Selling Site Names
? What it sells:
Afternic.com is a reseller of domain names. It handles the entire deal, offering an escrow service to protect the fi nancial transaction between the buyer and seller.
How it got started: In 2002, Roger and Michael Collins wanted to sell a few domain names, so they set up NameBuySell.com. "We didn't have high aspirations for it," Roger quips. But when they found out the well-known but somewhat tarnished site Afternic.com was for sale, they snapped it up.
? How it works:
Sellers who join the service for $19.95 can list the domain names they want to sell. Each domain name has an asking price, a minimum price and a reserve price. If a buyer wants a name that is not listed for sale, Afternic.com will contact the domain name's owner to try to arrange a deal. Afternic.com typically receives 10% of the sale price.
? How it's going:
It posted sales of $6.3 million for the year ended in June. The company has nine employees.
? RogerCollins.com:
Roger paid $1,500 to buy his own domain name from a professor Roger Collins in England.
? What's next:
International markets, starting with a German translation of Afternic.com.