news More gloom predicted for .com

enterscope · Feb 7, 2025

There's only so many words, just about anything decent has already been registered. No reason to keep registering 4-5 word junk, when people are just buying the good inventory that is already for sale. Plus with more extensions to choose from, that will decrease the amount of multi-word .com registrations. On top of that, as premium domain awareness increases, companies are more likely to buy an existing premium domain.

Adrigan · Feb 7, 2025

enterscope said:
There's only so many words, just about anything decent has already been registered

But yet so many people don't seem to understand this immovable and finite limitation.

kaotic · Feb 7, 2025

enterscope said:
There's only so many words, just about anything decent has already been registered. No reason to keep registering 4-5 word junk, when people are just buying the good inventory that is already for sale.

Adrigan said:
But yet so many people don't seem to understand this immovable and finite limitation.

Right, the domain industry has reached a boiling point where everything remotely decent in .com has been taken.

And, those who own them are asking for a lot. What are business owners that dont have much capital to do when they aren't prepared to risk 50k for a mediocre name? Honest question.

What's next for the internet and domains? Will prices just continue to rise as more people realize how important it is to own a domain name and to have some kind of digital identity not tied to a 3rd party that can delete you at a moments notice (Facebook, youtube, instagram)?

Will an equilibrium be reached?

Adrigan · Feb 7, 2025

kaotic said:
What are business owners that dont have much capital to do when they aren't prepared to risk 50k for a mediocre name? Honest question.

I would suggest they should search for an alternative name(s) for less.

There are lots of good name choices, but businesses should allow for, let's say, 20-30 name choices when they go about forming their business plan and also, be prepared to consider further names in case none of their original selections prove to be acquirable.

There are plenty of names that are not mediocre and can be had for less than $50k.

DomainNature · Feb 7, 2025

This is because those behind all this price increase is working hand in hand with the devils who control this world, plus AI and robots, all to destroy humans at scale, to copy humans and to replace them, how can someone be exited about AI? Because he hates humans!
Everything is made in such a way to cost allot and force us to use their crap of AI and robots and not use websites or interact with people, everything artificial and digital, movies, games, photos and fake creativity! If one accepts it, then you deserve this. imo
Chk back and you will see that even COVID-19 appeared as soon I began registering domains, they are f*** scared morans, I still have money and you have no idea what is awaiting you dear rulers!

doidomnola · Feb 7, 2025

kaotic said:
What's next for the internet and domains? Will prices just continue to rise as more people realize how important it is to own a domain name and to have some kind of digital identity not tied to a 3rd party that can delete you at a moments notice (Facebook, youtube, instagram)?

.now is next.

It's the only extension that makes sense across so many sectors especially service spaces.

bmugford · Feb 7, 2025

You know, Verisign could quit raising prices. I know, crazy idea.

A domain is essentially maintaining an entry in a database. Registration should not cost anywhere close to what it does.

That is just the result of a sweetheart no-bid contract with ICANN.

Brad

tld4me · Feb 8, 2025

Adrigan said:
I would suggest they should search for an alternative name(s) for less.

There are lots of good name choices, but businesses should allow for, let's say, 20-30 name choices when they go about forming their business plan and also, be prepared to consider further names in case none of their original selections prove to be acquirable.

There are plenty of names that are not mediocre and can be had for less than $50k.

I agree with what you are saying. There are also many good names that can be hand registered.

A partial quote from one of the founders of Etsy:
"I wanted a nonsense word because I wanted to build the brand from scratch..."

If you have a good product, and have the funds to run a business, you can make any name into a brand.

I would argue it is sometimes easier, today, to get a good .com than it is to get a good social media handle that matches the .com and is available across multiple services. I think it would benefit businesses, domain owners, and the entire domain industry if more social media services dealt with handles the way Bluesky does.

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

tld4me said:
I agree with what you are saying. There are also many good names that can be hand registered.

tld4me said:
If you have a good product, and have the funds to run a business, you can make any name into a brand.

Actually, there aren't that many good names left for registration. I was really talking about names that are available to buy that have already been registered. This market is huge but prices vary so a business would be limited with name options by the size of the budget they decide for the name, if they go that route.

In your second statement, your ifs are major ifs! Having a great product and a huge budget to buy, let's say, a $500k name or a name priced at a higher amount, is for a much smaller group of businesses. Often the product will be good but the owners don't have or can't get a big enough budget, so they opt for a cheaper, less desirable name.
A great product that is evidently great will usually attract the necessary funds from investors, to almost any amount, if the owners can't come up with the funds.

You are also adding a 3rd if with a business having enough money to then market and advertise the name to create a brand. This takes a lot of money and time if the name is not easy to understand or is not clear what the company does. Some businesses may not have enough of either.

In the early days of the internet, companies got away with names for internet only businesses much easier than now because there weren't many of them, so those names had first mover advantage and the internet was more forgiving in those times because it was new and exciting.
Now the internet is jam packed with businesses with silly, funky and made up names and to distinguish yourself and create a brand is much, much harder now and thus, it takes more money and more time.

comRaid · Feb 8, 2025

For me the translation reads like, more spammers are going for 2$ alt tld regs

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

doidomnola said:
now is next.

It's the only extension that makes sense across so many sectors especially service spaces.

This prediction has been made many, many, many times before for many other extensions, all of which now languish in a perpetual swirl of mediocrity and poor take up.
We'll see, won't we, if this extension is different, in the fullness of time.

NameGroove · Feb 8, 2025

Adrigan said:
This prediction has been made many, many, many times before for many other extensions, all of which now languish in a perpetual swirl of mediocrity and poor take up.
We'll see, won't we, if this extension is different, in the fullness of time.

Not all. Some ccTLDs have found life, including .ai, .io, .me, .tv, .to, .gg, .us, & .vc. As for gTLDs, some have met with decent, although not incredible success in the Aftermarket, including .info, .biz, .app, & .club. And a few of the newer TLDs are gaining some initial traction although it has yet to be seen if they can even achieve the moderate success of those 4.

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

NameGroove said:
Not all. Some ccTLDs have found life, including .ai, .io, .me, .tv, .to, .gg, .us, & .vc. As for gTLDs, some have met with decent, although not incredible success in the Aftermarket, including .info, .biz, .app, & .club

This is only in the vertical and geekoid world of the domain name crowd and not in the general public. I defy anyone to name a household/well known company that has any of those extensions. There are none.

It's often the case that people in niche interests extrapolate their little world into the wider society, fully erroneously, even seemingly very intelligent people.

.com has a colossal and overwhelming stranglehold on the internet space and it shows no sign of losing that position.

NameGroove · Feb 8, 2025

Adrigan said:
This is only in the vertical and geekoid world of the domain name crowd and not in the general public. I defy anyone to name a household/well known company that has any of those extensions. There are none.

It's often the case that people in niche interests extrapolate their little world into the wider society, fully erroneously, even seemingly very intelligent people.

.com has a colossal and overwhelming stranglehold on the internet space and it shows no sign of losing that position.

Li.me

And that colossal stranglehold is dripping away each year... getting ever so slightly smaller while the alt TLDs grow each year. When will the tipping point occur? Can't say, and not suggesting it'll be this year or next. But happen it will.

What many do, including you, is extrapolate off the Fortune 500 into the world. There are over 35 million small businesses in the USA alone, and they employ over 61 million people. They generally cannot afford these multi million dollar .com names, and they, even if you never heard of them, use all the extensions you dismiss.

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

NameGroove said:
Li.me

Not a household/well known company. Plus, they don't show their name on their website and on their products, as their domain name.

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

NameGroove said:
What many do, including you, is extrapolate off the Fortune 500 into the world.

But those are what we are talking about when we talk of well known/household names. Yes, there are lots of small companies, and I'm not dismissing them as businesses. But such companies aren't going to achieve well known/household status, in the foreseeable future, with anything other than .com.

We will all see, in the fullness of time, what will emerge with any extension another than .com, but as it stands, there is no evidence that other extensions have any hope of being anywhere near as popular, well known, accepted or as successful as .com has become, for the reason that this is was was first used for websites.

Yes, lots of hot air is spoken about other extensions, but it just doesn't match the reality and it seems that some of that hot air is from other extensions investors, looking to promote those extensions, for their self interest rather than expressing truth and facts.

NameGroove · Feb 8, 2025

Adrigan said:
Not a household/well known company. Plus, they don't show their name on their website and on their products, as their domain name.

Li.me is quite well known. Perhaps you never heard of it, but its scooters litter the streets in most major cities in the USA and they are one of the billion dollar unicorns.

NameGroove · Feb 8, 2025

Adrigan said:
But those are what we are talking about when we talk of well known/household names. Yes, there are lots of small companies, and I'm not dismissing them as businesses. But such companies aren't going to achieve well known/household status, in the foreseeable future, with anything other than .com.

We will all see, in the fullness of time, what will emerge with any extension another than .com, but as it stands, there is no evidence that other extensions have any hope of being anywhere near as popular, well known, accepted or as successful as .com has become, for the reason that this is was was first used for websites.

Yes, lots of hot air is spoken about other extensions, but it just doesn't match the reality and it seems that some of that hot air is from other extensions investors, looking to promote those extensions, for their self interest rather than expressing truth and facts.

But they don't have to. Household status is reserved for Fortune 500 companies. Yet, those are a tiny fraction of the companies people buy from, eat at, etc. And most of the businesses they do patronize can't afford these ultra premium .coms (nor are there enough to go around if they were able to anyway). It's exactly why these gTLDs were created in the first place. Who do you think is using them? Millions of small businesses.

Now, please do not misunderstand me - I do not think most gTLDs will sell for anything close to .com, anytime soon. If what you're arguing has to do with the amount of money domainers can earn by investing in names and reselling them - then I'd agree, most will be quite disappointed with their gTLD collection.

But if we're talking about what businesses use then .com is dripping away market share and has been since the gTLDs were introduced. And these market share losses haven't plateau'ed yet - and won't for quite a long time imo.

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

To NameGroove.

I was, again, pointing out that there are no household/well known companies with non .com domain names. Non .com names just aren't really in the public psyche/consciousness, no matter how many smaller companies use other extensions or which ones.

This has nothing to do with how many smaller business there are, or who gives custom to these smaller businesses (yes, some of them turned over a large amount of money) or how relatively successful they are. Thee is a place for them all, for sure, if they find some place to exist.

It has to do with their names/brand not being in the minds of the majority of people.
And further, that if any such companies want to get to such a status with the public, they will, at least for the foreseeable future, need to have a .com name for their website and marketing/advertising.

The dripping away of the .com stranglehold that you mention may be happening, but it's not something anyone can ascertain with any degree of accuracy.

NameGroove · Feb 8, 2025

Adrigan said:
To NameGroove.

I was, again, pointing out that there are no household/well known companies with non .com domain names. Non .com names just aren't really in the public psyche/consciousness, no matter how many smaller companies use other extensions or which ones.

This has nothing to do with how many smaller business there are, or who gives custom to these smaller businesses (yes, some of them turned over a large amount of money) or how relatively successful they are. Thee is a place for them all, for sure, if they find some place to exist.

It has to do with their names/brand not being in the minds of the majority of people.
And further, that if any such companies want to get to such a status with the public, they will, at least for the foreseeable future, need to have a .com name for their website and marketing/advertising.

The dripping away of the .com stranglehold that you mention may be happening, but it's not something anyone can ascertain with any degree of accuracy.

I disagree with your assumption that brands aren't in the minds of people. The general public knows probably 20 brands that everyone else knows. Then, they know what they buy locally. And those local brands are not .coms and they are well aware of them.

Li.me raised over $1.5 billion (yup, with a B) with a .me extension.
.com folks love to talk up their book - and claim that only .com can succeed and it just isn't true. And yes, I agree with you, those with alt TLDs love to talk up their book and claim these TLDs are overtaking .com tomorrow. Neither is correct. There is room for everyone. It is not as black and white as either side makes it seem. I've said what needs saying - and I don't expect you to suddenly agree. So this is the last comment I'll be making on this topic.

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

NameGroove said:
I disagree with your assumption that brands aren't in the minds of people. The general public knows probably 20 brands that everyone else knows. Then, they know what they buy locally. And those local brands are not .coms and they are well aware of them.

Li.me raised over $1.5 billion (yup, with a B) with a .me extension.
.com folks love to talk up their book - and claim that only .com can succeed and it just isn't true. And yes, I agree with you, those with alt TLDs love to talk up their book and claim these TLDs are overtaking .com tomorrow. Neither is correct. There is room for everyone. It is not as black and white as either side makes it seem. I've said what needs saying - and I don't expect you to suddenly agree. So this is the last comment I'll be making on this topic.

Sadly, you are missing my point and conflating unrelated things.

I won't go over the same things, yet again, as there isn't any point and I am not here to convince or argue with anyone about things which are patent facts, because it is wholly unnecessary and pointless.

Fryo4life · Feb 8, 2025

bmugford said:
You know, Verisign could quit raising prices. I know, crazy idea.

A domain is essentially maintaining an entry in a database. Registration should not cost anywhere close to what it does.

That is just the result of a sweetheart no-bid contract with ICANN.

Brad

.com pricing is not the problem. There is just no good names left in .com for hand reg.

There have been series of cheap .com promo in this year alone. From spaceship, dynadot, unstoppable domains etc But where are the names to register in .com? None.

Therefore, .com pricing is not the problem as you envisaged for the decline.

Adrigan · Feb 8, 2025

Fryo4life said:
.com pricing is not the problem. There is just no good names left in .com for hand reg.

There have been series of cheap .com promo in this year alone. From spaceship, dynadot, unstoppable domains etc But where are the names to register in .com? None.

It depends on what you and others mean by "good names".

Yes, all the generic dictionary words and many two-word names (redcar, bluebird, etc), have long been taken.
But although many made-up names have also been taken, this area seems to me to be an area with still some availability and thus, potential for someone to make some profit.

It takes much more work to come up with a name in this space and which is available, than the lazy keyword world, which is swamped with many millions of almost identical names and you have to use creativity and originality in forming the names.

The other benefit is that a made-up word that you come up with and which is unregistered, is unlikely to have a trademark or company already using the name and thus, you have free reign to register it, if you want.

While made-up names won't appeal to millions of aftermarket buyers, you only need one person out of many millions of potential buyers who likes a name you invent and is happy to buy it.

The availability window is closing on these names too, but very slowly and while some names you might come up with, if you ventures into this space (assuming you haven't) might already be taken, there are others names that are still unregistered and which aee just waiting for someone's creativity and time to "bring it to life".

doidomnola · Feb 8, 2025

Adrigan said:
This prediction has been made many, many, many times before for many other extensions, all of which now languish in a perpetual swirl of mediocrity and poor take up.
We'll see, won't we, if this extension is different, in the fullness of time.

Made by many but not by me.

As far as massive popularity not many are non .com but Twitch.tv is what my kids answered.

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