Amazon beats Google to $4.6m .buy domain

Online retailer Amazon has secured the .buy generic top-level domain (gTLD) after beating Google at an auction.

Amazon paid nearly $4.6 million for the suffix, trumping other hopeful applicants Donuts Inc and Famous Four Media.

The auction, held by ICANN on September 17, was part of a series of sales including .tech, bought for $6.76 million, and .vip, which fetched nearly $3.1 million.

In its application for .buy, Amazon said the gTLD will provide a platform for innovation and offer a “stable and secure foundation for online communication and interaction”.

Google and Amazon were the two leading brands for new gTLDs, with the search company registering 101 and the retailer going for 76.

Both companies applied for a mixture of brand names and generic terms, although Amazon has already been denied .amazon. Earlier this year, ICANN finally killed off the application following longstanding objections from the Brazilian and Peruvian governments, which share the Amazon region.

While this was only ICANN’s second gTLD auction, and the organisation is set to hold some more, other private auctions have already been resolved.  

Akram Atallah, president of ICANN’s global domains division, said: “The proceeds from these auctions will be separated and reserved until the [ICANN] board determines a plan for the appropriate use of the funds through consultation with the community. We continue to encourage parties to reach agreements amongst themselves to resolve contention.”