The auction for the domain name E.CO just closed today on Sedo.com with a high bid of $81,000.
I put the first bid in at $10K to get things rolling and then put another bid in at $25K.
I think the domain is worth $100K or more to the right buyer especially following the news this week that Twitter acquired T.CO.
In our poll, only 19 of you correctly picked $75K-$100K as the correct price range that the domain would sell in.
The majority of the guesses were for over $100K, which was my pick as well, but we weren’t far off.
However for the 32 of you that thought the domain wouldn’t make it to $5K, No Bueno!!!
The poll is closed but the final poll results are on the right if you want to check them out.
We congratulate the buyer and the .CO registry
Acro says
My guess was $75k. The buyer, B52.com – well known for other large assets such as Funding.com and Cameras.net
Samit says
I think I picked 75-100k, so right on the money.
81k is a sweet price tbh.
I’m very surprised with twitter going w/ t.co, bodes well methinks.
James says
I thought it would break six figures. $81k is a sizeable risk but the potential upside makes it worth it. There have been worse buys.
MHB says
James
I agree with you but its interesting to note the commentators here are the same people that thought I was crazy to buy D.TV for $18K a couple of months ago
steven says
e.co sold for 81K
e.biz sold for 66K
One went to charity, one went to registars pocket.
One TLD been around a good while, the other is new.
If you were going to give money to an organization anyways, why not get a name out of the deal.
Acro says
It was great (and relatively cheap) advertising for .CO
It created traffic and awareness for .CO which launches in July.
Domo Sapiens says
I still think is an aberration of a domain…
e.co
sounds awkward, looks awkward.
MHB says
Acro
The .Co guys are quite smart and are on top of their game
Andrew says
BTW, Lonnie bought the domain. I have video of him over at DNW.
MHB says
Andrew
Yup saw your post.
Lonnie is a great guy and I wish him much luck with the acquisition.
Snoopy says
I would guess the primary reason for bidding was as donation. If it was really seen as an investment then I think it will be money down the drain.
BSdomains says
Huh…explain to me how are you going to monetize that? Dot com is king.
Oh well, not my money and it is just BullShitdomains dot com
I think s/he bought it for ego purpose-something to boast about just like someone bought the 1st domain name that was registered symbolic(?)-what can you do and did you make money?
MHB says
You don’t need to monetize every domain.
Like stock in NASDAQ companies that don’t pay dividends you buy low and sell high
BSdomains says
MHB:
$81,000.????
Well I guess you have to sell more than $81K but the question is how long do you have to wait and who will be that sucker?
I think you domainers are so suckers in 1/2/3/4 words domain name or generic names….
MHB says
BS
Lonnie is a very smart guy, he is no sucker.
He made a decision based on his knowledge of the market.
I wouldn’t bet against him
Snoopy says
“Like stock in NASDAQ companies that don’t pay dividends you buy low and sell high”
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This sounds like buying high to me, no idea how it could be worth 80k.
If this guy really bought this name because he thought it was worth that price (as opposed to the donation or publicity) then I would personally say it was very foolish.
BSdomains says
BS
Lonnie is a very smart guy, he is no sucker.
He made a decision based on his knowledge of the market.
I wouldn’t bet against him
*****************************************************
I am smarter than him because I did not buy….
Look at what happens to searchengineoptimization dot net….what happen? bought at $63K
I would like to know about stories about domain bloops- those who pay lots $$ for the domains thinking of making a killing but turned out to be losers.
Yes, we heard stories about the winners but where are the losers???
* you see casino commercials, they always showing good looking guys with beautiful gals and always winning and smiling but do they show the losers??
LMAO
Snoopy says
I would like to know about stories about domain bloops- those who pay lots $$ for the domains thinking of making a killing but turned out to be losers.
/////////////////////////
Thos people are usually not very keen to talk or are out of the business. There is a long line of people like that though. In the heat of the moment the plan sounds great, a couple of years later things often look very different.
James says
Snooppy and BSdomains;
Everyone has made bad buying decisions at some point – everyone. That isn’t newsworthy. Look at flowers.mobi; looks like a bad investment now but does that mean RS is a bad investor? Of course not – the fact he had that kind of money to risk proves he’s not.
Is e.co a risk – of course it is, but as one of the most brandable names in the world, it has considerable upside potential.
I don’t know the buyer, but I’m guessing he’s happy with the price. I doubt the charitable element figured much.
industry domains says
it’s no big deal
all the marketing and promotion they did, and the fact someone got to give the money to their charity was a superb idea, good tax break too!
however, .co will be a little like .me , brandable, a few big sales, thats about it
useful for the cybersquatting brigade too
twitter using it is not as big a scoop as some think
so what? its a url shortener
.co will advance about as far as .ly because of it imho
one thing i will say this was a far better domain to buy than all this fuss about buying the .eco extension and the fights over it lol
however, if anyone thinks .com and major top cctlds like .co.uk and .de will even be dented one tiny bit, think again
apart from the typos expect massdrops in a couple of years and also a lot of wipos on these puppies from noob domainers buying walmart.co etc
oil spill stop says
.
.
an incredibly low price for a so unique domain
.
.
another domainer says
I know Lonnie and have watched his activity over the past couple years.
If you saw his list of .com domains, you would be very impressed.
He is a lot smarter than me.
James, that pretty well sums it up.
BS, another great comment from the peanut gallery.
I realize you only make all of these comments for its SEO value.
PigeonDomains.com says
(@Snoopy) “Thos people are usually not very keen to talk or are out of the business. There is a long line of people like that though. ..”
… you mean, pigeons
Jason says
The name was bought to create subdomains, as well as to increase exposure. In addition, charity factored into the final sale price.
It’s a win-win situtation. If the buyer loses out, he can defend the investment as charity. The name alone has potential to be popular. When a buyer pays a lot for a name, they have the money to lose. It’s like an average person buying a lottery scratcher ticket.
Domain investors pay a fortune to buy “e” and “i” domains. Sedo always has a hand in every big sale. They could care less about marketing domains unless one pays to have them featured in their showcase. They accept bad domains into their auctions, many that never even receive a bid. The only positive aspect of Sedo is their transfer process.
E.co will make good environment and business subdomains. Stocks.e.co. Green.e.co. Free.e.co and so forth.
Domo Sapiens says
“E.co will make good environment and business subdomains. Stocks.e.co. Green.e.co. Free.e.co and so forth.”
That has never worked and never will.
Time will prove this purchase to be 99 % charity, I put my slightly tarnished reputation in the line.
yeah yeah ..the twitter purchase blah blah (that was more money than common sense)…
2 wrongs don’t make a right.
. says
subdomains not a great model given .eco is coming. And I don’t see what’s wrong with .eco, some greens don’t like (.com)mercialism.
oil spill stop says
a very lucky buyer! next time e.co it will be surely sold for millions…
Elliot says
“the twitter purchase blah blah (that was more money than common sense)…”
Twitter didn’t purchase T.CO as far as I am aware. It was awarded to them as part of the Founder’s Program.
Snoopy says
Regarding t.co I would think Twitter is being paid to use it as part of a wider advertising program, much like what happened with techcrunch a few weeks ago.
Domo Sapiens says
thanks for the clarification on the t.co (Tee Dot Co) deal…
So… “All bark and no bite”
Joseph Slabaugh says
While t.co was probably free to Twitter, they had to apply for it, meaning they wanted it, and are using it, so the “no bite” makes no sense.
James says
Indeed it was cheap advertising for .CO as it created traffic and awareness.
sandra hageman says
Wow.. $81K.
I still think is an aberration of a domain…
e.co
sounds awkward
Limo Hire Edinburgh says
Does everyone know that .co is actually a domain extention for Columbia!
MHB says
In the domain space I would say 90% yes they know
outside the domain industry I would say well less than 1/3