• by Courtney Humiston , February 22, 2008

Domain name prospectors take some leaps. Buying the name funds.com to the tune of $10 million seems like one of the more reckless. Eastern Holding Services, a geographically confused tax-consulting firm catering to Las Vegas casinos, purchased the domain name. The previous record holder, porn.com, was also a riskier proposition than unprotected sex with Paris Hilton. “That price astonishes me,” says Jim Atkinson, principal of Orbis Marketing of the amount paid. “That’s a monumental waste of $10 million.” He points out that it will be extremely difficult to drive people to the site and that generic domain names often do poorly. “It ought to express their brand and not a generic concept,” he says. Though this reminds us of a story about Ted Turner: When he was asked what he was going to name his cable news network, he deadpanned, “Cable News Network.” The response, of course, was met with resounding laughter.