Are .nets basically crap these days?

[jacal1]

I realize that when I see a company advertised as .net I quickly think "second fiddle". I am getting the feeling that even other TLDs may pass it, bc instead of saying "second rate", they say something specific like "information" or "us company".

Recently I regged what I thought were good .nets - digitalgps (only the best ones are digital), deepmassage (a very popular kind of massage), and voipglobal, etc. I was excited, only to be met with a lukewarm reaction on other boards. I don't think its the names - I think people just cringe at the extension. Or do I have this wrong?

 

[VURG]

.net is the 2nd most popular extension and has been for many years. Other extensions scream potential but the reality is that there has to be some very impressive development of another extension for .net to lose their number 2 position.

 

[gregsta1]

Now I am a domainer .nets to me do seem a bit like second fiddle to me but other people who aren't into domains may view them as just another ext. I like .infos personally because they do have a more specific meaning in my view. It seems the daddy of domains is the .com

 

[hugegrowth]

every time I see a .net website advertised I wonder why don't they have the .com, and I wonder what is at the .com

.com was first, .info suggests an information website, country code domains target countries, .mobi targets mobile, .org targets non-profit and charities, --- .net is what you get when you can't have the .com it seems, but generics do sell for good prices.

 

[snoop]

.Net is second best by a wide margin in terms of global extensions, still it is perceived as "cheap".

Those names you have registered sound too weak to have value in .net.

.info suggests an information website

I think for the average guy on the street it would probably mean, "now this guy was reallllly short of money" or else "what is that extension".

 

[jacal1]

Thanks for the responses...

.Those names you have registered sound too weak to have value in .net.

I didn't mean to say they were that great. I'm just so used to .coms that I saw these available and got excited. I have stuck to .com (and .co.uk for some) for so long that these mediocre names looked good. That's my point. What a drop-off!

 

[hawkeye]

every time I see a .net website advertised I wonder why don't they have the .com, and I wonder what is at the .com

More than likely - a parked page. I have a few .net sites that relate to a certain industry, and the reason I took them was because the .com was parked, or not used, and now I have the premium site in that field. #1 in yahoo and google. If .com relates to 800 numbers for phone numbers, 877 is the .net version, and if it's easy to remember and use, and branded, people will use it.

 

[cache]

a lot of people may know .net but don't know the existence of .info or .us

 

[RogueWriter]

There are so many parked .coms, I don't think of .net as being second fiddle at all. Just a little late to the game, and the .com won't sell.

 

[Kate]

As a domainer I tend to view .net sites as 'second fiddle' unless it's an old established site like sourceforge.net or where the .net fits...
Of course not everybody is knowledgeable about domains but most people suspect non-.com holders are latecomers.

I have the feeling that .net has lost steam to ccTLDs. ccTLDs are more popular today than a few years back. Just 5 years ago .us was a restricted TLD so .net could appear as a logical second choice. Now .us would make a serious contender.
BTW .net is the 3rd largest TLD after .com and .de....
Some stats from Verisign: http://www.verisign.com/static/040767.pdf

 

[gazzip]

I have the feeling that .net has lost steam to ccTLDs. ccTLDs are more popular today than a few years back.

I agree, if you check DnJournal there are also far far less decent sales reported for .net - Still some great ones for one worders but not that many compared to other extensions.


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[snoop]

I agree, if you check DnJournal there are also far far less decent sales reported for .net - Still some great ones for one worders but not that many compared to other extensions.

Have you actually compiled any data on this?, I think you'll be in for a shock. None of the non .com ext's are anywhere near .net in terms of sales reported by dnjournal.

 

[gazzip]

I guess I better go and take another look then, I sure did'nt notice that the last time I checked


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[WhiteWebServices]

I wouldn't touch a .net as a developer. If I can't have the .com, then I'd rather go with something meaningful and appropriate than the obvious plan B that a .net represents.

 

[labrocca]

More than likely - a parked page. I have a few .net sites that relate to a certain industry, and the reason I took them was because the .com was parked, or not used, and now I have the premium site in that field. #1 in yahoo and google. If .com relates to 800 numbers for phone numbers, 877 is the .net version, and if it's easy to remember and use, and branded, people will use it.

100% agree (waddya know). This is exactly what I do. A premium dotcom might be parked and someone asking $x,xxx but I sometimes can get .net for regfee or less than $100. Recently due to some other extensions getting a LOT of attention the .net has been sidelines. IMHO it has opened up a tremendous opportunity to buy cheaply the #2 domain extension at fair values. I was shocked at the reasonable prices at the recent TRAFFIC auction for some 2 letter .net's.

Recently I grabbed these from resellers. humorforum.net, religionforum.net, and sportforum.net. All three .com versions are parked and I am sure they are asking $x,xxx or more. I grabbed each of these for $xx. I wouldn't want these names in .org, .biz or .info (maybe .us). .net is certainly still the #2. It's a BUY BUY BUY right now.

 

[BuysDomains]

In the second comment someone wrote that .net is the second most popular extension.

This isnt correct.... .DE is.

I agree that .nets are loosing value because they used to the be the "second best" to dot COM and now I think that the CCTLD of someone's home country is picking up interest, value, and usage.

 

[gazzip]

In the second comment someone wrote that .net is the second most popular extension.

This isnt correct.... .DE is.

I agree that .nets are loosing value because they used to the be the "second best" to dot COM and now I think that the CCTLD of someone's home country is picking up interest, value, and usage.

I have a few generic .com names where the same in .de or the .co.uk are used by very very big companies, I think many people are happy enough to use thier own county extensions - If they don't want the .com then I guess it is less likely they would be interested in the .net either.

I think country/area relevant domains .co.uk, .eu and .us will become much more sought after and more valuable.

Many/probably most end users do not think the same way as domainers IMO

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[RJ]

In the second comment someone wrote that .net is the second most popular extension.

This isnt correct.... .DE is.

Perhaps in number of registrations, but for "most popular extension" after .COM I have to hand it to .ORG. It beats .NET in number of developed sites, recognizability, and perceived legitimacy.

.ORG doesn't carry about the same "second fiddle" stigma that .NET does. It's the only other TLD I would consider developing for a major project if the .COM was not available. Of course not every type of website is a good fit for the .ORG TLD, but it's useful for more than just nonprofits.

RJ

 

[BuysDomains]

Of course not every type of website is a good fit for the .ORG TLD, but its useful for more than just nonprofits. RJ

Yes, I agree completely. One thing that you can do with a .org is extract some "authoritativeness" when you are building links. I can pin-point several link exchanges that I have done where the other site owner linked to my site only because they viewed my site as being a non-profit authority on the subject.

Just like .edu, a .org lends some credibility to the owner and that's something that will always be of value to any domain owner.

 

[ofclean]

Many videogame sites use the .net while the .com sits unregged!