I was recently approached by a domain sales company offering to sell me a .com domain similar to one I had just purchased  three weeks earlier for the low, low price of $397.00.  Yes, that’s right $397.00!

Apparently domain names can be big money.  I was of course completely shocked since the domain I had just paid for cost me all of $10.00 for the year.   Yet, believe it or not, I actually began to consider it.  The domain name the company was offering was EXACTLY the name I wanted but when I registered it was taken (now I know by whom).   So, my mind began to race and paranoia began to set in.  I really did want that domain name; I mean it is part of my brand. What if someone else buys it and my whole online identity is stripped from me?   Okay so you can see where my mind is heading.  Totally paranoid! 

This went on for about two weeks, each email I received was more urgent than the last and my deadline for making the decision was coming to a close.  It seems since I had a domain name that was close to the one they were offering, I was able to get first crack at it…providing I met the minimum bid of $397.00 (BTW, I did my research, and yes they were legit).

I was actually torn on this decision, every fibre of my being said “If you buy this for $397.00 you are an idiot”.  Yet I wanted it…I for some reason felt I needed this domain or something catastrophic was going to happen.   

Luckily for me, I have Laura.  Laura my right hand at MJVA, is also my voice of reason.   After weighing the pros and cons with her, it became quite clear that these thoughts running through my brain was exactly what this company was hoping for.  I, of course couldn’t give them the satisfaction and hand over $397.00 for one silly domain.    The bottom line was the domain was only valuable if someone was willing to pay that much for it. My guess is there would only be a handful of people who had some attachment to this domain name.  I got my answer the next week when a representative called me on the phone and said they would be able to give it to me for $99.00.  Ha, I told him I have never paid more than $30.00 for a domain and I wouldn’t be willing to pay more than that for this one.  At this point forget the paranoia, I was just mad.

Of course, there was no way he could sell me it for less than $99.00…and that’s fine, I walked away feeling good about my decision and never heard from them again.  My guess is, in two months from now when they are still trying to off load it, I’ll be approached again, but I’ll stick to my guns.

I do have to say, it was a learning experience, up until this point I didn’t really know how much a domain name would really affect me.  But, for a while it did.   

Apparently I’m not the only one. I read an article once that business.com sold for 7.5 million back in 1999, and sex.com raked in 14 million in 2006.  Can you imagine 14 million dollars for one domain name!  Do you know how many mouths 14 million would feed?  Unbelievable!

My $397.00 seems like a few pennies in the pot compared to what others have actually paid for a domain name.  However I paid for two weeks of groceries with that $397.00, money well spent in my family.

So, I wonder what domain will end up garnering the next big lump sum….

“Do I hear a 100 million for: 

lets-stop-being-stupid-and-do-something-useful-with-our-millions.com?