DNJournal: Japanese Prefectures, Anime.tv

[blastfromthepast]

The picture continues to brighten for International Domain Names. IDNs were the topic of a lot of favorable discussion at the Domain Roundtable Conference in Seattle last week (details can be found in our conference wrap up report slated for publication on our home page Thursday night (April 27). On the IDN sales front, Gary Males acquired a group of 8 Japanese Prefecture domains for $15,000 in a private transaction after hooking up with the seller at IDNForums.com. Males now owns 11 of the 47 Japanese Prefectures (a prefecture is a geographical district, similar to a county or state in America).

The new acquisitions for Males (at an average cost of $1,875 each) were 香川県.com (Kagawa Prefecture), 石川県.com (Ishikawa Prefecture), 滋賀県.com (Shiga Prefecture), 愛媛県.com (Ehime Prefecture), 岩手県.com (Iwate Prefecture), 山口県.com (Yamaguchi Prefecture), 富山県.com (Toyama Prefecture) and 奈良県.com (Nara Prefecture). You'll also find IDN sales in both our Global Contenders and Country Codes sections below.

Wörterbuch.info (IDN)
("dictionary" in German) €1,900 = $2,345 Sedo

We also saw our first IDN .tv sale with アニメ.tv ("anime" in Japanese) selling for $1,200 at the IDNPros.com forum.

[thegenius1]

Congrats To all Party Involed this is literly Amazing!!!! :)

[Olney]

Yes congrats
I think the ball will keep rolling for a few more weeks...
Also congrats to IDNPros for getting on DNJournal....

[Edwin]

I believe in some ways the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. crowd will be the harder audience to get interested in IDN. It will be interesting to hear if there was any IDN buzz when they wrap up that show next week.

[yanni]

I believe in some ways the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. crowd will be the harder audience to get interested in IDN.

But if/when they do....watch out.

[Rubber Duck]

I believe in some ways the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. crowd will be the harder audience to get interested in IDN. It will be interesting to hear if there was any IDN buzz when they wrap up that show next week.

Yes, unless Rick has done a U Turn which I doubt, that is going to be mainly about ASCII.com!

Frankly though, although Traffic got going first and may still be bigger, I think they are seen more as representing a narrow range of vested interests. I think Roundtable is rapidly becoming the acceptable face of domaining.

[John W]

A big congratulations to Gary and to the seller both. :)

[yanni]

Yes, unless Rick has done a U Turn which I doubt, that is going to be mainly about ASCII.com!

Frankly though, although Traffic got going first and may still be bigger, I think they are seen more as representing a narrow range of vested interests. I think Roundtable is rapidly becoming the acceptable face of domaining.

I will have to disagree here. TRAFFIC is not just about Rick; there's a roster of most of the top ascii "players" there.

And, while they're too busy making millions off their current portfolios at this time, once they see the traffic/resale potential of idn they'll jump in with both feet, and believe you me, the idn landscape will change; for the better of course :)

[Rubber Duck]

I will have to disagree here. TRAFFIC is not just about Rick; there's a roster of most of the top ascii "players" there.

And, while they're too busy making millions off their current portfolios at this time, once they see the traffic/resale potential of idn they'll jump in with both feet, and believe you me, the idn landscape will change; for the better of course :)

Yes, but the essential difference would appear to be that Roundtable is setting out to represent the entire domaining community, whereas Traffic is essentially a group of speculators. Nothing wrong with that in itself, just different.

[Drewbert]

>a group of speculators

A gaggle?

A flock?

I've ssen some WHOIS that shows that a few of them have some pretty good IDN's some on them have had them for a while. Maybe they're too ashamed to come out of the ASCII closet?

[touchring]

I think people are making a lot of money out of ASCII names with the recent boom - the opportunity cost is there, especially when, so much time is needed to find foreign names. I believe these guys can easily earn 10-20k a mth just by picking up ascii drops and immediately selling them. I earned 10k selling ASCII drops back then in Sept and Oct when i started domaining. I took this money and invest in IDNS - you can say i didn't spend a single cent of my own money. And whatever names i sold is pure profit.

[Rubber Duck]

>a group of speculators

A gaggle?

A flock?

I've ssen some WHOIS that shows that a few of them have some pretty good IDN's some on them have had them for a while. Maybe they're too ashamed to come out of the ASCII closet?

A gaggle definitely has appeal as a discription for ASCII.com investors, for some of the ccTLDs though a Flock might be more appropriate. I think for IDNs, I would go for a School.

[alpha]

... now owns 11 of the 47 Japanese Prefectures (a prefecture is a geographical district, similar to a county or state in America). ....

11 became 12 today. :)

[bwhhisc]

Congratulations again to Gary (Alphamale) and the seller. You are becoming a regular feature at the DNJournal. Any details released, or was this a semi-private transaction?

[alpha]

Congratulations again to Gary (Alphamale) and the seller. You are becoming a regular feature at the DNJournal. Any details released, or was this a semi-private transaction?

thanks!
I have no plans or desire to be in DNJ. Personally, I think the same buyer appearing in DNJ can send out the wrong message.

If the seller wants to come forward on this forum I have no problem with that, but I haven't discussed going public with this.

[bwhhisc]

thanks! I have no plans or desire to be in DNJ. Personally, I think the same buyer appearing in DNJ can send out the wrong message.
If the seller wants to come forward on this forum I have no problem with that, but I haven't discussed going public with this.

Agreed...more importantly is the SALE being listed in DNJ if at all possible. This will continue the continuity and momentum of IDN sales which is important at this point. I believe Duke at DNJ is usually willing to provide privacy regarding the individuals if requested.

[alpha]

Agreed...more importantly is the SALE being listed in DNJ if at all possible. This will continue the continuity and momentum of IDN sales which is important at this point. I believe Duke at DNJ is usually willing to provide privacy regarding the individuals if requested.

Yes, I will email him. For those that are interested though, the prefecture was Nagasaki 長崎県.com and sold at $2300.

[bwhhisc]

Yes, I will email him. For those that are interested though, the prefecture was Nagasaki 長崎県.com and sold at $2300.

Good buy! We have the .net on the same prefecture.

[bramiozo]

Yes, I will email him. For those that are interested though, the prefecture was Nagasaki 長崎県.com and sold at $2300.

and what a nice prefecture it is :) .

[alpha]

and what a nice prefecture it is :) .

thanks, yes I think this is my favourite - not for its's size, but for it's importance in history.

It was an interesting deal as well; not the usual buy-sell affair.

You see most of the time in a business deal it involes a winner and a loser. Even if the balance offset is only slight, there will usually be a loser involved.

Who was the loser in this deal?

Was it the buyer? I don't think so, I think i got a good deal here.

Was it the seller? Absolutely not, the ROI on this was incredible.

So who is the losing party? Well, that would probably be the previous Japanese owner; who despite owning the name for a number of years, let it drop into the waiting net of a drop catcher a few days ago.

England 1-0 Japan :p

Note to self: must start World Cup thread..

[Rubber Duck]

thanks, yes I think this is my favourite - not for its's size, but for it's importance in history.



I would suggest that this makes very little difference.

Google Trends has shown that nearly all City (and hence prefecture searches) are conducted from within the Cities themselves. The only considerations therefore are:

1 Population
2 GDP
3 Broadband Connections
4 Levels of Disposable income

What this does underline though, is that local script is going to be absolutely fundemental and that ASCII version will be of little value.

[alpha]

I would suggest that this makes very little difference.

Google Trends has shown that nearly all City (and hence prefecture searches) are conducted from within the Cities themselves. The only considerations therefore are:

1 Population
2 GDP
3 Broadband Connections
4 Levels of Disposable income

What this does underline though, is that local script is going to be absolutely fundemental and that ASCII version will be of little value.

Yeah but, as I said it is MY FAVOURITE, not because of revenue potential or any of those things - simply because I like it - and I like it because of it's importance in history. This is one of those occasions when the £ takes a back-seat.

[touchring]

I think Alphamale got a good deal on this name, much better than the other stuff he bought the last 2 months. BTW, this name was previously registered by a Japanese domainer since year 2000.

If Alphamale doesn't want the name, the seller is willing to offer a full refund (less paypal expense) within the next 30 days. :)

[alpha]

I think Alphamale got a good deal on this name, much better than the other stuff he bought the last 2 months. BTW, this name was previously registered by a Japanese domainer since year 2000.

If Alphamale doesn't want the name, the seller is willing to offer a full refund (less paypal expense) within the next 30 days. :)

;)

[Rubber Duck]

I think Alphamale got a good deal on this name, much better than the other stuff he bought the last 2 months.

Nothing wrong with the domain. And as Gary as stated it was sentiment driven rather than hard logic. I think the price looks pretty fair, but see no justification for the above comments. I think longer-term some of his other acquisitions will prove to be more valuable.

[alpha]

Nothing wrong with the domain. And as Gary as stated it was sentiment driven rather than hard logic. I think the price looks pretty fair, but see no justification for the above comments. I think longer-term some of his other acquisitions will prove to be more valuable.

I think that comment was tongue-in-cheek as he's referring I think to the other prefectures I purchased..

.. and seeing as they came from the same vendor..

[Rubber Duck]

I think that comment was tounge-in-cheek as he's referring I think to the other prefectures I purchased..

.. and seeing as they came from the same vendor..

Yes, perhaps I should get some early nights! Or maybe it is just the bill for the MOT!

[touchring]

Nothing wrong with the domain. And as Gary as stated it was sentiment driven rather than hard logic. I think the price looks pretty fair, but see no justification for the above comments. I think longer-term some of his other acquisitions will prove to be more valuable.


Well, it's hard to compare different kinds of domains - the arguments will never end, but at the very least, the justification comes from the fact that other holders of prefectures are not willing to sell at the kind of price i sell them for - that is the best justification.

Alphamale knows this fact and that's why he took my names. If they were on other hands, he wouldn't have the chance.

Ultimately, one important valuation of domains, and many more important than OVT, is rarity. You can come register 2,000 japanese combo with high ovt, and incur $16k a year in registration cost (which easily runs up to 48k if held for 3 years - assuming it takes ie7 3 years to fully establish), but with a dozen japanese prefectures that cost $100 a year to maintain, you are on more solid ground.

[Rubber Duck]

Well, it's hard to compare different kinds of domains - the arguments will never end, but at the very least, the justification comes from the fact that other holders of prefectures are not willing to sell at the kind of price i sell them for - that is the best justification.

Alphamale knows this fact and that's why he took my names. If they were on other hands, he wouldn't have the chance.

Well to my knowledge Alpha never bought Prefecture dot coms from me. I don't have any left and the most valuable didn't go in cash deals, so any contribution I can make on the matter of Japanese Prefectures is going to be subjective to say the least.

When it comes to comparing Japanese terms with other languages things get very subjective indeed. The Russian and Arabic markets in generally in a slight stand-off so evaluating domains is almost impossible, especially as there is little liquidity in the market at this time. My guess is that top Russian and Arabic and even premium generics will be worth a good deal more than Japanese Prefectures in the medium term, but there is plenty of scope to be totally wrong!

[alpha]

bottom line is, this side of traffic arriving, nobody knows anything about value, we are just making it all up as we go along.

when the traffic comes, humble pie can be served. But until then it's pure speculation.

[touchring]

Well to my knowledge Alpha never bought Prefecture dot coms from me. I don't have any left and the most valuable did go in cash deals, so any contribution I can make on the matter of Japanese Prefectures is going to be subjective to say the least.

When it comes to comparing Japanese terms with other languages things get very subjective indeed. The Russian and Arabic markets in generally in a slight stand-off so evaluating domains is almost impossible, especially as there is little liquidity in the market at this time. My guess is that top Russian and Arabic and even premium generics will be worth a good deal more than Japanese Prefectures in the medium term, but there is plenty of scope to be totally wrong!


Comparing across non-latin languages is almost impossible at the moment.

Even PPC is inaccurate gauge, as arabic and russian traffic to some extent is considered low value or no value to most advertisers. Chinese traffic is an ok gauge of value although earnings are in RMB, but we still do not know the level of influence plugins have on traffic.

But i still hold on to my belief that city/country names are ranked above generics of the same language.

[Explorer]

Comparing across non-latin languages is almost impossible at the moment.

Even PPC is inaccurate gauge, as arabic and russian traffic to some extent is considered low value or no value to most advertisers. Chinese traffic is an ok gauge of value although earnings are in RMB, but we still do not know the level of influence plugins have on traffic.

But i still hold on to my belief that city/country names are ranked above generics of the same language.

Could also depend on the city population/travel popularity. Redmond.com (I think) didn't get much compared to other generics, but lasvegas.com might be worth a ton.

[Rubber Duck]

Could also depend on the city population/travel popularity. Redmond.com (I think) didn't get much compared to other generics, but lasvegas.com might be worth a ton.

Even Las Vegas, probably the ultimate tourist trap still gets much more local search that search from elsewhere:

http://www.google.com/trends?q=Las+Vegas

[alpha]

Even Las Vegas, probably the ultimate tourist trap still gets much more local search that search from elsewhere:

http://www.google.com/trends?q=Las+Vegas

yes, LV is way ahead in the cities view but not that far ahead when you look at the regions.

this says that local services are searched locally (obviously) - but there is still externally searches going on that will be relevant to non-local business. ie Canada

[Rubber Duck]

yes, LV is way ahead in the cities view but not that far ahead when you look at the regions.

this says that local services are searched locally (obviously) - but there is still externally searches going on that will be relevant to non-local business. ie Canada

I think this is a scaling problem with Google Trends. If you search on London, Blackpool, Las Vegas then it cannot even compete with Blackpool or Brighton but is on par with Windsor. Not that hot really.

http://www.google.com/trends?q=London%2C+Blackpool%2C+Las+Vegas%2C&ctab=1&geo=all&date=all