Is it true that registries are holding back a lot of their best domains?
Yes.
Is it true that high registration and renewal fees have historically proven to be problematic for domainers?
Yes.
So, should domainers be upset? Perhaps even angry?
In my opinion no and I will try to explain why.
First of all, I’d like to start with a question: what are registries?
Well, they’re companies. Businesses.
What’s the purpose of a business?
Making money. As much money as possible, in fact.
It’s not being fair towards domainers, it’s not being fair towards end users either. The people behind any business are responsible for figuring out how to make as much money as possible for the owners/shareholders of that business.
To do that, they have to make decisions.
How should they price domains? Should they hang on to the best ones in order to auction them? Or perhaps in order to give them to developers? These are just three examples of decisions the people behind new gTLDs have to make.
We as domainers have to be pragmatic.
In fact, I’d say it all boils down to asking ourselves one simple question:
Are our interests aligned?
As a domainer, you shouldn’t waste time judging the fairness of an approach. Nor should you waste time thinking about whether or not the approach a certain registry has chosen will prove to be the right one. It’s their business and they’re free to run it as they see fit.
As a domainer, your role is simple: letting your wallet do all of the talking.
If you think that a certain new gTLD domain offered by Registry X represents a better deal than the other domains you could buy at that point in time, go for it. If not, keep your money.
That’s what it ultimately all boils down to.
Money talks, everything else is just irrelevant background noise 🙂
May 2nd, 2014 at 3:40 pm
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So many lies and sketchy business practices.
But I suppose that the registries can do whatever they want.
But I can decide where to spend my money, and, after regging about 25, I have decided to invest elsewhere.
I may not be alone in this.
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May 2nd, 2014 at 4:01 pm
@Ms Domainer: in my opinion, your approach is perfectly rational and in line with the message I tried to get across. You disagree with the approach a certain registry has chosen and simply decide to take your money elsewhere. Some people might feel differently and choose to invest in the new gTLD in question.
After drawing the line, the people behind each new gTLD will have to draw conclusions. If they’re satisfied with the results, they will be tempted to conclude that the approach which has been chosen has proven to be correct. If not, they will probably adjust or even completely change their business model.
May 2nd, 2014 at 4:16 pm
GTLD”s are an unproven, and actually they are a bad investment if you look at .mobi, .biz .us, so they should actually be getting all their names out there while they can. We have seen an extension come out, then a few days after nobody cares, the post registrations are just a trickle. When you see GTLD”s start auctioning off their reserved names you will know that they think their extension is failing.
May 2nd, 2014 at 4:18 pm
As well you need to realize in registering a domain, you have agreed to their Terms of Service (TOS), how many of you actually have read this agreement.
They have the right to increase the renewal fee to WHATEVER AMOUNT THEY WANT! If it is now $250, they can jack it up to $2500 next year, they have to give you notice first, after that it is fair game. Be careful if you have AUTO RENEWAL set.
This product has asked for a premium pricing, premium renewals, but have yet to deliver any sort of premium results.
May 2nd, 2014 at 4:33 pm
The question should be refrained:
Should new gTLD Registries be angry with domainers?
The answer to both is no.
Both sides should hen apply common sense, and try to maximize utility as they see fit.
Should domainers ask questions? Yes.
Should domainers be smart? Yes.
If you buy a house on a street, say it’s 504 Smart Drive, Los Angeles, that’s your address. If No. 1 Smart Drive is taken, and you want it, you have to purchase that house in order to get that address; you don’t start creating new street addresses to come up with No.1 Smart Avenue or No.1 Smart Crescent.
You want No.1 Smart Drive, you have to buy it.
May 3rd, 2014 at 2:12 am
Or No1.Smart
May 4th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
As I was looking at some auctions yesterday, I was immediately struck by how great quality keyword domains in .us we going for a very low price.
Then I wondered is cars.us really that much worse than cars.link etc?
Yet the new gTLDs are asking a massive premium on these type of keyword domains.
I have registered some and even paid a premium on a select few, but lately I have found myself just not getting it.
I have all but stopped registering any more new gTLDs. I think that the registries are drinking too much of they own cool-aid and will soon feel the pain that greed brings on.