eToys stories most popular in February.
Toys, toys, toys. That’s a theme in the top stories on Domain Name Wire in February, as ranked by views.
1. Toys.com, Birthdays.com, Hobbies.com Sold at Auction - after getting a tip, Domain Name Wire uncovers the details behind a multi-million dollar domain name auction. If only the tip came in before the auction. In some ways it did, since Toys.com was reauctioned in the month.
Reauction of Toys.com goes for $5.1M.
It’s not over yet (subject to court approval), but it looks like Toys ‘R’ Us will be purchasing the Toys.com domain name for $5.1M. The company outbid National A-1 Advertising in an auction that was live blogged on DirectNavigation.com. (DirectNavigation.com is written by Larry Fischer, who attended the teleconference auction in his role with Faculty Lounge Partners.)
The domain originally sold for $1.25M in an auction that Toys ‘R’ Us participated in. So it begs the question, why four times as much now?
Guidelines for new registries doesn’t make sense; but therein lies a business opportunity.
If you want to apply for a new top level domain from ICANN, you need to provide lots of financial documentation about your ability to run the TLD. ICANN is mum on how much money you need on the balance sheet, but that’s not all. The new TLD guidebook states that your company must provide:
documentary evidence of ability to fund ongoing basic registry operations for registrants for a period of three to five years in the event of a registry failure or default until a successor operator can be designated.
Auction ends today at 4 PM CST.
It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.
Aftermarket.com’s Domainer Mardi Gras auction is still going, and some of the domains that didn’t sell during the live auction last Saturday are getting bids. That includes Credenzas.com, at $13,500, and GolfSets.com at $4,500.
The extended auction also includes new domains that weren’t in the original auction and have no reserve. These include Engrossing.com, HealthyMenu.com, PhotoPapers.com, Music365.com, Operable.com, CozumelIsland.com, and BathMirrors.com. So far PhotoPapers.com has 8 bids and is at $800.
Joe Biden joins Ted Stevens in web hall of shame.
Vice President Joe Biden is having difficulty with this whole interweb thing.
When asked for the web address for a government web site, he looked to an aide and said he didn’t know what it was followed by “do you know the web site number?”.
He also pulled a Dick Cheney, referring to Recovery.gov as Recovery.com. During vice-presidential debates four years ago Cheney referred to FactCheck.org as FactCheck.com, sending millions of visitors to a domain name owned by Frank Schilling.
