My (Domain) Name Is Worth $2700

Earlier this year I had to make the difficult decision to move my blog from WordPress to a more economical platform.  WordPress can be pretty pricey so when it was time to renew, I didn't feel like it was a good idea to keep paying their prices for my blog.  When I left WordPress, I also surrendered my domain name miltonhooper.com.  I was warned by WordPress about this when I left.  In addition to the WordPress subscription, I was also paying about $8.00 per year for my domain name.

This week I was curious if my domain name was still out there so I went to miltonhooper.com and discovered that it had been purchased by a third party associated with GoDaddy (I've always hated that name).  I clicked on the link to inquire about the domain name.  I received a phone call within 24 hours and was told I could purchase the domain for $2700.  Yes, you read that right - $2700 for my own name.

I ripped into the salesperson.  She had the nerve to tell me that it was actually a good price from the normal $5,000 they charge.

For my name?  I'm not a celebrity or even a common name.

I'm still stewing about this.  How can they get away with this?

Domains that are already registered and are up for sale on a domain aftermarket service. The price for premium domain names can vary widely, depending on the current demand. The domain aftermarket is the secondary market for Internet domain names in which a party interested in acquiring a domain that is already registered bids or negotiates a price to effect the transfer of registration from the registered holder of that domain name.

So now that my original domain name has been registered, it has now been sold to an aftermarket service so if I really want the .com name back I will have to pay the price for it.  If no one purchases your domain once the Registrar Hold period has ended, it is entered back into the registry. At this point, anyone can purchase it. After 30 days, the domain may even be changed or deleted.

In addition to GoDaddy (I hate that name), Sedo, Afternic and Flippa are other aftermarket sellers of domain names.  

I'm in the wrong business.   Here are the top 10 most expensive domain names:

1. CarInsurance.com — $49.7 million
2. Insurance.com — $35.6 million
3. VacationRentals.com — $35 million
4. PrivateJet.com — $30.18 million
5. Voice.com — $30 million
6. Internet.com — $18 million
7. 360.com — $17 million
8. Insure.com — $16 million
9. Fund.com — £9.99 million
10. Sex.com — $14 million

I can assure you that miltonhooper.com isn't worth $2700 and it surely isn't one that people will be bidding over. 

Well, as you can see I have secured miltonhooper.org for my domain name for this blog.  I got it through Google for $12.  I think that's more in my price range.  No, I don't have the .com name anymore but I'm okay with what I have now.