Aspen, Vail highly sought in domain name game

Aspen and Vail aren't just two of the best brands in skiing. Their names fetch top dollar on the 'Net too.

A recent auction of domain names ending in .co saw Aspen.co sell for $22,500, which topped the list of auction results for a period in early September, according to the industry news site TheDomains.com. Aspen.co beat out names such as myhealth.co ($18,500), allergy.co ($16,286), jackpot.co ($12,500), locksmith.co ($10,000), zoom.co ($10,000), facelift.co ($1,550), Atlanta.co ($1,150) and another Colorado ski resort, Breckenridge.co ($8,499).

Two weeks later, TheDomains.com reported: “Another great Geo domain, Vail.co topped the .co land rush auction results reported by the .co registry today,” selling for $15,550. It beat out blackfriday.co ($11,611), fish.co ($11,000), vitamins.co ($4,915), Philadelphia.co ($4,600), homesforsale.co ($4,100) puppies.co ($3,600), whiskey.co ($3,100), cerveza.co ($2,800) and bookies.co ($2,551).

The .co at the end of the domain name does not stand for Colorado or company. It is actually the country code top-level domain for the Republic of Colombia. Countries often auction off their codes and two-letter endings have become increasingly popular as Web users look to shorten URLs. Colombia's country code is especially popular because of its similarity to the ever-ubiquitous .com.

Names for Colombia's top-level domains went on sale in July. The first Colorado city to be auctioned off in the Colombia top-level domain grab was Boulder.co. It reportedly sold in August for $17,000.

The most-expensive domain was mesothelioma.co, which went for $76,000.

As for other Colorado-connected domains, Denver.co reportedly landed the biggest bid, raking in $50,000. Colorado.co sold for $7,900, Telluride.co for $5,100 and Durango.co for $2,800.

“These ... auctions ... only include those who made a land rush application for each of the domain[s] in auction. Since they are in closed auctions, not opened to anyone but the applicants, it could be fair to assume that prices of these domains were in an open auction would be higher,” TheDomains.com opined. “No doubt that .co remains the biggest story in the domain industry this year.”

Here is how Colorado fared:

1. Denver.co … $50,000
2. Aspen.co …. $22,500
3. Boulder.co … $17,000
4. Vail.co … $15,550
5. Breckenridge … $8,499
6. Colorado.co … $7,900
7. Telluride.co … $5,100
8. Durango.co … $2,800

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	4 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	182	6 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	223	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	80	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	100	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	127	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	234	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	675	5 ft
Below Gypsum	826	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	404	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,630	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,140	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,740	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	2,080	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	4,120	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,060	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	12,100	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	12,200	9 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	1,010	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	52	1 ft
Near Aspen	78	1 ft
Near Emma	480	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,180	3 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	56	2 ft
At Aspen	48	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	113	2 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	540	2 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	47	3 ft
Near Leadville	86	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	156	3 ft
Below Granite	429	4 ft
Near Nathrop	451	4 ft
At Parkdale	464	3 ft