There’s only one way to go: Up.
When Domain Name Wire first reported that one and two character .biz domain names would be released, we had an unscientific poll to estimate how much the domains would sell for.
Generally speaking, most people believe two character .biz domains will sell for under $5,000 and one characters will sell for under $10,000.
Now that the initial RFP process for .biz domains has completed, .biz registry NeuStar has teamed up with Sedo to auction off any unclaimed names.
Michael Berkens asked for predictions of sales prices on his blog. The first commentor wrote:
“If these domains sell for really low I think this could bring down another useless tld to its knees.”
to which Berkens responded:
“Isn’t the opposite true as well? If these domains go for more money than the domainer community expects it could bring new life and interest to the extension. I think lawyers.biz sold a few TRAFFIC shows ago for like $3K, so the extension for domainers has pretty much been dead for a while, so think there is more upside than downside for the sedo.com auction.”
I tend to agree. The auction can only be a boon to the extension. If the domains sell for less than people expect, no one will pay attention. If they sell for more, people will pay lots of attention to the extension and aftermarket sales could see a little lift. Either way, some of these domains will get developed, which will ultimately create some buzz for .biz.
Well no need for buyers to prove it.
We had crazy bidders for .eu/.mobi and that didn’t prove anything.
.biz/.eu/.mobi/.cm/.asia/.us/.info – all are “dead in the water” as one analyst says.
It will all be moot one day in the future. It’s going to take another 10 years or so, but once enough people see the weaknesses in these other extensions, even beyond .biz, for reasons that are not apparent to them yet, and too many to list here, then a sudden mass business world realization that .com is where it is at.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be plenty of successful businesses built on other extensions, but those successes will have several Achille’s Heels, and they will obvious by then.
Matt, i really disagree with you on a few of those TLDs.. .us is certainly not dead, more likely it is on the rise.. Some nice sales have been made in the past few months..
As for .biz and the others, if you are developing then you can use those tlds to get great keyword domains at low price.. The audience doesnt really care what extension is at the end of the domain if they find what they need on your site.. IMO
@Matt – You’re apparently buying into some negative propaganda if you believe they’re “dead in the water”. Most of those extensions are in use, and growing in registrations year over year. I see many in use in my local community.
The auctions can’t hurt .biz, and some people still use biz for their company domains, but the trend is definitely on the downside overall.
If the extension doesn’t matter, go register .TKs, those are probably still free. Not to mention a few other TLDs that are free – if that’s your argument.
I am talking about value of the domain + extension, and I do not see a significant rise on most TLDs that would help the value.
In January 2008, there were exactly 4,945,475 .info domains registered. By January 2009, there were exactly 5,005,006 registered.
If you call that a growing TLD, then there is some trouble. .INFO is a very cheap domain, and it is barely getting anywhere at these price levels.
There is nearly identical growth on .biz TLD. Not to mention, the biggest problem with these TLDs is that all the registered domains are generic terms held by resellers. That’s the biggest issue.
Other than that, every single TLD / CCTLD is pretty much growing in registrations. Even a little bit.
Overall best investment is .com for the time being. I don’t see how at this point .biz can be a better investment, and why ANY end-user company or individual would want to register a .BIZ.
It is all a reseller’s game and will go no where.
Matt,
I agree with you, however I disagree with your statement:
“I don’t see how at this point .biz can be a better investment, and why ANY end-user company or individual would want to register a .BIZ. It is all a reseller’s game and will go no where.”
A service my company offers is domain name registration. And I have seen an increase of 40% over a 6-month period for .Biz registrations.
Why don’t you see how any company would want to register a .biz ext.? It might not be all that suitable for a company, but it would serve well enough for a Sole Trader’s website, or a home-based business etc…