Websites which sell domains bearing the name of celebrities may have boomed in numbers over recent years, but while they may hold bespoke web addresses, the rich and famous haven’t yet proved willing to buy their own personalised site name.
Domain phamnhatvuong.com attracts nearly 7,700 viewers
Domain names featuring the Chairman of Vincom Group Pham Nhat Vuong, and Chairman of Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh Long, are on sale for several hundred thousand dollars.
The domain name typhudola.com (literally meaning dollar billionaire) is available for up to USD999,999 while others such as duongcongminh.com.vn (the name of Him Lam Corporation Chairman Duong Cong Minh) for a generous USD200,000.
Prices aren’t likely to decline in the short-term either. In June this year, after Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong received VND900 billion (USD43.6 million) in sales in Vincom shares, the price of the domain bearing his name rose to USD120,000 from USD100,000, equal to tranmonghung.info (Chairman of the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) Tran Mong Hung), surpassing the domain trandinhlong.com (Hoa Phat Group Chairman Tran Dinh Long) being sold at USD100,000. Celebrity rich-list Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Group Deputy General Director Nguyen Quoc Cuong’s (nickname ‘Cuong Dollar’) nguyenquoccuong.com is available for a mere USD100,000 USD and cuongdollar.com.vn is priced at USD1,000.
Industry magnets aren’t the only ones worth a domain name fortune. Domain names featuring the names of famous singers, actors and actress and musicians are also available for sale. For example, a domain under the name of singer Dam Vinh Hung, damvinhhung.com, is available for USD500, or singer Thanh Thao, thanhthaoproduction, for USD1,000.
However, the domain of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group Chairman Doan Nguyen Duc, doannguyenduc.com, costs a paltry USD1 on the website raobandomain and USD500 at the website tenmienthuonghieu.
Despite bearing the names of famous people, these domains are not proving particularly popular. Many of the domains have remained unused as it seems Vietnamese entrepreneurs and singers possess short arms and deep pockets, with none of them spending their money to buy domains from technology speculators.
Among a large number of website bearing the “.vn” ending, none of them have the name of well known individuals despite the trading and registration procedures for this domain being very simple.
According to website design company director Nguyen Hai Linh, he tried several years ago to sell domains featuring the names of famous people, but he gave up on the business due to a lack of interest.
Vietnamese reticence is surprising considering the global popularity of bespoke domain names among the rich and famous, including US President Barrack Obama and billionaire Carlos Slim Helu.
Domain cuongdollar.com.vn priced at USD1,000
Domains under the name of singers Dam Vinh Hung and Thanh Thao also availabe for sales