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My experience with Cosmotown: > 1 year in

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In short, overall positive.

I'm going to outline both pros and cons though here.

I started using them over 1 year ago. For the moment I have 1800 names at Cosmotown (out of 5k+)

This registrar has been growing lately, kinda doubled in names from where I started using them.

Please note that minor technical issues can happen, like CC not working sometimes. I use Paypal with them. Edit: and account funds

Price is unbeatable as you can see. Might be useful in such rough times (I admit it's my reason for be in)

Interface works smooth in general. There are still some rough edges here and there in the user panel, such as bulk domain search where you must actually separate domains with comma (gave them suggestions to improve this).

Definitely needs some new features. The basic functions are however already in. Including bulk domain edit added recently (I have asked for that). As far as I know they are actively working on new features.

Tip: On the home page, you have to type something in the search first and not just copy paste, otherwise it will not work. (copy protection thing)

Problems: I had minor technical issues now and then, but got help from support. No significant issues transferring in and out though except with one .ORG domain that might be an issue with the registry in the end. Anyway in this regard I've had about the same experience as with the other registrars I use.

Some perks for larger investors, see the discount thing they just posted.

Service quality / support: In line with cost. See below.

Cons: One has to be aware though that you can't get perfect service for a very low amount, like I said in the past for Sav when they changed interface and everyone was pissed, I chilled and waited for them to fix. Didn't have access to my names at all for 2 weeks at Sav.

Anyway - you need to expect some minor issues here and there, with a bottom cost registrar. With Cosmotown, got issues fixed in 1-2 days max depending on the case.

Pros: Cosmotown support has always helped though. Expecting it to improve with time as they are actively developing and investing right now as far as I can tell. Again be patient and chill - my solution for everything with registrars....

Edit: There is no integration with Afternic Fast Transfer and Sedo MLS yet. Possibly coming in the future, I know they are looking into it.

End note: I know some other users have had their issues, so anyway do your own diligence. I'm only sharing my personal experience so far.

Good luck to everyone and wish you fresh sales soon.

Edit: feel free to comment and post your own experience, good or bad below. Also if there is any question please ask.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
The site's not loading.
Their site is working and has been working most of the time. I've been using it, using it right now.

This being said, use a VPN to connect from a different ISP or country.

You might have an ISP block in their cloud protection, reasons can be various.
 
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Their site is working and has been working most of the time. I've been using it, using it right now.

This being said, use a VPN to connect from a different ISP or country.

You might have an ISP block in their cloud protection, reasons can be various.
Thanks for helping me out!
I think the Indian government has blocked Cosmotown along with 3-4 other registrars.
 
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Thanks for helping me out!
I think the Indian government has blocked Cosmotown along with 3-4 other registrars.
Try access it using Epic browser with Proxy switch enabled or use VPN, but VPN cost money, use Epic browser for free.
 
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Try access it using Epic browser with Proxy switch enabled or use VPN, but VPN cost money, use Epic browser for free.

ProtonVPN is free with 3 countries (US, UK and Germany).

Edit: You get an IP from either of these countries under the free tier. I've used it in a couple emergency cases, it works quite acceptable as speed.
 
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I have begin to like Cosmotown, they have bulk forward, which SAV did not implemented yet.
Only they would have to fix the sorting of domains, it's always set to low quantity to display, it must memorize it somehow.
 
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Also if you have great names, again, they will wait for them for a week. Or even all through the 60-day lock without a sweat. Have seen this plenty of times already.
Thanks for taking the time to start this discussion, and to reply to various points.

People are so used to getting things instantly, have you had issues with a sale, say at Dan or a brandable place like SH or BB, that the buyer or the marketplace complains about the 5 business day wait since the transfer cannot be expedited?

-Bob
 
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I have begin to like Cosmotown, they have bulk forward, which SAV did not implemented yet.
Only they would have to fix the sorting of domains, it's always set to low quantity to display, it must memorize it somehow.

They have good intent and taking care if you ask me.

However their way ahead is long now, probably needs a revamp like Sav had, remember the mayhem after the new interface? Anyway I know they are working on everything however it will take some time.

Thanks for taking the time to start this discussion, and to reply to various points.

People are so used to getting things instantly, have you had issues with a sale, say at Dan or a brandable place like SH or BB, that the buyer or the marketplace complains about the 5 business day wait since the transfer cannot be expedited?

-Bob

No I haven't about that.

However I had one client give up. They wanted to transfer before 60-day lock, and they felt that is too long. Insisted on transferring right away on some other registrar...

Dumb choices if you ask me.
 
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For me, personally, fast transfer is a must for using a registrar.

I don't know where 1-2% comes from, I would estimate its impact as 20%-25%.
 
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For me, personally, fast transfer is a must for using a registrar.

I don't know where 1-2% comes from, I would estimate its impact as 20%-25%.
Have you made long-running split tests on that? Thanks
 
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Have you made long-running split tests on that? Thanks

It makes sense to do split test for the situation where you want to find out if option A is better/=/worse than option B. In this case, the matter is incremental. I.e. FT is better, but by how much? So, it is not a priority. And it might result in financial loss for me, if I do large scale and long test. Let's say, the effect is 20%. If I take out 5000 names out of FT for half a year, that could result in a loss of 10 sales or $20k-30k for me. Even at smaller scale, it will be loss in thousands, if not tens.

Now, where the 20-25% I mentioned comes from:

Let's say overal STR is 1%.

Let's assume, about 50% of it comes from registrar pathway and another 50% from direct type-in (landers).

Let's assume about 40%-50% of registrar/partner pathway is coming from FT network.

50%*40%=20%, 50%*50%=25%.

It is also indirectly confirmed for me after Namecheap started prioritizing Sedo over Afternic. I probably have had around 15 NC sales like that in the past year. Some of it (not all) is also captured in the sales where after Afternic FT sale you immediately get GD "sorry to see you go" email, meaning the name was sold via partner registar and they also chose to capture the customer for themselves. And it is definitely all in single digits.
 
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It makes sense to do split test for the situation where you want to find out if option A is better/=/worse than option B. In this case, the matter is incremental. I.e. FT is better, but by how much? So, it is not a priority. And it might result in financial loss for me, if I do large scale and long test. Let's say, the effect is 20%. If I take out 5000 names out of FT for half a year, that could result in a loss of 10 sales or $20k-30k for me. Even at smaller scale, it will be loss in thousands, if not tens.

Now, where the 20-25% I mentioned comes from:

Let's say overal STR is 1%.

Let's assume, about 50% of it comes from registrar pathway and another 50% from direct type-in (landers).

Let's assume about 40%-50% of registrar/partner pathway is coming from FT network.

50%*40%=20%, 50%*50%=25%.

It is also indirectly confirmed for me after Namecheap started prioritizing Sedo over Afternic. I probably have had around 15 NC sales like that in the past year. Some of it (not all) is also captured in the sales where after Afternic FT sale you immediately get GD "sorry to see you go" email, meaning the name was sold via partner registar and they also chose to capture the customer for themselves. And it is definitely all in single digits.

I've read this over and over but still don't get it.

You mean that the domain is not syndicated at all, if the registrar doesn't have fast transfer?

The only difference I see is between: 1) the user getting the domain instantly, VS, 2) having to wait for a push or auth code from you. That alone is not going to yield a 20% difference.

Or, am I missing something here.
 
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I've read this over and over but still don't get it.

You mean that the domain is not syndicated at all, if the registrar doesn't have fast transfer?

The only difference I see is between: 1) the user getting the domain instantly, VS, 2) having to wait for a push or auth code from you. That alone is not going to yield a 20% difference.

Or, am I missing something here.

You are right. Part of it should be covered by syndication, but Afternic claims that being in FT expands that syndication network considerably.

Have you tested with top registars if your non-FT names show when searched? I am also wondering if AN makes any distinction between GD held names vs. another registrar held ones when it comes to syndication feed for non-FT names.
 
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So here GD claims that FT gets you 3x eyeballs in registrar/partner search path

premium-network.png



And here please not the difference between Standard and Premium showing as 15%. So my 20-25% includes some of the syndication effect that gets covered by Standard as well.

Even 10-15% lost in sales for me makes quite a large amount that cannot be covered by cost savings, not speaking of all the admin hassle of going after those.

premium-net2.png
 
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OK, I strongly doubt their 3x claim. This is more of a marketing ploy if you ask me and a cost cutting thing.

Nevertheless, FT is useful because it saves time - yours, but mostly theirs, which costs them money as they have to handle the transfer on their end instead of being automatic.

No doubt there is a benefit as it is seen as easier by the buyer. But 3X? Nah. I still see this in the 1%... 2% range as it has been previously posted on NP.

The 1% effect comes from investors who tested this previously. Over a longer while. (Edit: Can't remember who posted about the FT difference in sales, but maybe it was @AbdulBasit.com or maybe he re-posted that , my memory is fuzzy on that).

It's still something, but if the tests are right, there's no such large impact.

So. In response to your comment, I've just tested 2 of my Cosmotown names. They appear correctly, absolutely everywhere.

The only small differences being, that some registrars are slower in updating my latest prices (some prices are few days old) and Namecheap marks the price up a bit (by $100 or so).

Otherwise, all places are showing the domains. Also on GD Auctions as well.

BTW - the biggest source of domain sales, in my opinion, is 3-fold. GD Auctions, Namecheap and Sedo website, in this order. Everything else comes as secondary and does not add up way too much, although over an year yes it's important money as well. It all comes down to the number of eyeballs in each platform, nothing else.

Edit: I tested domains appearing on: GD Auctions, Afternic, Sedo, Namecheap, Porkbun, Sav, Dynadot. And then I stopped cause it's enough for me.
 
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The 1% effect comes from investors who tested this previously. Over a longer while. It's still something, but if they are right, there's no such large impact.

Can you reference the source of your info? I doubt any large scale investor has actually tested this in a meaningful way.

I have been interacting with GD/Afternic for long time and I have never seen them lie about the data. Of course, they can be withholding a lot or slow to update the info, but lying for marketing gimmick? Haven't seen that.

Regardless, you believe what you want, for me, FT is a must.
 
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Can you reference the source of your info? I doubt any large scale investor has actually tested this in a meaningful way.
Someone ( significant investor here) had, but it's from several years ago and can't remember anymore who . This is why I mentioned Abdul Basit, maybe he'll come in and remembers or maybe he is the one I saw it from originally.

I have been interacting with GD/Afternic for long time and I have never seen them lie about the data. Of course, they can be withholding a lot or slow to update the info, but lying for marketing gimmick? Haven't seen that.

What I mean, this was probably a way to convince more domainers to enroll in FT. Possibly just originally. (EDit: Afternic website is so outdated by now...)

Maybe the effect was there years ago, but it isn't that much anymore. I personally don't see how it could be anymore. 3x? Where from? There's absolutely no reason for such a significant impact as long as the domains are listed on all major sites.

The impediment of say 24-hour transfer is not that big for a buyer, so it can be of 20% of impact.

Regardless, you believe what you want, for me, FT is a must.

Ah, I do have my own beliefs as well... we all have. Religiously, sometimes :xf.smile:

For me, what really adds up and eats from the bottom line is domain cost, base .COM price and renewals. Especially in these times.

So I think we all have our own choices to live by, and that's just fine.
 
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@Recons.Com

Just want to mention, I'm sharing information here and a point of view.

I don't necessarily know it all. So hopefully no hard feelings that I have a different opinion here. That's all it is. I might be wrong in certain aspects, would love to be proven wrong wherever that is. We all seek the truth and to better our sales.

FT is a huge time saver if you ask me. And some impact is there in sales. I just say it's not that much. Also my experience hasn't shown a visible difference over time.

And if you have a better margin on domains, you can use any registrar of preference.

But I'm still using Cosmotown for a lot of stuff as the price is useful to me more than the downsides coming with lack of FT.

Edit: There might be other factors at play, but so far I can't determine which. I'm still looking at the image you posted from the Afternic website and I still cant' understand where those differences come from. So again, I don't know everything... I just question everything at first.
 
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Someone ( significant investor here) had, but it's from several years ago and can't remember anymore who . This is why I mentioned Abdul Basit, maybe he'll come in and remembers or maybe he is the one I saw it from originally.



What I mean, this was probably a way to convince more domainers to enroll in FT. Possibly just originally. (EDit: Afternic website is so outdated by now...)

Maybe the effect was there years ago, but it isn't that much anymore. I personally don't see how it could be anymore. 3x? Where from? There's absolutely no reason for such a significant impact as long as the domains are listed on all major sites.

The impediment of say 24-hour transfer is not that big for a buyer, so it can be of 20% of impact.



Ah, I do have my own beliefs as well... we all have. Religiously, sometimes :xf.smile:

For me, what really adds up and eats from the bottom line is domain cost, base .COM price and renewals. Especially in these times.

So I think we all have our own choices to live by, and that's just fine.

I understand your cost concerns. Not sure though how much you are saving by moving into a little known registrar, as what matters is the incremental saving. I am sure though that one lost sale would wipe out all the savings for you. And that is without factoring in the cost of your time dealing with transfers, dealing with issues, with manual sales etc.

Btw, my renewal costs are already over quarter of a million. I don't look at costs as a separate thing existing by itself. What matters is the margin. If margins are good, more costs mean more profits.
 
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I understand your cost concerns. Not sure though how much you are saving by moving into a little known registrar, as what matters is the incremental saving. I am sure though that one lost sale would wipe out all the savings for you. And that is without factoring in the cost of your time dealing with transfers, dealing with issues, with manual sales etc.

Btw, my renewal costs are already over quarter of a million. I don't look at costs as a separate thing existing by itself. What matters is the margin.

If margins are good, more costs mean more profits.

That's true. My margin is not that good at this time (it used to be very good before mid-2022 or so).

I hope you are right. Because if you are, I've just found a goldmine and I'd be very thankful.

Next task for me: I will do a sales analysis these days over my past 2 year sales and see whether there's a correlation between sales and registrar having FT or not. While this is not going to be 100% science, it might tell me whether I need to take FT more seriously.
 
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That's true. My margin is not that good at this time (it used to be very good before mid-2022 or so).

I hope you are right. Because if you are, I've just found a goldmine and I'd be very thankful.

Next task for me: I will do a sales analysis these days over my past 2 year sales and see whether there's a correlation between sales and registrar having FT or not. While this is not going to be 100% science, it might tell me whether I need to take FT more seriously.

That is a good idea. I have never done the test, but empirically felt that names at Epik or Dynadot sold worse for me. Given that I never had more than couple of hundred names with those, it could be just coincidence.

So, as soon as Epik had FT/Paypal problems, I moved the names back with GD. As for Dyna, I use it mostly for non-com names that GD is overpricing even with Discount Club, like .org, .tv.
 
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That is a good idea. I have never done the test, but empirically felt that names at Epik or Dynadot sold worse for me. Given that I never had more than couple of hundred names with those, it could be just coincidence.

So, as soon as Epik had FT/Paypal problems, I moved the names back with GD. As for Dyna, I use it mostly for non-com names that GD is overpricing even with Discount Club, like .org, .tv.
I'm doing the analysis now and TBH, what I saw so far gives me the chills.

All of the important names in 2023 were FT- enabled. so you might be right.

Will continue looking through 2021 and 2022.

(Edit: corrected the years, will have a result shortly)
 
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@Recons.Com

OK I did my sales analysis over 2022 and 2023 and it seems I was in grave error and you were right.

Fast Transfer has a big impact on sales.


Furthermore, in my case the impact has to be even bigger than 3x...

Here are my results excluding NP sales (scratching head; how come I didn't see this until now...? Never did this sales breakdown analysis)

- Sales in 2023: 100% coming from FT enabled registrars, 0% from others. (note: 40% of my names are on non-FT)

- Sales in 2022: 90% coming from FT enabled registrars, 10% from others.

Notably, my portfolio is currently about 40% on non-FT and 60% on FT. Bunch of it was also during half of 2022 (the second part which went much worse in sales)

It seems I have been losing a lot of money and Afternic 3X FT sales factor is right.

I stand corrected.

And big thanks to you from me.
 
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The good part is, Cosmotown is working on integrations as far as I know. However indeed it might take a while. Will leave up to them to announce whenever anything ready, of course.

Anyway this was a huge mistake on my part, underestimating Fast Transfer.

Didn't see it coming.
 
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@Recons.Com

OK I did my sales analysis over 2022 and 2023 and it seems I was in grave error and you were right.

Fast Transfer has a big impact on sales.


Furthermore, in my case the impact has to be even bigger than 3x...

Here are my results excluding NP sales (scratching head; how come I didn't see this until now...? Never did this sales breakdown analysis)

- Sales in 2023: 100% coming from FT enabled registrars, 0% from others. (note: 40% of my names are on non-FT)

- Sales in 2022: 90% coming from FT enabled registrars, 10% from others.

Notably, my portfolio is currently about 40% on non-FT and 60% on FT. Bunch of it was also during half of 2022 (the second part which went much worse in sales)

It seems I have been losing a lot of money and Afternic 3X FT sales factor is right.

I stand corrected.

And big thanks to you from me.

Awesome. Glad to be of help. And kudos to you for willingness to be open about it, analyze and draw conclusions. Most people would just stick to their guns.

Did you also check if their was any trend within the FT enabled registrars and if their brand mattered at all for 2022? Provided that you had enough sample size, of course.
 
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