I have complied data from DnJournal.com’s Top 100 reported (most high value domain name sales go unreported) domain name sales for the past 6 years and have broken them down to give you an idea of what you will need to budget to purchase a premium .com domain name.
The following data is from the years 2010-2015 and are confirmed reported domain name sales.
By The Years: Top 100 Total Reported Domain Name Sales
- 2010 ~ $43,098,336
- 2011 ~ $23,081,833
- 2012 ~ $18,248,594
- 2013 ~ $27,198,313
- 2014 ~ $42,781,436
- 2015 ~ $38,671,496
The following is a breakdown of 1 word English .com domain names from the past 6 years (2010-2015)
- 176 of the 600 total reported sales were: English, 1 word .com domain names.
- These 176 domain names totaled: $89,149,234 in reported sales
- Removing the 14 domains that totaled $1M+, the average English 1 word .com domain name sales averaged $213,522 USD.
It is safe to suggest, if you are considering to acquire a premium one word .com domain name like Boating.com, Grid.com, Mojo.com, Driven.com, Shield.com, Prince.com or Essential.com your budget should exceed $200,000 USD.
Two word English .com domain names
- This category totaled 85 with 2 sales at $1M each (DomainName.com and PersonalLoans.com).
- Removing the 2, $1M sales, 83 averaged $162,224
It is safe to say that if you are planning to acquire a 2 word premium .com domain name such as GiftBaskets.com, FlashCards.com, HomeRun.com, HomeCare.com, BlueJeans.com or ShortSale.com you should budget over $100,000 USD.
Common term 2 word .com domain names are very popular and not “all” deserve this budget. The more popular the term, the higher the budget though. $30K-$70K will often get you a very strong 2 word .com domain name.
Short .com domain names
This category contains 1-4 character .com domain names. If it was an English word, like We.com or Hot.com, I did not include it in this category.
- The short category held 142 domains with a dozen domain name sales $1M+. 4 of those were 2 letter .com’s.
- Removing the 12, Million + domain sales, the 130 others averaged $201,890 USD
It is NOT safe to say that if you are planning on acquiring a short 1-2 letter .com domain, that the you will score at $200K. I would say 2 letter .com’s are about $600K minimum. 3 letter .com’s due to an increase demand from China is $25K for domains that contain vowels and V. 3 letter .com domain names containing only Chinese premium letters are a minimum of about $40K right now. 2 number .com’s is minimum $2M. 3 number .com’s are minimum $200K. 2 character and 3 character will widely depend on the domain it self and any meaning it may have.
Overview
If you are looking for a powerful brand name, category defining to show you are the leader in your industry, you have to pony up. So many companies fail to set a solid budget when it comes to your domain name and this needs to stop. Short and sweet is the way to go. Mobile is here to stay and having a brand name that is easy to remember, fast to type and catchy is vital!
The above data from reported domain name sales is the proof. Again, it is very important that I mention again that these are confirmed, reported domain name sales. SO many go unreported and would very likely make these averages higher.
Can you over pay even if your budget is $200K? Yes you can! I would highly advise to hire a domain name professional if your budget is $25K or higher. Sometimes the amount of money you save is well worth it alone. A gut check is also important.
In general, some very nice domain names can be acquired for $10K-$20K. If you are looking to create a brand, you better have the exact match .com domain to your brand and a budget similar to the above mentioned to secure it.
It is not out of the norm to acquire a domain name for a marketing campaign for $10K-$30K that drives home a strong message just looking at the domain. Again, this needs to be budgeted! The domain is only a piece of the puzzle but is often one that is very important.
Set a budget, get help if you are not 100% sure what you are doing and keep in mind that many of these domain name purchases should be considered investments. You are not throwing your money out the window like a billboard ad, newspaper ad etc. If you paid $xxx,xxx for the domain, there is a good chance that it will retain that value or grow if you do your homework and buy a premium domain name.
Very well said and thanks for sharing the detailed analysis you did 🙂
Great analysis.
Domain name purchases are truly an investment unlike billboard and newspaper ads as stated.
Moreover, domains are also an asset (that grows in value) and can be resold at a higher price point to recoup initial investment, unlike the aforementioned which is literally throwing money out the window, albeit for exposure and marketing.
Good analysis and I concur with everything going said. I’d love to see an ROI on some effective domain names so that we can prove out point to those “doubting Thomases”.
Informative article Jamie. It’s always best and safe to hire a broker if anyone planning to grab any premium domain. But one thing is good for domainers is people are getting the real value of branding and they can pay good for premium domain.