Quote:
Originally Posted by SheepGuy
ultrahardcore.com sold in the late 90's for about 10 Mil
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You might want to check your facts on this one. The entire ultra* 'empire' was up for sale in Oct 2000 or so (Jim?) and I believe the offer at that time was $10m USD. However, that sale did not go through. Those domains languished for at least 14 more months at which point they were hosted by another adult company until someone exerted a little financial pressure. If he wants to come forward on this, that's up to him.
Later, many of the domains were auctioned off, laughably for pennies of what the original offer was.
Here's one thread of some of the drama that ensued
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showth...hreadid=358501
So, when you look at the asking price for those domains, and note that these were listed in 2004, you might want to do more fact checking. The domains were liquidated, I believe ultrateen.com had a final sales price in the $6k range from what I had heard.
That's not to say that there haven't been some decent sales, just that you should take heresay for what it is.
Linkster would be able to tell you more about domains and what makes them valuable.
Brand awareness is certainly one of them -- webmasters from the late 90s will certainly identify with ultrateen.com, ultrahardcore.com, etc.
The trademarkability, or lack of the word being able to be trademarked is pretty important. Nothing like buying a domain for hundreds of thousands only to lose it in a dispute with ICANN.
The length of the domain, how common the word is, whether it is spelled correctly, etc. all have impact on how much that domain is worth. Track record of traffic received, how easily the site can be turned into a money source, what the company wants to do with the domain after they've purchased it and how much their brand or advertising expects to make by having a flagship domain.
Many high profile domain sales are not all-cash deals either. Many are tied to profits, stocks or grants. I know one domain that was sold to a .com where they were paid with options. After the vesting period, the options were so far underwater that the guy basically gave the domain away. From paper millionaire to working stiff in 366 days. It wouldn't surprise me to see that diamond.com was structured in such a way that the max payout was $7.5m based on sales targets, etc. or in some sort of partnership deal.