.tv Demand Media Update & Clarifications

[qdaly]

Hi Everyone,

I just logged on and saw that there are some questions so I wanted to post some clarifications to help clear up any misunderstandings. I also wanted to share with you the press release that went out this AM about me.tv. And finally, give you a heads up that we are working on a re-cap of the first day of premium sales which I will share with this group as soon as it's final.

Okay, first, some clarification:
- Renewal Pricing: The price that is paid for a premium name is the same as the renewal price. So if you bought a name for $500, the renewal is $500. We are letting everyone know that this is subject to change, because we are not in control of this TLD. The price could be higher and the price could be lower. There is also the option to lock in the name at the set price for multiple years, but does require paying for it up front.
- Cost vs. Price: I also wanted to clarify this nuance because in my communications I have been telling folks that Verisign sets the "pricing". Well, to be clear, Verisign sets the cost and as a retailer, Demand Media/eNom can set the pricing. We believe that in order to drive sales, we need to keep as many premium names as possible at cost. So, in that regard, we are not setting the price, we are defaulting to the cost.

The ME.TV press release:
I don't think there is any new information, but just wanted to let the form know that it is out:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070502/20070502005879.html?.v=1

I will plan to post updates on the premium sales tonight or first thing tomorrow. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best, Quinn

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

Quinn,

You say "There is also the option to lock in the name at the set price for multiple years, but does require paying for it up front."

I just tried to Add Years to my premium name that I bought and the page just reloads so I cannot add years. Also, TOS says "The registration period for a .TV domain name is for one-year."

So, from what I see, all Premiums released cannot be renewed, yet anyway.

Has anyone else tried to Add Years from their enomcentral.com account?

 

[smashfactory]

thanks for stopping in quinn

 

[MrRhee]

I just spoke to a rep from ENOM this morning and they told me renewals for premiums are only 10-15% of the registration price?

so which one is it? I spent quite a lot and would like to know for sure.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

Quinn,

We need clarification on:

- ability to Add Years
- renewal price
- DM's ability to set retail prices

Since I could not Add Years to my new Premium Name, I am guessing that the renewal price is up in the air.

Thanks.

 

[TheBulldog]

Some questions.....

Will there be more templates available?
Will the names resolve correctly or always to -me.tv at the end?

 

[sld7]

I agree.

I have a name that Enom is telling me I can't renew for more than one year and are claiming I need to pay $5,000.00 each year?

Also this name was purchased a while ago not May 1st.

This seems a little ridiculous....

 

[think]

Hi Everyone,

I just logged on and saw that there are some questions so I wanted to post some clarifications to help clear up any misunderstandings. I also wanted to share with you the press release that went out this AM about me.tv. And finally, give you a heads up that we are working on a re-cap of the first day of premium sales which I will share with this group as soon as it's final.

Okay, first, some clarification:
- Renewal Pricing: The price that is paid for a premium name is the same as the renewal price. So if you bought a name for $500, the renewal is $500. We are letting everyone know that this is subject to change, because we are not in control of this TLD. The price could be higher and the price could be lower. There is also the option to lock in the name at the set price for multiple years, but does require paying for it up front.
- Cost vs. Price: I also wanted to clarify this nuance because in my communications I have been telling folks that Verisign sets the "pricing". Well, to be clear, Verisign sets the cost and as a retailer, Demand Media/eNom can set the pricing. We believe that in order to drive sales, we need to keep as many premium names as possible at cost. So, in that regard, we are not setting the price, we are defaulting to the cost.

The ME.TV press release:
I don't think there is any new information, but just wanted to let the form know that it is out:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070502/20070502005879.html?.v=1

I will plan to post updates on the premium sales tonight or first thing tomorrow. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best, Quinn

Thank you for coming in to help address the questions many of us have regarding premium Dot TV names and the renewals. The price structuring for renewals of premium names is very ambiguous in my eyes. If there is any information you can provide on long term renewals I'd appreciate it.

Best wishes,

C.T. Kirkpatrick

 

[MrRhee]

I just called a totally different rep at ENOM. same answer.

only 10-15% of your premium registration price.

Personally, I'd feel more comfortable seeing the answer SOMEWHERE PRINTED on ENOM.TV

not trying to make waves, but it would be very professional to let your customers know what they are getting into before launch. ENOM/DEMAND should've figured this out earlier and I should've done my due diligence before spending money... shame on me...

in the very least, please PUBLISH the facts on ENOM's own site for us all to see. As a customer, it is our right to know what we're getting into, true?

-------

don't get me wrong... I'm happy with my purchases (but many were made with the understanding of 10-15%, not 100% renewal), but would like to know what to expect... besides it's too late for chargebacks, right? LOL.

The 100% renewal is only going to hurt the .TV TLD in the long run, no? (adoption, abandonment, ambiguity, etc) Fortunately .mobi doesn't work that way, because I'm invested heavier into that.

fwiw, I'm a developer and would like to know how much money to set aside for DEV vs RENEWAL. big OUCH or small OUCH, if you know what I mean...

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

I just called a totally different rep at ENOM. same answer.

only 10-15% of your premium registration price.

Personally, I'd feel more comfortable seeing the answer SOMEWHERE PRINTED on ENOM.TV

not trying to make waves, but it would be very professional to let your customers know what they are getting into before launch. ENOM/DEMAND should've figured this out earlier and I should've done my due diligence before spending money... shame on me...

in the very least, please PUBLISH the facts on ENOM's own site for us all to see. As a customer, it is our right to know what we're getting into, true?

That would make a HUGE difference but sounds to good to be true.

Maybe replace the word "only" with "cannot be more than". That sounds more realistic.

 

[MrRhee]

That would make a HUGE difference but sounds to good to be true.

Maybe replace the word "only" with "cannot be more than". That sounds more realistic.

realistic, perhaps, but if this TLD and its' backers want to be a major contender, than they need to be content with charging higher renewal fees than other TLDs, but not over-the-top by charging 100% premium rates... that's, imho, is potentially suicidal and unneccesary. I have a few domains that are 1000+ registration fee and wouldn't mind paying $100 year renewal... I don't love the idea... but much easier to stomach than $1000 a year per domain. I would so quickly get out of .TV and pour my funds into .COM or even .WS (LOL)


but perhaps that's the biz model, if we buy a premium and can't afford or don't want to pay the exorbitant renewal fees, then they just re-release it to the pool for the next guy to buy at full price. That's not a win/win situation for the TLD, especially if the TLD expects any longevity... from a consumer standpoint (user experience will suffer if domain constantly changes hands, right?) and development standpoint.

... but that's just my opinion.

 

[malibumobile]

I have now heard both ways from 2 different enom reps.

- renewal will be 10-15% of the purchase price
- renewal will be purchase price + 10-15% more

which is correct?

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

I picked up a Premium Name yesterday from the new release list. It was boca.tv for $100.

I doubt that the renewal fee will be $10 or $15. More like $110 to $115 per year.

 

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

That was a good press release, this makes me happy...


I understand what people are frustrated about in pricing, but what Demand is really trying to do is insure that people buying names are really going to develop sites and develop them well.

.TV is really a developers game at this point, unless you already have a few gems in your pocket.


It would be nice though to get more insurance on the renewal fee's but they probably cant do that because they are trying to judge demand early on and they are trying to do what is right for .TV as a whole.

 

[TheWatcher]

If you can't afford the premiums, there are so much fish in the sea to make money.

Thanks qdaly for stopping bye.

 

[yesonline]

I have now heard both ways from 2 different enom reps.

- renewal will be 10-15% of the purchase price
- renewal will be purchase price + 10-15% more

which is correct?

http://www.namepros.com/1923299-post14.html

I think it is the case of 10-15% more.

 

[MrRhee]

If you can't afford the premiums, there are so much fish in the sea to make money.

Thanks qdaly for stopping bye.

I can afford the premiums. I can afford the renewals. I can afford to look in the sea for other fish.

Not getting a straight answer is something NONE of us can afford.

How can they not know at this point?

Why was a decision of this magnitude not made BEFORE launch?

Once again, I know they need to worry about what is best for the TLD, but let me tell you, as a consumer of their product/service... a possible "bait & switch" is unhealthy for any company. I am behind .TV 100%, my money and development team can attest to that, but it breeds mistrust and doubt not knowing what they are going to be charging me a year from now... I'd like to begin development, but what's to stop them from saying: "we want your domain, so we're charging you 500% to renew it..."?

More & more, I think that .MOBI's rollout was well orchestrated and a model for other TLDs to follow... only about 5000 premiums, not 50,000+ premiums... and at least my .MOBI renewals are only $10-$15 a year MAX...

not: "maybe 10%-15% +/- registration or something else entirely... we'll let you know later."

I believe everyone in this forum would like a straight, professional, definite "answer" so we can be prepared. anyone that doesn't care what the renewal price is fooling themselves... can you imagine if .COM worked that way? everyone would be ready to fight, true?

anywho... back to the .TV mines... there's still gold in there.

All I want is a straight answer and I will call them everyday until I get one.
At this point in time, I can't even get the SAME answer from them.

.

 

[Rogor]

Please let me know if you have any questions. Best, Quinn

First, thanks for your time and being accesible to this forum. If I may quote from your AllThings.tv interview-
" Our objective is simple: make .TV the hottest TLD. We are going to do this by driving consumer adoption of .TV as a personal portal to discover, program and share rich media based on each user’s interest...We believe media has become more personal and community focused, so users want to build their own space and control their social network."

It seems to me that, If you are going to entice the myspace and youtube crowd to be a new sector for .tv, they will have to trust that the .tv domain is secure and credible. Having rumours that the support misleads people and the renewals are hugely expensive (will they even hear that ONLY premiums renewing for huge amounts ?) and that buyers are given conflicting renewal amounts after the fact will not, IMHO, create the kind of PR that help the cause. Again thanks for listening.
Roger James

 

[equity78]

Rhee I agree with you and in all honesty I am pretty sure Quinn Daly cannot answer that. I think this is a Verisign ploy, before they wanted minimum two year regs that was always the policy when you bought a domain at www.tv. Now you can only reg one year and they will then look to see if they can gradually increase.

Example we had 1000 $500 premiums regged lets see if we can bump their renewal to $550 ok we pick up another $50,000

We regged 1000 $1000 premiums great $1100 pick up another $100,000

But Quinn where you did play a shell game was pricing vs cost because I am sure all those piece of crap $100 premiums like 10bozi.tv att-wa.tv and cumbubbles.tv just to name a few were cost Reg fee which you marked up to $100 and that is disgusting IMO those names are not even reg fee domains.

Demand Media come and reg cumbubbles.tv just $100 and build your tv channel make your parents proud

 

[Sam]

Rhee I agree with you and in all honesty I am pretty sure Quinn Daly cannot answer that. I think this is a Verisign ploy, before they wanted minimum two year regs that was always the policy when you bought a domain at www.tv. Now you can only reg one year and they will then look to see if they can gradually increase.

Example we had 1000 $500 premiums regged lets see if we can bump their renewal to $550 ok we pick up another $50,000

We regged 1000 $1000 premiums great $1100 pick up another $100,000

But Quinn where you did play a shell game was pricing vs cost because I am sure all those piece of crap $100 premiums like 10bozi.tv att-wa.tv and cumbubbles.tv just to name a few were cost Reg fee which you marked up to $100 and that is disgusting IMO those names are not even reg fee domains.

Demand Media come and reg cumbubbles.tv just $100 and build your tv channel make your parents proud

Equity, if you noticed, they even had TM typo names on there . Pandor.tv among others... I personally find that hillarious, perhaps i have found the first target for "isgay.tv"? :lala: