The Domain Game - wealth.com auctions
The market value of “wealth” will be measured Thursday when a marketing firm auctions the Internet domain name, “Wealth.com.”
TheInternetCompany Inc. of Princeton, N.J., which has held the domain name as an unused “asset” since 1996, hopes to tap the financial services industry for a quick cash infusion.
The company is mum about what it originally paid for the domain name and isn’t offering indications as to what the name might fetch at auction, but it eagerly reminds potential bidders that the term “wealth” is Googled more than 1.5 million times a month.
“Right now is a good time to focus on investments, and there is definitely value in this type of name,” said Don Cook, a vice president at TheInternetCompany.
He added that while he realizes that the economic downturn could result in a lower sale price, he hopes that the financial services industry recognizes the value of generic domain names.
The strategy has been used, for example, by Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp. (Loans.com) and Boston-based Fidelity Investments (Funds.com).
Other recent domain name sales by other companies include the $1.7 million paid by New York-based Travelzoo Inc. for Fly.com, and the $5.1 million paid by Wayne, N.J.-based Toys “R’ Us Inc. for Toys.com.
According to Mr. Cook, the Wealth.com domain name, which was originally registered in 1994, has never been attached to a specific company.“A couple of business plans that were created around the name have come and gone, and there have been some interested parties, but the site has never been officially launched,” he said.
The auction will be conducted online by Sedo.com LLC, a Cambridge, Mass., firm that specializes in such sales.
“These [generic] domain names have the power to dramatically improve company web traffic and search results, while creating instant brand credibility that will last well beyond the economic downturn,” said Jeremiah Johnston, Sedo.com’s chief operating officer.
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