.mobi Is mtld or dotMobi being too greedy??

[runsome]

Jiblob made this interesting comment on this previous post which got me thinking, and rather than post a reply on that thread, I decided to start a new discussion on this.

My gosh €500 per domain application. mTLD almost have been given the right to print money!

It is subtly making money like a second Sunrise Period.

Yea, it seems like they can't resist keeping their hand in the cookie jar. How convenient of them to hoard 5700 of the best possible domain names, and then either auction them of for thousands, or have this RFP process where you have to pay this €500 non-refundable application fee just to be considered.... C'Mon I'm believe we're all being conned here.

I'd understand if they were "truley" holding the domains for the best interest of .mobi; however if that were their true intention, why is "money" lurking around every corner when it comes to these "premium names".

We're already left scraping up any crumbs we can get our hands on, and it seems 275,000+ domains registered at $20-$60 a pop(in the first 2 months) just isn't enough for them.

Why not just release the premium names and change reg fees to <$10 and get everybody involved here. (which will lead to more registrations, more development, more renewals, and best of all more money.)

Give us a break here mtld. This should be considered price gouging!

Your thoughts?

 

[GeoOwners]

I have to agree at least half way...why should a person with a legit use for a name have to pay for the right to ASK or beg maybe for a name...put the names on the open market and let capitalism do its magic. The tip off in this is, if I'm understanding it, different names have different proposal fees...that smells bad to be honest...there should be a set fee (maybe $30) for all names. Time will tell I guess.

 

[nrmillions]

they are definitely being greedy but that is the whole point of business in the first place. their goal is to make as much profit as possible just like every domainer wants to do.

 

[danmanmktng]

Hopefully the money they make will be reinvested into making mobi a success. They win in the long-run if mobi does well. Of course, they also don't lose if mobi fails with the 300,000 names that have been registered etc.

 

[-db-]

Of course, they also don't lose if mobi fails with the 300,000 names that have been registered etc.

After about the third time repeating that sentence... it sinks in, and kinda scares me.

Not that I doubt their intentions, or long term plans.

But it's a good reminder that we're dealing with a high-risk venture, and to keep your feet on the ground... and not get too carried away $$$$$.

 

[iNod]

Yah it is abit much I have to say. However I hope they will use this money to benefit the domain. Not the CEO.

- Steve

 

[accent]

€500 is nothing to big business ventures (i.e. 1-800-flowers), far less than sending a rep to an auction. The fee helps to vet the players - and the cost of doing due diligence on the proposals could easily exceed that amount. So it could be called the cost of a service.

I have to say I really like the idea of awarding some of the highest traffic names to those in the respective industries who will immediately develop them - development on the extension helps everybody. This is said understanding that the award process is likely flawed.

Of course, they also don't lose if mobi fails with the 300,000 names that have been registered etc.

Not so. If .mobi is a dud there will be few new registrations and many names will drop. If it succeeds then there will be lots and lots of new regs, and lots more money for mtld.

.mobi = ~300 Thousand regs
.com = ~50 Million regs
It is totally in their favor to close that gap. And if they make money then most of the early investors will make money also.

 

[MrRhee]

hmmm... do you some of you really think the rfp process should be free? or refundable?

seriously?

you've got to be kidding.

think about it... the cost is a qualifier to make sure you don't waste their time or yours. if someone is paying the fee, there's a good chance that applicant has done enough R&D to justify to themselves and to MTLD that they deserve the domain name.

if it was free or refundable, it would take .mobi way too long to approve & grant just 1 domain. I want them to focus on other things... like wooing more partners, corp clients etc...

the fee is important, necessary, etc to only draw in serious developers... keep in mind, if you win/granted, I believe you only have a short time span to implement what you've promised (30-60 days?).

one more time, if the fee was refundable... nearly all .mobi domainers would send in RFPs for news.com, ringtones.com, etc... what a waste of time for MTLD to go over 1000's of RFPs per domain name (and that's a conservative guess).

just for a second, only a second, stop worrying about whether or not .mobi is milking us or conning us...

if you don't want to register more .mobis then stop.

if you don't like your current .mobis, then dump them... plenty of buyers.

but take the time to do your own due diligence and perhaps you'll see what I see... they are working hard to make .mobi relevant for consumer use... they are working hard on adoption, etc... major corps are registering .mobi domains (not only for ip protection, but speculation & development). call other .mobi owners, talk to other developers, do some whois research to see who is actually buying up .mobi domains.

re: Premium domain RFPs

IMHO, there are only a handful of people/entities that have the resources to build (i.e.) NEWS.mobi into the site it deserves to be. I would not even want to insult MTLD or even the future .mobi userbase by trying to apply for NEWS.mobi... I don't have the manpower, funding, content-power that a site like that needs to have behind it. We all want domains like those to go to the powerhouses that will develop them, and work hard to promote them and get the ".mobi" concept in front of consumers. in a situation like that, we all win. if I know I don't have the capacity to build a site like that, then I should not bitch about it. But if some of you truly believe you can build a solid site on one of the premium domains, then start saving your money for the app fee, and start doing some research, begin development on your concept but use a temporary/placeholder domain and when your target Premium becomes available for RFP, then you can show MTLD what you've already developed and why you should be granted that premium domain.

but I'm sure some of you will continue to complain about the 5000+ premiums and the RFP process... so I'll get out of your way... probably falling on deaf ears / blind eyes anyway.

'nuff said.


.

 

[nrmillions]

hmmm... do you some of you really think the rfp process should be free? or refundable?

seriously?

you've got to be kidding.

think about it... the cost is a qualifier to make sure you don't waste their time or yours. if someone is paying the fee, there's a good chance that applicant has done enough R&D to justify to themselves and to MTLD that they deserve the domain name.

if it was free or refundable, it would take .mobi way too long to approve & grant just 1 domain. I want them to focus on other things... like wooing more partners, corp clients etc...

the fee is important, necessary, etc to only draw in serious developers... keep in mind, if you win/granted, I believe you only have a short time span to implement what you've promised (30-60 days?).

one more time, if the fee was refundable... nearly all .mobi domainers would send in RFPs for news.com, ringtones.com, etc... what a waste of time for MTLD to go over 1000's of RFPs per domain name (and that's a conservative guess).

just for a second, only a second, stop worrying about whether or not .mobi is milking us or conning us...

if you don't want to register more .mobis then stop.

if you don't like your current .mobis, then dump them... plenty of buyers.

but take the time to do your own due diligence and perhaps you'll see what I see... they are working hard to make .mobi relevant for consumer use... they are working hard on adoption, etc... major corps are registering .mobi domains (not only for ip protection, but speculation & development). call other .mobi owners, talk to other developers, do some whois research to see who is actually buying up .mobi domains.

re: Premium domain RFPs

IMHO, there are only a handful of people/entities that have the resources to build (i.e.) NEWS.mobi into the site it deserves to be. I would not even want to insult MTLD or even the future .mobi userbase by trying to apply for NEWS.mobi... I don't have the manpower, funding, content-power that a site like that needs to have behind it. We all want domains like those to go to the powerhouses that will develop them, and work hard to promote them and get the ".mobi" concept in front of consumers. in a situation like that, we all win. if I know I don't have the capacity to build a site like that, then I should not bitch about it. But if some of you truly believe you can build a solid site on one of the premium domains, then start saving your money for the app fee, and start doing some research, begin development on your concept but use a temporary/placeholder domain and when your target Premium becomes available for RFP, then you can show MTLD what you've already developed and why you should be granted that premium domain.

but I'm sure some of you will continue to complain about the 5000+ premiums and the RFP process... so I'll get out of your way... probably falling on deaf ears / blind eyes anyway.

'nuff said.


.

I completely agree with your entire post. If it was free to apply for those names then every mobi domainer would apply for every single one.

 

[dag]

:great:You tell 'em! :great:

Excellent points all around, MrRhee...

 

[RJ]

Between the TRAFFIC auction, RFP fees, and reserving thousands of the best names right upfront to sell off, DotMobi may have the most profitable business plan ever for a registry. Good for them for finding a way to make their roll out of their TLD very pofitable for them.

The only bad thing here is that I expect this will be the beginning of a trend for future TLD launches, making it hard to ever score a premium domain at launch again.

 

[MrRhee]

Between the TRAFFIC auction, RFP fees, and reserving thousands of the best names right upfront to sell off, DotMobi may have the most profitable business plan ever for a registry. Good for them for finding a way to make their roll out of their TLD very pofitable for them.

The only bad thing here is that I expect this will be the beginning of a trend for future TLD launches, making it hard to ever score a premium domain at launch again.

could be a mixed blessing... if it is successful for MTLD and if .mobi gets adopted by consumers/corps and has some longevity, then I give my blessing to future TLD rollouts to follow the same guidelines laid out my MTLD. it'll only mean future TLDs have a better chance of survival.

however, on the flipside...

like I posted before... doesn't matter to me either way. I'm still moving forward with my .mobi development plans with or without mTLD. LOL.

.

 

[RJ]

I do like the RFP process. It's a great idea to ensure some of the top names end up developed usefully instead of sitting with a parked page forever owned by a lucky (/wealthy) domainer.

The TRAFFIC auctions do seem more like registry fundraisers though. I bet Afilias, NeuStar, EURid, et al wish they'd thought of doing that.

 

[MrRhee]

I do like the RFP process. It's a great idea to ensure some of the top names end up developed usefully instead of sitting with a parked page forever owned by a lucky (/wealthy) domainer.

The TRAFFIC auctions do seem more like registry fundraisers though. I bet Afilias, NeuStar, EURid, et al wish they'd thought of doing that.

but the traffic auctions were a great way to jumpstart the .mobi aftermarket.

I wonder if mtld will be auctioning off more .mobis directly at the next traffic con? if they did, it would be going against their own policies (rfp process). (?)

I'm sure plenty of other .mobis will be served up.

 

[acc]

... if you like 6"5" quarterbacks, with rocket arms...

.
Couldn't have made the case any better MrRhee. (But I still can't help thinking out loud here with my keyboard too.)

The foresight of mTLD.mobi using the multiple streams of not only income but exposure for the .mobi names including this RFP process, TRAFFIC auctions, etc. will be an important factor in the success of the extension IMHO. The implementation of a well funded, multifaceted business plan is what we are seeing here. Nowhere near perfect but probably the smartest we have seen so far. I wish Neustar put 1/10th the effort into promoting the .US extension.

The RFP process will put many of the best names in hands of companies with resources that can build out the relevant .mobi sites to the benefit of all .mobi name holders (and mobile device users of coarse). But that does not leave everyone out in the cold. Many, many fine names are owned by NP members and others and those names can be developed to reach their full revenue (and usefulness) potential.

Instead of dwelling over the loss of easy access to only 5700 names out of tens of thousands of developable generic names, I would suggest this - one can save the non-refundable RFP application fee and buy a really good name or two from an NP member - ".... perhaps like Peyton Manning's team maybe ....." -

If you live where it snows you know this: You only get to enjoy that perfect snowball making snow a couple of times a year - 4"-6" deep, easy to form, not too wet ... We are 4"-6" deep in .mobis right now. Stop complaining about the cold, get a pair of gloves, and go make some snowballs. (Got our first snow of the season here yesterday.)

Will the premium and reserved names listes and RFP process be the model for other future new extensions? Maybe ...but who cares? We are here today, we have .mobis, the future is here. Buy em', build 'em, brand 'em.
.

 

[mobidomains]

I do agree .mTLD owners are a bit too greedy...

 

[freescaleman]

In my view, less than 1/10 reserved domians are with great bussiness value.

For a bussiness process, mLTD's reserving so many .mobi by sending to approiated developer or bussiness group can make the right person for right things.

Sincerely to say, I am going to develop several .mobi site, not only for investment, but for fun. I spent some cash to make the register, but I think I can got some funs to make disscussion in forum, and follow the steps of mobi development.

Good luck!

 

[sibarani]

Come on guys, dont be negative, all the fees i think worth it. You see that this is the new world, with new risk in this MOBI-trends. I dont think they do need that money for anything than development of MOBI. Its only $500 for big companies that would have the premium RFP names with "premium future" in mobile devices. So let them do what they should do....its their advantage, but also their risk..

About the 5,700 premium names list, i just want to see how it goes...
So just relax, wait and see.. its the risky world guys, but also the great way to do business...




-sibarani-

:: PublicRelation.mobi :: Bumble.mobi :: Journalist.mobi :: axuw.com :: TheMortgages.biz :: Purchased.biz

 

[Lasher]

I understand the need to filter, but I'm not going to spend $1000 for the chance to even ask for a name. If the intention is to make premium .MOBI domains available to larger organizations only then fair enough, but I personally think Mobi would be better served by small teams who can have an original thought without board approval and move quickly on fresh ideas.

There are other ways to make sure people are serious with their bids.

 

[colombani]

I understand if they were "truley" holding the domains for the best interest of .mobi; however if that were their true intention, why is "money" lurking around every corner when it comes to these "premium names".

I think for the 2 reasons.
For make money certainly but I think they must keep domains out of the speculation.If there is no content for this premium domains I think .mobi will be an unsucess.

Also it seems they have used speculators.
Speculators make prices growing --) Premiums value grow --) more $ for MTLD
Speculators make prices growing --) advertising is made for .mobi domains --) .mobi more reconized (and premiums price growing )

I think they have the best way of developement for .mobi. but I think It miss for the instant marketing power of big partners they have
We could see in a few years