$18k for Aussie domain sets new record

The domain name creditcard.net.au has set a new sales record in the Australian market for a .net.au domain name, selling for $AU18,200 in a private trade.

Domain consulting and SEO outfit Pacific Octane originally owned the domain, securing it September 2010 for $15,001.00, which was at the time the highest price for a domain. That status was then eclipsed by the transaction of jobs.net.au which sold for $15,500.00

Pacific Octane consultancy says it teaches domain name owners how to use their URL as “weapons in business to overtake their competitors within their respective vertical markets and reduce their expenses long term.”

According to Pacific Octane chief executive James Wester, he approached the owner of creditcard.com.au, Pixel Capital, in August and negotiated a price of $18,200.00. He claims that he kept the news of the record setting domain name sale quiet because “of the increasing competition in his space and it would have been unfair to give him added pressure of staying on top.”

Wester maintains that Pixel Capital made a sound transaction as “with regard to brand and securing a brand online, you must secure the matching domain name.”

He added that “being an expert in value and understanding of domain names and in particular .au domain names, it reinforces that my decision to purchase was justified and I could show not only a new domain name record sale, but a great return on my investment as well.”

Wester is also pushing the .au domain space as an investment target, saying that “On a global scale, you’d be an idiot not to put your money into the safe haven of the .au domain name space today. The trend over the last 3 years since auDA has relaxed the policy has been nothing but extraordinary.” ®