New Extension Sales Sept 23 - Oct 22, 2018

This was one of the quieter months of new domain extension sales since I began this series (see links to previous reports at bottom).  The average number of sales per month in the previous seven reports was 120 compared to just 68 this month. The number of sales was down substantially from last month (313), although the sales dollar volume was only slightly lower. The average sales price of $2955 was about quadruple last month's figure, however and the median was also substantially higher this month.

Summary

During the monthly period ending Oct 22, 2018 there were

• 67 NameBio recorded ngTLD sales in the 30 day period, with $180,800 total sale volume.
• The average sales price was $2955. The median price was $801.
• In terms of major sales, 1 was > $50,000, 8 were > $5000 and 29 > $1000.
• Sales in 22 different extensions, with .top, .global and .link most common.
• The highest sale price was design.online $57,500, dispatch.app at $15,000 in second, while four different .global names (switch, scoop, cyber and leap) tied for third place.
• There were ngTLD domain sales during the month at 11 different venues. Dynadot had the largest number of sales (25) followed by Alibaba Cloud (15).
• The types of domain names that sold: 69% were single word,  14% were short (<=3 letters), and 9% were geographical.
• Registries accounted for almost 64% of dollar volume, but less than 19% by number.
• In 2018 YTD there have been 1196 ngTLD sales listed on NameBio, with an average price of $3675. Sales volume is just over $4.4 million YTD. 

Extension Breakdown

I list in the table on the right  (click on table for a higher resolution version) those extensions that had either multiple sales in an extension, or a total monthly sales volume of  $500 or more. They are arranged by decreasing total sales volume, but the number of  sales for each are also listed.

The following extensions had a single sale: agency, city, gmbh, life, pics, run, site, and vip.  In total, there were sales during this period in 22 different extensions,

The Highest Value Sales

Below is a list of the major sales for the reporting period. Only 2 (or possibly 3) of the top sales were not registry.

• design.online $57.500  Sedo
• dispatch.app $15,000  UserScape
• switch.global  $8,000  DotGlobal
• scoop.global  $8,000  DotGlobal
• cyber.global  $8,000  DotGlobal
• leap.global  $8,000  DotGlobal
• edge.network $7515 Sedo
• DMV.online $5101  Dynadot

Venues

The month saw a steady increase in new extension sales at Dynadot and a drop at Flippa.  As pointed out last month, new domain extensions essentially never sell at GoDaddy (at least not above $100). Here are the venues with multiple new extension sales during the month.

• Dynadot 25
• Alibaba Cloud 15
• Dot Global (registry) 9
• Sedo 8
• BizCN 2
• Jiangsu Bangning (registry) 2

Names That Span Dot Effectively

Some of the domain names from this reporting period that I personally feel make excellent use of the extension as congruent with the domain name are the following:

• design.online
• citizen.group
• simple.solutions
• auto.finance
• rock.city
• click.link
• chain.global
• read.life
• sun.group
• switch.global
• edge.network

Great Value

Interestingly a few of the great names went for value prices.  For example click.link was just $123 and rock.city only $130.  In my mind the greatest value this month though was simple.solutions that sold for only $122. The word winter sold in the .xyz extension for merely $101,  a  true bargain price. These show that, at least sometimes, you can get memorable names in the new extensions at excellent value.

Types of Domains

We also performed an analysis of the type of domain name.  The majority (69%) were single word domain names (+ extension of course), although short (defined as 3  characters or less) were also popular (14%).  About 9% were geographical terms.  Numbers remain unpopular in the ngTLDs with only 2 in this  dataset.  Multiple word domains were rare this month, with just a couple off 2 word names and  one 3 word. Three of the names were adult in nature.

Year to Date 

So far in 2018 there have been 1196 ngTLD sales with an average sales price of $3675. The total value of 2018 reported ngTLD sales up to the day of writing is just over $4.4 million. For reference last year saw $5.2 million in total new extension sales.

Discussion

This report has mixed news for new domain name investors. While the number of sales and number of extensions, are both down from last month, they are in line with the year overall.  On average, this month just over 2 ngTLD sales are reported per day in the NameBio database.  The sales volume  has remained almost constant and the average price is up this month (at least compared to the previous two reporting periods).

One reason I produce these reports is to provide guidance to ngTLD investors to help them optimize their chances for success. The fact that ngTLD sales seem to be trending up on Dynadot may be actionable information.  Outside the registry sales, Sedo continues to be the venue that obtains the highest prices for quality new extension names.  Also, this month confirms a general trend  that single word domains with a good match on the two sides of the dot are most likely to sell, although short acronym names and geo names also find traction in the new extension space.  Surprisingly few number domains sell in new extensions, only 2 during this reporting period.

While I show sales by extension, I would caution those investing in new domain extensions that, unlike the com/net/org/info space, it is not primarily the extension that matters, but rather the match between the name and the extension.  As such, high value sales are possible, even if not probable, in almost any extension even those without a sales history.

It is still prudent to be cautious when investing in these extensions, and still true that overall the return on investment seems better in .com. The difference is possibly narrowing, however, and if the comparison is with other legacy extensions, or country code extensions, the case for new extensions could be made (although is still arguable). For those new to this field, my post on 12 reasons why end users (and domain investors) might want to consider new domain extensions may be worthwhile. The health of new extensions, ultimately, depends on the adoption of these extensions in significant websites.

Notes

The NameBio database (or at least the portion publicly reported) does not include sales with value less than $100, nor sales from a number of venues such as Afternic, Undeveloped or Efty (unless buyers or sellers report them individually), nor from most of the ngTLD registries, so it is difficult to estimate how complete a record this is of all ngTLD domain name sales. Sometimes sales are posted on NameBio after their recorded sales date and therefore never appear on the daily report although they do appear in the NameBio database.

Previous Reports

Here are links to the three previous reports in case you want to do monthly comparisons:

• Period ending Sept 22, 2018
• Period ending Aug 22, 2018
• Period ending July 22, 2018
• Period ending June 22, 2018
• Period ending May 22, 2018
• Period ending Apr 22, 2018
• Period ending Mar 22, 2018

Next Report and Other News

We will issue our next report in late November, and it will cover ngTLD sales for the period from Oct 23 through Nov 22. This monthly update on publicly reported ngTLD sales is offered as a service to the domain community.  While I strive to be accurate, no implied guarantee or warranty is associated with this report, and readers should independently verify information before using it in any domain investment decisions.  As always, we welcome comments and corrections. We report regularly on domain name news, with a special emphasis on the new extensions, on our Twitter feed.  Why not join the almost 1600 domain investors, venture capitalists, tech experts, startup owners and other great people that already follow us @AGreatName?  If we can be of assistance in helping you find a domain name at a value price, or using a domain name phrase in a marketing campaign, don't hesitate to contact us through our website (or via direct message at Twitter).

Original post Oct 25 2018.

Disclosure:  I currently hold a number of  ngTLD domain names. I am  not associated with NameBio, but would like to acknowledge their incredible database and their generosity to make it available to the domain community. This, and all other postings at this site, are offered for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as domain investment advice. You are responsible for your own domain investment decisions.