We received an email at the radio station, offering the opportunity to participate in an auction for sale of the Internet domain name radio.co.uk

Clearly they are sending out the invites to every radio station they can find.

This is a Dutch company that runs the auctions and claims to have 21 million domain names .

It claims to connect the best virtual real estate i.e. domain names with industry leaders. But that’s false – they just sell to the highest bidder. That’s how auctions work. There’s no quality check – just counting of money.

A quick check shows they are currently auctioning

259.com estimated to be worth €50,000

Also 43.com estimated at €3,000,000

Estate.com at €1,500,000

Multivitamins.com at €150,000

There are much cheaper domain names available e.g. ann.nl estimated to be worth €1,000

It seems there is a group of people calling themselves domain name speculators or domainers  whose job is the buying and selling of  domain names.

Is there anything wrong with this?

Buying and selling commodities of all types is normal business practice – from farm output to stocks and shares to minerals. However, I do feel there is something repugnant in buying things you think other people want and making money from their need without adding anything.

So I think this is legal but objectionable.

It is clearly a big market – the buying and selling of domain names.