Help Pricing Pure Geo Domain Names .Com

[hopkism]

I have watched interviews on DomainSherpa and stuck around here enough to know that 90% of pure geo domains are way out of my price range or I have come to late to register them That is fine.

Details of the Geo

However, I have found a name .com of a somewhat local town, not even a city, with a small population of just over 3,000. Its location is tremendous because it is sandwiched between tourism, travel and full of history. Great region development potential.

I have many colleagues and friends that are business owners or politicians in the region.

It has a nice mix of affluent and wealthy households but also middle class and poor. There are several hotels, local grocery and big a like, artisan stores, gardeners, farmers, boating, country clubs, golf, small amusement parks, two high schools, etc.


I own the .org, .net, and .info of the name. However most of my research suggests that I need the .com to be successful and doing so would virtually see to it no competition. I am looking for long term brand development.

The .com is not developed and is listed at low $x,xxx. This is out of my target price range for the time being but an excellent price for a long term project like this.

My Questions:

• Do I need the .com?
  
• Should I develop without the .com and acquire it later, perhaps at a higher price?
  
• With all my local experience, is 3,000 pop just too small? What about surrounding area?
  
• Do I begin branding, writing material, planning, etc before acquiring it?
  
• Is the price right for a pure geo that I need to snatch or try to bargain?

 

[RazorNF]

My opinions on some of your questions:

Do I need the .com?

You don't "need" it, but it would be nice for your project, especially since you are looking for "long term brand development".

Plus it depends on who you are targeting the site at - to tourists or as a portal for the local population?

I don't think I've ever seen a destination's official travel site on anything other than a .com or cctld.

Should I develop without the .com and acquire it later, perhaps at a higher price?

That potential higher price may again be beyond your price range when you gather enough for the current price. If you can't get the pure geo, my personal preference would be to develop and brand a .com such as visit[geo].com or something similar (if this is for tourism purposes).

Is the price right for a pure geo that I need to snatch or try to bargain?

There is another thread here about what might happen if you try and talk down someone. They could jack up the asking price if there is a BIN already. Especially if they research you and sniff that you own all the other tld's.

Whether the price is "right", that really is anyone's guess. What are people currently looking for in this town. What's the search competition like. But more importantly is there or will there be anyone paying the bills via advertisements. Too many factors to consider.

 

[Name Trader]

If you are going to have the population as your customers, I think it's too small a population. But that's a sweeping generalization. They must be all artisans, shopkeepers, hoteliers

I should buy the com before you do too much development, because the price will go up once you develop another tld. Have you tried making an offer on the domain yet? I would disguise the offer so that it doesn't look like it's coming from the .net/.org/.info owner.

 

[hawkeye]

...buy the com before you do too much development, because the price will go up once you develop another tld. Have you tried making an offer on the domain yet? I would disguise the offer so that it doesn't look like it's coming from the .net/.org/.info owner.

Definitely!

If you've invested already in the other extensions, and are serious in wanting to develop it (with a plan in mind), "BUY THE .COM" now! And before someone else does! Negotiate a reasonable price for you both, and find a way to get the dinero! Sell names, clothes, yourself, whatever. Heck even offer to pay in installments, with a down payment and x amount a month. (get it in writing!). It may be a tough reach now, but if you're again 'serious' on developing it, $x,xxx is not that tough to reach, and you'll be forever grateful down the line, that you did!

 

[DU]

If the town was big and your audience was "broad" - i.e. you were targetting lots of out of country/state people I would certainly tell you to invest in the .com

For a community of 3,000? I would just develop on the .org (is the .us / .me available?). A small town will go towards whatever site make sense for them.

I just did a search for 5 small GEOS (under 10,000) and for four the .com was parked and the .org was the official site. For one the .com was taken.

I wouldn't bother spending X,XXX on the town EXCEPT if you were dead serious about a project and a plan and making it work. You need a MINIMUM of three updates a week or your site will be meaningless (who's going to return). Unless you live there that might be a challenge.

Do a search for "small town websites".

Look how many orgs are on the first page - it's about split with .com (and a couple of .us) from where I am located.

 

[hawkeye]

Do a search for "small town websites".

Look how many orgs are on the first page - it's about split with .com (and a couple of .us) from where I am located.

But, let's keep in mind, even small cities were late to the game, and regging a .org was probably a little more in line to most city councils and their budgets for something like a web address, than aftermarket .com's would've been.

I say if there's an opportunity to go after the .com, it'll be cheaper and easier now, than after a site is built on another extension. jmo.

 

[DU]

But, let's keep in mind, even small cities were late to the game, and regging a .org was probably a little more in line to most city councils and their budgets for something like a web address, than aftermarket .com's would've been.

I say if there's an opportunity to go after the .com, it'll be cheaper and easier now, than after a site is built on another extension. jmo.

I agree but my point is that in many of these cases the .com is still parked and the .org is quite successful in fulfilling its task. There's no competition from a parked page. If they can work without spending a lot in the aftermarket- then so can anyone.

As the size/importance of the GEO grows the .com becomes increasingly more needed. If the town has 25,000+ people i think the .com starts becoming a more realistic need/requirement. A .org on a major town doesn't have the same cache as the .com (and it's more important when you have more natural traffic/searches/leakage etc)

One of the other considerations is of course that for a small geo it doesn't necessarily make sense to compete with a government site as that's more than enough to keep most people informed.

I also think a .TV could work if people took the time and effort to do it right - but this doesn't seem anywhere near as popular in the .US as it is elsewhere.

All my opinion. It's uneducated.

 

[hawkeye]

my point is that in many of these cases the .com is still parked and the .org is quite successful in fulfilling its task

And if the .com, .net and .org were parked, I guess a .co would fulfill the task. Maybe even a .me too. The point is that one will always bleed to the .com, and at present, the .com is probably at it's best time to be acquired now, as opposed to years down the line.

 

[hopkism]

Great points guys and thanks for helping out.

The town council has a developed webpage but it is awful and uses the name of the town plus city council and other meaningless text in the .com. It is definitely dated design as well. The .com is out of my price range because I am still a student. I will not ask for freebies as a result.

The town is at a 3,000 population with just over 1,500 exact monthly searches for the town name.

The town itself is quite significant but most of my motivation is for developing a portal for the surrounding towns and islands. The few islands have about the same population but tourism for them goes through the rough. This is the target audience, over the locals.

I cannot buy those domains because they are way out of my price range, $xx,xxx. They are huge tourist traps with lots of money. Sad part is the websites either suck (little to no content) or are parked. That is why I feel I have an edge for development.

Perhaps I need to acquire a "region" .com. Something that would incorporate the entire region of all these towns and islands. I will start doing research on that.

 

[miller]

I’ve noticed with nearly all geo’s is prices don't seam to be warranted by returns..? Most are not developed those that are don’t appear to make any real revenue? Domainers like them but real world business? Any major Geo's city ones make 100,s of thousands or more a year… The prices wanted for the Geo’s with comparably priced product names the sums just don’t add up?

 

[hopkism]

I tend to disagree Miller. I think perhaps what you are referring to is the exorbitant prices developers are paying for these domains because of a passion or high emotional connection to the city, town or state into question. Thus they are willing to offer or pay far more than the value. They also take into account long term trends.

There are a lot of benefits to holding a city/town in the .com aside from the obvious. If marketed, planned, and budgeted correctly it can be an affordable, rewarding and profitable business.

 

[biggie]

for US cities and small towns


.info .org or .us will do just fine


dev what you got, and don't worry bout the com

 

[hopkism]

for US cities and small towns


.info .org or .us will do just fine


dev what you got, and don't worry bout the com

This is what I am starting to consider based on a lower initial investment and since I already own the domains.

I will keep researching. Thanks for the commentary.

 

[clasione]

Geo names are always valued by their population. With 3k pop, it's going to be very low. I personally like .info for 'locations' if there is no reasonable way to aquire the .com