Uniregistry drops the price on .xyz domain names to one penny each.
Apparently a dollar or two is just too expensive for some new TLDs these days.
Uniregistry is currently selling .XYZ domain names for one penny. Yes, that’s $.01.
Someone is losing money on that deal in the way of ICANN fees.
What’s next? XYZ will start giving away domains for free? Wait. Nevermind.
Word has it that Uniregistry is discounting a lot of other domains to just 85 cents starting tomorrow. (Update: the sale has started with domains from Radix, FFM and more for 85 cents.)
If you can’t wait until tomorrow and are willing to spend three cents more, NameCheap has an entire tab in its search results listing domains available for 88 cents each. It includes .xyz, .top, Radix (e.g. .site) and Famous Four Media (e.g. .trade) domains.
Of course, all of these offers renew at regular prices one year from now.
Mike says
Well at least the Registry is admitting that .xyz domains ARE only worth 1
Penny. I think that even at that price they are overpriced,lol.
George Kirikos says
Indeed, Mike. I think it’s best to wait until the prices turn *negative* (i.e. the registry pays people to register and renew the domains).
Mason says
This day was set to come, these things are worthless, and now they are just trying to squeeze every Penny they can in hopes of auto renewals in the coming year
Domainer Extraordinaire says
I’ll pass.
Frank says
Some of those names have value. you could buy a million names for 10k at Uniregistry.com.. and actually manage them well in bulk! The most successful domainers hustle when opportunity presents itself .. good luck ; )
Andrew Allemann says
So if someone registers 1 million domains, are you paying the $180,000 in ICANN fee? And I guess Daniel picks up the other $250,000 in registry fees to ICANN?
Michael Castello says
I think it could be a risky proposition. On one level, they have an endless supply of product and getting more people to invest in them as a mindset may work. The problem is, if more registries do this, it may diminish most of the new extensions. While I like the individual entrepreneurial spirit of private ownership and creativity, a rough element could have far reaching implications and be very damaging. Hopefully this is a strategy that has deeper commitment among the other registries and it is well thought out.
thelegendaryjp says
This at first glance seems like an odd approach but one has to wonder, what is the renewal fee and is that where they are looking to make up for it.
There is a catch somewhere here…
John says
The catch is they can set the renewal price at ANYTHING when the right time comes, unlike with .com which has had a frozen price cap it for years now as set out by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
There will be some serious price gouging to come, you can better believe it.
George Kirikos says
ICANN and the new gTLDs registries are about to make it even easier to price gouge. They announced a proposed contract amendment which eliminates entirely the notice requirement to ICANN (and thus the public) of registry pricing AND registry price increases!
Since registrars are not required by the RAA to give any notice to registrants of pending registry price increases, the possibilities for mischief are amplified.
I’ve already submitted comments to ICANN about this (see my Twitter account for links).
Andrew Allemann says
Renewal fees are about $10. What’s shocking about this deal is someone is truly losing money…potentially a lot of it, on ICANN fees.
WQ says
My $1.88 .xyz names are now worth 6 figures in profit collectively. Same thing was said then.
John says
This sale is like déjà vu of the .info extension spam wave back in the day and all the meaningless registrations that were dropped in a year or two. Today .info means nothing and everyone knows it.
Adam says
With great registrations comes great drops. 🙂
Joseph Peterson says
Free publicity for both .XYZ and Uniregistry. Controversy makes headlines and buzz for them just as it has given Donald Trump $2 billion in free media exposure. Same strategy. And 1 that has been widely discussed lately, thanks to Trump.
This means some additional “mind share” for Frank Schilling’s company as domainers try out his registrar. I’m sure he views this as a play for customer acquisition. So he’d be willing to take a loss to buy domainers’ attention and time.
This stunt will keep .XYZ at the top of the charts when measured by volume. Without such stunts, I doubt they could stay on top. They must know this too. It’s in their interest to mask the inevitable decline in registration numbers as the earlier sub-$1 domains aren’t renewed.
The primary selling point for .XYZ from the very beginning has always been big registration numbers – fake or free, who cares? Maintaining that status is important. It gives Daniel Negari an illusion of real market demand to point at. And that will help sell more domains, since it tends to impress people unfamiliar with the TLD’s background.
I’m confident that the .XYZ registry and Uniregistry will both ultimately make money from this loss-leader campaign. The payoff is indirect.
Domainers won’t lose much money here. Unless they renew. They’re simply allowing themselves to be used, spending their time amassing mostly unsellable domains – so that .XYZ can maintain its #1 spot.
I don’t mind seeing dirt-cheap domain promotions. It’s a legitimate way for Uniregistry or any other registrar to attract attention. Just wish it was a TLD I wanted to experiment with!
Undoubtedly some fraction of .XYZ domains can sell. But most of those would have been registered long ago. Having spoken to domainers who own some of the better .XYZ domains, I know they’re struggling to find buyers. They tell me offers are slowing down too, as all the buzz around ABC.xyz and the first year of .XYZ fades. At this point, why bother with the dregs?
Good luck, everybody! I hope you all sell to one another.
Bortz2 says
Face it, the new gtlds are turds. They have no value and never will. Not worth the $0.85. Pass
Walt says
They would have to pay me to take one. I agree with above that these are .info regurgitated, this time in 2016.
Jack says
Do it yourself Frank, waste your time registering penny domains that are worth much less than their discounted price.
We’re not interested in helping XYZ mask the freefall of their numbers.
What’s ironic is that .XYZ will be passed in numbers by .TOP who is using the same losing strategy of “inventing” a strong demand that is non-existing.
It’s a mirage guys.
Bram says
Quote “What’s next? XYZ will start giving away domains for free? Wait. Nevermind.”
I just got an email notification from Domains.co.za that they are giving away up to five free .xyz domain name registrations per person on 1 and 2 June 2016. 😉
So if you want your .xyz cheaper than 1 penny you could use that offer. I’ll probably pass though. I never was a fan of .xyz. (quite the opposite really).
Weber says
.UtterlyWorthless
thelegendaryjp says
Curious, lets say a multi millionaire or billionaire reg’s millions and millions of names at 1 cent with the plan to just either severly hurt them or bankrupt them, possible? I am not sure if all allowed to drop the following year does the rar get a refund on the original fee at all?
Just thinking out loud here…
Andrew Allemann says
It does seem risky. They don’t get a refund if it drops after the first year.
A Mitchell says
As a generic, .XYZ has the advantage of being more generic and therefore more portable than .TECH or some of the other nTLDs on sale today. But .XYZ’s universality makes it less compelling than some of those other extensions.
Four examples, none of which would work well in .XYZ:
GoGetEm.sexy
Revolution.sexy
Naturally.Black
Vajra.tech – lightening bolt, electricity, epiphany.
Joseph Peterson says
@A Mitchell,
Actually, I think Revolution.xyz would work. Maybe Naturally.xyz as well. They are simple enough to be memorable, which makes them viable even if they’re probably nobody’s 1st choice … rarely even a 6th choice.
Personally I’d choose some other TLD if I were launching a website because I find .XYZ’s meaninglessness, its association with cheapness, and its clunky 3 syllables to be drawbacks.
But I’m also willing to pay more than $10 for domains I develop. That’s not true of the majority of registrants. People with budgets too small to buy on the aftermarket might settle on .XYZ – especially if they’re unaware of their other options.
There must be at least 10 suffixes I’d prefer to .XYZ for virtually any 2LD on the left. Of course, there are a few exceptions where .XYZ is unusually attractive or relevant – like abc.xyz.
To some degree, this is a matter of taste. People never fully agree on such topics.
John says
.VIP will be next
Pete says
Don’t think so! Toby Hall (CEO, MMX) has vowed not to adopt “freemium” strategies. and they have sold 400k already grossing $5.5.mil.
steve says
Oh, how I wish I could short these companies.
Get the forks out. As the great Sugar Ray Robinson would say after he took down an opponent, struggling to get up.
“You done, beatch”
I have some .club and .link domains. I’m dropping them all, after this shenanigan, RIP
John says
.club domains if they have a right word to the left could be very useful if developed into a legitimate website. Words like Fan, Wine, Football and many others like these make sense but one or two letter (or numbers) .club don’t make sense and are pure speculation