Domain names are the property addresses in the online world, and just like in the real world property market, the values of some e-addresses hold significant monetary values to businesses and private owners. In fact, it is so important to them that they are willing to pay millions of dollars to own them.

But why is it so?

The main reason businesses are willing to pay the, sometimes, unbelievable prices for their domain names, is because they are related to their brand names and services. Owning the name that they primarily identify with enables them to be easily found by clients and customers looking for them. This means income and, thus, profits.

Therefore, they try their best to get their hands on domain names they think will drive more traffic to their sites and can then end up spending millions of dollars to acquire them. This is precisely the reason some people buy domain names that have nothing to do with them: so they can later sell them at highly inflated prices. It isn’t rare a story that has been told about how someone had bought a domain name for a few dollars and a while later sold it for an amount enough to retire on.

And so, let us move on to the main topic and see what domain name fetched which record-breaking price:

Vodka.com

Back in 2006, this domain name was purchased by the Russian Standard Co., the largest maker of the spirit, for $3 million. The current website is used tell visitors everything there is to know about vodka.

Candy.com

Remember how we mentioned people making money overnight and ending up rich? Well, in 2009, Rick Schwarz sold this domain name (which he had bought for a pittance) for $3 million. The new owners, G&J Holdings, bought it with the intention of creating the biggest candy store on the internet.

It could have worked, if they hadn’t become greedy and tried to fool search engines by using black hat SEO tactics to try and rank high. Google de-indexed the site and it led to the company laying-off a large number of its staff as a result.

Icloud.com

By 2011, Apple Inc was buying up domains that had an “i-” prefix and purchased Icloud.com for $4.5 million that same year.

Clothes.com

Zappos bought clothes.com for $4.9 million in 2008 as an alternative to its main online store at zappos.com.

SEO.com

This is another incident of a savvy trader investing in something he was sure would pay off in the long run. Michael Mann was the owner of BuyDomains.com. But seeing the huge potential SEO.com had, he sold his company and put his money into it. In 2007, his gamble paid off: he sold it for $5,000,000.

Korea.com

Korea.com is owned by Korea.com Communications. They purchased the domain in 2004 for $5 million.

Toys.com

This generic domain name was bought by the leading toys manufacturer, Toys R Us, for $5.1 million in 2009.

Asseenontv.com

Apart from being one of the highest-costing domain names ever – at $5.1 million – Asseenontv.com is also the most expensive domain name when it comes to those purchased for the purpose of protecting a company’s main URL.

The LA Group bought Asseenontv.com in 2000 for the sole purpose of protecting their main domain name: Asseenattv.com.

Slots.com

This domain name was purchased for $5.5 million, in 2010, by Bodog, a Russian online gaming site. The new owners went ahead and created a new game on their latest acquisition.

Casino.com

Another gaming site, Casino.com was bought in 2007 by Mansion Limited of Gibraltar for $5.5 million and it turned out to be a great investment, as the ROI is unsurpassed.

Beer.com

When it was first sold in 2004, this domain name managed to put $7 million in its previous owner’s pocket. But, as of now, the domain name is up for grabs as the site advertises that it is ready to be sold or leased to a new owner.

Diamond.com

If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, then this domain name can’t be far behind. Now serving a diamond sales site (and plenty more transactions and information regarding the precious stone), it was purchased in 2006 for $7.5 million.

 FB.com

Yes, this domain name was bought by Facebook to protect its brand. This domain that now points to facebook.com was purchased by the social media company in 2010 for $8.5 million from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Sex.com

The highest paid for a domain name in the adult industry was paid for Sex.com in 2010. The price was $14 million. Who can say sex doesn’t sell?

Insure.com

This domain name was sold in 2009 and, at $16 million, was the second-highest price paid for three years until it was overtaken by…

PrivateJet.com

Sold in 2012, PrivateJet.com managed to go for $30.million. The current runner up in this list is now used to charter business jets.

And now… for the most expensive domain name of all:

VacationRentals.com

This domain name was purchased in 2007 for $35 million – the highest ever paid so far – by Brian Sharples, the founder of HomeAway.  The reason for purchase? Sharples said he went out and bought it at the record-breaking price because he didn’t want to see the domain name fall into the hands of his competitors – Expedia.