Domain Name Marketplace, Sedo, Debuts Online Auction Model

Cambridge, Massachusetts - (Cheap Web Hosting Directory) - October 20, 2006 - Domain name marketplace, Sedo, has premiered an eBay-like auction service for domain name sales, to run parallel to the company's traditional direct negotiation model, though designed specifically to maximize sales value for high-value premium domain names.

Sedo's first online auctions will begin on October 23, in response to the surge of businesses and professional investors purchasing millions of dollars of premium domains each year. It is anticipated that via Sedo's seven day online auction period, domain names will be exposed to a global community of nearly 400,000 buyers who collectively spent over $25 million purchasing domain names through Sedo's marketplace in the past year. Although most listings are no-reserve auctions, owners of premium domains can hedge their risk by setting a reserve price in consultation with an expert Sedo broker.

A pilot run of the auction system for the domain name Blue.com in March led to a final sales price of $500,000, one of the highest domain sales of the year. “Sedo’s auction model generates maximum return for premium domain owners by pairing active marketing of the domain name to large corporations, domain investors, and other potential buyers with a transparent, trusted, and universally accessible online platform,” said Christian Kalled, director of domain brokerage at Sedo.

Premium domain owners can further maximize profits by taking advantage of Sedo’s introductory low commission rate of three percent, which includes marketing, auctioning, and secure escrow transfer of the domain name.

Matt Bentley, Chief Strategy Officer of Sedo remarked, ''Domain buyers and sellers have turned to Sedo again and again for its experienced, trusted brokerage services and a marketplace featuring the largest portfolio of names in the world today. Sedo's online auction service cements the company’s leading position by offering a new domain sales model that meets the industry's changing needs.''

Sedo, (acronym for ''Search Engine for Domain Offers''), is an online marketplace for buying and selling domain names and websites. Sedo began in 2001, as a student project among three friends: Tim Schumacher, Ulrich Priesner, and Marius Würzner. The trio distributed computer games through the website offensiv.de. After the business was phased out, the students considered selling it, which laid the foundation for Sedo: ''search engine for domain offers.'' Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Sedo has assembled what it believes is the world's largest database of domain names for sale, with more than four million listings. Buyers and sellers are brought together through a searchable online marketplace, and conduct negotiations anonymously using an offer-counteroffer system. To facilitate successful transactions, Sedo has introduced a range of related services, including domain name escrow/transfer services, domain name appraisals, a domain brokerage service and paid domain name parking. The success of Sedo's model has attracted a global membership base of more than 200,000 domain professionals, and helped more than 5,000 businesses start its web presence off on the right foot with a great new domain name. Sedo offers regional versions of its site for the UK (Sedo.co.uk), France (Sedo.fr), Germany (Sedo.de), and Spain (eSedo.com).