.us Is .US aftermarket dead?

[mwzd]

Hi,

Just wondering, aside from the oddball sale here and there (mostly to end users and those too LLL.us)... .us seems to have almost no aftermarket.

I've been trying to sell some names for a month or so via NP/DNF/Etc but there has not even been a nibble. And the names I have are not bad at all (myAds, Croon, Casted etc).

So I'm just wondering... .us was always to be a second fiddle to .com but whereas even three word .coms are selling fine its tough to even sell single word .us.

Opinions welcome, just don't flame me for my observations.

Cheers!

 

[Roo78]

I actually think that .us isn't all it's cracked up to be....maybe .tv will be the next big one...nothing can touch .com but I think that .tv will make a run at second...TV stations are starting to promote .tv more and more. I don't see .us advertised like it could be.

 

[TheBulldog]

Shh, don't say that in the TV section. They will hand you some kool-aid and welcome you to the party.

 

[Alan Glennon]

The .us aftermarket is at best stagnant. The reasonable sales are to end users only.

 

[Fundraiser]

All is good really. Look for who is picking up names now, follow the money. There has been a sale recently completed into the $xxx,xxx (very reliable source) mentioned at USF.

The quality of names matters a lot. Top tier domains sell. Lower quality domains are almost always domainer-to-domainer and the buzz on the forums these days is that the dot US market is weak. As such, you won't be selling them here because the flavor of the month always rules. You won't sell them at DS because few public sales happen there to begin with, particularly apart from dot com. At DNF, you might sell on occasion. At USF, most of the main posters / participants have US domains in such quality and quantity that it is hard to entice them to buy unless you really have something special.

Just my opinion.

 

[kemjika11]

I think .us sales have slowed a bit, or better yet, i think more serious .us sales have gone private. If anything, we've been hearing about average fish in the pond. LLL.us owners are getting offers, and american traffic gives relatively good PPC compared ot other countries, and as Fundraiser said, good names will sell and thats true in most commonly used extensions

 

[mwzd]

Fundraiser, can I send you my .us list for a fair idea of what you think it should be worth (less than 50 names).

It'll be a big help... and you have a ton more experience than me.

Cheers!

 

[tricolorro]

There has been a sale recently completed into the $xxx,xxx (very reliable source) mentioned at USF.

:hi:

Please tell me what USF means.

I searched this forum but there's really nothing relevant.

I searched Google and USForum.us is a Parking page.

Thanks.
Patrick

 

[acc]

:hi:
I searched Google and USForum.us is a Parking page.

It was working a couple days ago ... but ... if you look closer ....

OOPS ..... Looks like someone forgot to renew on time :o
USForum.us:
Domain Expiration Date Wed Jan 09 23:59:59 GMT 2008
Domain Last Updated Date Thu Jan 10 22:16:51 GMT 2008

Hope to see it back up soon ...

 

[Fundraiser]

It was working a couple days ago ... but ... if you look closer ....

OOPS ..... Looks like someone forgot to renew on time :o

LOL -yep, I'm sure he will renew it asap.

 

[mwzd]

I saw that live a day or so ago. Weird.

It's like RJ letting NP expire

Thx Fundraiser, pm on the way.

 

[Carlton]

Many/most sales are private. You don't know about them because one or both parties know it's not good business strategy to publicize them.

And the names I have are not bad at all (myAds, Croon, Casted etc).

mwzd - Not to criticize, but I must tell you that the examples you posted (MyAds, Croon, Casted) are what I would categorize as poor quality names. Your perception of these as marketable names suggests you may not understand the market that well yet.

 

[duceman]

I actually think that .us isn't all it's cracked up to be....maybe .tv will be the next big one...nothing can touch .com but I think that .tv will make a run at second...TV stations are starting to promote .tv more and more. I don't see .us advertised like it could be.

If you're giving up on .us you can always post your list for sale to see what happens.

If they are good that is.

 

[whitebark]

The recent slump may be bad for those looking to sell, but it's a good time for others looking to buy...

On another note, was on the highway today and noticed, not one, but two different US trucking firms using .us domain names for their companies. So maybe that long-awaited take-up by US firms of their own cctld is starting to happen.

 

[mwzd]

mwzd - Not to criticize, but I must tell you that the examples you posted (MyAds, Croon, Casted) are what I would categorize as poor quality names. Your perception of these as marketable names suggests you may not understand the market that well yet.

I never said I had a very high quality portfolio in .US, Carlton, I did acquire most of them within the last 9 months for sub-$100 prices, so its not like I have super generics.

However, even for the price points, $18-$90, that I'm looking for these are fairly decent names, still there is no interest... not even an offer.

Thats why I was wondering if resellers are not at all interested in .us domains, just trying to figure out if its something I'm doing wrong or something in general thats wrong with the .us aftermarket.

edit - just thought i'd post some stats for these domains.

my Ads
Google -
w/o quotes - 39,600,000
w/ quotes - 3,890,000

Croon
Google - 826,000
OVT/mo. - 441
Wordtracker/day - 10

Casted
Google - 2,690,000
OVT/mo. - 1195
Wordtracker/day - 6

So its not like they're not worth more than what I'm asking...

 

[Carlton]

One of the factors affecting the market (.US included) is that domain buyers are more savvy and selective in their purchases opting for more pure, high interest keywords. We continue to see nonsensical .com sales since .com is the hot commodity and naive investors jump into the market chasing the latest hyped stock. But in my assessment, the newer tld's are being adopted in a more significant fashion than is reflected in aftermarket sales and it ties in to what whitebark said above. Actual companies using .us and other tld's as evidenced by their vehicle logos, TV commercials, and ads in magazine/radio/internet.

What is best for new extensions is gradual adoption that broadens. From this comes public awareness and the more robust sales that so many domainers focus on. The groundswell is real but hasn't hit the tipping point like mobi and tv are about to do. The evolution of tld's occur over varying time spans & via different routes, so the investor has to allow for the market to firm up. So-called "failed extensions" are often impatient investors who have no long-term perspective.

 

[mwzd]

So what you're essentially saying is - hold them or develop them and wait it out till such time as the market actually firms up and there is demand for them.

I can live with that... I bought them initially for development to target US based clicks, them being of higher value than Indian ones.

Its just that along the way we've been ensuring that all initiatives would follow a particular strategy we are following for our own company... and suddenly this does not come up in the scheme of things to do till 2010.

And I never said .us is a failed tld, quite the opposite in fact, I feel that it is the next logical option for US companies and sites now that .com is in the stratosphere. And I feel that eventually .us should surpass other ccTLDs like .de and .co.uk

What I did say was that the us aftermarket seems to be dead. Which you have explained by the 'firm up' bit.

So I'll take your advice and hold them, developing a few along the way, even if they are simple sites. Though I'm still waiting for Fundraiser to offer his opinion

 

[Carlton]

...And I never said .us is a failed tld, quite the opposite in fact ...

True. I was referring to some generalizations I see around the forums. Some (not all) of the dotcom players are beginning to talk down non-com extensions. This is in direct correlation to the increasing registration numbers of non-com extensions and the number of non-com websites coming online rising steadily. The internet world is realizing that .com is not the only viable extension. DotUS is an alternative that people and businesses are turning to. So competition is heating up giving rise to more negative rhetoric by dotcom loyalists.

There is a sizeable .com group who want mobi, tv, us to go away. It's the equivalent of having the only restaurant in a town. You enjoy that monopoly status for awhile, but then get concerned when two more restaurants open up across the street and some of your patrons start eating over there. It affects your bottom line so the gloves come off. The more vociferous critics have actually begun to tone it down (except the egomanical nuts who never shut up) because things are looking so good now that they risk being caught with lots of egg on face.

 

[moondog]

I get offers on my .US names all the time via SEDO and private offers. The average offer price has really gone up over the last year. 12 months ago, my initial offers were usually in the $300 range. Today, the initial offers are in the $1500 range.

I agree 100% with Fundraiser - you MUST have generic one-word names. There is absolutely NO market for brandables, weird tense verbs, etc... I do not see a market for these for a LONG time either.

-Bob

 

[duceman]

True. I was referring to some generalizations I see around the forums. Some (not all) of the dotcom players are beginning to talk down non-com extensions. This is in direct correlation to the increasing registration numbers of non-com extensions and the number of non-com websites coming online rising steadily. The internet world is realizing that .com is not the only viable extension. DotUS is an alternative that people and businesses are turning to. So competition is heating up giving rise to more negative rhetoric by dotcom loyalists.

There is a sizeable .com group who want mobi, tv, us to go away. It's the equivalent of having the only restaurant in a town. You enjoy that monopoly status for awhile, but then get concerned when two more restaurants open up across the street and some of your patrons start eating over there. It affects your bottom line so the gloves come off. The more vociferous critics have actually begun to tone it down (except the egomanical nuts who never shut up) because things are looking so good now that they risk being caught with lots of egg on face.

Exactly!!... It amazes me that the guy's that had the forethought to buy up great generics before the net took off can't see 5-10 years into the future. What do you think will happen when 10% of China gets online? They might not first think of a web address as "xyz.com" they might first thing of it as "xyz.cn".

The same for the next generation of U.S kids. I mean my son has never seen or know what a LP or 45 is. He even refers to CD's as his downloads. He's never seen a rotary phone, he doesn't know that there used to be a milk man either. Right now we are in the first generation of full time net users. I'm sure that perceptions will change.

(except the egomanical nuts who never shut up)

None of us can figure out who you are speaking of :lol:

 

[kemjika11]

.US names are underestimated more than they should be. Amongst my many freshly regged names, my .us get lower traffic monthly than some of my .coms and other TLDs, but my .us names have managed to pay for themselves half way, or fully, and my other fresh regs getting more traffic haven't done that yet, so i think .us is all about great names. poor .coms= possible sale, poor .us= very likely no sale. If you bother with .us, get good names at least.ITs an underdog market, and only the best will be able to make something of it

 

[mwzd]

you MUST have generic one-word names. There is absolutely NO market for brandables, weird tense verbs, etc... I do not see a market for these for a LONG time either

I picked up the following names on ebay last month -

intact.us

yearn.us

fourwheeler.us

dirt cheap. In fact the seller of the last one told me he bought it for $50-$60. I'm sure the other seller also took a loss on these.

For any domain I buy I check the numbers, then think of industry applicability (myAds - classifieds, croon - singers, casted - casting) and also ease of development. I agree cast or even casting would be better but can't afford them.

If you bother with .us, get good names at least.ITs an underdog market, and only the best will be able to make something of it

I got .ws for that

I don't have a budget for .us, thats actually why I even tried to sell them.

And I don't do mfa else could throw up sites on the few names i have almost overnight, just doesn't work for us/me.

 

[Kate]

And I feel that eventually .us should surpass other ccTLDs like .de and .co.uk

I agree. Most developed countries have thriving ccTLDs (Europe in particular) and the US is an anomaly. But the ccTLDs were not so thriving years ago, it takes time.
With .us my vision is long term that is 5+ years.

I also agree with the above. Right now there is a market for premium keywords. But the market is not developed (saturated) enough to accommodate domains of lesser quality.

That being said, just because the reseller market is stagnant that does not mean solid aftermarket sales to end users are not taking place (reported or not).

 

[domainica]

Not dead. Just in deep hibernation. Seems like everyone is waiting for everyone else to make a big buy or two. And Neustar ain't helpin'.

 

[DotUSDomains]

Yep neustar is not helping matters like said above,

plus if you get Zouzas to post then all the good name owners are in this thread

And i think alot of end users are buying names that are still freely available available,Small compaies are getting there names for Reg fee without any hassle now.

And domainers buy from Domainers is not a good combination I want names for less then the owner paid : EG: I'd offer Tom $1200 For More.us