Most Expensive Domain Names

In my chat last week with Aaron Thuringer, we discussed the future of domain names.

Aaron talked about how there soon will be a flood of new domain extensions entering the market. Instead of going to cnn.com, maybe you will visit cnn.news in the future.

I’ve always been fascinated by domain names because they are so singular. There are hundreds of companies that sell pizza, but there is only one Pizza.com.

How someone obtains a domain name has a much to do with the company’s name as it does with timing.

You have to be the first to a domain or you are out of luck.

If I had a time machine, one thing I would do is go back to when the Internet was in its infancy and purchase dozens of domain names. That would be quite the investment.

Domains that sold for $10 two decades ago are now worth millions of dollars.

That brings me to today’s Wonder Why Wednesday. I am always curious what domain names cost. Through GoDaddy.com they can range from $1 to $100,000 (and more). Today I am wondering what have been the most expensive domain names ever sold?

Thanks to Wikipedia I didn’t have to look far for a list of the 20 most expensive domain names. Here are the top 3:

$35 million – VacationRentals.com in 2007

$16 million – Insure.com in 2009

$14 million – Sex.com in 2010

Click here for the complete list.

Those are crazy prices.

Makes me wonder if VacationRentals.com has made it’s owner enough money to justify that outrageous cost. Not sure that answer is on Wikipedia.

Now that we have seen the list, I ask the following question:

How many of these sites have you actually visited?

I don’t think I have been to any of them. I guess I don’t spend enough time looking online for toys, candy and beer. But apparently somebody does.

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