According to a press release out today by Aftermarket.com, they are the exclusive broker for the domain name, WorldTradeCenter.com which is now for sale.
No reserve or purchase price was mentioned in the Press Release which reads as follows:
Aftermarket.com, a leading Internet domain marketplace, has been exclusively commissioned to broker the high-profile web address. While the domain is highly sought after due to its natural type-in traffic and deeply-emotional connection, Aftermarket.com plans to find an appropriate fit for the domain. This includes government agencies, entities and organizations that aim to memorialize the world-renowned structure, as well as businesses and developers looking to revitalize the site.
“We believe that WorldTradeCenter.com will forever attract those seeking to commemorate such a poignant event in U.S. history,” said Carron Brown, Director of Marketing for Thought Convergence. “We’re proud to play a role in locating the appropriate owner to preserve the reverence of the site.”
Aftermarket.com has been engaged to manage the sale due to the delicate nature of the domain name, and it is extremely important to all parties involved that the integrity of the domain remains intact. This September marks the 10-year anniversary of the tragic incident, making it imperative that all matters are handled with respect for the victims and all those affected. A portion of any commission earned will be donated to a charitable organization that works to improve the lives of those affected by the tragedy.
Well its about 6 weeks until the 10 year anniversary of the attacks against the United States which took down the World Trade Center in New York so this domain is bound to draw a lot of media attention.
The domain name itself has a Google Page Rank of 4, an Alexa ranking of 5.3 Million and has gotten between 500-7,000 monthly visitors in the past 12 months.
We all know that the World Trade Center in New York has started to be rebuilt.
There are actually many other World Trade Centers around the world, I remember seeing the Brussels World Trade Center when I attended the ICANN meeting.
Here is a list of buildings or complex’s called the World Trade Center around the world.
There is also the World Trade Centers Association.
But as we know for 99.999% of the people in the US there is only one building and one meaning for the World Trade Center so it will be very interesting to see if this domain is purchased, who purchases it and what they do with it.
Lets hope the brokerage agreement requires some background check on the potential buyer of the domain, and restrictions on use of the domain.
From the Internet Commerce Association’s Code of Conduct:
“Respect for Human Suffering and Victims of Tragedy: A registrant should be respectful of persons and communities involved in tragedy. A registrant should not intentionally register a domain name related to a current or historical event involving human suffering or tragedy where the primary purpose of such registration is commercial profit.”
http://www.internetcommerce.org/member_code_of_conduct
Mike,
I have historical experience to share about this. In 2006 I offered NYCityNY and WhiteHouseUSA and was going to auction and donate most of proceeds to N.Y. Firefighters and Police. Houston News station beagn to pick up and then dropped the story. End result not enough interest apparently. Will be interesting to see what happens here 5 years later.
Are these people sane? I would imagine a PR disaster is coming.
“A leading domain market place”……………..Aftermarket.com has been “engaged” to manage the sale due to the “delicate” nature of the domain name……………………”500″-7000 visits per month.
I don’t think those guys have had a decent sale in months (if ever) and this BS about being “engaged” because of the “delicate” nature of the name is enough to make me gag. What percentage of the commission earned will go to charity??
“…We believe that WorldTradeCenter.com will forever attract those seeking to commemorate such a poignant event in U.S. history,” said Carron Brown, Director of Marketing for Thought Convergence. “We’re proud to play a role in locating the appropriate owner to preserve the reverence of the site…”
Off the topic, sorry for the Domainers.
It’s about architecture and urban design concept I participated in WTC Memorial competition for the submission of the WTC Memorial Competition.
I entered the design competition for the Memorial Design Competition 10+ years ago, representing Australia.
Please check out my design concept, you can see in the link below.
My outrageous design, I still love my own design.
I am glad I had contributed something in the process of design input in the significant project for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for WTC Memorial:
http://www.wtcsitememorial.org/ent/entI=683331.html
http://www.wtcsitememorial.org/ent/ent_view.html?683331
Best regards,
Raymond Chai
The Wikipedia reference has quite a few misspellings, and so does the WTC association list.
Many of them are *centres*, not “centers” (US spelling).
Kevin
Not sure why you think this domain name falls within the ICA quote above.
The domain itself was registered back in 1996, and certainly not in reaction to the catastrophe like many BPoil domains were registered at the time of the spill.
(for the record I registered non of these)
The center is being rebuilt despite the lives lost the city decided to move forward with the project, and call it the world trade center once again backing away from the freedom Tower, and as I pointed out there are a lot of World Trade Centers in the world.
So does this domain somehow have the Scarlett Letter on it? It can never be sold or reused for any purpose because 5 years after it was 1st registered there was an attack at the site?
While I said in the post I think this domain deserves some special protection like in the case of the sale of Israeli.com, I don’t think buying this domain falls within the prohibition that the ICA has.
The press release explicitly acknowledges the link to 9/11.
It doesn’t sound like they plan to donate the domain, so I’m guessing the seller plans to commercially profit and that Aftermarket plans to take its cut.
I’d also hazard a guess that the “appropriate owner” it finds is also the one that makes the highest bid.
Scott,
You need to quit throwing good money after bad. Are you serious?
NYCityNY and WhiteHouseUSA ……those are names that are 110% pure garbage!
I respect your desire to win and succeed but these names are trash.
The idea your surprised the story was dropped with such crap names is amazing. You should be asking what dumbass reporter fell for that crap for even a few minutes.
“But as we know for 99.999% of the people in the US there is only one building and one meaning for the World Trade Center so it will be very interesting to see if this domain is purchased, who purchases it and what they do with it.”
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I rekon 99.999% of the people in Europe would think the same way.
Lets hope some rich American dude buys it and makes a really nice memorial with it.
Anything else would be a waste IMO
Twiddle Dee
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/…/id20061106_222630.h... – CachedSimilar
Nov 6, 2006 – He boxes it up, labels it, then sells it for up to $100 via his company, NYC Garbage. Gignac has made trash trendy through a package design …
One mans trash is …
The issue with blogs is that people who are passionate about one subject whether making money or otherwise may be blinded to any other possibilities.
I’ve made a living on seeing things that others can’t won’t or don’t and I’m blind in one eye!
And while I appreciate the kind words those that know me know that me and mine are squeaking by allright.
Here’s a statment that may shock most domainers. The value is not in the domain name it is in what is done with it. Many domainers and they know who they are gave away names too early only to see the seller make a fortune. One recent situation concerning Adam Dicker comes to mind. Then there is HouseRentals.com yesterday at $135 plus. Many domainers who didn’t read the final result are probably still laughing at the idiot who thought his name was worth over 135k. If they want to laugh at them directly they need to go to the bank because that is where the seller is today.
Mike feel free to delet this but at least it’s off my chest and I hope I help other domainers see what isn’t always obvious and open their eyes to all the possibilities contained in the gold they may hold.
Weird, to think it’s been ten years since 9/11/01.
Time sure does fly.
Speaking as someone who worked (along with my brother) at the Windows On The World restaurant on the 107th floor and lost friends in 9/11, including my cousin Paul Rizza in Tower 2, I can’t think of a more stupid press release to promote a domain name sale. The bottom line is that there are World Trade Centers in almost every major city and WorldTradeCenter.com is a great generic phrase on its own merit. To promote this sale in conjunction the 9/11 disaster is bad form. In that case, they should have donated it – as we did with the only existing 107th Floor sign to the future 9/11 museum – even though the Smithsonian was willing to offer us major bucks for it.
“The bottom line is that there are World Trade Centers in almost every major city and WorldTradeCenter.com is a great generic phrase on its own merit. ”
Its the American spelling, most other countries spell it as Centre not Center
The real value (not money) of that domain is as a memorial.
@Gazzip
Correct, but there are enough prominent World Trade Centers in the US alone to give it high real estate value (Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc). And I highly doubt if anyone is going to pony up the big bucks to make it a genuine memorial site. Most memorial sites don’t generate significant revenue and the highest bidder here will 100% want to recoup their revenue.
@ David. Class act as always. Agreee about the Press Release… the ole’ “let’s not let tackiness get in the way of a good sale.”
the domain has an high value and many possible uses
“Correct, but there are enough prominent World Trade Centers in the US alone to give it high real estate value (Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc).”
Oh, I did’nt know that, I see Silverstein Properties have wtc.com in the works, perhaps they may go for it?
“In support of Silverstein Properties’ rebuilding efforts at the WTC site, West Corporation, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, donated the domain, http://www.wtc.com.”
…personally I’d still prefer to see it as a memorial, but that’s JMO 🙂
How would people feel if this domain was bought by those building a mosque near the WTC and set up as a site dedicated to the memory of those that died on 9/11?
@WTC – Food for thought
Rupert, is that you? 🙂
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worldtradecenterS.com $7,000 on the Sedo
worldtradecenterS.org $2,000 on the Afternic
Indeed, this is a terrific domain name for those trying to remember this sad day. There is one thing I still wonder, how can money be made out of this domain? The only thing I think of it is about a good writer who is planning to have a blog or something like that.