Also called "domain name speculation," domaining refers to registering domain names and selling them for profit. One of the first notable transactions was the domain wallstreet.com, which was registered in 1994 for $70 and sold for $1 million in 1999. Subsequently, domains have sold for tens of millions because of their huge marketing value. In fact, Cars.com has valued its domain as an "intangible asset" worth $872 million.
People register every common name and name combination they can think of with the hopes of selling them later. While they wait to sell it, the domain can become an active website with ads. If the name is generic enough that people might land on it, the ads compensate for the annual registration fee. See
domain parking.
Domaining was originally called "cybersquatting;" however, the latter term evolved into something else (see
cybersquatting). See
domain warehousing.