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Pharmacy.com for Sale
Early web speculator looking for deepest pockets.
August 6, 2007
By Leah Messinger
Domain name speculators, open your wallets. Pharmacy.com is up for sale for the first time since 1994 and the domain nameâs broker is looking to break a few records.
âBased on modeling, weâre putting it way over $50 million,â said Joshua Bourne, co-founder of FairWinds Partners, an Internet consultancy that is brokering the sale.
Dictionary.com was recently purchased for $100 million and Business.com fetched about $350 million, but those domains were already supporting multimillion-dollar businesses. Dictionary.com serves up banner and text ads and offers reference services, while Business.com also delivers ads and provides basic yellow page services.
By contrast, Pharmacy.comâs owner, Orlando, Florida-based medical equipment seller Rotech, is hoping to bring in tens of millions of dollars for a mere eight letters. The Website itself serves up little more than an enticing promotion pointing out that consumers last year made 100 million purchases through online pharmacies, which are expected to generate $12 billion in revenue this year.
FairWinds has sent out approximately 100 emails to potential buyers alerting them of the domain nameâs availability. Mr. Bourne's email list includes pharmacy chains, retailers such as Wal-Mart and Costco, and websites such as Drugstore.com.
âImagine the opportunity⦠pharmacy.com reads the site's promo page.
Domain Name Journal editor Ron Jackson said he doubts that a single, undeveloped domain name can command such a high price. He pointed out that Sex.com (~$12 million), Porn.com (~$9.5 million), and Diamond.com (~$7.5 million) are among the highest-selling domain names and none of those has broken the $15 million barrier. Mr. Jackson predicted Pharmacy.com will sell for between $5 and $10 million.
âNo domain has ever sold for more than $15 million, so to think that itâs going to jump to $50 million, thatâs not going to happen,â he said.
But Jay Westerdal, president and CEO at domain information and sales company Name Intelligence, said he has heard of domain names selling for $20 million or more in private transactions and can understand why Pharmacy.com might be as or more valuable.
âThat would set all records. It would shatter them. It would be phenomenal. Really, thatâs what domains of that caliber should be selling for,â Mr. Westerdal said.
The value of generic domain names such as Hotels.com and Travel.com lies in the fact that they describe entire categories of commerce. Those are the types of keywords consumers use when they begin a web search, and those terms as domain names rarely go up for sale. Mr. Westerdal said the owner of Travel.com has been hanging onto his domain name for years and refuses to sell until someone meets his $100 million price tag.
SOURCE
Early web speculator looking for deepest pockets.
August 6, 2007
By Leah Messinger
Domain name speculators, open your wallets. Pharmacy.com is up for sale for the first time since 1994 and the domain nameâs broker is looking to break a few records.
âBased on modeling, weâre putting it way over $50 million,â said Joshua Bourne, co-founder of FairWinds Partners, an Internet consultancy that is brokering the sale.
Dictionary.com was recently purchased for $100 million and Business.com fetched about $350 million, but those domains were already supporting multimillion-dollar businesses. Dictionary.com serves up banner and text ads and offers reference services, while Business.com also delivers ads and provides basic yellow page services.
By contrast, Pharmacy.comâs owner, Orlando, Florida-based medical equipment seller Rotech, is hoping to bring in tens of millions of dollars for a mere eight letters. The Website itself serves up little more than an enticing promotion pointing out that consumers last year made 100 million purchases through online pharmacies, which are expected to generate $12 billion in revenue this year.
FairWinds has sent out approximately 100 emails to potential buyers alerting them of the domain nameâs availability. Mr. Bourne's email list includes pharmacy chains, retailers such as Wal-Mart and Costco, and websites such as Drugstore.com.
âImagine the opportunity⦠pharmacy.com reads the site's promo page.
Domain Name Journal editor Ron Jackson said he doubts that a single, undeveloped domain name can command such a high price. He pointed out that Sex.com (~$12 million), Porn.com (~$9.5 million), and Diamond.com (~$7.5 million) are among the highest-selling domain names and none of those has broken the $15 million barrier. Mr. Jackson predicted Pharmacy.com will sell for between $5 and $10 million.
âNo domain has ever sold for more than $15 million, so to think that itâs going to jump to $50 million, thatâs not going to happen,â he said.
But Jay Westerdal, president and CEO at domain information and sales company Name Intelligence, said he has heard of domain names selling for $20 million or more in private transactions and can understand why Pharmacy.com might be as or more valuable.
âThat would set all records. It would shatter them. It would be phenomenal. Really, thatâs what domains of that caliber should be selling for,â Mr. Westerdal said.
The value of generic domain names such as Hotels.com and Travel.com lies in the fact that they describe entire categories of commerce. Those are the types of keywords consumers use when they begin a web search, and those terms as domain names rarely go up for sale. Mr. Westerdal said the owner of Travel.com has been hanging onto his domain name for years and refuses to sell until someone meets his $100 million price tag.
SOURCE
