I remember watching an old show on VH1 about famous people’s homes and other extravagant expenses from jewelry to dogs, from clothing to yachts. It had always been basically the same thing: accessories and childhood dreams come true. But at the end of the 2000’s first decade Domains have come very much alive and appear to claim a certain value for themselves. It’s as if it were a real person finally acknowledging just how much any given person would pay for them.
Another very important thing, may be even the most ironic one, is that all those things extravagant people buy put together are mostly tangibles. Domains are just a line’s worth of letters jammed up together. A virtual address, something you can’t possibly feel with your fingers (unless you are typing it in). Just how much are these things worth? Or more accurately, how much would anyone dare pay?
The regular domain, the ones you purchase with your credit card be it for a blog or your webpage, can go from 10 USD up to 20 USD if you are feeling extra giving. A year-long “subscription” that costs less than a pair of jeans. But when large companies are out there fishing for THE one domain, it can get pretty pricey. Especially if we’re talking about international companies.
For example, Groupon is present in over 30 countries now. There was a special case in which Groupon tried to enter Australia but failed to claim its Domain Name like it had in the US and other countries. Local people in Australia obviously saw it as a business deal and decided to elevate the price-tag on the linear address. The question here like in any other trial case is, would it be cheaper to go to trial or to just settle and offer the domain-snatcher a sweet deal?
There are several webpages as well, like snapnames.com, in which you can buy abandoned domains. This is absolutely great because if you happen to buy a domain that used to be visited a lot, then your SEO would be excellent. Other more obscure reasons if you like, would be very much like Groupon’s case in Australia.
Basically, this is just another example of how capitalism really works. Is not about the advantages a product offers or about if it looks nice or not. It’s about the value people give to things. Just how important is something for you? How much would you be willing to pay to own something so badly?