Domain Magnate

Moniker confirmed that the sale didn’t occur! The haaretz article about the sale was based on false info,

With America.com in the low reaching only $1.7M, Israel.com sold for $5.88MM today through moniker, hitting it’s $5.5 MM reserve. While it will top the annually sales chart the domain is priceless to any Jewish person and holds a high sentimental value. With Israel’s 60 years of independence celebrations two weeks ago now was a good time to sell the name.

The internet domain name “Israel.com” was sold over the weekend for $5.88 million. The buyer’s identity has not been revealed.

At the beginning of May, the internet domain registrar Moniker announced that the domain name “Israel.com” will be auctioned at a starting price of $5.5 million. The auction began on May 23 and ended six days later.

Today, the domain holds a generic Website providing general and tourist information about Israel and its heritage. It is yet unclear what the new content will be following the sale of the domain. read more »

The domaining industry becomes stronger and more venture capital companies are entering the field, investing milions of dollars into domains. Another confirmation to it is a recent article in CNN Money:

Domain Name Game Still Going Strong; Tad Less Secretive

People scoffed when investment firm eCompanies paid $7.5 million for the Web address business.com in 1999 from a person who had paid $150,000 for it.

The purchase, though, shined a light on a secretive world where people actively and aggressively buy and sell Web domain names.

Thousands of Web addresses were bought in the early days of the dot-com boom on a hunch by people who expected Internet real estate would appreciate in value. read more »