Netregistry deal with local domain name aftermarket

The partnership opportunity is said to have 'spawned' when Australia’s domain name administrator, auDA, relaxed the prohibition of domain sales, effectively allowing businesses to buy and sell .au domain names, according to David Lye, general manager at Netfleet.

Netfleet claims to have already sold ‘over $40,000 worth of domain names in the few months since it has been operational‘ - with another 7,500 also available on the site.

By operating a ‘completely free business model (with no listing fees or sales commissions), the company hopes to attract thousands of new listings by capitalising on Netregistry’s customer base of over 250,000 businesses’, the firm said in a statement.

“We’re confident we can emulate and improve upon the successes of overseas trading platforms such as Sedo.com, albeit with smaller numbers,” said Lye.

“Time will tell as to whether this venture between Australia’s leading domain name aftermarket and Australia’s leading domain name registrar will stimulate the type of activity seen overseas where domain names are regularly traded for seven figures and above and virtual real estate has created a number of millionaires.

“It does have the potential to create a vibrant and profitable market, trading domains for their actual worth – sometimes hundreds or thousands of dollars,” said Lye.

Netrgistry’s CEO, Larry Bloch, foresees ’significant growth’ in the aftermarket domain resale business.

“Currently our efforts are focussed on education as much as anything – most people do not even realise that domain names are now tradeable assets so it’s a question of creating the industry as well as satisfying the demand,” said Bloch.

The move follows recent activity in the Australian market by global aftermarket giant Sedo to win over Aussie registrars.

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