Jump in Quarter-Over-Quarter Premium Domain Name Sales at Moniker and SnapNames Confirms Growth in Internet Real Estate Value; Sets Stage for Upcoming Live and Showcase Auctions

LOS ANGELES, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Moniker® and SnapNames®, both Oversee.net® companies, reported a 42% jump in total sales of premium names between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010.  

The figure includes premium names sold through the companies' aftermarket sales channels--DOMAINfest Global's® Moniker Live Auction in January 2010, Moniker Brokerage Services and SnapNames & Moniker Showcase Auctions.

Top sales include:

• Guns.com ($800,000)*  
• PartySupplies.com ($360,000)
• ScreenSavers.com ($335,000)
• LoanCalculator.com ($215,000)
• HomeRun.com ($131,000)
• Migraine.com ($125,000)**

The list also includes a private, seven-figure domain name sale.

"Companies, marketers and small businesses are finding paths out of the economic downturn, and domain names are becoming better known as assets to build and promote their businesses and brands, as well as increase traffic to websites," said Craig Snyder, Senior Vice President of Oversee.net and General Manager of the Registrar and Aftermarket division.  "These recent sales confirm that corporations are leveraging generic keyword domain names to increase reach and drive both offline and online purchases."

Snyder's comments are in line with current research.  According to eMarketer's March 2010 U.S. Retail E-Commerce Forecast, 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce sales will climb by more than 12%, following the U.S. Census Bureau's release showing online sales in Q4 2009 climbed by 14.6% over one year earlier.  As shoppers move more purchases to the Internet to take advantage of lower prices and convenience, domain names as online real estate likely will further increase in value.

Moniker & SnapNames Showcase Auctions

Moniker and SnapNames have partnered with GeoDomain Expo® to host the April Showcase Auction online beginning April 13, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time, and ending May 4, 2010 at 12:15 p.m. Pacific time.  The geo/location names available for auction include:

• Lisbon.com
• Gaborone.com (Capital and largest city of Botswana)
• PapuaNewGuinea.com & PortMoresby.com (Country and capital city combination lot)
• Raleigh.com
• Bucharest.com
• Crete.com
• VisitRome.com
• BookFlights.com
• EuropeanAutos.com
• FamilyVacation.com

GeoDomain Expo® is being held in New Orleans from April 28-30 by Associated Cities, an organization of the world's top location-related domain name investors.

The full 2010 Showcase Auction calendar is available at: http://showcase.snapnames.com/upcoming-auctions

Upcoming Moniker Live Auctions

As part of the expanded DOMAINfest Global franchise, Moniker also has a robust live auction calendar planned in 2010 – all live auctions provide remote online bidding capabilities for those unable to attend in person.  Dates and locations include:

• Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 13, 2010, at the W Hotel ;sample teasers for this event include:
  • Dating.com
  • WiFi.com
  • Jeans.com
  • Detox.com
  • BoardGames.com
• New York City, August 18, 2010, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel (immediately following Affiliate Summit)
• Prague, Czech Republic, October 6, 2010, at the Hotel Intercontinental

Submissions for these events are now open; submissions for the May 13 auction are accepted until April 18.

Submissions can be made at:

http://domainauctions.moniker.com/2010/DOMAINfest-Fort-Lauderdale

http://domainauctions.moniker.com/2010/DOMAINfest-New-York

http://domainauctions.moniker.com/2010/DOMAINfest-Prague

*Sold jointly with Recall Media

**Sold jointly with Sedo

About Oversee.net's Aftermarket and Registrar Division

Comprised of Moniker® and SnapNames®, Oversee's Aftermarket and Registrar Division offers businesses and individual investors an array of services for domain name registration, acquisition, management, appraisal, brokerage and sales. A top ten registrar, Moniker introduced the live domain name auction concept. SnapNames operates the largest auction of expired and deleting domain names and gives its customers exclusive first access to the world's most valuable names every day. For more information, visit www.moniker.com and www.snapnames.com.

About Oversee.net

Oversee.net® is the leader in Internet real estate, specializing in monetizing, registering, selling and developing domain names. The company provides an array of managed services to domain investors, corporations, and individuals across more than ten million web sites. Oversee owns one of the largest portfolios of domain names in the world. The company's unique optimized technology connects consumers and advertisers with highly relevant advertisements. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company's core brands include DomainSponsor®, SnapNames®, Moniker® and LowFares.com^TM. To learn more, please visit www.oversee.net.

SOURCE Oversee.net