Sedo,the leading online domain name marketplace and monetization provider,has recently released the results of its second quarter 2012 Domain Name Market Study.The study revealed that a total of 9,049 domain name were sold through Sedo,accounting $17,5 million.
You can read the press release after the jump :
"Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and monetization provider, today announced the results of its Q2 2012 Domain Market Study, which reveals domain industry trends and changes based on transactions in its marketplace. During the second quarter, a total of 9,049 domain transactions took place through Sedo, accounting for $17.5 Million in sales.
One of the most noticeable trends in the second quarter was the growing popularity of Buy Now sales. After surpassing Offer-Counteroffer sales for the first time ever in the first quarter of 2012, Buy Now continues to widen the gap as most popular transaction type. During the first quarter, Buy Now and Offer-Counteroffer accounted for 39 percent and 34 percent of transactions, respectively. This quarter, the disparity grew with Buy Now gaining significant momentum, accounting for 42 percent while Offer-Counteroffer accounted for 31 percent of total transactions.
“Several factors are driving the growth of Buy Now transactions. First of all, buyers are looking for a quick, easy and hassle-free purchasing experience, where the total purchase price is known up front. Sellers are also realizing that Buy Now prices are simply a good strategy – they have no worries over lengthy negotiations, and they sell more names,” said Liesbeth Mack-de Boer, CSO of Sedo. “The second reason for this growth is the expansion of the SedoMLS network, which distributes Buy Now listings across the Web at registrars and other domain service providers. We’re getting premium domains in front of more people than ever before.”
In the most surprising revelation of the second quarter, .net surpassed .com in average sales price, taking the top spot. The average sales price of a .net domain was $2,470 during the quarter while .com domains averaged $2,107.
“The .com extension will remain king for a long time, but the strength of .net sales this quarter clearly demonstrates the continued appeal of alternate TLDs,” continued Mack-de Boer. “We are looking forward to the new domain extensions being introduced next year, and will be monitoring how well they fare against the historical heavyweights like .com.”
Additional highlights of Sedo’s Q2 2012 Domain Market Study include:
Prices remained relatively stable in Q2 2012 with a mean (average) sales price of $1,925 and a median price or $595, both falling less than one percentage point from the previous quarter.
The .net extension became the surprise top gTLD in Q2, with an average price of $2,470, $300 more than the average price for .com names.
The .com extension accounted for 48 percent of all domains sold in Q2 2012, an increase of three percent from the previous quarter.
Sales under $500 accounted for 46 percent of transactions while sales between $501 and $2,500 accounted for 39 percent.
Italy and Australia entered the top 10 most frequent countries of origin for people purchasing domains on the Sedo marketplace, with China and Austria falling off the list.
Sedo’s complete Q2 2012 Domain Market Study can be found online here .
