Companies really want to buy TLDs, but at a fair price.
I was amused to see a sign at Afilias’ booth at ICANN 63 in Barcelona today that read “We Buy TLDs” (pictured).
It reminds me of that old t-shirt that read “I Buy .Coms”. I think Skenzo created the shirts.
Now people are buying entire namespaces.
Afilias is not alone in wanting to acquire top level domains. Donuts has acquired some and Radix is actively looking. CentralNic, Neustar, etc. are all on the lookout to expand their portfolios.
There still seems to be a disconnect between the price new top level domain owners want for their domains compared to how much buyers are willing to pay. Some sellers are perhaps stuck on 2014 prices while buyers are valuing them based on 2018 reality. That’s why many of the transactions you see are for defunct domains.
Robert Monster says
Yup, love it. The industry needs consolidation. Those with vision, money and courage, will yet make fortunes. Forever domains will be a catalyst:
https://epik.com/blog/forever-domain-registrations.html
A failed registry can be bought out for less than $1 million. Several are for sale. And then recoup tons of cash by selling the cream one-off Forever.
Yes, that is a business model.
It is happening #ForeverDomains
Fat Anon says
Radix = extension slow decay leading to inevitable death.
Rubens Kuhl says
Considering the current pace of the next round, we might be looking into almost 5 years before actual delegation and launch of TLDs applied for, so low-balling TLDs at this point only works with operators desperate to sell. And launching a TLD now is easier due to available resources at registrars; 2014/2015 were very crowded years in launch schedules, the first year or two after the next launches will be too.
Buzz says
There’s no disconnect. Every player knows the long term tremendous value of these assets. If tube.com sells recently for best guess $5 million, what does that make the .tube registry worth? $20 million? $50 million? Yes. So many business opportunities with access to a registry.
http://dotweekly.com/tube-com-domain-sells-google-or-amazon-buyers/