Recently I read that a domain investor was looking for a website which can translate a number to Pinyin. If possible, he would also like the website to provide English description. Such service would be tremendously helpful to investors when acquiring numeric domains. Unfortunately, I don’t know if such website exists. In fact, numbers have […]
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Domain upgrade is the name of the game in China
The domain behavior in corporate China is quite similar to what we see in the west. Companies like to upgrade to shorter domains for a variety of reasons: such as better name, prestige, publicity, or going global. Let’s look at some examples. VIPshop.com is obviously not a top-notch domain for an ecommerce platform which is […]
Continue ReadingThere is only one domain but many brands including one from China need it
It’s exciting news in the domain industry. Recently Eko.com was sold for a whopping $1.5 million to become the 3rd largest publicly reported domain sale of the year. This sale illustrates a tough issue faced by startups around the world aspiring to become global players. The new owner is USA-based media technology startup Eko. The […]
Continue ReadingI’m puzzled by the prices of numeric domains
Travis at DSAD provides a good service by reporting domain auction prices daily. By using dotDB and Google search, I can roughly understand why specific domains are sold for the prices. The only exception is long numeric domains. For example, Travis reported a few days ago that 703888.com was sold for $4,600. dotDB gives 33 […]
Continue ReadingCorporate China loves .com
I enjoy studying domains used by Chinese companies. The reason is very simple. As China grows to become the largest economy in the world, corporate demand for domains will increase. Knowing what domains are sought after will be very useful when selling domains to China. Baidu is a valuable tool. It helps me understand domains […]
Continue ReadingZB.com and its domain implication in corporate China
LL (letter-letter) .com domains are made for China. They are prestigious, short, and easy to remember. Most importantly, they “speak” both Chinese and English. In 2017, serial entrepreneur Will Hua (花松秀) launched Zhong Bi (中币=China Currency) as a cryptocurrency exchange now based in Hong Kong. Zhong Bi rose within a very short time to be […]
Continue ReadingDo numeric domains have Chinese meanings?
Recently I wrote about the sale of 13591.com for 13,500 yuan and added a Chinese meaning. In a comment, investor Rune said his domain 17515.com also has a good meaning. So, do all numeric domains have Chinese meanings? In the post, I said 13591 rhymes with Pinyin words Yi Sheng Wang Jiu Yi (医生网就医 = […]
Continue ReadingThe best Pinyin domains
What is the Chinese name of the USA? What is common between Beijing and Shenzhen? What does Peking University and Tsinghua University share? Why is Alibaba also called Ali? Answers to these questions will reveal a secret about Chinese preference for domains. The USA is called Mei Guo (美国) in Chinese. Similarly, UK is Ying […]
Continue ReadingDomains based on simple English words have potential in China
The unexpected can happen in China When you enter the China market, you need to translate your brand into Chinese and hopefully acquire its matching domain. Right? This is common knowledge after all, and the local should know better. However, just like many things in life, there are exceptions. Look at the global brands in […]
Continue ReadingCan you pick domains by simply looking at their names?
Look at the domain ArmyAnts.com. What do you see? What kind of business can you operate from this domain? How much can you sell the domain for? These are the questions that confront me almost everyday when I sift through thousands of domains in the garbage dump. Frankly, I would not have bought ArmyAnts.com for […]
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