question Why is it so hard to sell new gtld domains?

Jurgen Wolf said:

I don't set any asking or fixed prices...
Just Contact Form and then negotiations...
This year is definitely better than previous... Significantly more inquiries... but mostly in 3F range.

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If you do not want to get low ball inquiries, do it like me - I have minumum 500 at undeveloped and minimum 1000 at sedo...so if you want to get in touch via those platforms with me, you need to commit at least 500 initially. I prefer that, as when I was without those barriers I got many $50 - $100 offers on my names (I am sure most from my fellow domain investors)..and honestly, I am not interested at all to process $50 type of offers on my names, nothing good ever comes from it 50 dollar initial offer, imo

henrypcyeung said:

I agree that almost all end users consider .com first. But there are reasons of buying new gtlds in terms of online marketing and brand protection aspects.

Also, I think it is not a wishful thinking to price new gtlds at 5 figures. Just in September 2018, there were 5 new gtlds being sold at least $10K according to NameBio:

- dispatch.app ($15K)
- design.online ($57,500)
- king.online ($17,250)
- transparency.online ($10K)
- ar.studio ($15,495)

If a keyword matches well with a new gtlds and has business value, then it can be worth at least 5 figures.

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If those names are selling at 5 figures, then there is hope for everyone.. or all is hopeless.

If we look at the traditional extensions making up the bulk of NP reported sales thread, some real head-scratchers there too.. Hard to argue with completed sales though..

Kate said:

Remember that the stated purpose of nTLDs is to increase the supply of available keywords, so that end users have more options and don't have to buy on the aftermarket. That's the theory of course, but a nTLD is never going to be their first choice, they will always go for .com if it's available (of course a few exceptions may exist).

So if you have a nTLD domain they like, they expect to be able to buy it for cheap precisely because it's not .com. If they have to pay a lot, then they could as well go for a second tier .com.
Anyway, the pool of motivated buyers is limited since the majority of end users don't want nTLDs at all.

I am going to be even more provocative: I think it's wishful thinking to price them at 5 or 6 figures because even in .com there are not many names selling in that range on a yearly basis.
Of course, if you don't ask, you don't receive. But there is a huge gap between domainer expectations and what end users are actually willing to pay.

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Except blockchain/crypto folks - I am connected to so many of them at LInkedIn, those people are modern and are using new gTLDs very frequently...

henrypcyeung said:

I agree that almost all end users consider .com first. But there are reasons of buying new gtlds in terms of online marketing and brand protection aspects.

Also, I think it is not a wishful thinking to price new gtlds at 5 figures. Just in September 2018, there were 5 new gtlds being sold at least $10K according to NameBio:

- dispatch.app ($15K)
- design.online ($57,500)
- king.online ($17,250)
- transparency.online ($10K)
- ar.studio ($15,495)

If a keyword matches well with a new gtlds and has business value, then it can be worth at least 5 figures.

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I have to say I love those .online sales I always liked .online very much and secured some good domains there, luckily. Good one word .online names will only grow in value, imo.

lolwarrior said:

Except blockchain/crypto folks - I am connected to so many of them at LInkedIn, those people are modern and are using new gTLDs very frequently...

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Very true. Tech and crypto sector will quickly adapt and use anything new. Regular business will always prefer .com, unless it's something exceptional.

Daym, 57k for design.online. I wonder how much I could get for design / services? I was hoping for like somewhere around 8k

Lots of good information on this thread - thanks everyone! I find it really encouraging that you have made some in the $1k to $5k range @Fancy.domains - congrats! The names you shared are pretty awesome names, of course.

I find it encouraging that end user inbound has happened of late @Jurgen Wolf even if the prices offered are not as high as you would expect. I am not surprised they are in .life, that I see as a good extension with lots of flexibility in real world uses.

I sense, rightly or wrongly, because they are not well known, there is an expectation for prices much below .com. I suspect over the years that will change, but not quickly.

@HotKey you remind us of several important things, including the need to convince end users of the value in the domain is more in ngTLDs than .com (now). I wrote this partly to support arguments that ngTLDs can be valuable, in case it is helpful to anyone.

I strongly agree with your opinion that keyword.keyword is aesthetically more pleasing - but like you say, our opinion is not the deciding factor. Ultimately influential voices in the branding/marketing community and startup owners will change the perception, if it is to change.

Quality is the key component, but as @lolwarrior and @bmugford comments indicate, that is more complex in the case of ngTLDs where the sheer number of extensions makes the word before dot, by itself, not unique enough to command a good price. It is the match of the two words that means everything.

Thanks for a good discussion, everyone.

Bob

Grego85 said:

Daym, 57k for design.online. I wonder how much I could get for design / services? I was hoping for like somewhere around 8k

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And this should be yearly...
.online premium renewal is the same fee yearly.

p.s. I never had even $500 .online offers.

Both Girl/Girls .online have been dropped today...
~$30K yearly fee...

Jurgen Wolf said:

Both Girl/Girls .online have been dropped today...
~$30K yearly fee...

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That is insane. What the ?#!?

I don't get it from a branding perspective. It's not even attractive to me..

I think a 30k renewal for almost any name is not appropriate! Can someone elaborate for me does ICANN set any limits on what premium renewal rates are allowed to be, or can the registry (whether ngTLD or country code) just ask anything that they want?

Also, have the registries, or anyone, ever shared an analysis that tried to determine the tradeoff between premium prices and sales volume? I guess they probably have it but not in their interest to share. Like if you ask $30k per year the odds are those names would never sell. If you ask $1k maybe only 500 would sell so you get $500k gross on premiums. But had you offered them at $200 maybe there would have been 10,000 premiums sold so you would make $20 million and done better overall.

Bob