

About: PrivateJets.com is an online charter marketplace brought to you by Sentient Jet, the largest arranger of private air charter in the U.S. 

Sentient was established in 1999 and has over ten years of leadership and knowledge in private aviation. PrivateJets.com was created to provide a broad online aid for all types of private jet travelers.

Nations Luxury Transportation, LLC, declared in 2012 that it has decided to acquire the domain name http://PrivateJet.com from Don’t Look Media Group( they rejected many offers before agreeing to sell to Nations luxury transport) an intellectual property holding company, for $30.18 million in cash and stock.

The website is now linked to flyvictor.com The board of directors of both companies approved the transaction. The $30-million website was expected to officially launch in April 2012.

Pay: $30.18 million

6. Voice.com 

Ownership: Block. one 

About: Number six on our list of 25 highest paid domain names in the world is voice.com.

Various huge domain sales have been carried out by domain brokers, one of them is this massive sale carried out through Go Daddy(The voice.com sale)Blockchain-based social media platform Block. one bought the domain name in an all-cash deal facilitated by GoDaddy.

It actually paid more than $30 million when you consider its unrevealed commission to GoDaddy. It was bought from Microstrategy in 2019.

Pay: $30 million

7. Internet.com 

Ownership: Formerly QuinStreet but it was auctioned in march 2021

About: The domain name internet.com has to seem high traffic due to its keywords “internet” and “.com”.

The domain name was sold at a high rate due to its traffic generation in 2009 for $18million. WebMediaBrands,(the seller) who primarily provides global news and information sold domain names in order to boost the company’s net balance and focus on its foundation business ideas. 

WebMediaBrands, Inc. sold out its Internet.com division to QuinStreet, Inc, in an all-cash deal.

The domain name is currently about to be resold as QuinStreet has lost ownership of it. Sealed bids to buy Internet.com were accepted until March 8, 2021.

The ten highest bidders were invited to participate in a live auction. No further detail has been released about the auction.

Pay: $18 million

8. 360.com 

Ownership: Qihoo

About: Another domain name definitely worth being on our list of 25 highest paid domain names in the world is 360.com.

This domain name was bought by the Chinese company  Qihoo from Vodafone for $17 million in 2015. Qihoo already had ownership of 360.cn, however, they decided to also purchase 360.com for a more trustworthy worldwide presence and more online traffic.

Qihoo although created in 2005, is widely known for its mobile hardware, antivirus software, and Web browser and the purchase only served to strengthen the company. 

Pay:  $17 million

9. Insure.com 

Ownership: Quinstreet

About: Quinstreet seems to have made many massive purchases. One of them also being Insure.com.

Insure.com happened to be one of the Trinity of purchases Quinstreet made as it was purchased within the same period with carinsurance.com and insurance.com.

Insure.com is an insurance company where everything about insurance can be discussed with them. Its name and URL were sold for 10 times more than it was acquired in 2001.

10. Sex.com 

Ownership: Clover holdings

About: Sex.com was sold for $13 million by its bankrupt owners Escom to Clover Holdings on 17 November 2010.

Escom reportedly bought the domain name for $14 million in 2006 and had to resell it for $13 million. The sale of the largest sex-based domain name was handled by sedo.com. 

Pay: $14 million and $13 million

11. Hotels.com 

Ownership: Expedia Group

About: Hotels.com is widely known as a leading provider of hotel lodging worldwide, providing booking services through its own web of localized websites.

Hotels.com was reportedly sold for a total sum of $11 million. According to Mr. Roche, the owner of hotel.com in an interview organized for “currently with BBC news” the Hotels.com domain name was originally obtained for around $11 million in 2001.

Pay:$11 million

12. Tesla.com

Ownership: Tesla motors

About: The company, Tesla is known for its electric innovations. The electric car manufacturer Tesla is well known all across the globe.

it would however surprise you to know that Elon Musk only got ownership of  Tesla.com in 2015 for $11 million? Obtaining this domain name was crucial as the company was known as tesla and not tesla motors.

Elon Musk chose to wait until 2015 to be able to buy this domain name instead of continuing to use teslamotors.com.

Pay: 11 million dollars 

13. Porno.com 

Ownership: MindGeek, a privately held Canadian company

About: Another major domain sale that made it to our list of top 25 highest paid domain names is the porn.com transaction.

Rick Schwartz popularly regarded as the Domain King, sold the domain name Porno.com for $8,888,888 in an all-cash transaction handled by Escrow.com.

Rick bought this domain in August of 1997 for $42,000 “from a college student that bought it the week before for $5,000”. Talk of a successful business deal.

Rick Schwartz knew the value domain names had and he leveraged on that and is making millions through it. The college student he got it from probably never knew it could be sold after 20 years for that amount.

Porno.com was sold to mindgeek , a company that specializes in pornographic entertainment.

Pay:  $9.5 million

14. Shoes.com 

Ownership: Walmart sold it to critical point capitals

About: Shoes.com has been sold 4 different time within 6 years. Walmart purchased the domain name as the 3rd buyer at $9 million before reselling recently to critical point capitals. 

 The domain name and business were first sold by Brown Shoe Co. In 2014 to online shoe seller ShoeME.

Unfortunately, ShoeME closed down in early 2017 and Walmart bought Shoes.com’s intellectual property, including the beneficial domain name, for $9 million that year.

It made Shoes.com the flagship domain for ShoeBuy, which it bought from IAC in 2016, however, Walmart seems to have sold the domain name.

Shoes.com is currently the most dependable online destination for your whole family’s footwear needs, whatever the activity.

Pay: $9 million

15. Fb.com 

Ownership: Facebook 

About: It’s not surprising that this domain name was obtained by Facebook, it was acquired by Facebook in 2010.

FB is the abbreviation used by many users and organizations to refer to Facebook. FB.com (just like FB.me) redirects to the Facebook website, and the internal addresses of Facebook employees use @fb.com. The two-letter domain name is worth $8,5 million.

Pay: $8.5 million

16. We.com 

Ownership: Wechat and Tencent

About: Sedo led the agreement that helped the creators of Wechat and Tencent (the biggest internet service provider portal in China) procure the short domain we.com for an estimated amount of $8 million.

Pay:  $8 million

17. Business.com 

Ownership: purch group

About: Business.com is a digital media company and B2B web location which offers various performance marketing publicity, including lead production products on a pay per lead and pay per click basis, directory listings, and display promotion.

The site offers business industry news and trends for growth companies and the B2B community to stay up-to-date and hosted more than 15,000 pieces of content as of November 2014.

Then on July 26, 2007, after defeating other companies R.H. Donnelley Corporation announced plans to obtain Business.com in a deal valued at $345 million. The deal closed on August 23, 2007.

Unfortunately, in June 2009, R.H. Donnelley filed for bankruptcy. In 2011 business.com was acquired by porch group.

Pay:  $7.5 million

18. Diamond.com 

Ownership: formerly ice. According 

About: This domain name is a special one. From the keywords, you would assume it has to do with pieces of jewelry but it doesn’t as its owners have chosen to make it the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

In 2006 Ice.com bought the domain name Diamond.com for $7.5 Million from Odimo

Diamond.com is back on the market and it’s being brokered by Godaddy. According to the chairman of ice.com the domain name is being sold because it is “ slowly getting out of the online business”. 

Pay:  $7.5 million

19. Beer.com 

Ownership: 

About: Beer.com sold in 2004 for $7 million to Thought Convergence but disappointingly, now, the site is nothing but a blank page.

Pay:  $7 million

20. Z.com 

Ownership: 

About: Q.com, X.com, X.org, I.net, Q.net, and Z.com are the only six domains composed of one letter and a generic top-level domain extension in the world.

The latter was sold for 800 million yens to GMO Internet, one of the largest Internet service providers and registrars in Japan.

Pay:  $6.8 million

21. iCloud.com 

Ownership: Apple

About: iCloud is a cloud storage and cloud computing service from Apple Inc. inaugurated on October 12, 2011.

As of 2018, the service had an estimated 850 million users, up from 782 million users in 2016.

The iCloud.com domain and documented trademark were bought from a Swedish company called Xcerion, which rebranded their service to CloudMe.

Pay:  $6 million

22. Israel.com 

Ownership:  Anonymous

About: In May 2008, the domain name Israel.com was sold for 5,88 million dollars to an anonymous buyer.

When the registrar declared that this domain was being sold, the auctions then began at 5,5 million dollars and the domain was sold in only 6 days.

The previous holder – an American Jew – did not know that it would be so important when he bought it in 1994, explaining that he had enrolled it to prevent someone else from doing it wrong.

Pay:  $5.8 million

23. Casino.com and Slots.com 

Ownership: Mansion Group Ltd.(casino.com) and Calvin Ayre( slot.com)

About: Though years apart and with completely different purchasers, the Casino.com and Slots.com domains both managed to procure $5.5 million apiece when they were sold in 2003 and 2010, respectively.

Bodog founder Calvin Ayre was later revealed to have bought Slots.com while enjoying a drink at a London restaurant. After hosting an online casino, the domain is now home to an informational website promoting Bodog and Slots.lv.

Pay: $5.5 million

24. toy.com

Ownership: None

About: 24th on our list of highest-paid domain name sales is the toy.com sale. The domain name was sold in a 2009 bankruptcy auction, and Toys R Us was the high bidder.

Toys.com was originally sold for $1.25 million as part of a bankruptcy court proceeding.

Then, days later, it was put up for auction again and Toys R Us ended up forking out just over $5 million for the outstanding domain name.Toys.com now pivots to the official Toys R’ Us website.

Pay:5.1million dollars

25. Clothes.com

Ownership: Amazon

About: Shoe company Zappos coughed up almost $5 million for the domain Clothes.com.

Now both are owned by Amazon, but Clothes.com still redirects to Zappos’s apparel selection, not Amazon’s main site.

Pay: $5million

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS( FAQs)

It could be very disheartening for your domain name to get stolen after spending time, money, and effort on it. Domain names however do not get stolen regularly, they only get stolen if:

  • Your account is hacked I.e. a hacker gets access to your user account or password through whichever means.
  • Your domain registrar I.e just like in various establishments, there might be someone in your domain registration company that sells out or permutates records. One major reason why you should ensure you use a trustworthy registrar.
  • Reverse domain hijacking: Reverse domain hijacking is  a process of another person intentionally enrolling something with the name of your domain (often getting a trademark), and then accusing you of “stealing their domain name.”
  • Sophisticated DNS attacks
  • Lock your domain name as that would prevent a change of ownership without verification.
  • Use strong passwords and authentication apps.
  • DNSSEC enablement: pick a domain name that favors DNSSEC and ensure its functioning especially if you are running an online business.
  • Use a reliable DNS provider, and if you are using an outer one like Cloudflare, make sure you follow their guides on the extra steps for proper DNS configuration.

Your domain name does not permanently belong to you. In cases where you do not renew it, you might lose it.

Domain names need to be renewed either annually or once every two years depending on which one you choose. However, you could pay for subsequent years beforehand.

CONCLUSION

A domain name generally refers to your online identity and website name. To create a good domain name it should be devoid of hyphens, short, brandable, and unique, and the previous history should be researched.

You should also ensure it’s appropriate registration, once that is done your domain name is ready to work.

However, do not forget to create corresponding social media accounts for maximum effects.

There is a wide range of domain name sales prices that will drop your jaws, ranging from as much as 90 million dollars to 5 million dollars.

Some of the sales were carried out through credible domain marketplaces like Sedo, Godaddy, eBay, etc. Note that your domain name information should not be given out to stolen domain issues.

References

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