On the expired auctions yesterday, the domain RFM.com.au was purchased on the Netfleet platform for $17,050 (including GST and costs).

Based on having a few unsuccessful bids myself, I can also confirm that there was a reasonable level of bidding on the Drop platform, but on this occasion, Netfleet “got the cigar”. Well done to Nikki Scholes and her team.

According to the WhoIs, the buyer is Coolamon Steel, a company based in Coolamon which is a town in the Riverina region of NSW about 40kms north-west of Wagga Wagga. From what I can see, they currently have three major domain names that resolve to the one website. They obviously understand the benefits of “cyber property”! Congratulations to them.

coolamonsteel.com.aucoolamonchaserbins.com.aucoolamon.com.au

I’m not sure what the acronym “RFM” is going to stand for, but I have reached out to the buyer. If I hear back, I will update this post.

Incidentally, RFM.net.au has been operated for over a decade by what appears to be an unrelated party (Regional Farmers Markets). So under proposed auDA priority rules, they will have first dibs on the RFM.au if and when it arrives.

15 thoughts on “Strong 3 Letter Domain Sale

  • November 16, 2019 at 7:44 am
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    Not a bad sale, in line with end user pricing. Not many end users hear about the auctions or can get their crap together in less than 24 hours. Congrats to the buyer

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    • November 16, 2019 at 7:48 am
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      PS. Interesting that a steel fabricator bought it. Luke Smorgon’s company Turbine (Smorgon as in Smorgon Steel) has been buying a number of names on the drops this year

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      • November 16, 2019 at 9:41 am
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        Hey Peter – very much unrelated. I’m in the digital industry, not the steel industry 😉
        Cheers Luke

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        • November 20, 2019 at 12:28 pm
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          Fast response Luke

  • November 16, 2019 at 7:44 am
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    Nice sale for a letter combination that doesn’t particularly stand out.

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  • November 16, 2019 at 10:54 am
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    Looks like it may have been bought by RFM Ag Pty Ltd (Agricultural machinery manufacturer) based in Coolamon, NSW.

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    • November 16, 2019 at 11:41 am
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      You might be right, but I’m not sure about that.

      According to WayBack Machine, RFM Ag were the previous registrants, and there doesn’t appear to be any common link between them and Coolamon Steelworks.

      But no doubt time will tell!

    • November 20, 2019 at 7:13 am
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      J, seems like you were right. 🙂

      Even though the WhoIs still shows Coolamon Steelworks as the registrant (as opposed to previous registrant being Ryan Farm Machinery), the domain does now resolve once again to RFM AG.

  • November 17, 2019 at 11:02 am
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    A surprising price to place or reach when 3 letter domain name abbreviations are very specific to a limited number of business requirements and or private use.

    When many 3 letter .com.au’s the following day attracted a bid amount of $10, it does make you question how was it that so many were attracted to bid on this in order to push to such a high sale price?

    How many would have been bidding and how many would have posted a bid amount into the many thousands in order to take it this far? When Drop gives you some indication of the highest bid amount in order to offer you a fairer idea, netfleet does not. So how does the amount for a domain name that would attract very few bidders manage to go to this highest (unseen) bid amount?

    When so much trust comes down to human (business) nature, how much behind these closed doors is honest and true and not just another place where business has created a platform where it can always take the highest amount placed whilst buyer takes it for granted that they’re doing the right thing?

    This may be all very true and honest, but like many auctions results before so many things here don’t seem to add up. Especially with so much bid secrecy allowing the very possible cultivation of manipulation in order to result the greatest profit. (not claiming, just asking)

    I’d like to ask Neddy and any others here if they did bid on this domain name..

    How much was there bid amount?

    & why they would bid said amount for this specific domain name?

    Thanks!

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    • November 17, 2019 at 11:49 pm
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      Royal commission needed lol

      Gino it’s not even $20k. Something tells me the 6 figure (and dozens of 5 figure) .com.au sales that take place every month behind closed doors might just make your head explode…

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      • November 18, 2019 at 11:26 am
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        Far fetched to suggest there is “6 figure sales that take place every month” given only 8 have been reported in .com.au’s history.

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        • November 18, 2019 at 12:56 pm
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          I count 12-16 .com.au 6 figure sales that have been made public.

          (Plus Cars.com.au at $1.6 million and Property.com.au $9 million)

          Some are mentioned here:

          https://domainer.com.au/valuing-domain-names/

          The higher the sale, the more likely it is that it will be subject to a non-disclosure agreement. The only reason some sales are made public is that a broker with domain industry contacts is involved.

          Dozens of quailty .com.au domain names change hands at arms length between end users each year. IP tools and Archive.org tell the story.

          Not everyone lives in the domainer bubble, which does a complete disservice to those immersed in it like yourself.

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        • November 18, 2019 at 1:14 pm
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          More than that!

          Think we’ve found our Chief Commissioner for investigating how a .com.au domain could astound Gino and sell for $17k at auction lol

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  • November 17, 2019 at 8:12 pm
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    I was involved in this particular three-letter acronym domain purchase and watched this name go in and out of the drops for a number of months. I can say there were a number of entities interested in this particular acronym, and, in all fairness, in this particular case, the highest bidder rightfully won fairly and squarely.

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    • November 18, 2019 at 12:07 am
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      Nice. Once I entered a 6 figure proxy bid for someone on a .com.au name I wouldn’t have paid $10k for. Each domain is one of a kind.

      Only 2-4 motivated end user buyers are needed for a name to head closer to market value in an auction scenario.

      Only 1 motivated end user buyer and one disinterested seller are needed for the same thing to be accomplished.

      Those new to e-commerce or with no real marketing background will always squirm at the thought of spending 5 or 6 figures on a .com.au domain name, but it’s the same types who used to squirm at spending 4 or 5 figures on a .com domain name.

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