Sedo Sells 3D.com for $500k

As is the tradition at Sedo, Director of Sales Kathy Nielsen rang the office bell to announce the sale of 3D.com. The company successfully brokered 3D.com for $500,000, in a deal that closed yesterday. The domain name was put up for sale in April of this year, and it appears to be owned by Register.com. The buyer’s identity was not revealed.

Congrats to Sedo on closing this big sale yesterday.

 

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

51 COMMENTS

  1. Man, this seems low to me. Maybe the seller got antsy? Or perhaps people just don’t see 3d making it long term? Scared of the inevitable .3d gTLD?
    Regardless, it has to be the best 2 character domain name out there, doesn’t it??

  2. WOW!
    That’s all I can say. No need to be too greedy guys? A sale is a sale, celebrate it. Let the next guy sell it for 1MM! Congrats Sedo, and Elliot for breaking the story.

  3. Congrats? This is worth well more than $500k. Seller should have held on. Samsung, Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, IMAX, Paramount, MGM, Disney, Vizio, there are countless huge end users for this domain. Brokerage let the seller down in my opinion.

    You can buy a 30 second spot on Grey’s Anatomy for $500k or you can own 3D.com for life. Buyer got a steal, and if 3D tv growth explodes in the next 2 to 3 years the value of this will be eight digits.

  4. 3D hype died a while ago. The owner should have sold it back when you could feel the 3D fever everywhere: people used to handreg every piece of crap containing “3D” and they actually thought those names had value. If 3D.com had sold then, it could have easily fetched seven figures.

    • My feeling is that Sedo worked on selling this name for 7+ months, and I am sure they contacted as many potential buyers as possible. Perhaps the market isn’t there. Realistically, how would a company monetize the name? One big area of 3D is theTV / movie industry, but most manufacturers don’t sell their televisions online, and 3D tv sales haven’t really been as great as expected.

      Finally, the seller obviously felt the price was fair.

      “Samsung, Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, IMAX, Paramount, MGM, Disney, Vizio, there are countless huge end users for this domain. ”

      I would be very surprised if Sedo didn’t contact them and others. There’s only so much a company can do to try to close a deal. You’d think the Dallas Cowboys would want to buy Cowboys.com for a tiny fraction of what they spent on their scoreboard… probably much less than their french fry sales at one football game even… yet they still haven’t bought it.

  5. “his is worth well more than $500k. Seller should have held on. Samsung, Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, IMAX, Paramount, MGM, Disney, Vizio, there are countless huge end users for this domain”. – Tony

    Since the buyer was not revealed, it’s possible it was purchased by a domainer or a re-seller, in that case, it’s still not too late to fetch your targeted amount; it might not be at am end user’s hand yet.

    Secondly, those names you mentioned, according to Rick Schwartz, still don’t get it yet. Their names are widely known and they feel it’s a step down to use generics instead of a world household name such as Sony. And in the case of Sony, is understandable, I’d rather have Sony.com than 3d.com as my website.

  6. on the heels of Touch.com selling for $100K, it seems domains are on the decline. Schilling is selling off his portfolio as well.

  7. @Louise

    We’re living in tough times. To be honest it amazes me that, among the many industries, domaining is one of those that have been experiencing smaller decline in sales volume.

  8. Well what would you sell on a 3D website?

    Films? TVs? games? Holograms? Technology?

    Mostly that stuff is already being sold somewhere without 3D being the main selling point, so maybe this is a super domain that is not super for selling, and so does not get as high a price as you’d imagine.

  9. Many feelings:

    Wow
    Bouttime
    Thats all?

    Ultimately any sale price with said economy is good at that level. I hope it is a company that owns it and not sit on it.
    This market is only just beginning- Hope to see development soon.

  10. @Louise

    —> I am getting more end user inquiries than ever before, and I have been in this business since 1998.

    Don’t be so ignorant, yes there are fools holding garbage names, with a bad choice of extensions, if you do your homework, offers are coming to the right names.

    I am seeing more business writing their domain names on their business signs, rather than the actual name of their business….

  11. There’s definitely a hint of relief in her voice. It must have been a much tougher sale than they thought it would be. Congrats.

    Imho the market is heating up and it’s my suspicion that it’s due to the hard push for fixed pricing and cross promotion by Sedo, Afternic, Godaddy, etc. That coupled with a lot of affordable low-mid $xxxx sales prices on the weekly lists. $1500 seems to be the sweet spot. Personally, this was the first year I hit 2% turnover, almost all buy-it-nows.

  12. Wow, this is one of the benefits of Register.com now being a private company. If they were still public this sale would never fly. $500k for this domain is a joke.

    Remember what happened with Toys.com when that one almost went for nothing till the first auction sale price was appealed. If this domain were part of a bankruptcy sale or if Register.com were public the shareholders would kill the deal.

    First OnlineDegree.com for $120k and now $500k for 3D.com, fire sale prices.

    Will be interesting to see who the buyer is.

    • “Wow, this is one of the benefits of Register.com now being a private company. If they were still public…”

      @ Tier One Development

      Register.com is owned and operated by Web.com, which is a publicly traded company:

      http://www.web.com/aboutus/pressrelease.aspx

      In addition, it was publicly known that this domain name was being brokered by Sedo. Someone else could have made a better offer. Sedo had it under exclusive since April, and I would imagine they’ve contacted many end users. I believe Ryan Colby announced that it was under exclusive with him when he was at Sedo, and knowing Ryan, I am sure he left no stone unturned.

  13. I play the guitar. I collected guitars for a bit, but kind of stopped that habit to get better acquainted with the instruments I had…

    From 1995-2005, the prices of vintage guitars was straight up. They were making ridiculous gains, right along with everything else- real estate, antiques, art, classic cars, etc…

    I’m seeing GREAT vintage guitars sell right now for prices that are about 1/2 of what they were at the peak. In some cases, certain lower brands and models got run up WELL past their credible demand- those are in the absolute toilet right now.

    So, I’m selectively buying certain guitars again, while everyone else is trying to sell them.

    Domains are tech, so who knows what the future holds. Maybe it all changes, but the best time to be buying is when the world is made up of desperate sellers desperately looking for a buyer. It’s hard to follow that path, it’s human nature to believe there’s wisdom in the crowd.

    The 3d domainer mania was the dumbest thing I’ve ever witnessed (seriously. I once saw a drunk guy at a concert do a headfirst stage dive into open space with no crowd to catch him and land on his face. The 3d domain thing? Dumber than that guy.) but 3d.com is something different.

    This will either be looked back on as a screaming deal and great case of taking advantage of a depressed market, or catching a falling knife in a .com domain space that was losing relevance. I don’t think there’s any doubt the market is depressed. It is. The question is, is this the end, or just another opportunity circa 2000?

  14. Congratulations to buyer and seller. 3d will become 4d and 5d and etc. 3d hasn’t really done much. Rss, tablets, web 2.0, etc. There will be another term to use and replace it eventually. You never know how long rss or tablets will be around or 3d. Things change. That’s why a solid generic or geo.com or something will continue to hold its value. Imo.

    What’s cheap? If it was so cheap how come you didn’t buy it. Get real. You don’t own the domain name. Seller was happy. Buyer happy. You folks have to much time on your hand giving valuation perspectives on other peoples names.

    And let me guess. 3d long tails and another 3d auction will succeed expectations just like the other disappointed auction this year. Buy. Buy. Buy. Take out credit lines. Chase the 3d hype. Hand reg 5000 3d domains. Borrow money. Now is the time to make a killing. (kidding of course).

  15. @ domainer

    “3d will become 4d and 5d and etc.”

    Unless you want to get into theoretical physics, space only has 3 dimensions, which is what 3D stands for.

    “If it was so cheap how come you didn’t buy it. Get real.”

    Even if it was “cheap” not everyone has an extra $500K laying around obviously.

    Brad

  16. @Brad

    Additional dimensions, at least the 4th, are the special effects (like vibrating chairs, for example) used to make the viewer experience even more realistic.

  17. @ Joe

    Yes, but the difference is what it is “3D” is an actually thing with an actually meaning.

    At best 4D, 5D, 10D, 15D, are just used for branding, and are a LONG way off.

    3D has been coming and going for a half century. I don’t think “4D” is really on the horizon.

    Brad

  18. Exactly. 500k is a lot. Congratulations to the seller.

    Point was technology changes very fast. There will be a new term or new hot trend.

  19. I own a bunch of 3D domains as I am in the business. Wondering if I should sell them:
    3DHomeVideos.com
    3Dvertise.com
    MotionPictures3D.com
    S3DHD.com
    S3DNET.com
    S3DAnimation

    What do you think? What ballpark would you think they would sell for?
    Thanks…

  20. Not surprising. 3D is such a hot topic at the moment, just like Cloud computing.
    The key to success is to think ahead of the game.
    Did you know that Sony are releasing the Playstation 4 with a new media type? It’s called HVD, and it’s a Blu-Ray killer.
    The data rate is 20 x faster and the storage is 20 x more and up.
    There is also a HVD alliance being formed, by some major companies that are backing it. Some names are Sony, Apple, Hitachi, Nintendo, Konica Minolta, it goes on.
    Get in early and you can reap the rewards.
    I scored hvddiscs.com, hvdmedia.com, hvdonline.com and hvdwarehouse.com (just today).
    DVDmedia.com is appraised at 67k, and that’s old tech.
    What I’m saying is that you need to research new technologies that are up and coming, not existing ones. Think ahead of the game, don’t do what everyone else is doing.

  21. @Domainer

    You’re not going to get 4d, 5d etc.
    What you’re going to get is holographic interfaces.
    That is the future. Think ahead, get ahead.

  22. Name sounds good in isolation but what is the obvious usage of it? It is broad and in a “faddy” area. I think the seller did ok.

  23. “on the heels of Touch.com selling for $100K, it seems domains are on the decline.”

    On a serious note, why anyone owning/running “EmergingDomains.com” would make such a statement is beyond me.

    Let it expire.

  24. 3D is about to explode with the glasses free 4K 3D computers and TVs coming out . 3D .coms will be huge. Great sale he lost 2 million dollars. .coms will always be kings no matter who tries to rip you off with these bogus gtld ‘s

  25. @dmpartners

    What’s so bogus about GTLD’s? Are you referring to ccTLD’s?
    How did he lose 2 million dollars? Why will .COM always be king?
    You sound like 95% of all Domainers, and that’s why hardly any of them are making any real cash.

  26. 3D is so 2010! We have all been waiting to drop the glasses. Since glasses-free is the next big development in 3D how about Glasses-Free.com and Autostereoscopic.com or Stereoscopic3D.com. Even better 3-D.com would probably be the best domain to signify the new technology over the now old school 3D standard. 3D.com sold for $500,000 back in 2011 and everyone at the time thought that was a low number. Some domain investors predicted it would sell for $5 million or more. The industry had high hopes for 3D. Consumers on the other hand didn’t think the glasses were all that cool. Though $500K for a soon to be outdated technology might seem high to some. Now it’s 2013 and 3D isn’t the hottest new technology anymore. People are waiting for the Holy Grail of visual entertainment and digital signage. 3-D Glasses-Free is already here and in thousands of digital signage displays and homes world wide. The new 4K TV’s and tablets on the market will push 3-D into reach of everyone. 3-D 4K TV’s and Tablets can display 3-D and 4K simultaneously making entertainment and advertising jump off the screen when it’s desired. This technology opens up a whole new world of information display.

  27. 3D is so 2010! 3-D is Glasses-Free Autostereoscopic. 3-D 4K TV’s and Tablets can display 3-D and 4K simultaneously allowing amazing effects. Just when you thought 3D was dead. Bang it’s now in 3-D!

    Top 3-D Domains
    3-D.com “The Holy Grail”
    Glasses-Free.com
    Autostereoscopic.com

    • I think I will need to sit on 5d.com and let the technology develop. Apple has recently patented 5d technology and samsung is just starting to use ‘5d’ in their ultrasound machines. I’ve been approached by 2 large companies offering me 150k each for the domain without me listing it for sale or putting it up for auction – surely this suggests some potential?

  28. I agree with Elliot but with recent increases in LL.com, LLL.com, NN.com, NNN.com and the like I think we’ll see nice appreciation in NL.com and LN.com, etc. That said I don’t think 5D.com will approach or exceed the 3D.com sale.

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