The more things change, the more they stay the same - at least as it relates to domain names. Sedo, a domain name marketplace and monetization platform, has released its Domain Market Study for the second quarter of 2012.
While the digital world of domainers are bracing for what many expect to be a upheaval in the industry, rest assure however that domains are still being bought and sold at record pace. Highlights from the study, which looks exclusively at activity at Sedo, include:
- The .COM extension accounted for 48 percent of all domains sold on Sedo (an increase of 3% for .com). Dot .DE, accounted for 15 percent of sales.
- After a strong (and record) start in 2012, domain sales volume cooled off in the second quarter, ending with a total of 9,049 sales taking place. There was also a slight decrease in sales value per quarter.
- The most popular sales channel at Sedo was that of the "Buy Now" variety, accounting for 42 percent of all sales, followed by the "offer/counter-offer" which accounted for 31 percent of all sales. Brokerage and auctions combined accounted for just 20 percent.
- In regards to the price of domains sold in the marketplace, 46 percent were less than $500 U.S., with nearly 39 percent selling for less than $2,500 U.S. Only one percent were sold for an amount over $50,000 U.S.
- The most popular category of names sold at Sedo, which remained similar to previous quarters, is also worthy of note. Computers, Business, Internet, Shopping, Travel, Health, Sport, Society, Finance, and Recreation round out the top 10.
