discuss Fiverr.com never rebranded to Fiver.com?

[abstractdomainer]

In the world of domaining, typo is usually seen in a negative light. While a lot of companies start off by getting a cheaper option of the domain name available, because they do not have the kind of investment required for getting the perfect domain name, they soon upgrade to a better name as and when funding arrives or when the business takes off.

Similar is the case with Housing.com which started with some other name, and later, went on to purchase the category-killer, their future defining highly brandable name Housing.com for a whopping $500,000.
Now, Housing.com is one-off examples of startups starting with something and upgrading to a better name. Even if they are brandable. There is no parallel that can be drawn to the natural spelling of an appealing domain (no matter what kind of tweak you may). For example, someone may not have the budget to buy ledger.com and maybe go for Ledgerz.com or Ledgerr.com but then, ledger.com has its own appeal (won't you agree?).

This brings us to the topic for this post - One of the most popular websites for freelancers and for people to get anything done (from finding cheap domain names, to SEO to getting birthday videos developed, Fiverr has carved out a niche for itself and I suppose, it is a multi-million dollar monthly revenue business.
While Fiverr is a brandable name and I can't deny it, it never chose to rebrand or upgrade the business to Fiver.com, removing at extra 'r' at the end of the word, thereby giving it a greater appeal, sounding more natural and maybe avoiding a lot of typos that may happen as a result of people typing in Fiver instead of the rr at the end.

Now, when I check for Fiver.com, I see that it forwards to Fiverr.com, which brings me to the question for today:

Why did Fiverr never choose to rebrand to Fiver even though it has the domain name?
I see a sale of $70,000 for Fiver(dot)com on Namebio in 2011, which means that they have had this domain for pretty long.

I believe that this has a lesson for all of us as to how the marketing department thinks, when branding or planning the positioning of their product/services or the company itself! Understanding this may help us make better decisions as an investor, and maybe reach out to the right people/pitch in a better way and close better sales.

Thoughts are invited!
Inviting veterans like @AbdulBasit.com @Bob Hawkes @Nikul Sanghvi and others to share their thought process on this.

 

[NickB]

They originally started gigs at $5 or capped it at $5 - can't remember which, this is probably why fiver.com appealed to them in the early days, as the company has grown they have moved away from the original marketing and branding around this so it makes sense to to stick to fiverr (in my mind anyway)

They are one of the most recognisable brands in the world now and are very successful, why mess with a winning formula?

Middle of 2010 they received seed funding of $1,000,000 so made sense to purchase fiver.com - probably took a bit of time to negotiate the price and complete the purchase, it makes if nothing else a great defensive purchase - probably gets some decent traffic redirected to fiverr.com as well - so all good

 

[abstractdomainer]

They originally started gigs at $5 or capped it at $5 - can't remember which, this is probably why fiver.com appealed to them in the early days, as the company has grown they have moved away from the original marketing and branding around this so it makes sense to to stick to fiverr (in my mind anyway)

They are one of the most recognisable brands in the world now and are very successful, why mess with a winning formula?

Middle of 2010 they received seed funding of $1,000,000 so made sense to purchase fiver.com - probably took a bit of time to negotiate the price and complete the purchase, it makes if nothing else a great defensive purchase - probably gets some decent traffic redirected to fiverr.com as well - so all good

Makes sense! They changed their strategy, given that now they are selling everything in multiples of $5 until $1000.

 

[Lucraine]

They already have a brand really valued and with recurrent users, why they must rebrand?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

As I understand it, their formal name and trademark is Fiverr, not Fiver, they have achieved great traffic on Fiverr.com so I would see no reason, and several negatives, in switching to Fiver.

I do agree that it was a wise acquisition when they could afford it, and the redirection and catchall from it is crucial to smooth operation.

Bob

 

[DWilliams9]

If they were to change the spelling, everyone would be confused about where to find them. By this point, their domain and branding is so well-established that it no longer looks or feels like a typo, just a formal name.

 

[seank]

agree, thats why they are redirecting fiverr to fiver and not opposite , their brand is well known as fiverr.
I think the domain purchase was just for the sake of not losing potentially direct traffic.

 

[xbank]

In the world of domaining, typo is usually seen in a negative light. While a lot of companies start off by getting a cheaper option of the domain name available, because they do not have the kind of investment required for getting the perfect domain name, they soon upgrade to a better name as and when funding arrives or when the business takes off.

Similar is the case with Housing.com which started with some other name, and later, went on to purchase the category-killer, their future defining highly brandable name Housing.com for a whopping $500,000.
Now, Housing.com is one-off examples of startups starting with something and upgrading to a better name. Even if they are brandable. There is no parallel that can be drawn to the natural spelling of an appealing domain (no matter what kind of tweak you may). For example, someone may not have the budget to buy ledger.com and maybe go for Ledgerz.com or Ledgerr.com but then, ledger.com has its own appeal (won't you agree?).

This brings us to the topic for this post - One of the most popular websites for freelancers and for people to get anything done (from finding cheap domain names, to SEO to getting birthday videos developed, Fiverr has carved out a niche for itself and I suppose, it is a multi-million dollar monthly revenue business.
While Fiverr is a brandable name and I can't deny it, it never chose to rebrand or upgrade the business to Fiver.com, removing at extra 'r' at the end of the word, thereby giving it a greater appeal, sounding more natural and maybe avoiding a lot of typos that may happen as a result of people typing in Fiver instead of the rr at the end.

Now, when I check for Fiver.com, I see that it forwards to Fiverr.com, which brings me to the question for today:

Why did Fiverr never choose to rebrand to Fiver even though it has the domain name?
I see a sale of $70,000 for Fiver(dot)com on Namebio in 2011, which means that they have had this domain for pretty long.

I believe that this has a lesson for all of us as to how the marketing department thinks, when branding or planning the positioning of their product/services or the company itself! Understanding this may help us make better decisions as an investor, and maybe reach out to the right people/pitch in a better way and close better sales.

Thoughts are invited!
Inviting veterans like @AbdulBasit.com @Bob Hawkes @Nikul Sanghvi and others to share their thought process on this.

I would have done the same thing like fiver, no one can use "FIVER" due to UDRP and If was the owner I wouldn't spend a dime except 1-2k to put the redirect .. thats all

 

[lock]

The one that owns fiver probably priced it out of marketplace happens every day here so why not in real world.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I would have done the same thing like fiver, no one can use "FIVER" due to UDRP and If was the owner I wouldn't spend a dime except 1-2k to put the redirect .. thats all

They would be unlikely to win the name fiver.com via UDRP when their brand name is actually Fiverr. Fiver is generic, Fiverr is not.

I agree with others in this thread they don't need to rebrand. The name is Fiverr and not fiver. Brand names are generally more easily protectable when they have distinctive character. The double rr's provide that.

Owning fiver.com is a very wise move though, but it doesn't change the sound of the brand however it does catch natural typos. They have the best of both worlds.

 

[santis]

if you will type in your browser Fiver.com you will be redirected to Fiverr.ro

which means that Fiverr already owns the domain name Fiver.com

 

[dombastic]

Fiver

In the world of domaining, typo is usually seen in a negative light

Fiverr is not a typo

 

[dande]

why mess with a winning formula?

I think this explains the reason they choosed to stick with Fiverr.com

 

[abstractdomainer]

They already have a brand really valued and with recurrent users, why they must rebrand?

Not now. What about when they started off and secured funding? Did it not make sense even then? I tend to disagree.

As I understand it, their formal name and trademark is Fiverr, not Fiver, they have achieved great traffic on Fiverr.com so I would see no reason, and several negatives, in switching to Fiver.

I do agree that it was a wise acquisition when they could afford it, and the redirection and catchall from it is crucial to smooth operation.

Bob

Right. But having secured funding and enough traffic, we see that multiple businesses upgrade to a better domain name so that they are in better shape. Given that competitors don't get the traffic from typo is nonly one reason, but when buying the main name, why not rebrand it with Fiver! It would definitely be simpler for people to find.

If they were to change the spelling, everyone would be confused about where to find them. By this point, their domain and branding is so well-established that it no longer looks or feels like a typo, just a formal name.

I am mainly looking at 2011 here, when they first acquired the domain name for $70,000. Did it not make sense even then.
@Bob Hawkes consider this point - 2011

 

[abstractdomainer]

agree, thats why they are redirecting fiverr to fiver and not opposite , their brand is well known as fiverr.
I think the domain purchase was just for the sake of not losing potentially direct traffic.

What would you say if this was 2011 and they had just secured a new round of funding, growing rapidly. Would you still consider Fiverr to be kept as default and Fiver forwarded to it, or the other way round.
Company is just beginning to grow and gain traction.

I would have done the same thing like fiver, no one can use "FIVER" due to UDRP and If was the owner I wouldn't spend a dime except 1-2k to put the redirect .. thats all

But then, wouldn't you lose out on that extra traffic. Agreed, you can't make a similar website. But Fiver would be a generic term and they could offer another service for $5 (say sell a card or something). That way, I think the domain was worth the acquisition price

Fiver


Fiverr is not a typo

Correct it is a brandable. But in normal english, if I tell you to type Fiver, you would type fiver and not fiverr. That I think, makes it a type, although a brandable one which a lot of companies now use.

 

[dombastic]

But in normal english

In "normal English" I would not know who to write "google".

 

[abstractdomainer]

More inputs on this?

 

[Mytz.com]

Thank you for sharing

 

[Shojib]

wow