[Random-bits] Cecily Barnes: Catchy domain names lose their luster

[James Love]

Last spring I predicted the expansion of the TLD name space would lead
to a collapse in the big prices for generic names + .com domains.   
Jamie


http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3185398.html

    
   Catchy domain names lose their luster 
   By Cecily Barnes
   Staff Writer, CNET News.com
   October 16, 2000, 4:00 a.m. PT 

   Pat Patten vividly remembers negotiating for the domain name
Jewelry.com in October 1999, before the launch of his online jewelry
site. Although he and his partners had purchased Netjewelry.com as a
backup, he really wanted "jewelry." 

   "Our thought was that it would be very significant in raising
capital," Patten said. "Obviously, to have the generic industry URL gave
the group instant credibility." 

                    Such thinking was common during the go-go days of
the Internet, when a generic URL plus some research figures about the
potential size of a market often equaled millions of dollars in venture
capital and even a high-flying IPO. But as the rise and fall of
Jewelry.com and countless other sites shows, playing the name game has
often been a losing proposition. 

                    Jewelry.com folded last month soon after it was
bought by Miadora.com. Patten won't say how much he and his partners
paid for the Jewelry.com domain, but he acknowledges that a good name
does not make a successful business. 

   [snip]

-- 
James Love  mailto:love@cptech.org http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
voice 1.202.387.8030  fax  1.202.234.5176