useful data and advice for buying domains. Curated for notable, non domain spammer type advice.
for current (2024) sales info, particularly AI domains, see https://www.dnjournal.com/ytd-sales-charts.htm)
| Year | Domain | Price ($k) | .com? | Short (<6)? | OneWord? | Source/Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | body building.com | 20 | yes | @VR | ||
| 1999 | webex.com | 210 | yes | yes | @mychannel | |
| 2003 | beat.com | 20 | yes | yes | yes | @sol_orwell |
| 2004 | webmaster.org | 10 | @sol_orwell | |||
| 2005 | flurry.com | 20 | yes | yes | yes | @sbyrnes |
| 2010 | stripe.com | 20 | yes | yes | yes | @notjaril |
| 2011 | mergers.com | 50 | yes | yes | @mychannel | |
| 2011 | examine.com | 52 | yes | yes | yes | @sol_orwell |
| 2011 | sincerely.com | 25 | yes | yes | @brezina | |
| 2012 | synchronize.com | 20 | yes | yes | @ColeSouth | |
| 2012 | carcovers.com | 400 | yes | @jonathanvolk and story | ||
| 2012 | clever.com | 200 | yes | yes | yes | @bytingtheapple |
| 2013 | liveloop.com | 25 | yes | @amaldorai | ||
| 2013 | consulting.com | 300 | yes | yes | https://overcast.fm/+rTsUtBLEs | |
| 2014 | musichustle.com | 4 | yes | @saradietschy | ||
| 2014 | modest.com | 40 | yes | yes | yes | @harper |
| 2014 | sjo.com | 26 | yes | yes | @sol_orwell | |
| 2015 | teachable.com | 25 | yes | yes | @ankurnagpal | |
| 2015 | duo.com | 250 | yes | yes | yes | @jonoberheide |
| 2016 | swag.com | 1200 | yes | yes | Jeremy Parker | |
| 2016 | pet.org | 25 | yes | yes | @sol_orwell | |
| 2017 | sumo.com | 1500 | yes | yes | yes | writeup and podcast |
| 2017 | citizen.com | 75 | yes | yes | @AlexejKirillov | |
| 2017 | first.com | 200 | yes | yes | yes | https://domaininvesting.com/george-kirikos-uncovers-sales-first-com/ |
| 2018 | hey.com | ? | yes | yes | yes | https://m.signalvnoise.com/how-we-acquired-hey-com/ |
| 2019 | unfold.com | 100 | yes | yes | yes | @9th |
| 2019 | sacra.com | 3 | yes | yes | @smalter | |
| 2019 | loom.com | 150 | yes | yes | founder | |
| 2020 | ui.dev | 25 | yes | @tylermcginnis | ||
| 2020 | ux.dev | 8 | yes | @tylermcginnis | ||
| 2020 | paperbell.com | 1.8 | yes | writeup | ||
| 2022 | ocho.com | 45 | yes | yes | yes | @ankurnagpal |
| 2022 | increasing.com | 15 | yes | yes | @Jamie_IF | |
| 2023 | eraser.io | 10 | yes | @shinkim | ||
| 2023 | chat.com | >10,000 | yes | yes | yes | Dharmesh Shah |
| 2023 | resend.com | 25 | yes | yes | yes | Zeno Rocha |
| 2023 | friend.com | 1887 | yes | yes | yes | avi schiffman |
| ? | rows.com | 110 | yes | yes | yes | @colinwinhall, writeup |
| ? | pilot.com | 400 | yes | yes | yes | @amaldorai |
| ? | fillout.com | 5 | yes | @domwhyte42 | ||
| ? | trace.com | 150 | yes | yes | yes | @WesleyEames |
| ? | tales.com | 90 | yes | yes | yes | @WesleyEames |
| ? | after.com | 150 | yes | yes | yes | @WesleyEames |
| ? | protein.com | 1000 | yes | yes | @reosait | |
| ? | curri.com | 7 | yes | yes | @brianmgonzalez | |
| ? | laylo.com | 6 | yes | yes | @AlecEllin | |
| ? | cofounders.com | 65 | yes | @serialtrep | ||
| ? | betterbookkeeping.com | 10 | yes | @baldridgecpa | ||
| ? | socialpuppy.com | 5 | yes | @larsvedo | ||
| ? | firehydrant.com | 65 | yes | @bobbytables | ||
| ? | groundfloor.com | 25 | yes | @brian_dally | ||
| ? | basewell.com | 15 | yes | @heyecs | ||
| ? | helpflow.com | 5 | yes | @JonTuckerUSA | ||
| ? | fourthwall.com | 50 | yes | @walkeriwilliams | ||
| ? | ultrahuman.com | 10 | yes | @deeppurpled | ||
| ? | onions.com | 15 | yes | yes | yes | @searchbound |
| ? | gaps.com | 20 | yes | yes | yes | @ViperChill |
| ? | detailed.com | 19 | yes | yes | yes | @ViperChill |
| ? | async.com | 100 | yes | yes | yes | @ilan |
| ? | lolli.com | 2.5 | yes | yes | @alexadelman | |
| ? | xmtp.com | 18 | yes | yes | @mg | |
| ? | cxl.com | 45 | yes | yes | @peeplaja | |
| ? | wynter.com | 25 | yes | @peeplaja | ||
| ? | nas.io/nas.co | 50/40 | yes | @nasdaily |
- When we rebranded to teachable (from the terrible http://usefedora.com) our conversion rate increased substantially across the board. https://twitter.com/ankurnagpal/status/1587443758546780160?s=20&t=1fabBPrMKq2PVqrbdiHs2A
- dont decide the name
- https://lauraroeder.com/how-i-nabbed-the-com-for-my-bootstrapped-startup-without-spending-a-million-bucks-6dc35c4606e9
- My single biggest tip for getting a good deal on a domain purchase is being able to go into a transaction outcome independent. Like each time, we hadn't chosen our company name yet so had a good amount of leverage to simply choose a different name if we didn't like the price. https://twitter.com/ankurnagpal/status/1587438361559662593
- Ideally, buy the .com before you've launched. Sellers increase the price if they know you have a company that is doing well and has a brand to protect. https://twitter.com/mariogabriele/status/1583194906516127745?s=20
- We first reached out for http://generalist.com in Feb '21. We closed in Feb '22.
- Beware of false comparisons/ The broker in our transaction tried to compare http://generalist.com to random domains as a way of justifying a high price point. E.g.: Saying we should pay $40K bc cycling[.]com cost that much. Find better comparisons Do some research to find domains that actually are similar and see what they sold for. Use these as better anchors for the discussion.
- Find out how much the domain was last bought for. Sometimes, you can find a record of what the domain was last purchased for.
- Settle on a walk-away price. You probably want some wiggle from the first price you give to the price you'll accept.
- Lumis.com https://twitter.com/nasdaily/status/1588029851189104640?s=20&t=1fabBPrMKq2PVqrbdiHs2A
- Peter askew (onions guy)? https://twitter.com/baldridgecpa/status/1587464473169825794