Are you optimistic about the DN Business

[infosec3]

I ask this question because I have noticed that many domainers talk about the future of domaining in very negative terms. In my case, I very confident it will continue to improve and that not .COM extension, such as the .US cc have a great future. What do you think?

 

[snoop]

I ask this question because I have noticed that many domainers talk about the future of domaining in very negative terms. In my case, I very confident it will continue to improve and that not .COM extension, such as the .US cc have a great future. What do you think?

I think the market has bottomed out (perhaps a few months ago).

I really doubt stuff like .us is going to outperform, it has been a dog forever. It isn't likely to do well in the same way realestate in outer areas never does particularly well over time. Lots of other options, low demand, over supply.

 

[Blastoff]

Very much so.

If you look at the bigger picture, China and India are turning out 5 to 10 times the amount of college grads than the US (respectively). I'd bet there's a lot of newly trained web developers/engineers ready to develop a new site using country codes. I feel this will have a positive effect on ext. like .us, .es, etc.

My point is, one extension will not be the only way to make serious money in the future. .COM will, more than likely, only increase in value, but, so will other extensions. Domaining has only been around for a VERY short period of time and I think there is plenty of new opportunities to come.

In short, when I hear someone referring to less than 20 years as “forever” I cringe and feel I should say something.

p.s. don’t forget the Latin counties; Spanish is the second fastest growing langue on the web.

 

[DnEbook]

if domaining was a person , here in australia it would be about 2yrs old , there's alot of growing still to be done , although here you need a business number to reg a name

 

[CanSpace]

I think the value for .com's will level off as ccTLD's become less 'frowned' upon.

There was a time when people said ALWAYS get the dot-com and forget any other TLD.... people are slowly losing that mentality, as there simply arent many dot-com's left.

 

[DnEbook]

I think the value for .com's will level off as ccTLD's become less 'frowned' upon.

There was a time when people said ALWAYS get the dot-com and forget any other TLD.... people are slowly losing that mentality, as there simply arent many dot-com's left.

happy to agree with you about cc tlds in australia .com.au is seen as local (important)

 

[snoopinc]

Not all extensions will improve but i can see .me is one that will improve. I believe .com.au is another one

 

[wwwweb]

I am closing more deals in last 45 days than I did all year, mostly .com demand has been huge, I have end users emailing me out of the blue, some almost begging, bottom is over.

 

[maxeaus]

There are a few things that i have noticed in the last year or so.

First country codes such as .com.au, as here in Australia are starting to be seen in the correct term/s as to there original design. In the beginning i think many people resisted the CC, through maybe fear, or maybe lack of education about the true value and benefit of there use. If i was to have a local Australian business, then the .com.au would be a must have. If i was planning a global business from Australia i would want the .com and .com.au.

Second, i notice a change of viewing habit by web users, by this i mean using services other than google. I myself am now using Bing, so dose my work place. Maybe i am shooting myself in the foot by using Bing, because many sites, especially parked sites such as mine don't even show up in search, but i still use Google for advanced history of domains etc.

Third, i see many young people spending a lot of time on mobile devices, ie iphones etc, maybe less time directly on the Internet through a computer or laptop. Playing games seems to be huge on these hand held devices. So in effect i see a slight plateu of the internet ATM, but i still believe it will grow strongly as China and India come into their own over the next several decades.

These are only simple observations from my perspective.

 

[RHenderson]

Yes, and this is why I shake my head when I hear people say that all the good names are taken. A lot of people are negative because they have no foresight..or hindsight for that matter. Technology is king..there will always be new names to reg/develop (for different TLD's) that will be in high demand. Our culture is centered around the internet/computers more and more each day and it's only going to get "worse" A lot of people say there is only one more wave coming and then that will be it...LOL, yeah ok... I see a wave now and several more on the way...

 

[the_poet]

Yes, and this is why I shake my head when I hear people say that all the good names are taken. A lot of people are negative because they have no foresight..or hindsight for that matter. Technology is king..there will always be new names to reg/develop (for different TLD's) that will be in high demand. Our culture is centered around the internet/computers more and more each day and it's only going to get "worse" A lot of people say there is only one more wave coming and then that will be it...LOL, yeah ok... I see a wave now and several more on the way...

I agree. I don't like domainers who tell newbies they're late because all the good names are now taken! While it's true that we're no longer in the 90's, when you could handreg premium names that sell for millions nowadays, we need to undestand that the Internet revolution is just starting to happen!

 

[gazzip]

I think the value for .com's will level off as ccTLD's become less 'frowned' upon.

There was a time when people said ALWAYS get the dot-com and forget any other TLD.... people are slowly losing that mentality, as there simply arent many dot-com's left.

I think that has already happened in alot of countries and with tons of new extensions and languages popping up it'll probably get more common...does that make me a pessimist or a realist ? :o



.

 

[hambling]

With the right keywords. most ccTLD's will bring a profit. Last month I sold Pain.ws for $517 and was dissapointed. But it's still not bad for a name I paid $22.00 for 6 weeks prior and did absolutely nothing with but park it.

Domainers that are creative and persistant will have a bright future.

 

[the_poet]

With the right keywords. most ccTLD's will bring a profit. Last month I sold Pain.ws for $517 and was dissapointed. But it's still not bad for a name I paid $22.00 for 6 weeks prior and did absolutely nothing with but park it.

Domainers that are creative and persistant will have a bright future.

Nice sale! Where did you sell it? (if you can tell it of course )

 

[Ronald Regging]

ATTENTION: Domaining is dead, kindly push all of your domains into my account. Thank you, that is all.

 

[the_poet]

ATTENTION: Domaining is dead, kindly push all of your domains into my account. Thank you, that is all.

:lol: Rep+ !

 

[RHenderson]

Poet: yup, it is really only the beginning.

hambling: well said and very nicely done on the sale.

ATTENTION: Domaining is dead, kindly push all of your domains into my account. Thank you, that is all.

Exactly

 

[metrisoft]

I posted this on another thread but I think it's probably more appropriate here:

Domainers make registrars and aftermarket auction sites rich. Registrars and auctioneers love to "fool" naive Domainers into thinking that junk domains actually have value. The vicious cycle of buying and selling between Domainers (i.e. domain resellers) is a "fake" economy at best, and the end-user market is elusive even to the best Domainers. The Domaining industry's net profit either goes to a few Domainer veterans or right back to the registrars or auction sites as Domainers continue to purchase, register, and renew their domains. It's just like gambling; the gamblers get poorer and the casinos get richer. The "get rich quick" allure drives Domainers to buy more and more domains and this is fueled by the likes of DnJournal and other publications written by Domainer veterans who profit from others "gambling" on domains. Domaining is extremely speculative and most Domainers really are "delusional" as another poster once stated. My suggestion for Domainers: become Registrars.

Other than the early Domainers like Rick Schwartz, Rick Latona, etc who purchased premium domains early on and sold them (or are selling them) for a ton of money, a very small percentage (I'd say say much less than 1%) of Domainers are making a decent living. And, most Domainers that are "profitable" are making less than minimum wage when you factor in all of their hours.

Now, I'm a pretty savvy business guy. I've started three successful businesses (one of them a 60 person software company). I thought domaining was a great opportunity to make money but I've put in hundreds of hours and I have only broken even (which is better than most domainers who lose money). Yeah I've made some good sales but not enough to justify all of my time.

Still, I don't regret the hours I put in. I've learned a lot about internet marketing which has benefited my other businesses. Plus, I still own almost 100 names; here's hoping that I sell them and can take back my negative comments

 

[owntype]

ATTENTION: Domaining is dead, kindly push all of your domains into my account. Thank you, that is all.

Done! Thank you!

 

[labrocca]

I think it's a fragile future if only because the general public is against domainers (aka cybersquatters). It would only take one piece of legislation to suddenly ruin it all. While the internet has a secure future and I think domains do as well. I don't believe domaining is that stable. It's always been volatile anyways in my view. There is no real appraisal method, drops are shady, and TM problems are constant.

Many also feel that most domainer sales are to other domainers. If that's true then it's also a bad sign. I know end-user sales happen of course but markets depend on liquidity. If new domainers can't move their domains fast enough they'll drop out and that's money out of the market. I think that's what we have seen the past year.

I will admit that some of the best domain sales in the 7-figure mark have been this year. However those are all truly premium domain names which are held by few and only account for a small percentage of overall domains registered. That's not the most ideal market either. Reminds me of comic books actually when a few #1 editions sold for top dollar and suddenly there was limited edition #1 releases constantly in an effort to spark sales. Most of these comics were bought in bulk from stores that held the books in hopes of selling in the future but they are all now in the bargain bin. The same premium comics are still valuable but all those wannabe comics are worthless. Domains are similar in that aspect.

I rely on development mostly so I don't care about the domain market the same way as pure play domainers. I don't have the rosy colored glasses on.