Afilias and Uniregistry launch new domain name options this week.
Two new top level domain names become available in general availability this week.
Afilias launched .promo today. The most obvious use for this domain name is for coupon codes and sales. The domains are about $10-$15 retail.
.Promo is interesting because it was originally applied for by a different company and Afilias bought it after the original applicant decided to sell.
Uniregistry launches .Game on Tuesday. This is going to be a tough one for domain name investors because annual fees are high. Expect to pay about $350 per year to register a .game domain.
This might make sense for an app or video game maker, but the carrying costs are very high for domain investors.
Also keep in mind that Rightside will launch .Games later this year.
I actually hate it when uniregistry gets extensions now, they ruined the entire process
I will be spending 0 $ on these domains
>”Uniregistry launches .Game on Tuesday. This is going to be a tough one for domain name investors because annual fees are high. Expect to pay about $350 per year to register a .game domain.”
That’s interesting because we already discussed this on TheDomains some months ago, and at that time Frank decided the pricing would be in the $20 – $25 range. I guess he rethought that and is convinced it would be more profitable to go this route.
Yes indeed, as far as I’m concerned that does ruin things, as this one I have gone on record as saying I like and think is one of the better new TLDs. I suppose Frank might be expecting a certain demographic to pile into it. That may work a bit in the short term, but it would not surprise me if .game languishes the way the high-priced gem TLD .gold has been languishing in relative obscurity as well. But at 9,206 regs for .gold I suppose that is considered profitable even if it’s still obscure and not a “hit” because of high pricing and resulting obscurity. Perhaps frank expects this one to both a popular hit as well as wildly profitable, however.
I’m with the other John above now, however; both as an end user and an occasional domain seller I will be spending $0 on .game with that kind of pricing. I didn’t even like it when he was saying $20 -$25.
Facts:
1. As of now after launch Many Premium names have still not been sold.
Including .mom, .poker, .casino,.cars/car/auto etc…
2. There is lots of Choice.
3. The different industries which those extensions target are not running after them!
4. The market is basically dead at this stage. No real End user is buying those premium names at any high price. We all know the marketing fluff and buzz and “constructive” deals etc…
We had spoken to major players in the industry and they prefer their .com and the smaller players in the forums within those fields also dont want to move away, and definitely not spend the money the Registries want.
The price is way to high and doesnt make sense.
5. Beyond that, as a domainer I would like to buy some Premium names from other owners or just buy from the Registries directly. However they are charging for renewal and transfers a very high price.
This is done across the board for all Premium names within most Registries.
6. you want people to continue buying some of your names for a high fee, you need to allow for a Secondary/after market to exist (!!), as that would give more value, which would enable you to to sell for a one time high price. You need to allow there to become a secondary market.
7. Otherwise there is to much choice out-there and you will end up like .tv did for a long time.
8. You need a healthy aftermarket for your names.
However no domainer and most End users dont want to be stuck with high renewals or transfers.
They dont care about your ROI plans.
They compare you to .com and for a good name would be willing to pay a bit more for a renewal or a transfer. As in $100 but not $1000.
As is they will be dishing a one time high fee for the Premium domain. They cant get the budget for renewals too. You dont realize how it works.
9. As of now End users arent buying into this and domainers wont if they cant sell them due to high renewal/transfer prices.
10. Bottom line- there wont really be an after/secondary market which is what you need unless you drop renewal/transfer rates. Droping hihg prices on registrations would be great, but you still need to make an impressive ROI.. so you might as well keep those..However make sure that all past regsitrarions of Premium domains and future ones wont require a high renewal/transfer price.
Rightside, Uniregistry, Donuts – you need to rethink this ASAP!
Good luck to all!
Mo – We still believe in the Rightside premium model and have thousands of sales that show that end users do as well. That said, I understand concerns over the renewals and your ability to resell premiums with higher renewals. We are currently running a promo that should make this easier for you. See a few posts below on the details.
http://rightside.news/first-kind-premium-domain-promotion
http://rightside.news/rightside-april-premium-sales
http://rightside.news/rightside-premium-domains-comparison
Matt- I appreciate it that but I would like this to be done also retroactively on past purchases! And I would like Donuts and the others to follow suit!
By they way, if there are so many End users who are buying Premium names..would you kindly show us their sites? They are bought mostly as speculative buy.
Our most recent post highlights a bunch of buying trends and some of the corresponding premiums that are in use.
http://rightside.news/premium-domain-collections
Hundreds of premiums are actively being used, with many more in development. A few others that come to mind are jacksonville.attorney, surf.video, reverse.mortgage, trailers.forsale, wrestling.news and irish.dance.