The Vodka Shot Heard 'Round the World: Vodka.com Sells for $3,000,000

The bar tab that will keep paying for itself

[Webwork]

Conglomerate Russian Standard Co., controlled by Roustam Tariko, paid $3 million to an undisclosed seller in a deal completed December 4, according to a Sedo.com spokesman. A New York-based spokeswoman for Russian Standard confirmed the $3 million price tag.

Reuters story. [today.reuters.co.uk]

Now who's going to say that the Russians don't have the best Vodka?

Big business wakes up and realizes there are two versions of branding: Their brand and the 'generic (of the) brand'.

I can envision commercials featuring versions of Vodka.com, spelling it out - at the end of the commercial - in olives, ice cubes, etc. Heck, just go with a black screen with a white Vodka.com.

It's how a generic will be used to build the brand: associating the brand with the generic word for the product. "Blotto Vodka IS vodka." Smart stuff.

[edited by: Webwork at 12:25 am (utc) on Dec. 25, 2006]

[rocker]

I'll drink (hiccup) to that sale.

[moishe]

I'll bet the guy who has whiskey.com parked will smile when he sees that...

The Russians weren't first though, Captn. Morgan already has rum.com.

M

[TravelSite]

The correct spelling of Whisky is, er.. Whisky (and I think "Scotch Whisky" can only be called so if distilled in Scotland).

Wow. That's a lot for just a domain name. Most big sales I read about turn out to be for a website/business - not really the domain as such.

I wonder how many bottles of Vodka will have to be sold before it pays for itself. Any guesses?

[abbeyvet]

The correct spelling of Whisky is, er.. Whisky

Em, no. The correct spelling for Scotch Whisky is Whisky, but the real genuine original Whiskey is Irish Whiskey :) - otherwise known as Uisce Beatha or "the water of life".

[stu2]

Personally, I think it's a stroke of genius, but it doesn't take a genius have thought it up :) I'm surprised more companies with interests in generic names haven't already jumped on this obvious bandwagon. Who owns vodkas.com? :)

[OptiRex]

I'm surprised more companies with interests in generic names haven't already jumped on this obvious bandwagon.

Thanks! I've been doing this for years in my niche:-)

[Webwork]

It's moments such as this that I'm unable to resolve whether to initiate a group round of mutual back-patting or enroll all of us clever boys and girls in modesty lessons.

Ain't very many of us that can say we're $3 million smart though.

Still, there's hope that some company will some day appreciate that we are that smart . . or maybe smarter . . like $4 million smart. ;)

Blessings to you all: May you be $1.00 smarter than the latest smart domainer.

Amen.

[tomda]

From the same article, vodka is in the list of the top five.
1/ Sex-dot-com had sold for around $12 million
2/ Ice-dot-com sold for $7.5 million
3/ Business-dot-com sold for $7.5 million.

The deal was done throught S*DO, I am just wondering if they took 10% of the sale. May be less, may be more... Who knows?

[KeithCash]

WoW.

Then Gin dot com and Rum dot com might be worth a few coins then.

Slainte / Cheers