Alternative TLDs

[pugdomains]

I see very little discussion about these on acorndomains.co.uk, yet loads on the global domain forums.

Does this mean that UK domainers don't believe in them?

Anybody investing in them?

I see that acorn.domains has not been registered, that alone is a pretty damning indictment really I guess?

 

[sdsinc]

I am not surprised at all, I think there is not a lot interest in Europe (and elsewhere too) because the ccTLDs are very strong and even preferred to .com.

It's not just UK domainers, it's people in general. There is no incentive for domainers to buy strings for which there is no end user demand presently, unless they are firmly convinced that new extensions will take off at some point, then demand from end users will follow.

Generally speaking, you want to speculate on extensions that are already popular and sought after, otherwise it's complete speculation.

It's already hard enough to sell .uk or even .com right.

 

[Adam H]

Not to mention holding large quantities of these new TLD's its a higher risk to hold for long periods of time, they are generally more expensive ( some by quite a considerable mile ).

Its like investing in something that "might" not mature in the near enough future. Or at least mature enough to make it worth while.

 

[websaway]

Big lessons learned from .biz and .info
A bit like building a shop in the countryside because the land is cheap.

 

[Skinner]

Much like Websaway, I were burned with .me.uk, .me, .co, .info, .biz and mobi.

Unless your homer simpson, you lean after a half dozen shocking hits

I'm still trying to figure .HIV and .QPON.

I of course anticipate no problems with .bom.

I bet registration number 1 for .ing is www.f*ck.ing and everyone will still assume its f*cking.com

 

[pugdomains]

Big lessons learned from .biz and .info
A bit like building a shop in the countryside because the land is cheap.

.info was a strange one wasn't it, because that did actually take off for a few years and namebio is evidence of that, $$$$ .info sales were very common between 2008 and 2011... like it just went out of fashion. In hindsight, thats around the time that EMDs and affiliate marketing died as a result of the Panda rollouts, and .info was widely used for product review sites etc.

The .biz extension on the other hand just never took off for some reason.

I've never really understood why .us is so unpopular either, whilst .co.uk and .de and .es seem to be adopted by native companies.

 

[DaveP]

I have just one that I managed to get hold of with a regular renewal and I see it as a good investment, which has already been confirmed with me turning down one $2,000 and one $3,000 offer from 2 different parties already. I strongly believe within the next couple of years it will be worth a lot more.

In my opinion really strong combinations like what I have are a good investment if you can get them for a low renewal price. Just blindly picking up whatever though without a care about the combination of keywords is a complete waste of money.

 

[scottmccloud]

There's a great article today on ZDNet by DNS pioneer Paul Vixie about the new top level domains.

"I think it is a money grab. My own view is that ICANN functions as a regulator, and that as a regulator it has been captured by the industry that they are regulating. I think that there was no end-user demand whatsoever for more so-called DNS extensions, [or] global generic top-level domains (gTLDs)," he said.

"They're gradually rolling out, and they are all commercial failures," Vixie said.

More here: http://www.zdnet.com/article/new-top-level-domains-a-money-grab-and-a-mistake-paul-vixie/

 

[accelerator]

OK, here's my take. .com is king, and it's still going to be king. I think it is definitely worth keeping an eye on all the new extensions, and monitor sales. I have seen a few decent new extension sales, unfortunately I can't remember what they were, but definitely keep an eye on things. As with domains in general, what you don't want to do is over commit and over buy for the sake of it. Just keep your eyes open and wait until you are sure of the opportunity before buying. I think there is certainly some opportunity, but you need to do your homework and put the hours in as usual.

If anyone knows of any good new extension sales, can you post them in the thread?

Also, if anyone has any good tips for new extension regs, please let us know in the thread too.

 

[Edwin]

The number of new GTLD sales doesn't seem to be keeping pace with the number of new GTLD registered - which is weird if you're pro the idea of new GTLD because supposedly only the best, most appropriate domains for each new extension are getting registered.

 

[pugdomains]

Ironically the only two extensions to really take off in the last few years (as in, startups are prepared to use them) are both technically country codes..... .io and .co