Along with the announcement that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for users of Windows 7 & 8, Microsoft revealed HoloLens, a device that superimposes holograms on top of real images.
The Microsoft HoloLens appears to have been kept an inside secret name, until the very last minute.
HoloLens.com, a domain registered in 2001, was parked at Sedo for several years by its previous owner.
As late as January 14th, the domain remained in the hands of Domain Dakini, all while being listed for sale on Sedo with a buy it now (BIN) price of $6,750.
Microsoft HoloLens. HoloLens.com was acquired for $6,750.
Apparently, Microsoft did not buy it directly, but used the services of Marksmen as a “buyer in the middle“. Marksmen acquired the domain on January 16th, according to DomainTools.
The domain HoloLens.com is now officially in the hands of Microsoft Corporation, and it serves as a portal that showcases the Microsoft HoloLens product.
By listing the domain with a BIN, the original owner most likely lost tens thousands of dollars in revenue, as Marksmen acquired it on behalf of Microsoft using the BIN price.
In an interesting twist, Holo-Lens is a registered trademark, for “Recyclable holographic and non-holographic paperboard having a metallic coating.” The owner of the mark is not Microsoft.
So the real question remains… if the BIN was not in place and the owner played hard ball… $150K, $125K etc and Microsoft wasn’t willing to go that high.. do they delay the launch without owning the exact match domain? Change the name because they do not own the exact match? If they change the name… the domain owner is likely out the $6,750?
I know there isn’t really a “right answer” but it’s interesting considering and would be cool to know what Microsoft would have done.
Jamie – Great question. Knowing that you poke into corporate acquisitions of domains, perhaps you could dig a little more in any similar recent registrations of “holo” domains by MSFT.
In my opinion, if the seller had asked for $150k she would have received it. She asked for $6,750 and got that much – minus the Sedo fee. 😉
I will take a peak tomorrow and fill you in. I haven’t seen much though via Microsoft. I was going to report that lately, Microsoft has been letting more domains expire, than they have been registering/buying.
Thanks. It’s very interesting, that the WHOIS was updated today, not a single day earlier. Maybe they know you’re digging for DNS changes? 😀
I have adholo/com …. advertising with holograms
Hello….. Microsoft are you there?
I have HoloTech.com is this niche
Bought it a few years back waiting for the “holo” boom
I was going to add the domains here but due to your character limitations, I could only post a small list… so I included them in my domain movers list today. They mainly played on
Holo Lens
Holographic
Microsoft Holographic
Goggles
Windows Holo
Ms Holographic
And a potential “buy” one they put attention on is “Studio”. They do not own HoloStudio.com but they registered most of the other TLD’s of the matching. .com is for sale for $10K.
Very nice to see these products becoming a reality. So many visionary inventors like Elon Musk have been working on building these systems for years. But they’ve never been practical till now. I haven’t used Windows 3.1, but it looks like this may change soon.
Shamelessly, I just threw the generic emd for these systems up on Flippa this afternoon: HolographicUI.com.
Pricing domains at BIN price is certainly a gamble. It is a constant battle between moving your inventory and waiting for the right buyer so as not to leave any money on the table. If the domain indeed contains a trademark and the owner of the mark decides to fight it then the seller comes out on top having moved it before the legal issues begin. That could have been a factor in the BIN price. Otherwise it was a bargain for the likes of MSFT. Great report BTW.