Mobile Domain Name sold for $616000!
(Rate this article)
Loading ...Email It!
At a recent auction on sedo.com for dot mobi domains generated astonishing results! A domain name music.mobi was sold for UDS $616000.
Other domain names such as games.mobi, sports.mobi, movies.mobi were sold for USD $401,500, $101,000 and $82,000 respectively.
Such astonishing figures would have benefited certain smart individuals greatly because they would have paid $9.99 for the domain name and earned astronomical profits.
We have previously written about how generic domain names earned similarly astronomical amounts (actually even more) in this post. Here is an excerpt from the post:
‘Generic domain names with no trademark like Sex.com and diamonds.com were sold for $ 14 Million and $ 7.5 Million respectively. This means that domain names having a lot of credibility attached, whether trademarked or not, are valued highly across the globe.’
The key point to note with the recent auctions is that they were .mobi domain names i.e. they are specifically for mobile generated content. One may wonder why such insane amounts have been made for .mobi domain names when there may not be too much of an advertising opportunity or revenue generation opportunity.
Well here are some things to keep you thinking:
-India has about 291 million mobile subscribers
-According to a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Report, the number of Indians using their mobiles to login to the internet has almost doubled from 16 million to 38 million just last year.
-That number is slated to grow.
Mobile Worx Pvt. Ltd, a Chennai and LA based mobile software firm hopes to tap into these users who are accessing the Internet and selling them Value Added Services for Free!
Their proposition is ‘Watch a few ads on your mobile and download for free ringtones, games or other such.’ Downloads of ringtones, usually the latest movie soundtracks, pictures of movie stars and sports personalities that are used as wallpapers, and mobile games account for more than half the revenue generate by the VAS department of mobile phone operators!
Typically, consumers pay Rs5-10 for downloading ringtones and Rs10-15 for wallpapers. That’s too high, said Asif Ali, co-founder and chief technology officer of Mobile-Worx. “The real value of these services is much lower than the perceived value. I think it is unfair that customers have to pay so much for VAS.”
Ali said Mobile-Worx would also try and strike exclusive deals with makers of hit movies to “generate traffic and attract the attention of advertisers.”
So mobile on the internet is where the early trends show that the action seems to be heading. It is still a relatively small field with a few niche players. Mobile Worx however has figured out a way to generate the huge advertising potential of mobiles! Another thing is that majority of people do not mind getting something for free if they are watching an ad instead because they are exposed to so much of that anyway! Mobile Worx has also recognized that its important to be ingrained in culture to succeed and thus their strategy to be centered around cinema and cricket (I know they mean cricket when they say ‘sports’!) which are 2 of the bed rocks of Indian culture is commendable! Media planners have often spoken about the potential of the internet as a medium for advertising, by adding a video component and an incentive to be seen – the ad will become all the more effective. For now, the future looks good for Mobile Worx.
Loading ...
You are not good informed:
“Such astonishing figures would have benefited certain smart individuals greatly because they would have paid $9.99 for the domain name and earned astronomical profits.”
All auctioned .mobi domains were in the hands of the MTLD (the organisation behind .mobi) and not in the hands of individuals. The only organisatino proffiting from these sales are the MTLD theirselves..
Martin
.mobi names did not start of at 9.99$s but were infact around 117$/year when they were first introduced
Thanks for the trivia! appreciate it.
Although now im pretty sure they can be bought for $ 9.99 - i probably should reconfirm.
Even if they are $ 117, the huge profit margins to domain squatters still remain! and the trend of the internet going mobile is also relevant.
Martin - thanks for the tip off i really didnt know that MTLD is the sole beneficiary! thanks !