XYZ picks up Dominion Domains’ portfolio.
New top level domain name registry XYZ has acquired Dominion Domains’ portfolio of five top level domain names. The acquisition includes .autos, .homes, .boats, .yachts and .motorcycles.
This summer, XYZ bought out partner Frank Schilling for .car, .cars, and .auto.
The Dominion Domains acquisition means that XYZ now has a large collection of top level domain names related to major purchases.
XYZ founder Daniel Negari told Domain Name Wire, “2021 is going to be the biggest year yet. We are excited to launch/relaunch 10 excellent TLDs and bring more competition and choice to end users worldwide.”
Dominion Enterprises set up Dominion Domains to capitalize on its existing customer base. Dominion publishes Homes.com and Franchise.com, and also provides services to auto and marine dealers.
The company initially released its domains under a restricted model in which registrants had to be associated with the industry. The verification process, combined with high registrar onboarding fees designed to turn off third-party registrars, led to only four registrars offering its .boats and .yachts domains upon launch.
Dominion Domains later removed restrictions on its domains and re-engaged with the registrar channel. The only Dominion domain that got traction was .homes, which has over 13,000 domains in the zone. (Many of those are registered at one small registrar.) Its other top level domains each have fewer than 1,000 registrations.
XYZ has experience relaunching top level domains by restructuring their pricing and positioning, and giving them a jolt of marketing.