Animal domain names such as Duck.com have a significant value to both domain investors and end-users. Animal .COM domain names can range in value from the low four-figure range ($1,000-$9,999) up to the seven-figure range.
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Why is Duck.com valuable?
Why are animal .COM domains such as Duck.com valuable? Well, let’s take Duck.com as an example here. Duck.com is one of just a concentrated number of exact match, animal .COM domain names that are in existence. There are over 134 million .COM domain names registered, which means Duck.com and the other exact match animal .COM names represent a very tiny percentage of all .COM domains. Rarity makes Duck.com a highly valuable name, especially to investors who pay top dollar to own the world’s rarest names.
There’s also the question of trust and stability. If you’re called Duck, then you need to own Duck.com for your brand. By owning Duck.com, you are displaying a sense of trust to your customers or clients. As a consumer, would you trust Duck.com or GetDuck.com more? The right domain name gives an instant sense of trust in a brand to anyone who visits the domain. A sense of stability and permanence also comes from owning a domain name like Duck.com. It shows a long term investment in a brand.
Unfortunately, animal names such as “Duck” are popular brand names. Because they’re commonly used, instantly recognizable names, it makes the equivalent .COM (Duck.com) valuable since so many companies are interested in using it. That makes it an expensive prospect for a brand to acquire.
An exact match domain name such as Duck.com for a company called Duck can also offer that company some security from data and traffic leakage that is commonplace amongst longer domain names.
These factors, and more, are why Duck.com is a domain name that has retained its value for more than two decades. The factors listed above are fine in theory, but let’s take a look at some examples of animal .COM sales to back up the overall value of Duck.com and animal .COM’s in general:
Case Studies
We have compiled a series of small case studies that give examples of companies that have purchased animal .COM domain names recently. If several companies spend six or seven-figures on an animal .COM domain name, it demonstrates clearly that exact match animal .COM’s play an intrinsic value in the online brand of savvy businesses. Read our case studies:
1.Walrus.com
This domain name was acquired by an investor in 2018 for a reported ,000 in 2018. After a period of time, this name was subsequently acquired by Walrus Health for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the six-figure range. Walrus Health now operates their online pharmacy on the domain..
2. Lion.com
Owned by Lion Technology Inc, Lion.com hosts the New Jersey-based company’s main website offering expert training and support. Based on archival copies of the website, Lion Technology has used the name since at least 1999, but there are plenty of companies who would like to own it. The female equivalent, Lioness.com, is owned by a leadership agency for women, founded by leadership coach Stephanie Redlener. According to DomainIQ’s WHOIS history, Lioness.com was acquired from the Internet Real Estate Ltd portfolio in recent years.
3. Elephant.com
In 2005, the Elephant.com domain name was the subject of a UDRP, filed by Admiral Insurance from the UK. The UDRP complaint was denied, and according to WHOIS history, Admiral acquired the name in 2006.
Whilst Admiral continues to use Elephant.co.uk for it’s UK insurance brand, it looks as though Elephant.com now focuses on insurance for the US market, operated by a subsidiary of Admiral, Elephant Insurance Services, LLC.
These are just three examples of animal .COM domains that have been acquired and put to use by brands willing to invest significant amounts of money into their online identity.
Another means of getting a face-value appraisal for Duck.com is to take a look at verified domain sales data.
Recent Sales
Using previous sales data can help you to get an idea of the value of your own domain name. Here is a list of publicly disclosed animal .COM sales:
Snake.com – $135,000 (2019)
Walrus.com – $55,000 (2018)
Gorilla.com – $496,320 (2019)
Bird.com – $200,000 (2005)
Pig.com – $125,000 (2010)
Coyote.com – $65,000 (2011)
Pug.com – $61,000 (2016)
Hornet.com – $60,000 (2017)
Further Reading
I wrote an article for NamePros in 2019 about how certain animal domain names are being used. You can read that here Some of the content here is quoted from that article.
Conclusions
Working out the intrinsic value of the Duck.com domain name (without any attached content, IP or other considerations) is a difficult process. Automated appraisals cannot be relied upon, and ultimately it comes down to the circumstances surrounding the acquisition or sale of the domain (with associated factors including motivation to buy or sell, the need for the domain, funding available, and current circumstances).
However, it can be easily proven that domains such as Duck.com are highly desirable, and previous sales data indicates that this type of name routinely sells for five ($xx,xxx) or six ($xxx,xxx) figures. In some cases, this will be higher.
