How long to hold onto a gTLD?

[jdab]

I wouldn't expect to make any instant sales with a gTLD unless it was a very desirable name.

What do you think would be an acceptable amount of time to hold a new gTLD in order to get a sale?

I have a couple, but as I'm fairly new to domaining (wouldn't really call myself a domainer at all, just have an interest in it), I wouldn't even know whether the names I've got are worth holding on to.

 

[TravisS]

From an investment perspective, I think the the new g's that may be "worth" investing in are snatched at sunrise, reserved and/or a premium renewal. I think you're better off buying ones you'd develop...at least you won't feel like it's a lost cause come renewal time.

 

[JB Lions]

Few more months. Next year is the Year of The Drop. We're probably going to witness something that hasn't happened before. With past new extensions, their numbers still kept going up after the first, second year drops etc. See .me or .co. This is something different. Many of these after a few months are only in single digits new regs a day or very low. So next year, the numbers for a lot of these, just after the first year will start going backwards. The drops will be a big story next year.

As a domainer, does holding onto something that has low demand, with a market full of alternatives if an end user chooses to go that route, make sense? And how many years are you willing to test that out?

 

[biggie]

I wouldn't expect to make any instant sales with a gTLD unless it was a very desirable name.

What do you think would be an acceptable amount of time to hold a new gTLD in order to get a sale?

if you didn't pay "Premium Price" to register it and it doesn't have "Premium Renewal" fee, then.....

if you don't get any traffic or offers within first 3 years, then dump it.

though you have to consider how many years it will take for so many extensions to go mainstream, IF and that's a big IF they ever do.

look at the past, .mobi all the rave, .pw, .ws, .asia, .eu and many others that fell by the wayside and they are SHORTER than 99% of all new gtlds'

it's a fools .game for sure and sucker .move if you're not careful, the .house wins big at this .casino, so hold your dough tight.


imo....

 

[jdab]

if you didn't pay "Premium Price" to register it and it doesn't have "Premium Renewal" fee, then.....

if you don't get any traffic or offers within first 3 years, then dump it.

though you have to consider how many years it will take for so many extensions to go mainstream, IF and that's a big IF they ever do.

look at the past, .mobi all the rave, .pw, .ws, .asia, .eu and many others that fell by the wayside and they are SHORTER than 99% of all new gtlds'

it's a fools .game for sure and sucker .move if you're not careful, the .house wins big at this .casino, so hold your dough tight.


imo....

Nicely done

 

[vivaldi]

Some new gTLD's worth the risk of keeping them for many years in my opinion BUT there are very very few of them.

 

[jdab]

I bought a .guitars and a .florist. Probably a moment of madness/drunkenness.

 

[Kate]

In this business, you have to know:
a. what names you have to hold on for a long time, even turning down offers
b. when to cut losses

Also: what names (and extensions) to buy, and most importantly what NOT to buy.

Look forward to the savings on the renewal fees.. !

 

[McDuke]

What it will come down to is

A) is the gTLD keyword.keyword?
B) do the two words make sense?
C) is it proper "englishes"?
D) is it in a speculative niche? if so you are taking a double double, speculating on gtlds and on a niche, then expect a few years.
E) are they premiums? If so you could be spending alot.
F) how rich are you?

I think luxury.guitars and hire.florist are ok but you'll need to do some leg work selling these. No one will come to you if they dont know they exist.

I'll be hanging onto 20-30 gtlds after the smoke clears.

 

[RogueWriter]

I am being particular about the domains I register in the new extensions. I am currently building a few out, and plan to hold them for 5 to 10 years. Holding 40 or 50 domains for five years is a -small- investment. It is not going to break you. Now, if you did all the sunrise crapola or registered $900 premium domains, well I'm not talking to you; there were plenty of excellent domains available in decent extensions that did not require significant registration fees.

 

[biggie]

luxury.guitars and hire.florist .

if those are domains in question, then don't hold them.

no such thing as a luxury guitar and you don't hire a florist.

imo....

 

[jdab]

no such thing as a luxury guitar

you don't hire a florist

Yes, you do hire florists for events such as weddings.

 

[McDuke]

Larrivee's are my faves

 

[biggie]

Yes, you do hire florists for events such as weddings.

guitars are typically purchased by brand, electric or acoustic, bass or lead, etc.

and 'wedding planners' typically handle floral arrangements for high end

low end folks just go buy their own flowers or have them delivered.

but if you're comfortable with it, then I'm down too.

imo...

Good Luck!

 

[ChubbyDfat]

This may be me talking out my "butt" but when it comes to gTlds, if you are going to pick up one or a few, then do your research before hand.

What I mean by this is, do not limit the potential use of your domain name by a poorly picked extension. For instance, You want the left of the dot key word "computer" *BUT* you pick it up in the . florist extension.
Those two do not necessarily go hand in hand. When you think florist, you do not firstly think of computers.

You also have to keep in mind that when you choose an extension especially one that has a finite number of potential buyers, what is the probability of marketing one of your domain names to one of those buyers.
I am going to go with .florist again. (not that I am trying to pick on that extension, they are just an easy target).

Just a small bit of research will yield you this little nugget of information. As of 2010 there are:
"16,182 florist establishments"
This fact right there tells me that the limitation on .florist as an extension is about 16k names.
Short of having a premium name (FITTING) the extension, you will be hard pressed to find a potential buyer.
*OR* you will have to do a lot of leg work your self gaining information and contacting different establishments one at a time to offer your domain name.
A big company will already have their brand established (think FTD). Small companies/mom and pop stores may not have the resources to bring to the table. Start ups may be the best options but it will be hard to find information on any start up florists. I dont think there is a VC (venture capital) for florists and at that point in time, they also may not have the funds for a premium domain name.

This could be said of many of the new gTlds.
.fish
.horse
.guitar
. (what ever limited stupid name you can put here)

If I was to dish out some advice, *IF* you have to have a gTld, look into an extension that does NOT have a limit.
In other words, a truly generic term like (abc *i dont know if that is actually one*, xyz, ooo) something that the extension does not limit the usable names to the left of the dot and does not have a market cap on potential buyers.

As far as a time frame to hold onto them. That will depend on the extension it self.
I would hazard to guess that a .florist name will be hung onto for a long time to come. There is just too narrow of a market to find someone who is willing to shell out $$$ for for a new domain if they already have an existing one.

Keyword generic extension is your best option and even then its a craps shoot on if the extension actually takes off or not.

 

[Name Trader]

I registered 6-8 .domains names. I'm going to drop at least 50% of them at renewal time and keep only the domains relevant to my business, which are mostly defensive registrations. My advice to other new gTLD speculators would be to drop them, unless they are extremely very good. Especially the higher priced renewals.