'Now is the time to buy secondary domain names'

Businesses looking for the perfect domain name may benefit from turning to the secondary market.

This is according to Patricio Robles of Econsultancy, who noted that the traditional trend of speculators charging high prices for domain names they buy in the hope of making a substantial profit seems to be in decline.

He explained that there have been fewer instances of domain names selling for vast sums of money in recent times compared with a few years ago and said this is likely to continue while the economy is still in a downturn.

"It is largely a buyer's market and if there's a registered domain that you've had your eyes on, now is a pretty good time to make an offer," Mr Robles remarked.

Some of the most expensive domain names to be sold in the last ten years include Business.com for $7.5 million (£5.3 million), AsSeenOnTV.com ($5.1 million), Altavista.com ($3.3 million) and Wine.com ($2.9 million).