.co .CO - The Discussion, Showcase and Sales Report Thread

[ZOX]

Well, it seems like Colombia will be releasing .CO to the internet market:
...
http://www.mincomunicaciones.gov.co...ge=./mods/contenido/noticia_user_view&id=1043
...
This could truly be a big competitor to .COM (especially being a "typo").
I would say with proper guidance .CO could REALLY have a bright future!
...
Let me know your thoughts please.

 

[domvault]

.CO Tiered Pricing update...

Ok so I received a positive followup email from Neustar today. I also read through my old emails to them. I hate to drop peoples emails into public view but I feel the need here so that you all don't think I'm wacky. But stay tuned, things might not be bad after all. First here is the email that drove me nuts:

-- start of email --

Dear User,

Thank you for contacting us,

In preparation for the repricing of the .co tier program, all names in the program have been reserved by the .CO Registry.

This does not affect any names that are currently registered by customers, however, any unregistered names or any names that may be deleted and dropped during this time period will be reserved and become available on September 1, 2018 with updated tier pricing.

Regards,

The .Co Team.

-- end of email --

Did I read that wrong, they said tiered pricing twice, not once right? So I replied back asking for clarification. A second support team member wrote back stating the following. Again, I hate to do this, but since there is not pricing page on their website I think it's necessary:

-- start of email --

Support just sent me your inquiry and I wanted to get back to you.

There is no new policy change to our premium program. In August 2015, the .CO Registry began offering premium domains via its retail channel. On September 1, 2018, there will be some pricing updates and we’ve communicated these updates with our registrar partners. These updates do not affect any currently registered .co domains.

Even if you pay a premium price to register a .CO premium domain name, your annual renewal fee will be the standard .CO renewal fee charged for all .CO domain names. Please check with your preferred retailer for details as fees may differ according to each retailer’s individual pricing policies and practices.

-- end of email --

So if the second employee is correct then it's business as usual. The pricing changes have to do with re-releasing those reserved domains at a premium, an up front fee similar to what domainers do now.

I replied back but the person is on vacation per their auto responder. This is important info because there is an auction going on at Sedo. If anyone know people at Neustar please hit them up for a public comment.

And again a message to all registrars and registries from me:

STOP THIS MADDNESS. PUBLISH A MSRP AND STANDARDIZE YOUR PRICING MESSAGING -- SELF REGULATE -- OTHERWISE YOU WILL LEAD US ALL BACK TO .COM.

I'm not saying one tld is better or worse, or that one pricing method is better or worse. I am saying that the market needs a standard pricing page on all tld website NOW.

So don't drop your .CO names. We need to see what support person number 3 says first.

is it now that a .co will get reserved when it gets dropped everytime from now on or is it till sep1, 2018 only

 

[DomainBarracksRob]

BetHub .co (.com $2,301 2013 NameJet)

MusicManagement .co (.net sold $1,400 in 2016 buydomains)

 

[sheiky]

EcoCars.Co

 

[noonoo1]

MusicManagement .co (.net sold $1,400 in 2016 buydomains)

I've been waiting a while to sell DebtManagement.co

 

[DomainBarracksRob]

Music management
@noonoo1

Just dropped today and I went for it based on .net sale and over all google searches and the fact it’s a huge Industry


Wish you luck with debt /M

IMHO ..there are Countless collection Agencies you could outbound that one with !


Cheers !

 

[Addison]

In August 2015, the .CO Registry began offering premium domains via its retail channel.

I witnessed the .CO Registry purposefully drop some of their premium .co domains (and dubious domains), make it impossible to register/backorder them, and then reserve the domains. After inquisition, the .CO Registry said they were doing it to test tiered-pricing models that they'd seen used by other registries (.TV was first?). It must have worked, so they've widened the scope to rubbish domains, too.

My notes are archaic, but these are domains the .CO Registry reserved back then (they've sold some by now):

aaa.co
about.co
abs.co
act.co
action.co
add.co
aff.co
ahl.co
air.co
ais.co
all.co
als.co
alt.co
ama.co
amb.co
amp.co
amt.co
and.co
ane.co
angel.co
anh.co
app.co
apr.co
aso.co
ass.co
at.co
atv.co
avg.co
bag.co
ball.co
base.co
bbw.co
bee.co
bell.co
ben.co
bga.co
bif.co
bit.co
biz.co
black.co
bmi.co
bmx.co
bob.co
boom.co
box.co
bra.co
brand.co
break.co
bug.co
buzz.co
cam.co
cap.co
car.co
cas.co
cc.co
cce.co
cco.co
cda.co
cdb.co
cds.co
cfi.co
cga.co
cgb.co
cia.co
clc.co
clean.co
clear.co
clothes.co
cloud.co
cmc.co
cmt.co
cna.co
cnb.co
cne.co
cnr.co
co.co
coco.co
codes.co
coop.co
cop.co
cost.co
cow.co
cox.co
cra.co
crc.co
creative.co
cree.co
crq.co
crt.co
css.co
ctm.co
ctv.co
cum.co
cvc.co
cvp.co
cvs.co
dad.co
das.co
data.co
dating.co
day.co
ddd.co
dfj.co
dgr.co
direct.co
diy.co
dmd.co
dmv.co
dne.co
dnp.co
dns.co
dog.co
domain.co
domains.co
dot.co
dream.co
dri.co
dsl.co
eas.co
egg.co
eln.co
emo.co
epa.co
epb.co
epl.co
epn.co
era.co
eru.co
ex.co
eye.co
fac.co
fan.co
fat.co
fav.co
fbi.co
fcc.co
fda.co
fdf.co
fen.co
fhm.co
fip.co
flu.co
fna.co
fne.co
fng.co
for.co
forums.co
fos.co
fps.co
fre.co
free.co
ftv.co
funny.co
fur.co
fvs.co
gac.co
gadget.co
ged.co
get.co
ghg.co
glass.co
glu.co
go.co
gob.co
god.co
goe.co
goo.co
gps.co
grow.co
gta.co
guide.co
gum.co
handy.co
hardware.co
hat.co
hdn.co
hfv.co
hgm.co
him.co
hiv.co
hive.co
hmi.co
hoh.co
host.co
hpv.co
hrd.co
htc.co
huge.co
humor.co
hus.co
huv.co
iab.co
ibs.co
ica.co
ice.co
icp.co
idc.co
idea.co
idm.co
ids.co
idt.co
idu.co
ifc.co
ifi.co
ijs.co
image.co
imc.co
in.co
index.co
ink.co
ins.co
ipo.co
irc.co
irs.co
isp.co
iss.co
it.co
jag.co
jbb.co
jco.co
jcp.co
jew.co
jobs.co
joy.co
kbb.co
key.co
kick.co
kicker.co
kkk.co
lcd.co
lds.co
learn.co
leo.co
les.co
level.co
light.co
loc.co
local.co
location.co
lock.co
lol.co
machine.co
mad.co
main.co
marble.co
market.co
mec.co
micro.co
mij.co
mint.co
mms.co
mom.co
mps.co
multiply.co
mus.co
name.co
new.co
nic.co
nmt.co
note.co
npr.co
nro.co
number.co
nun.co
oar.co
ocd.co
of.co
ofb.co
ole.co
one.co
ono.co
open.co
our.co
ovh.co
owl.co
own.co
paint.co
pan.co
paper.co
pbn.co
pbs.co
pch.co
pcs.co
pda.co
pdn.co
pdr.co
pec.co
period.co
php.co
pna.co
pnn.co
pod.co
pof.co
point.co
pop.co
pos.co
pot.co
pow.co
premium.co
price.co
pro.co
psp.co
psu.co
pug.co
push.co
pvc.co
quality.co
rad.co
radio.co
rap.co
raw.co
rbd.co
rdh.co
red.co
ree.co
rei.co
rgs.co
ring.co
rio.co
rpg.co
rss.co
rua.co
rug.co
sai.co
sas.co
sdp.co
sea.co
seal.co
seb.co
ser.co
shd.co
she.co
sho.co
sht.co
sic.co
sign.co
silver.co
smb.co
sms.co
snc.co
snd.co
social.co
software.co
spike.co
spk.co
spn.co
ssa.co
ssf.co
star.co
state.co
stealth.co
style.co
sui.co
sun.co
svt.co
syn.co
tac.co
talk.co
ted.co
tel.co
test.co
think.co
tie.co
tile.co
tim.co
tin.co
tlc.co
tld.co
tmb.co
tmg.co
toe.co
tool.co
top.co
tower.co
track.co
travel.co
trust.co
truth.co
tta.co
ttb.co
turbo.co
ufo.co
ukr.co
umv.co
up.co
url.co
vcn.co
vin.co
vip.co
vivid.co
voice.co
vwp.co
wap.co
water.co
wave.co
wax.co
webmail.co
who.co
why.co
wifi.co
wix.co
words.co
wrd.co
www.co
xxl.co
yam.co
yellow.co
you.co
yrb.co
zen.co
zoo.co
zzz.co

They must have registered the domains again, or I mixed up my lists.

Those reservations/reserved domains were after and separate from the originally reserved domains:

arts.co
com.co
edu.co
firm.co
gov.co
info.co
int.co
mil.co
net.co
nom.co
org.co
rec.co
web.co

 

[John Napoletano]

is it now that a .co will get reserved when it gets dropped everytime from now on or is it till sep1, 2018 only

I believe the process flow that people have been noticing is that a domain goes through a GoDaddy expiring auction. If no one wins or pays the ending $8-$12 fee then it is dropped. The registry .CO then reserves the domain name. Meaning you can't manually go and register it on GoDaddy.

So to keep this in perspective no one wanted it! Maybe they increased the number of domains they took off the market so it became noticable.

 

[John Napoletano]

I witnessed the .CO Registry purposefully drop some of their premium .co domains (and dubious domains), make it impossible to register/backorder them, and then reserve the domains. After inquisition, the .CO Registry said they were doing it to test tiered-pricing models that they'd seen used by other registries (.TV was first?). It must have worked, so they've widened the scope to rubbish domains, too.

First we have to distinguish between an up front one time fee vs the annual registration fee. I think this is confusing everyone and it confused me from the way support responded to my inquiry. Premium Tiered Pricing can mean the re-release of the domains at auction, a one time up front fee. Or in the case of other tld it could mean $2,000 per year indefinitely. In the reply email I pasted for all to see they support person said the annual fee structure has not changed, one price regardless of domain name.

Second is that it seems that people are seeing domains flow through GoDaddy expiring auctions without winners, then, are trying to backorder or hand reg them. (.CO backorders rarely worked for me the last 2 years due to GoDaddy technical issues, I've commented about that on NP search for 'axium.co')

So no one put up $8 to $12 to claim the domain. Then it is reserved, taken off the market. I really don't see a problem with that. Everyone had their chance and said no thanks. The only difference is that instead of GoDaddy getting the auction money, .CO Registry will have a chance to profit from the re-release. I can't blame them for that if that is what they are doing. It's better than $2,000 per year indefinitely.

Has anyone seen a 'reserved' domain come up for re-sale say on GoDaddy or NameJet?

This could just be a continuous process flow of pooling domains then contracting with GoDaddy or NameJet to auction them on their behalf. Nothing has changed except that we are learning how the process works?

 

[John Napoletano]

Has anyone seen a 'reserved' domain come up for re-sale say on GoDaddy or NameJet?

I think that is the last piece of this mystery. If you find one let us know the price and location (link). If it's $100 we can all have a laugh.

 

[domvault]

no of .co registered as of date : http://research.domaintools.com/statistics/tld-counts/

 

[Armageddon]

".CO Registry said they were doing it to test tiered-pricing models that they'd seen used by other registries (.TV was first?)"

as @creataweb say "Scumbag tactics"
​

Is a lie of .CO Registry , they reserve all keywords domain names that have value or some LLL because they have green light from Chinese Government to be registred/sell in China . This is only reason they do that a opportunity to make big money . Why not to sell Etna.co, Muff.co , Stab.co , Reck.co , VTC.co ( just few example ) with $100, $200 or maybe with thousand $, instead of $10
My advice - Buy ( or keep it ) as many .CO keywords or LLL .CO because i have feeling that price for .CO will go crazy in next 3-4 month ( maybe soon )

 

[Addison]

Second is that it seems that people are seeing domains flow through GoDaddy expiring auctions without winners, then, are trying to backorder or hand reg them. (.CO backorders rarely worked for me the last 2 years due to GoDaddy technical issues, I've commented about that on NP search for 'axium.co')
So no one put up $8 to $12 to claim the domain.

Wrong. Not all .co domains flow through GoDaddy Auctions. There was a time, not long ago, where GoDaddy had hardly any of the best .co domains. Registrars that didn't partner with GoDaddy (like DomainMonster and Hexonet) had the best .co domains (that weren't reserved by the registry). The .CO Registry doesn't let anyone get those expiring domains if they want them (and the registrar doesn't have expiring auctions). They block reservations on those domains.

IMO, that's superb capitalism. Kudos to the .CO Registry but don't think for a second that you're on a level playing field with them: you get their scraps that they don't want.

 

[Addison]

no of .co registered as of date : http://research.domaintools.com/statistics/tld-counts/

.CO has risen up that list because of a promotion they did last year for cheap new .co registrations. Those domains will drop in a month, then .CO's numbers won't be as sexy.

Is a lie of .CO Registry , they reserve all keywords domain names that have value or some LLL because they have green light from Chinese Gouverment to be registred/sell in China . This is only reason they do that a opportunity to make big money

Those aren't mutually exclusive. They can do both. Their only goal is to make money.

 

[Kate]

I doubt those stats are accurate. I see some TLDs that are badly outdated.

 

[John Napoletano]

The .CO Registry doesn't let anyone get those expiring domains if they want them (and the registrar doesn't have expiring auctions). They block reservations on those domains.

IMO, that's superb capitalism.

'Capitalism' talk is just silly so please don't go there. You are selling domains for a profit correct? That's capitalism. Socialism is you give each of us here one of your best domains for free regardless of what you have paid for it. I'll take cloud.co please, I deserve it! China doesn't even do that, so much for socialism.

Going back to your list of biz.co, edu.co, and mil.co for example those are commonly blocked to avoid confusion with other tld I believe. Those type of names are not expected to ever be released and I don't see that as a problem. I'm not sure why you brought those up and I did try to re-read your post.

Your other list which includes cloud.co is now owned by Amazon. That domain name is definatly premium. Who should profit from selling it, me, you, GoDaddy, DomainMonster, Hexonet, why not the registry?

It's not my favorite pricing model but it MUCH BETTER THAN $2,000/yr every year.

If any 'registrar' has a customer owning such a domain they hold it for 60 days, for example, and try to auction it (if they know how) before dropping it like GoDaddy. No they are not the only ones. Plenty of people get a chance if they want it. I use GoDaddy as the example because they have expired domains running through their auctions every day. You can go look.

The registry reserves a domain before they go to market, or, after no one else wants them. Your cloud.co example proves that.

At this point I feel like people are just trying to bash .CO Registry instead of finding out the facts. Please fact find. This isn't FoxNews vs CNN here. This is the discussion on how to improve our .CO trading strategy and to understand what is going on with the tld so we can profit from it. (that's capitalism).

 

[Addison]

'Capitalism' talk is just silly so please don't go there. You are selling domains for a profit correct? That's capitalism.

Did my post read sarcastic to you? It wasn't. I sell domains for profit and love capitalism. I commended the .CO Registry on it.

Going back to your list of biz.co, edu.co, and mil.co for example those are commonly blocked to avoid confusion with other tld I believe. Those type of names are not expected to ever be released and I don't see that as a problem. I'm not sure why you brought those up

I was delineating that the reserved list of domains (edu.co, mil.co) was not the same as the "premium" list of domains, but both were reserved the same way at one point. I didn't say it was a problem. It was a history lesson. Soak it up.

Your other list which includes cloud.co is now owned by Amazon.

I said that "they've sold some by now." Kudos to them!

It's not my favorite pricing model but it MUCH BETTER THAN $2,000/yr every year.

They can switch to that model whenever they want. Nothing's stopping them. They hold all the power. IMO, that's how it should be, but you better digest that before investing.

If any 'registrar' has a customer owning such a domain they hold it for 60 days, for example, and try to auction it (if they know how) before dropping it like GoDaddy.

Wrong. Many registrars do not offer expiring auctions. Any .co domains at those registrars that the .CO Registry wants, it will get. Nobody else gets a shot at them. Kudos to them again!

At this point I feel like people are just trying to bash .CO Registry instead of finding out the facts.

I haven't bashed them. What I've written are facts. You lack knowledge on this, but you can learn from reading what I've written and asking wise questions instead of getting defensive about things I didn't say.

Moral of the story: there's money in .co investments but know where you lie on the totem pole and diversify.

 

[John Napoletano]

You lack knowledge on this, but you can learn from reading what I've written and asking wise questions instead of getting defensive about things I didn't say.

I've been buying and selling domains since before 2008 but I like to point to the .asia auction around that time as one of my biggest learning experiences - and it wasn't a positive one. If you want to learn how a 'Registry' -- not to be confused with a Registrar - releases domains, outreach to the community with reserved name opportunities prior to release, then try to read up on the sunrise and sunset promo material a few of the tld published when they launch. Or find a good FAQ like this one.
https://www.dot.asia/dotasia-organisation/faq/

I have been trying to learn from what you write but you keep contradicting yourself. You say 'wrong' after you just showed us it's 'right'. "no one can ever own them again you said" but cloud.co is owned by someone Amazon. "Many registrars do not offer expiring auctions" that's right because they don't now how to. And, many registrars are RESELLERS of GoDaddy, Tucows, Reseller Club etc so they can't do it. Others might contract with GoDaddy to to auction before expiration. Namefind rings a bell, but someone from one of those companies can explain that better.

So forgive me for sounding defensive but that is not the correct term to use. I am trying to clarify what you are saying to move the conversation forward. And forward means:

We need to know on which retail website they are "re-releasing" the domains to market. Afternic, GoDaddy Auctions, Namejet, for example. Then someone will see a reserved name they missed out on listed there maybe after Sept 1.

Saying they don't re-release doesn't make any sense. They want to sell domain names. They pool them together and sell them somewhere when they feel the time is right.

[backorders don't work because the domain 'expired' and is locked as reserved by the registry. that is different than a godaddy 'expiring' auction]

 

[domvault]

.co needs tons of more sales to create confidence among people, they need atleast 10% of .com sales to give it a competition, they don't do even 1% at present.

.co is good but not good enough to create a great following yet. renewal fee is the biggest stumbling block in its rise. .co registry needs to think seriously about the renewal fee.
its cannot be a global tld as it is being portrayed by the registry, its still a cctld, can't happen without great marketing budget and awareness.

its biggest asset is its closeness to .com as .co , .net and .org dont have that attribute. but still cant capitalise on it. been 8 years now. definitely needs tons of more sales.

 

[John Napoletano]

The marketing of the Colombia local extension is focused on '.com.co' you can see this on the .CO Internet SAS website.
https://www.cointernet.com.co/

The marketing of the global .CO extension is represented on Go.co
https://blog.go.co/

 

[John Napoletano]

Can anyone find as a data table or chart .CO registrations by year?

If yes please drop the link or copy/paste the data. I need a chart but can't find the data anywhere. Didn't think it would be that hard to find. Thanks.

 

[polymorph]

For you guys who think domainers shouldn't let their pronounceable 4L .co drop, there is a guy on NP currently selling his expired ones for $5:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/no...i-difficulty-co-more-co-domains-5-40.1093120/

I am not connected to him, I just think you can both have the deal you are looking for.

 

[domvault]

does legal issues concerning .co comes under the ambit of ICANN or the Colombian govt. and authorities ?

also, who have the control over the pricing regulation ? for example if I am correct US Senate have authority over allowing the prices of .com to be increased or not. Who has the authority in case of .co ?

thanks

 

[John Napoletano]

legal issues + pricing

Here's a link to get you started but I'll leave the research to someone else.
https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/cctlds-21-2012-02-25-en

I think it's a mixed bag that is still evolving. Each cctld sign onto a set of UDRP like rules. Tiered pricing has been allowed since 200X by ICANN. The Colombia Govt has oversight power as does ICANN.

Who wins in a dispute? Has ICANN done anything newsworthy?

I think each registry's track record and UDRP case history are important. I haven't heard anything bad happening to .co owners. If anyone has please chime in.

We did just witness France pull France.com away from a longtime owner operator of that website--now forwarded to France.fr so .com does not offer legal protection as you might think. Just by that case alone individual countries are more powerful than ICANN. Is that true, what did ICANN do about it? I don't know.

 

[Addison]

"no one can ever own them again you said" but cloud.co is owned by someone Amazon.

I never said that. Where did you get that from?

The .CO Registry is a domainer (the same as us), but they have a prominent advantage over us. That's all I've been saying...

"Many registrars do not offer expiring auctions" that's right because they don't now how to.

It's disproportionately expensive to develop an expiring auctions platform, and it's not financially prudent for most registrars to build one.

And, many registrars are RESELLERS of GoDaddy, Tucows, Reseller Club etc so they can't do it.

Resellers are not registrars: they're white-labeled services on top of a registrar (like GoDaddy's Wild West Domains).

You're right: they can't do it in that case because they aren't a registrar.

Saying they don't re-release doesn't make any sense.

I also never said that. If you quote what I wrote that you're talking about, I'll tell you what I meant, because that's not it.

 

[Addison]

Can anyone find as a data table or chart .CO registrations by year?

https://domainnamestat.com/statistics/tld/co-TLD_ID-1287