China: A vast land of many opportunities.
The appetite of Chinese companies for numeric domains is definitely increasing; the sale of 360.com to Qihoo for $17 million dollars is merely the tip of the iceberg.
It’s not just the volume of numeric domains and their acquisition prices, but the overall business attitude that dictates that a company must own its matching .com domain, alongside the .CN ccTLD.
The trend does not stop at numeric domains, it carries onto LLL .com’s as well.
In November 2014 we broke the news that the ultra premium domain DNS.com might have been sold.
On January 15, 2015 the domain DNS.com changed hands, from that of its former owner, Smash Clicks of NYC, to Shenzhen Technology Co. – a Chinese brokering service. The domain is now actively used.
While there are no reports of the amount involved, it should be well into the seven figure range.
Other recent sales of three letter .com domains by Chinese companies include PKB.com and QHZ.com. The latter was acquired by 62.com, a Chinese domain platform.
All these are clear indications that the Chinese domain market is expanding much faster than anticipated. Since December, China has surpassed the US as the number one economy in the world.
FYI, I sold Boy.com to Chinese interests last year, also….for a considerable sum.
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