The .PRO Discussion

[InvisionTech]

It seems .PRO is slowly coming out of the cage with cheaper reg prices than they were a year ago and major registrars like netsol taking notice of the extension and promoting it.

Here are some that I picked up in last couple of days:

Alexandria.pro

Anchorage.pro

Arlington.pro

Belfast.pro

Birmingham.pro

Budapest.pro

Durham.pro

Fairfax.pro

Italian.pro

Lisbon.pro

Fire away with your regs after the relaunch on September 8th, 2008.

 

[JoeBiz]

Can you post a link to your domains?

PM Sent

 

[webdomain]

so registry .pro's facebook page reports this?

August 2010

Total .PRO Names
92865

Top Registrars
Hostway Services, Inc. - 43491
EnCirca, Inc. - 12351
Network Solutions, LLC - 10654
DomainPeople, Inc. - 7013
Gandi SAS - 6770
OVH - 5800

Is Hostway playing some type of shell game here? 40K+ registrants in a month come on..Is this fair reporting?

 

[akcampbell]

I think they have made an error. Somebody could have registered a block of 40,000+ .pro domains through Hostway in August 2010 but I doubt it. I left this out of the August 2010 numbers on Total.pro. Hostway was on 0 to the end of July 2010. I spoke to Hostway about it, they said if there was an error it is down to RegistryPro to correct it. I sent an email to ICANN.

 

[WordWalker]

Just reg'd:

8^X HalloweenCostumes.pro

 

[JoeBiz]

:ghost:
Nice !!! :ghost:

:ghost:

 

[akcampbell]

DNJournal reported the sale of SocialMedia.pro for $1,100 on Sedo this week. Have added it to Total.pro. Still waiting for confirmation of the sale of Broker.pro at $1,850, it's in Sedo escrow at the moment.

 

[JoeBiz]

I have overspent just a tad. Thinking of pushing aruba.pro to auction. Anyone have any thoughts on whether or not it would sell? Don't really want to throw away $150.

thanks
Charles

8^X

 

[WordWalker]

Three more:

CdRates.pro

AnnualCreditReport.pro

BankRate.pro

 

[webdomain]

not sure why you guys didn't jump., but I picked up phoneservice.pro
estibot gives it a 5 buck click thru. (take that with a grain of salt.)
Spoke with encirca customer service and they still say a price drop is coming but won't provide more information on it. I think its smart to keep aquiring prior to that drop.

Happy new year!

 

[akcampbell]

I have overspent just a tad. Thinking of pushing aruba.pro to auction. Anyone have any thoughts on whether or not it would sell?

The highest sale for the keyword Aruba according to DomainTools is $429.

http://www.domaintools.com/domain-sales-history/?q=aruba

I doubt it would sell for much in .pro but you never know. Often the keywords I sell are not the keywords I think I will sell.

 

[webdomain]

I'd hold as, I don't think its really the time for .pros
Hang on another year and see where we are at. If by some miracle registration requirements are simplified or eliminated it would be awesome.
However, maybe lowered registration costs will provide reason for some to deal with the hassle. I'm kind of hoping that introduction of .co and boat load of new extensions will help ease the situation.
Figure it was put on the registry initially as an incentive to get .pro approved. Again..if they let .co out of the box.. its a letter off of the .com king?! I really don't understand it.

 

[candycandy]

This year I bought:

COCHE.PRO
COLLECTIBLES.PRO
HOLA.PRO
MUJERES.PRO
POKERN.PRO
HONDURAS.PRO
MUJER.PRO
SUERTE.PRO
VOLAR.PRO
BABE.PRO (Incredible traffic, first in sedo!)
COME.PRO
BRIDES.PRO

Each one for $49 through SnapNames

What do you think?

I have faith that 2011 is the year of .pro domain names

 

[JoeBiz]

Sorry to change the subject for just a second candycandy but I need to slip this in and run. I also much appreciate all of the input that everyone gave me on Aruba.
--------------
Someone mentioned the restrictions again and I just wanted to make note of what I see almost daily at the EnCirca checkout. Everything in Blue is from EnCirca.

This is an excerpt from EnCirca's "Official" statement about the restrictions on Pros. The only way to lessen these restrictions would be to remove them. The first sentence virtually says "If you buyers would read this closely and slowly you would see that there really are no restrictions on Pros."

Information about .Pro registrants is supplied voluntarily by each registrant, and all .Pro registrants self-certify that they are accredited professionals.

So, as a buyer, I can "voluntarily self-certify" myself. How could they phrase that any differently to make "The Rule" less stringent?

The data contained in Registry Operator's WHOIS database, including but not limited to data regarding a registrant's stated profession, is provided "AS IS" with no guarantee or warranties as to its timeliness or accuracy.

So with that they tell us "Hey, if the whois data ain't right, don't come crying to us."

Consumers should contact the relevant jurisdiction's licensing body or office of professionals to obtain information about a .Pro registrant's licensing status and qualifications. Each .Pro registrant is solely responsible for all content on such .Pro registrant's .Pro web site. Neither this organization nor the Registry Operator is responsible for, is endorsing, or can attest to the accuracy of any statements made by .Pro registrants, any content on a .Pro registrant's web site or any advice provided by a .Pro registrant. Neither this organization nor the Registry Operator is a referral service or is giving any legal, medical, accounting or other professional advice.

The balance of the Restrictions (above) point out that if you want verification of the "Professional's" status, go dig it up yourself. If you're lucky, the registrant has taken the time to voluntarily self-certify their professional status. And if the information is bogus, once again, we don't want to hear about it.

Now, they do take you down Scarey Lane by providing a link to the "self certification " process.

"What information will be required from me to register a .Pro domain? All applicants will need to submit personal and professional information in order to be eligible for a .Pro domain, including:

* Name
* Date of Birth or Date of Registration
* Profession
* Jurisdictional Country
* Licensing Authority
* License Number
* Link to Licensing Authority's Web site"

Intimidating as all of that might sound to a new buyer, it is all Voluntary - from the will or from one's own choice or consent. In other words "You don't have to do this part unless you want to."

Pro seems to be holding on to the last tiny little crumb that distinguishes them from the other gTLDs and if they're not killing themselves, they are sure as hell killing me. WTF, WTF, WTF.

Someone in this group understands why the restrictions are not removed, and it's probably been explained before, but could someone please explain.

Sorry. I'm in a "mood." Please send Comments and Klonopin.
Chas


:yell:

 

[tech4]

They figured it out sometime in 2010 that with too much restriction and high price, they only have about 5K of registration- a population that was shrinking.

Basically they were going to go out of business, if they can't pay verisign the yearly fees, and the fees to operate the system that they leased. So they the .Pro people decided to go international-by overlooking the "credentials".

Its only for survival purposes.

5K registration at $100USD/year =$500,000 USD/year in sales (not minus fees and expenses)

50K in registration at $30/year =$1.5 million USD/year that's 3x the money.

Basically at $500k/year in sales they had to share with the registrars, pay the verisign yearly 200K, pay their staff, and they were going bankrupt with that amount.

Now seeing that they are at break even (sort off) they decided to forget restrictions.

Its a smart move from nearly going out of business to being alive.

That's the power of pricing.
Registration went up 10X, money $ increased 3x by lowering the prices.

 

[webdomain]

so to this end..they are lowering fees once again to .com pricing. So from 30 to 10 to 12 bucks is. 600K with 50,000 registrants., but if that triples the registrants it will go back up to 1.6 million..

Even though we hear your point about restrictions not being that big a deal. I think the fear of not qualifying either holds people back or prevents them from bidding higher dollar amounts for premium keywords.

All in all, most business people online I would think carry a business license of some sort in pretty much all extensions.

I personally, think they should take a hybrid approach that keeps the original professional law.pro variety requiring greater restriction but, allow regular .pro extensions available for regular business people.

I would like to hear someones explanation on this board for the reasoning behind the restriction and why it hasn't been removed yet. I totally agree with tech4's post above though and do hope the market drives them to adapt and move towards removal of restrictions. It's definetly hurting growth within the extension.

 

[JoeBiz]

Thanks tech4,

But Pro remains a restricted extension and unless you take the time to look into it, the perception is that Pro is restricted and you should stay away from them. I hear it on a regular basis in other forums, comments like ...

"those Pro domains are restricted to professionals and you're never going to sell them, to anyone, idiot!"

I don't take offense and certainly don't take the time to explain Pro restrictions but I do believe that that comment, along with a few others, represent the general perception of Pros.

I'm looking for the morning that Domaining.com's headline is "Pro Lifts All Restrictions."

Is it ever going to happen?

8^X

 

[JoeBiz]

Even though we hear your point about restrictions not being that big a deal. I think the fear of not qualifying either holds people back or prevents them from bidding higher dollar amounts for premium keywords.

Just to be clear, I think that the restrictions are no big deal to us. But I think that they're a huge deal to a high percentage of potential registrants, and thousands of potential regs are being skipped over because people just don't think it's worth the hassle. I also think that there is a large pool of potential buyers that just don't care about rules and regs, like me, and decided to give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen ?? But many from that pool of potential buyers are being just a little more hesitant than I was.

More later !!! You guys have a good day !!!!
Charles

8^X

 

[jim]

I took standard.pro from the drops. Let's see how January .pro price drop increase the registrations.

Any idea when this begins ?? I see this at encirca

Reduced Pricing for 1-Year Registration or Renewal
Transfers & New Registrations - $14.95 (soon $9.99) | Renewals - $19.95 (soon - $14.95).

Thanks

jim

 

[webdomain]

I was hoping renewals would have been less. Looks like 5 buck reduction which is great. Should we be looking at hostway?
or is hostway going to basically be charging you 14.95 renewals anyway after the first year. However transfers are currently 9.95 which is hard to say no too.

Any help is appreciated by others on this board on best registrar

 

[akcampbell]

5K registration at $100USD/year =$500,000 USD/year in sales (not minus fees and expenses)

50K in registration at $30/year =$1.5 million USD/year that's 3x the money.

RegistryPro don't get the amount the registrar collects for a .pro registration. They were getting around $50 per .pro or $320,000 for 6,400 .pro registrations before the announcement of the September 2008 rule changes and it hasn't gone up much if Encirca, Hostway, and Gandi can all charge $14.95 and make a profit plus cover ICANN's fees. I doubt RegistryPro can pay the salary costs of 10-15 staff and run an office in Chicago on $400,000-$500,000 which is my estimate of their current revenue. I assume their parent Hostway funds any shortfall and do that because they think there is a strategic benefit in owning a gTLD. With a raft of new gTLDs expected, that benefit is slipping away so presumably RegistryPro management are under pressure to pull more levers. The 25% reduction in registrar wholesale prices may have a small positive impact on RegistryPro's bottom line if registrars pass it on to their customers but I doubt it will help much in the long term. The only thing that will make any material difference to .pro is the removal of all residual restrictions and selling .pro through every registrar at the same price as .biz, .info and .mobi.

 

[JoeBiz]

The only thing that will make any material difference to .pro is the removal of all residual restrictions and selling .pro through every registrar at the same price as .biz, .info and .mobi.

Amen Andrew !!!

One hitch I see is that WE know that the remaining restrictions are residual and as close to being non existent as they can be. But they still appear a little intimidating to everyone else.

I still occasionally hear "That's a restricted extension you idiot. You just blew $30. LOL." And that comes from domainers.

I stopped working for and with other people in 1993 and this situation is why. I don't know how many people are involved in making the final decisions or how much red tape is involved but I can imagine that three or four agree that the restrictions should be dropped but there are one or two hold outs that just won't let go. In their eyes it's a step backward and a lot of people aren't willing to do that in business. I wasn't and it was a huge mistake. Anyway, that's just one possibility.

Well then ... let's get the propaganda machine rolling. Wars have been won and kingdoms lost purely on the basis of propaganda efforts. And with a little work I'll bet I can get my old trebuchet working.


8^X

 

[webdomain]

Andrew,

I was under the impression that icann imposed the restrictions and it was part of the extension approval. What would it take for them to be removed? And I guess the big question is will they do it.

 

[JoeBiz]

No news from RegistryPro since November 18th. Their site doesn't leave you with the impression that there's a lot of activity within the Pro extension. I guess they've never heard "Fake it till you make it."

:zzz:

 

[webdomain]

I was hoping renewals would have been less. Looks like 5 buck reduction which is great. Should we be looking at hostway?
or is hostway going to basically be charging you 14.95 renewals anyway after the first year. However transfers are currently 9.95 which is hard to say no too.

Any help is appreciated by others on this board on best registrar

fyi..in response to my own question. I'm leaning back towards hostway as they are telling me 9.95 renewals. I'll keep you posted on my experience.

 

[akcampbell]

Andrew,

I was under the impression that icann imposed the restrictions and it was part of the extension approval. What would it take for them to be removed? And I guess the big question is will they do it.

They would need to go back to ICANN like they did in April 2008 and ask for a change in eligibility requirements. They won't make any money until they do and every day they don't the strategic value of RegistryPro diminishes.

Presumably, ICANN will only agree to so much but RegistryPro signed up to restrictions in a completely different market to the one we are in now so in my view RegistryPro and ICANN should level the playing field.