PRO marketplace

[bocanames]

I recently decided to auction off some .PRO domains. It's difficult to assess valuations for .PRO, and there is precious little liquidity in the market for .PRO. I think these 2 things can change with some regular auctions. My expectations are modest, given the shallow sales history for this extension. Results so far?

First I put up broadcast.pro and it sold for $40 and attracted 3 bidders.
Then I put up rubber.pro and it was DOA.

My conclusion after 2 ventures is that quality must be paramount. These .PRO are not domains to buy and flip, and renewals are not cheap. Therefore to develop a robust aftermarket community may require greasing the wheels a bit. Rubber.pro is not a bad domain after all, but it's not top notch and did not get a single bid.

I've decided to auction off a domain I really like: charge.pro
http://www.namepros.com/domains-for-sale-auctions/329110-charge-pro.html
Let's see what happens...

 

[bocanames]

hmmmm...
Perhaps there really isn't any interest out there in buying pre-owned generics.
Anybody have some feedback?

 

[TheBulldog]

I bought your broadcast.pro, and I like it.

I also own Director.pro, and like that as well. Unfortunately, if you are hoping for big money, I would look to a different tld for now.

 

[RyuKenLi]

I was never interested in .pro. As you said, liquidity was the major factor as I've not seen any sales of .pro in a while.

 

[bocanames]

Thanks for some quick feedback guys!

No showbiz I'm not expecting much at all. $50 for charge.pro is not exactly profiteering. Many of my domains have been sitting on sedo with much higher prices on them. This are just to get things moving - I want to see some sales. We got that huge lift after mjs sold his killer video domains and since then what?

And yes RyuKenLi liquidity is what I'm after here. I'm convinced it is possible to flip these domains. Where there are speculators and investors there will be end users. Some of the investors like me hang on to some of the domains because I just truly believe in them. And some of the folks will manage to find end users to sell to at serious prices.

 

[dotprofan]

Nice work bocanames getting things going with the dotpro resale market. Better to sell them and have the developed than to sit on them for too long. I have been having some success with my developed dotpros in google and with selling text link ads. Check out my dotpro blog at http://motion.pro for news and developed site announcements. I may add the ability to list names on there for sale when I have a chance.

 

[Kate]

This are just to get things moving - I want to see some sales. We got that huge lift after mjs sold his killer video domains and since then what?

Such sales may sound encouraging but actually they are like volcanoes erupting: you don't know when they will occur, how big they will be and how long they will last for.
I think .pro domains should be developed. It does not make sense sitting on them for years IMO. The renewal fees are not cheap either so develop the names and start making money with them now...
I also think .pro will remain a contender TLD, they are not liquid and very risky as an investment if it's for resale. There is little consumer awareness about .pro, at least with .com you don't need a lot of sales speech about the TLD: if you must own only one ext. it should be .com.

 

[dotprofan]

If you must own only one ext. it should be .com.

To me that's like saying if you can only have one type of property, let it be in Manhattan. I mean it makes sense at one level but I think it oversimplifies things to a point where it's not really true. The fact is that even a semi-decent property in Manhattan (or name in the the dotcom TLD) is very expensive, prohibitively so for most. Sure you might find a gem apartment in an up and coming part of Harlem, but it's a pretty big challenge to do so these days. At 8 bucks a reg it doesn't take much for someone to squat on a name and that's why even the junk names in the dotcom world have already been reg'd. I think that at this point people who take intelligent risks with new TLDs will see the biggest gains in the domain world in the coming years. dotTV is a great example of this IMHO.

 

[bocanames]

Kate I think everyone involved with .PRO understands that the same generic term in .com is much more valuable. I cannot afford to buy charge.com, broadcast.com or frankly any strong generic dictionary term in .com. And I think .coms are more fairly valued at this point, therefore representing more limited upside as well as downside. That is to say I consider the risk in .PRO to be my friend; these domains would not be available to register if not for the perceived risk.

And yes I'm a developer. But I will not pursue a strategy of putting up adsense or quick-n-dirty mini-sites with these. They demand and require real websites. The liquidity issue, on the other hand is something I think we can definitely change.

And by the way dotprofan, your motion.pro site is terrific. I've tried the links, I've explored sites I did not know about, and I return periodically to see if there's something new.

 

[mjs]

Kate I think everyone involved with .PRO understands that the same generic term in .com is much more valuable. I cannot afford to buy charge.com, broadcast.com or frankly any strong generic dictionary term in .com. And I think .coms are more fairly valued at this point, therefore representing more limited upside as well as downside. That is to say I consider the risk in .PRO to be my friend; these domains would not be available to register if not for the perceived risk.

And yes I'm a developer. But I will not pursue a strategy of putting up adsense or quick-n-dirty mini-sites with these. They demand and require real websites. The liquidity issue, on the other hand is something I think we can definitely change.

And by the way dotprofan, your motion.pro site is terrific. I've tried the links, I've explored sites I did not know about, and I return periodically to see if there's something new.

Boca,

Your points are well taken and your commitment to .Pro is inspiring. And I too am impressed with Motion.pro . Thanks.

 

[localexperts]

We are going to launch YELLOWPAGES.PRO

YELLOWPAGES.PRO for professional businesses. That brand, will become a Tier one brand for our company.

 

[Ronald Regging]

Where there are speculators and investors there will be end users.

I think your logic is flawed here. Speculation implies investing in untested "things" in the hopes that there will eventually be a demand for those "things".
There are no guarantees that that will happen, so you really shouldn't get into speculation under the assumption that there "will be" anything.

Personally I haven't heard much about the .pro aside from some nasty restrictions. I know people have ways of traversing them, but still, any extension with restrictions will make it that much harder to be widely used.

 

[bocanames]

YELLOWPAGES.PRO for professional businesses. That brand, will become a Tier one brand for our company.

That sounds like a terrific domain to build a business with :gn:

If it were me, my strategy would rely heavily upon using paid subscription revenues to fund marketing campaigns. .PRO requires marketing.

And slipxaway thanks for articulating the majority viewpoint for us yet again. You're right about there not neccessarily being end users coming. It's still mostly a matter of belief at this point, rather than fact. Sometimes small groups of people with a bit of vision go out and create the future. This guy with the yellowpages.pro scheme may make millions next year! Your point would still be correct, just irrelevant.

 

[Ronald Regging]

And slipxaway thanks for articulating the majority viewpoint for us yet again. You're right about there not neccessarily being end users coming. It's still mostly a matter of belief at this point, rather than fact. Sometimes small groups of people with a bit of vision go out and create the future. This guy with the yellowpages.pro scheme may make millions next year! Your point would still be correct, just irrelevant.

It wouldn't be irrelevant as you can't base the success of an entire extension on that of a single developed site. I wasn't trying to dampen your hopes or anything, just stating that there are no guarantees of any kind when it comes to speculation, thats what makes it so risky, and sometimes extremely rewarding.

I wish everyone the best of luck. I personally have no opinions on .pro one way or another, I was merely commenting on how I see the extension presently. It may have a lot of potential, but it seems to have some inherit hurdles it'll need to overcome.

 

[bocanames]

Results are in: charge.pro attracted one bidder and sold for $50 (opening price) You guys must be in a collective coma or something...

I've decided not to do a dutch auction as I had planned, it would just be tantamount to a charity donation at this point. Maybe a small group of domains selling together as a group?

 

[bocanames]

This guy is at it again!

Let the craziness continue, see auction details here:
http://www.namepros.com/domains-for-sale-auctions/331569-generic-pros-start-at-44-a.html

 

[Ben42]

I still have a good feeling about .pro

I really believe once the end user starts hearing about it and the names they can get (compared to the same name in the .com) people will come.

My www.parts.pro (Semi developed) would be perfect for any kinds of parts.

And then Ethanol.pro looks better and better as gas prices go up.

Still to me... .pro just sounds...Professional!

 

[dotprofan]

I picked up beijing.pro on the aftermarket the other day, I think it'll be particularly relevant with the 2008 Olympics approaching.

 

[bocanames]

Some nice names there folks - parts.pro doesn't really have anything there, but that must be the ultimate domain for finding parts. Who could not remember that (brand/domain) name? I think you have to say only parts.com could beat it, and then only because of the type-in traffic.

And dotprofan Beijing is certainly gonna be in the spotlight more and more as the Olympics approach - hard to go wrong there IMHO.

 

[mwzd]

I'm thinking intent, rather than extension.

If I'm looking for an Indian Professional, what better than Indian.Pro - and I'll stand that up against the .com or even the .in for that matter.