America.com goes on the auction block this week, and specialists who monitor the buying and selling of Internet domain names say it could fetch one of the highest prices ever paid for a domain.
The Cambridge auctioneer and a Swiss broker representing the overseas owner of the America.com domain say there has been strong interest among prospective buyers and the sale price could exceed the estimated $12 million paid for Sex.com earlier this decade, thought to be the most ever.
Others think the America.com price is likely to fall short of the record.
“I think it’s a seven-figure name,” said Ron Jackson, editor and publisher of the Domain Name Journal in Tampa, Fla., a magazine and website that tracks transactions.
“You could sell anything from there: hotel rooms, flights, ground transportation from airports. For someone with the right vision, there’s a lot you can do with that name. But I don’t think it’s going to be the all-time highest domain sale.”
America.com will be auctioned off between Thursday and May 29 by Sedo, an Internet research and appraisal company that runs online marketplaces for domain names from Cambridge and its home office in Cologne, Germany. Bidders must be certified by the company at either of two websites: Sedo.com or GreatDomains.com, a site acquired by Sedo last year to handle auctions of its premium properties.
Further Information :Â http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/05/19/is_americacom_a_12m_name_like_sexcom/