Are there going to be a lot of confused buyers when .uk comes out?

[figleaf007]

Does anyone think that when .uk is released there are going to be a lot of confused/disappointed end users going for names they can't have? And how clear will it be regarding the ownership option?

Eg buyer wants to buy bluewidgets dot uk - tries to reg but registry does not allow it. They then go to the domain name and see nothing and the who.is info is empty as the person who owns has not exercised their right to buy it yet. But they don't know how to acquire it as they don't realise the .co.uk owner has first dibs on it.

Going to be confusing?

 

[anthony]

This has been a money making scheme from day one, with concessions along the way to get it through choppy waters. One thing it isn't going to be is a zero-point, line in the sand moment for new registrants, all such talk is the sugar coating that is being applied to justify the rollout to the unwary. I'd wager that if Nominet could roll out .k in a couple of years time, then plans would already be underway!

 

[sdsinc]

You summed it up well, for new registrants there is no benefit as almost any coveted .uk domain will be unavailable by virtue of an existing 3rd level registration.

 

[julian]

Why are we pretending that anyone here, is here for any other reason other than to make money from domains?

One could argue the UK public need a dam good kick up the arse about awareness '.uk domains' in general (been a good 15+ years (especially with all the new gtld junk about) and the fact that .UK is here and thousands of people will be let down by seeing [generic/keyword/place].uk is not available might actually push some sales because the realise they Want to have it?

I hope some joe public find a domain they want in .UK and start using it. The more .UK is embedded and used in our society the more it benefits co.UK domain investors.. .UK is just a win win situation when considering there's only one serious flaw in the whole concept that will bring it crashing down around us.

 

[bulkcorn]

Maybe Nominet will add a notice to say 'contact .co.uk owner (or whoever owns the right to register) about this .uk' ..... if you make that suggestion to them. Maybe.

 

[ian]

They then go to the domain name and see nothing and the who.is info is empty as the person who owns has not exercised their right to buy it yet. But they don't know how to acquire it as they don't realise the .co.uk owner has first dibs on it.

If they use the Nominet whois then it will state "Right of registration" and include most likely the .co.uk, so it will at least provide that information so not just be a blank whois page.

 

[anthony]

Or you'll get another scenario:

- Current registrant of a .co.uk doesn't bother registering the .uk for now, doesn't want to waste money when he has 5 years to do it, just advertises the .co.uk for sale.

- Somewhere down the line someone trying to register that .uk realises it isn't registered, does some background research, and sees that the .co.uk has rights to it and is up for sale, so decides to buy it to get the rights to the .uk. He doesn't want to give away the fact that he is after the rights to the .uk because he doesn't want to get tucked up, so understandibly he doesn't expose himself to this risk, just in case.

- The deal is done, but the crafty seller assumes the buyer is a numpty and unaware of the cherry on the cake, registers the .uk after the money is received but minutes before the transfer is complete.

- The seller then realises this, and files a DRS, citing that it was obvious that the seller was intending to do this by the chain of events, and that he has been duped, or...

- Complains to Nominet that this is something they should have highlighted to anyone querying the .uk Whois.

All hyperthetical of course (until it happens for real)!

 

[bluerock]

The last few end users Ive sold to had no idea about .uk.

However 5 out of 6 were very delighted to know they had the rights to it along with the .co.uk purchase.