.in Is .IN the sleeping giant?

[dnbrokership]

Bruce Tedeschi, Digibroker.com

Let’s look at .in within this article. Discounted by most domain buyers, .in domain names are one extension where English can be used as a viable domain name. If we look at India, here are some key points:

Population as of 2008

* 1.2 BILLION people
* Population has tripled since 1960
* The U.S. population is 310-million.

Over $1-billion dollars are spent outsourcing from the U.S. to India just for IT/Customer Service contracts. The U.S. is the largest outsourcing country in the world. Based on the fact that U.S. companies outsource to India, representatives in India typically speak English.

So what’s been the problem with .in having a low resale value, basically India’s infrastructure for fiber optic cable is still evolving. However, major communications companies are rushing to India to lay this fiber.

The value of a domain in English or short characters will grow in value. So let’s take an example:

I own the domain name beautycream.in. I parked this name at parked.com and optimized the domain name. I saw a steady rise in traffic with this name with 90% of the traffic coming from India. The parking paid for the name registration in 1-month. As the name ranked higher in India search, so did the revenue. Obviously this name would be of interest to a manufacturer or be perfect for a store.

Currently name.com offers .in domain names for $3.99. I own 500 .in domain names for a total investment of $2,000. Parking revenue alone has far surpassed that. There are still GREAT .in names available. Also INF is a great place to discuss .in domain names. I have been domaining for 13-years and I firmly believe these names will have high value if you can have some patience and build the names out. Smartname.com allows you to park your domain names and also build a store in moments at no-cost to you. They also allow you to put your own code in the header, footer, and sidebar for affiliate programs such as Amazon or shopzilla.

If you’re not investing in .in, you are missing out on revenue. Remember, resale of a domain name is only a piece of monetization.

 

[HeyNow]

Bruce Tedeschi, Digibroker.com

* 1.2 BILLION people
* Population has tripled since 1960
* The U.S. population is 310-million.

The problem is that most of those 1.2 BILLION people can't afford toilet paper, let alone domain names.

The population has tripled since 1960. Now there are three times as many people who can't afford toilet paper or domains.

 

[kemjika11]

Bruce Tedeschi, Digibroker.com

* 1.2 BILLION people
* Population has tripled since 1960
* The U.S. population is 310-million.

The problem is that most of those 1.2 BILLION people can't afford toilet paper, let alone domain names.

The population has tripled since 1960. Now there are three times as many people who can't afford toilet paper or domains.

Your argument is a bit cynical and exaggerated.Even if there is widespread poverty in India, there are still MANY Indians who have the money to buy indian domain names.The biggest hinderance is their understanding and appreciation of domain names as assets. Its inaccurate to think that because a country is poor it doesn't have wealthy people in it who can spend alot of money on whatever they like.

 

[mwzd]

India has a GDP of about 1.2T for 1.2B people. That is $1,031 per person per year, which is 139th in the world.

I agree that the USA is a much stronger market, but with 50% of the Indian Population being 'middle class', the purchasing power is quite strong.

Otherwise you wouldn't have US based companies falling all over themselves to enter the local market, with all its perceived and real problems.

GDP figures tend to include people at both ends of the financial spectrum, unless you really think that everyone in the US actually makes a min. of $46k / yr.

The problem is that most of those 1.2 BILLION people can't afford toilet paper, let alone domain names.

The population has tripled since 1960. Now there are three times as many people who can't afford toilet paper or domains.

We've never used toilet paper, it is ecologically irresponsible, not to mention the fact that if you've ever eaten Indian food you'd know the toilet paper would catch fire, why we use water. :p

Do you know that the average Indian who purchases a car pays 1.5x what the car would cost in the US or UK? Just going by the number of cars being sold in India would give you a fair indication of the number of domains that could be sold.

I'll be the first to say its not all hunky dory here, but to look down on India at the current moment is to ignore what all the big financial pundits seem to be well aware of - the fact that its one of the fastest growing economies in the world, as well as one of the largest, ignore it and you'll just be harming your own investments, not ours.

And, whats even more important, by treating .IN as 'just another ccTLD', you fail to address the fact that its globally accepted and in use in many countries of the world with high value projects, including the USA - see outside.in for a classic example.

 

[.X.]

Bruce Tedeschi, Digibroker.com

* 1.2 BILLION people
* Population has tripled since 1960
* The U.S. population is 310-million.

The problem is that most of those 1.2 BILLION people can't afford toilet paper, let alone domain names.

The population has tripled since 1960. Now there are three times as many people who can't afford toilet paper or domains.

Even if your statement is the case, I would venture to bet that there are more very wealthy people in India, Than the whole population of the USA, Out of 1.2 billion people, I would think at least 310 million are extremely wealthy. That would be if India's poverty rate was in the 60% ratio.

 

[bmugford]

Bruce Tedeschi, Digibroker.com

* 1.2 BILLION people
* Population has tripled since 1960
* The U.S. population is 310-million.

Even if your statement is the case, I would venture to bet that there are more very wealthy people in India, Than the whole population of the USA, Out of 1.2 billion people, I would think at least 310 million are extremely wealthy. That would be if India's poverty rate was in the 60% ratio.

I would have put it more tactfully than HeyNow, but the bottom line is India's economy clearly has a long way to go.

The average GDP per person is about $1,200 in India. Various financial studies show about 5% of the population control 46% of the wealth.

So if you do the basic math -

- 60M people out of 1.2B have a total of 552B ($9,200 average per person)
- 1.14B people have a total of 648B ($568 per person)

According to the following, 75%+ of the population lives on less than $2/day

List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brad

 

[the_poet]

Let's not forget that the number of surfers in India (currently around 70-80 million) is going to be more than 3X in the very next years.

 

[mwzd]

Wikipedia is seriously outdated, since it relies on 2000 census data, there is a new census underway, but this is how the ad companies see it:
2% - truly wealthy
8% - upper middle class
20% - middle class

Lets assume this 30% is all we're addressing, that's still 360 million.

Add to that all the businesses in US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Russia, Korea, Japan, etc who use .IN for their websites.

As also the 1000s of companies looking at India as an emerging market and starting local branches.

Consider all these factors and you see the true potential of the extension is fairly large.

 

[HeyNow]

Bruce Tedeschi, Digibroker.com

* 1.2 BILLION people
* Population has tripled since 1960
* The U.S. population is 310-million.

Your argument is a bit cynical and exaggerated.Even if there is widespread poverty in India, there are still MANY Indians who have the money to buy indian domain names.The biggest hinderance is their understanding and appreciation of domain names as assets. Its inaccurate to think that because a country is poor it doesn't have wealthy people in it who can spend alot of money on whatever they like.

"MANY" is a far cry from the "1.2 BILLION," which was the figure given to make the point that .in was a shoe-in for success.

Just a footnote, there's so much desperation and corruption in India, that you can't even send a frickin' music CD in the mail and expect it to be delivered to whom you mailed it. My friend in India warned me that mailing anything to India is risky, that the envelope would probably be stolen before delivery if anything of value was suspected to be inside. I sent him a music CD in an envelope and stuffed a $20 bill inside next to the CD. He was right. He never received it. He knew he wouldn't. He knew he could not depend on the government services for anything, even the most basic rights, receiving mail.

ccTLDs represent the country from which they were spawned (except for mutations like .TV). .IN probably isn't the safest bet for a successful ccTLD, especially when a billion impoverished people populate that country.

 

[mwzd]

Sending currency via regular post is illegal in India afaik.

I'm sure it might not be acceptable in most other countries as well.

Why they have financial instruments like Money Orders.

You're entitled to your opinion, but if you think that corruption does not exist anywhere else you're mistaken.

I also fail to see how this has anything to do with domain values. :p

Even if .IN is only used by locals it will be worth a LOT in terms of ROI, your call whether you see it or you don't.

 

[HeyNow]

"Sending currency via regular post is illegal in India afaik."

So is stealing it from someone else's mail.

"I'm sure it might not be acceptable in most other countries as well."

Being sure of something that "might not ..." is saying you're not really sure at all.

"Why they have financial instruments like Money Orders."

You mean a US Postal money order is cashable in India?

"You're entitled to your opinion, but if you think that corruption does not exist anywhere else you're mistaken."

Of course I'm entitled to my opinion. Corruption exists elsewhere, and those countries' ccTLDs will be just as worthless as .IN.

"I also fail to see how this has anything to do with domain values." :p

I can't help that you fail to see my point. You failing to see my point doesn't mean anything to me.

"Even if .IN is only used by locals it will be worth a LOT in terms of ROI, your call whether you see it or you don't."

Problem is, most of the "locals" probably can't afford to buy the name.

 

[aceeca]

"Sending currency via regular post is illegal in India afaik."

So is stealing it from someone else's mail.

Not the first case of postal mail being stolen, not the last:

Former postal worker Myles Weathers admits to stealing more than $30,000 in Netflix DVDs mailed through Springfield branch | masslive.com

"I'm sure it might not be acceptable in most other countries as well."

Being sure of something that "might not ..." is saying you're not really sure at all.

Its illegal in US, UK, UAE, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Saudi Arabia, China, Oman, Kuwait, Nepal, Sri Lanka. This I'm sure.

Going by the trend, it seems obvious that it would be illegal inother countries as well. But I did not understand your statement. are you trying to prove Samit's statement wrong or the way he presented the statement.

[
"Why they have financial instruments like Money Orders."

You mean a US Postal money order is cashable in India?

US Postal Money Order is *not* the only Money Order in US. Check your local provider for the coverage provided. in other words Western Union.

Problem is, most of the "locals" probably can't afford to buy the name.

That's not the point. What if they could afford domain names, but lacked awareness of domain names?

 

[mwzd]

Actually it's pointless trying to convince people who don't want to see the truth.

Fact is that .in is currently in the top 5 cctlds around, will probably rise in rank as time progresses.

Some will see the opportunity, others only the risks.

 

[Kate]

In the top 5 ?
I would think Europe grabs the top 5 spots.
HosterStats.com: gTLD and ccTLD Domain Name Counts 2010

 

[kemjika11]

In the top 5 ?
I would think Europe grabs the top 5 spots.
HosterStats.com: gTLD and ccTLD Domain Name Counts 2010

ok, India currently has 70-80m people internet users online today. in 3 years it will be between 280-300m people. what do you predict will happen to .in domain names in lets say 5 years?Remember almost 700k .in domain are currently regged .If you think .in is "out of reach" of indians, then good .coms definitely are out of their reach(financial ) at least. With close to 300m people online in a few years, plus cheaper broadband access, plus the introduction of cheaper,wireless capable laptops in India, and India withh india being an open market economy and a freedom-embracing democracy, .IN is a no-brainer ccTLD IMO.

 

[Kate]

ok, India currently has 70-80m people internet users online today. in 3 years it will be between 280-300m people. what do you predict will happen to .in domain names in lets say 5 years?Remember almost 700k .in domain are currently regged .

Let's hope it does better than .us...

PS: where can get we .in stats ?

 

[alistair80]

.in is def a good investment. i would say...6 yrs from now(...)

i am in the process of developing a few that i have myself.

 

[NeoMatrix11]

Some interesting url :

Hans Rosling: Asia's rise -- how and when | Video on TED.com

 

[aceeca]

Another link:

‘India has more rich people than poor now’ - India - The Times of India

 

[Sparhawke]

India is indeed a sleeping giant now, one that is getting foot cramp and is stirring.

Right now with the figures of 80M people online and that set to increase 4-fold over the next few years it is an excellent time to get in on it I think.

But you do have to be aware of what you are doing, no point running out to buy every domain name in sight.

 

[DU]

Right now with the figures of 80M people online and that set to increase 4-fold over the next few years it is an excellent time to get in on it I think.

3200 M people online just means that Facebook.com is going to continue to get bigger.

The disadvantage with calling .in the cheap .com is that it is the CHEAP .com. There is always some truth in stereotypes and one is that Indians in general are always seeking the lowest price possible and negotiate to that end. This will always keep the price down....

India already has 80 M users (only 6 M broadband) - why isn't .IN ALREADY bigger than it is? How many of the current .IN are held by Indians? How many in the .US?

The major issue will be that the growth in India that we see is primarily focused on building a middle class that is targeted by Western companies who already have established an online presence.

India is also facing challenged in infrastructure costs (water supplies being a major issue) closing the wealth disparaties another (a particular challenge with huge cultural basis) and, yes, a huge image issue with corruption. Add to that debt - he country’s public debt, according to the RBI, has surged to over 50% of the total GDP - and you don't have the huge growth baseline that we are being sold.

So I think it's a huge long term investment.

If you can make renewals with Parking that's great.

BUT


Personally I hate "pumping threads". If .in is such a great thing and you are covering costs... don't tell others to invest.. buy more yourself and make even MORE money. Or are you selling something else?

Fundamentally, I could have written the same article as the OP but substituting .mobi for .in and just adding "mobile".

India will be adding 4 x as many mobile users in the next ten years. Many will not even have a computer and operate solely on hand held smart phones. etc. I have xxx mobi and think you should to. You can even buy mine!

I believe that by the time the opportunity to take advantage of the internet for the masses comes to fruition - it will be much better for local businesses to do what companies are doing now already.

Whatever the Indian equivalent of "see my business at www.facebook.in/mycompany" will be.

That said. Strong domains targeting the Indian clientele will make money. A random generic keyword is a tough sell in any TLD and will be even harder in .in imho.