In late November, a domain name auction frenzy unfolded on JD.com’s asset auction platform: the domain names CityLife.com and AuCool.com were auctioned together and ultimately sold for a high price of 520,085.88 RMB, exceeding the starting price of 2426 RMB by more than 214 times, attracting attention from the domain name industry.
It is understood that these two domain names originally belonged to CityLife (Beijing) Information Co., Ltd., and were operated as the core domain names of the “Chengxin” city life information website for a long time. This auction was part of the company’s bankruptcy liquidation asset disposal. Dozens of trademarks and multiple patents were also listed together. The combination of domain names and intellectual property assets in the auction was a key factor driving up the final price.
From the domain name perspective, CityLife.com, literally meaning “city life,” aligns well with diverse scenarios such as local life services and cultural tourism consumption, demonstrating a clear commercial focus. AuCool.com, on the other hand, is easy to pronounce and memorable, suitable for multiple sectors including consumption and technology. However, what truly allows them to transcend their inherent value limitations are the additional assets accumulated through long-term operation: years of brand recognition, high search engine ranking, a massive amount of backlinks on the internet, and the combined effect of accompanying trademarks and patents, making their value far exceed that of a single domain name.
This auction, lasting only one day, demonstrated the market’s recognition of the “operational domain name + intellectual property combination.” Generally speaking, domain names with a history of actual use and associated brand assets reduce subsequent promotion costs for businesses compared to unused “clean domain names,” thus making them more attractive to investors and corporate buyers. This auction once again highlights the multifaceted value of domain names—besides the scarcity of character combinations, the synergistic effect of intangible assets accumulated through long-term operation and intellectual property rights can unleash market value exceeding expectations.
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