New TLDs aren’t for everyone. Get over it.
I hear a lot of gripes about new top level domain names and the cost of applying for and running them.
Frankly, $185,000 in application fees may seem ridiculous. Especially when a third of that is going to be earmarked for legal issues. What if your TLD doesn’t create any legal issues.
Add to that the cost of running the registry and marketing domains and any serious applicant (other than .brand) needs to earmark millions of dollars just to get into the game.
But here’s the bottom line: new gTLDs aren’t for everyone.
Two things make me want to rant about this.
First, there are groups that don’t have the money to apply. These are generally non-profits or developing nations.
I agree, $185,000 is a lot of money for these guys to hand over to ICANN. But it’s peanuts compared to how much they will really pay for a new TLD.
And there’s the rub — if you need to ask for a discount on the application fee then perhaps new TLDs just aren’t for you. It would simply be a poor decision to go ahead and apply for one. It costs too much money.
I was reminded of this again this morning reading about the “Continued Operations Instrument” aka failure fund for new TLDs.
I thought it was hilarious when ICANN suggested that startups had to prove they had access to multiple years of backup cash in case their registry failed. Do you actually think a new TLD startup on the verge of failure is going to call it quits when they still have a few years of continuation cash available? Of course not. They’re going to tap that money until it runs out.
Likewise, you’d be a fool to provide a letter of credit to one of these companies saying you’ll make a loan for maintenance costs if the TLD fails.
The only people in a position to do that would be registry back end providers. My understanding is many of them are banking on making money from renewals once a TLD operator goes out of business.
So here’s the bottom line: new TLDs simply are not for everyone. If you don’t have the money or you think you have something better to do with the money, then just don’t apply.
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