discuss .online domain names value

[sameh mohamed]

i just wonder about new domain name extension domain.online
is it worthy to own them or not as the good keyword domain already registered

 

[geoonlinedomains]

I agree with you.

The bar was low because all the other gTLD domain extensions have been rubbish to date.
Everyone has been waiting for the release of .online and then it will be .web once that is released.

There was very little hype about .online before the release. It is hard to find many articles about it except for the purchase. It was hardly mentioned on this site either. However, pre-registrations were though the roof in the last 2 years and many people were waiting quietly to pick up their domains that they can actually use
and which make sense.

Good luck!

 

[MarkedMarket]

Everyone has been waiting for the release of .online

When someone writes something like the above, I'm not sure whether I should take any of your posts seriously anymore.

I have provided 5 arguments why I believe that the .Online extension will just be a short-lived hype (like so many things), and I haven’t seen any new or proper arguments in favor of this extension. Only wishful thinking by people that desperately try to convince themselves (and others) that it’s a smart choice or investment.

I don’t think it is, and I’m pretty sure many .Online owners will think the same when these domains are up for renewal next year for $35.

 

[Jen-Sin]

How to pre-register nGTLDs, and how much would that cost?

 

[brandnow]

Why would anyone want to type "online" (a relatively long term) when they already know they're online?

.Com just makes so much more sense. .Web makes so much more sense.

 

[brandnow]

I think that it smashed a record for the same reason that .Website has 103,863 registrations and .Top has 262,523 registrations. Stupid is as stupid does.

.Online was marketed very heavily on every registrar that I looked at before and immediately after it's release. Just like .Website and just like .Website, people will likely find that their .Online will be worthless soon enough with the exception of perhaps NNNs and killer keyword combos.

The fact that so many .Online names were registry reserved as "premium" doesn't help the future for .Online at all neither.

 

[Kate]

Why would anyone want to type "online" (a relatively long term) when they already know they're online?

True. It's redundant. On the other hand, 'online' is a frequent keyword in domain names. I think many TLDs have been applied for based on that characteristic.

 

[000]

The fact that so many .Online names were registry reserved as "premium" doesn't help the future for .Online at all neither.

Ok so the best names were kept out of the hands of us greedy domainers who would likely hold them for years demanding even more than most of the "premium" reg fees........ I don't see the problem, except for domainers maybe...

It's not like any significant portion of the "premium" domains would get properly developed by domainers...

 

[ChubbyDfat]

Here is my point of view.

ONLINE was not discussed much prior to launch (here at namepros at least, which I would argue is probably the premier place for domainers).
It was regarded with lukewarm regards (as far as I can tell) here at namepros when it was discussed.
Domainers are the driving force behind initial and secondary domain name sales especially in nTLDs (mostly because the general populace know nothing of them).
The prices for ONLINE vary with the registrar from $10 (1and1), $15 (godaddy), $23 (101domain), and $40 (onlydomains), with the average being closer to $20 which starts to add up quickly if you are buying multiple domain names.

So following my argument, that domainers are the driving force for nTLDs.
Domainers congregate here at namepros (as a general rule of thumb).
When ONLINE was discussed here, it was met with lukewarm reception and was NOT highly anticipated.
And then all of the sudden... the domains are flying out the door once GA opens up.

Following normal logic, would mean that domainers are snapping them up multiples at a time but that does NOT seem to be the case here.
Look around... not much mention of the domains that are being snapped up (at least I am not seeing them in the droves that they are "BEING SOLD AT"

Seems to me that maybe it might have something to do with the PREMIUM names being owned by the registry?
I pulled a sample of premium keywords in the online extension in whois and found they the names that I sampled where all registered by the same entity:
Registrant Name: Domain Administrator
Registrant Organization: DotOnline Inc.
radixregistry

Now, when I bounced my list of over 500 names to see what was available in .ONLINE. a good majority (I would guess around 90%) came back as registered. It was out of those registered names that I looked up the whois.

So here is my questions to you.
*IF* domainers make up the majority of domain sales in nTLDs, have you heard many people discussing their registrations in .ONLINE?
Is it possible that maybe the registry registered their own names and would that inflate the registration numbers during GA?
Does the block form of domain registrations at different registrars make you think that the names where portioned out to different registrars to make it look better and not all at one place?(i.e. 7 of the 8 godaddy group registrars all have nearly exactly the same number of registrations *500*. Between all 7 registrars, there is a difference of 19 names).
Does anyone find it weird that the guy listed above (as was pointed out above), shows up on the same day the extension was released and has nothing but praise?

If I was a betting man, I would say that the registry is up to no good and the numbers are being manipulated here with the hopes to have domainers jump on the ONLINE train and inflate the value of the domain names (the premium ones being owned by the registry) and the guy listed above is a shill working for the company.

Just my tin foil hat opinion.

Cheers.

 

[ChubbyDfat]

Ok so the best names were kept out of the hands of us greedy domainers who would likely hold them for years demanding even more than most of the "premium" reg fees........ I don't see the problem, except for domainers maybe...

It's not like any significant portion of the "premium" domains would get properly developed by domainers...

You make some valid points.
I agree that domainers would be the ones that would snap up the premium names.
I agree that domainers would hold onto them for years and asking a premium price for the names.
I agree that many of the names would not be properly developed by domainers...

But there is more to the story. Domainers by in large are the driving force behind many domain sales especially those in nTLDs. Yes, we snap up the premium names when available BUT that action comes with some risk!!!
All of these new TLDs are unproven, untested, and have no real value associated with them yet.
When we put down $$$ on these names, we are gambling that they MAYBE worth something later in the future. We hold onto them (paying $$$ to keep them) again in the hopes that they maybe worth something later down the road.
THIS IS NOT A SURE THING. If everyone was making money domaining... everyone would be doing it.
We are small sub section of the populace. We are the first to gamble on many of these extension.
You pay $30 for a domain and hold onto it for 10 years... you would like to get more then the 3,000 you paid for it. It was your risk to buy it and hold it. This is all a gamble.

The problem here is that when the registry holds back the good names for themselves, they expect us domainers to carry the load and bring value to the domain.
They want us to find the sales (which we will).
They want us to find the end users who will develop the domains properly.
They want us to drive the media coverage, blog articles, and general person to person conversation all the while the registry is holding the super premium domains.

Once there is value to the domain... who reaps the benefits?
Yes, we get the scraps by buying sub par domains and holding them for years, all the while trying to find an end user or sale for the domains.

I think it is to be expected that all of the domain names should be made available to the world at large.
No registry should hold names back and especially not register the names for themselves.

Ok... I will get off my soap box for now.

Cheers

 

[000]

I think it is to be expected that all of the domain names should be made available to the world at large.
No registry should hold names back and especially not register the names for themselves.

Frankly, it's their business, I don't see why they shouldn't be able to charge more for some of the better names. I mean, that's what we do..... They aren't running a charity any more than we are.

The problem here is that when the registry holds back the good names for themselves, they expect us domainers to carry the load and bring value to the domain.

You're assuming that the registry brings nothing to the table besides the domains themselves.... Don't you think they might have a little more planned than to sit back and watch their minions (us) make them rich?

This is all a gamble

Absolutely.

I understand your frustration, but it's just part of the business IMHO.

You pay $30 for a domain and hold onto it for 10 years... you would like to get more then the 3,000 you paid for it.

I'm trying, and failing, to wrap my head around this.... Sounds like quite an uphill battle

 

[Jasonn]

I believe that the .online gTLD is easily the best extension released to date. They will have a good start over .web and a decent marketing budget. It was obvious that they would smash the domain name registration record and I was personally expecting 75000 plus in the first 24 hours. Hopefully they reach 100k.

I see tremendous future value in this domain extension. There were some excellent keyword domain names available for normal registration price. I pre-registered around 50 .online domain names around 2 years ago and I received around 30 today.

I personally see it as a far better investment to register keyword .online names than some ridiculous .com domain that makes no sense. Technology is constantly changing and .online is a winner.

I also bet my bottom dollar that in a year from now, .online will have the highest re-registration rate and plenty of news to come about this great extension.

Everything is done online these days including commerce, education, business, gambling, real estate, insurance ect.

For example, if you want to learn a language, it makes sense to type in LearnEnglish.online as it is clear
that the services being offered are "online services", not a traditional school.

If you are looking for an insurance quote, Insurance.online is the nuts.
I do everything online these days, including consumer shopping, pay bills, grocery shopping, gambling, banking, holidays, hotels, flights, all online.

Paying 10 bucks today for something like Vegashotels.online is a much better investment than xxxx for a .com with worse keywords or if you are into supplements, 10 bucks for Whey.online is better than xxxxx for the .com. There are 1000s of examples where .online really fits.

There were some excellent geo domains available like southkorea, perfect for an online magazine about South Korea for the price of a pizza. That would fetch xxxxxx in the .com space.

That's just my two cents. I purchased many .com names in the 90s but have been out of the game for years. Excited to be back.

.Com will be King for many years to come and may always be King but you are not a King is the word is ridiculous and makes no sense. The value of the .com market is in decline in my opinion. Yes, you will always see the big bucks for top, premium domains but the rest will suffer.

"online" is an antiqued term that is no longer relevant or necessary. of course its "online", you're searching on the internet. its redundant and ads no value to a domain.

 

[McKay Taylor]

I would make a simple argument again that I think .online will probably only worth as much as .website names, maybe a little bit more, if feeling optimistic.

Unless you have a KILLER name like America.Online

what about "sellmystuff.online"

 

[McKay Taylor]

honestly at first i was thrown off and stayed away from almost any new gtld's, until lately when i will only register a ngtld if it has function for a website i would create, it is a fluid pair of words or phrase, and has worth in search volume and cpc "with the .nGtld in the phrase" and without it. As well the phrase or word pair can stand alone and makes sense with the .extension or without it. It has to be able to fit all those variables.

 

[geoonlinedomains]

Chubby, I bet you watch the X-files.

Of course the registry is going to hold off on the extra premium names, that is just common sense.
Why would they let "domainers" buy them up at 10 dollars and keep them forever without developing them.

Someone who pays a Premium has a good chance of developing a website which is want they want.

I think they were pretty fair on the allocation. Remember, .online had the 2nd most amount of pre-registrations behind .web. They released all two word combinations out at regular pricing, all 3 letter NNN out at regular pricing, thousands of 1 word 4 letter words out at regular pricing.

I think they held only the top 1 - 5 percent of domains back. Sure, I would have loved to have received the 20 I did not get after pre-registrations 2 years ago, but 30 out of 50 is not too bad so I cannot complain.

I am happy with what I received, a few NNN, plenty of 4 letter 1 word names and plenty of top GEO 1 word domains.

People can say all they want about .online, I think it is popular, will be popular and they will meet there targets they have set.

 

[JB Lions]

30 out of 50 is not too bad so I cannot complain..

Can you share a few of them?

 

[geoonlinedomains]

I would rather not share them but happy to PM you a few if you like?

 

[McKay Taylor]

I would rather not share them but happy to PM you a few if you like?

why not share? isn't the goal to sell your domains?

 

[geoonlinedomains]

Well, that is just me. I will try to sell approx. 50 percent and will be keeping the other 50 percent for a few years. As I said, I am happy to PM names as I have with a couple of people privately online.

I do not think I have any Ultra Premier names as I did not pay up for them. Unlike some others, I did not expect them to be available for registration fee. The 20 that I did not receive I would consider to be Very Premium names.

But I am happy with what I got, some NNN, plenty of 4 letter 1 word domains and some decent GEO names which is what I am interested in as I am a full time digital nomad,, sipping cocktails in Asia at the moment, chatting with a few domainers that have the same life style as 8)

I think there are still plenty of decent words available, I am interested in fishing and just picked up these a couple of hours ago.

Tuna
Hooks
Lure
Bait

not Premium but I am happy with them which is all that matters in my books. I wish everyone the best, I call a spade a spade but I just cant understand people who flat out say "no value" when they do not know this.

 

[Kate]

Ok so the best names were kept out of the hands of us greedy domainers who would likely hold them for years demanding even more than most of the "premium" reg fees........ I don't see the problem, except for domainers maybe...

Once again, that defeats the 'official' intended purpose of the new gTLD program, that is to bring more keywords to consumers. Of course it's not exactly what is happening.

It's not like any significant portion of the "premium" domains would get properly developed by domainers...

That's why it's critical that the domains be bought and developed by non-domainer consumers...

In practice the registries rely on speculators a lot, because it may be in their interest in the short term. Face it, without speculation at all, the figures would be quite lower.
That is to be expected in the absence of popular demand.

 

[ChubbyDfat]

In practice the registries rely on speculators a lot, because it may be in their interest in the short term. Face it, without speculation at all, the figures would be quite lower.
That is to be expected in the absence of popular demand.

Picking up on what you stated here, speculators (i.e. Domainers) are again the driving force behind domains and namely nTLDs. Take the domainer out of the equation and very very few of these domains will be purchased.
It is the domainer who buys them in bulk and essentially subsidizes the initial carrying cost of the registry. If it is not a well funded registry, I very much doubt that they will be able to carry the name long enough to breach the market and make it into the mainstream. Domainers bridge that gap and attempt to make a profit in the mean time.

Consider the idea of a domainer being much akin to a beer distributor.
Great a new mom and pop company is created and they make an awesome beer but it never reaches the stores who's going to buy it? Maybe the mom and pop company is funded well enough to try to bring the beer to market themselves but most likely they will be more apt to allow a distributor to buy their beer and pay the for the logistics/time of bringing that beer to market themselves.
In that scenario its a win/win. The mom and pop company (registry) makes a profit (they sell above cost) and the distributor (domainer) gets to play the gamble game.

In the end, its all about "Familiarity thru Saturation". You get your product in the hands of as many people as possible to get them "Familiar" with it which creates a demand for it. Most people do not like change, they stick with what they know.
I see this same approach on college campuses all the time. A company (software, energy drink, food product...etc) give away large samples (a case of energy drinks, box of power bars), free software license(s) campus wide... what have you.
The idea is to get it in the hands of the people who are most likely going to use it. Let them get familiar with it, let them want it, need it, and then there will be a demand for it. Its like crack... the first one is free.
You get them used to using your software and when they make it out into the real word, they will want to continue with what they know (i.e. your software, which is now on a yearly purchase program).

Anyway... just my thoughts and you cant have them. They are mine!!!!

Cheers

 

[000]

Once again, that defeats the 'official' intended purpose of the new gTLD program, that is to bring more keywords to consumers. Of course it's not exactly what is happening.

Right.... 1300 extensions to choose from.... but yeah, poor consumers, they're sooo limited in their choices!!

That's why it's critical that the domains be bought and developed by non-domainer consumers...

And offering them for $10 a pop is going to further this agenda how exactly?? You REALLY think that at $10 a pop, on Day 1, these premium domains would have gone to anyone but domainers? That's absurd, they would have been gone within seconds, and 95% of them would still be parked 2 years from now!

 

[Kate]

Right.... 1300 extensions to choose from.... but yeah, poor consumers, they're sooo limited in their choices!!

Yes, they are. If all the registries play this game then the 'normal' people are left with second or third choice registrations. You'll usually want a strong keyword to offset the weak TLD. If you are willing to settle for an average domain then you can stick to .com or your ccTLD as usual. Within the framework of current industry practices, new extensions do not solve the problem of the scarcity of good keywords. They shift the speculation to different namespaces.

And offering them for $10 a pop is going to further this agenda how exactly?? You REALLY think that at $10 a pop, on Day 1, these premium domains would have gone to anyone but domainers?

I think you are correct. But I never said there was a lot of interest from non-domainers anyway Outside of our niche trade not many people care about TLDs.

But extensions need development to thrive, that cannot happen when domainers (that includes the registry itself) run the show.
The truth is, nobody has found a way to coax consumers into adopting new extensions. Those who are willing to try them will shun them when they find out that a. the domain they want is already taken or: b. the domain has a crazy registration/renewal fee (does a lot to discredit new extensions) or: c. the domain is parked for sale. Either way, the people who might do something with the domains are pissed off.

 

[ChubbyDfat]

Right.... 1300 extensions to choose from.... but yeah, poor consumers, they're sooo limited in their choices!

There are definitely a TON of extensions so the number of extensions are not limited and are growing every day however, the number of (left of the dot) keywords are limited.
Not all keywords are created equal and some just do not fit withe their extension.

An example that I have seen.
Keyword: Hockey
I would love to have Hockey(dot)com but of course I can not afford that.
One of the names that I did come across several months back that I passed up on was:
Hockey (dot) horse

I... I just... No... I could not pull the trigger on that one. There are many many many others out there just like that.
Here is the rub however. Seems like the more extensions that come out the more coy that they are trying to play. Keeping with the ONLINE portion of this thread
see online
movies online
learn online
watch online
review online
work online
mba online
buy.online
find online
search online
game(s) online... etc (1,960+ times)
All of those and many more would make perfect domain names that complement the ONLINE extension. They are all owned by the registry.

You can still get:
movie online for $15,000 a year
view online for $15,000 a year
oil online (which is not very good in my opinion) for the low low price of $7,500 per year
saw online (better then oil) for $7,500 py
phd online (could be a good one) for $7,500 py

Just saying that these seem to be a little skewed. Granted, no one is holding a gun to our heads forcing us to purchase anything. I fully agree with that, BUT if the registry is manipulating the numbers... then I have a deep problem there and as of right now... it seems shady.

Just my thoughts

Cheers

 

[000]

I see what ya'll are saying, and yes many of the 'premium' name prices are too high, and maybe they did reserve too many. It's frustrating from a domainer's perspective, obviously. But putting all these awesome names in the hands of domainers who 9 times out of 10 are going to hold them "until .online takes off" or whatever isn't going to benefit the extension in any appreciable manner. All it would do is make what maybe 10-20 domainers extra giddy for a few days..... You know that most of these top domains would've gone to just a handful of the fastest/richest investors...

The idea is to get it in the hands of the people who are most likely going to use it. Let them get familiar with it, let them want it, need it, and then there will be a demand for it. Its like crack... the first one is free.

How they get us hooked is with 70% off new registrations....

 

[ChubbyDfat]

How they get us hooked is with 70% off new registrations....

Aint that the truth. Its like crack... first one is free.

I think we have to consider all that domainer do for the extensions. They bridge a gap between the launch of an extension and its acceptance into the mainstream.
They provide funding for registries to continue on.

Lets be real. At the moment no real outside business knows about 1/100th of these new extensions. New ones are popping up every day.
I am sure that we can agree that many of these extensions will not last. They will just never find their way to market and that is a majority because the lack of domainer attitude towards a given extension.
If the domainers like an extension... they rally around it and bring it to market (put it for sale to where less tech savvy end users will find them). Domainers also bring the product directly to end users. Some domainers even do their reasearch before approaching an end user.
Granted, not all the domains will be built out but that is really the job for the end user. Before the domains get to the end user... they must first get to market and into the hands of the masses.
That is the job of the domainer. That is the role we fill.

Now with registries (like .ONLINE) taking many (if not all) the really really good domain names, leaving the less then premium scraps for domainers, there is a problem (at least in my eyes).
And stating that... along with the sales numbers that ONLINE has, I see a gap that does not make sense.

I am not sure who has the answers... but I am questioning the outcome.

Just my thoughts

Cheers