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...

 

[The Stealthy One]

This is another also-ran TLD. I don't think it'll ever amount to much.

 

[dotprofan]

Hard to debate when you give no reasoning to to support your assertion.

This is another also-ran TLD. I don't think it'll ever amount to much.

 

[sierra]

DotProFan: I can't seem to quickly locate the topic you and I were having a chat about .pro and it's worth. My main point was .pro becoming unrestricted wouldn't be in everyone's 'professional' interest - but maybe this is ok in the end...

After we chatted the other day in here... I thought more about it all.... and .info and .org etc they were once restricted too.

As far as value - I was pretty neutral about .pro's (no real opinion). I now think a bit differently.... reading and reading and reading... I'm thinking this extension has a great deal of potential. Thanks for stimulating my thoughts in this direction.

 

[nrmillions]

Since anyone can buy a .pro domain name through encirca then there is no guarantee that when you type in a .pro website that you would be taken to something professional so that is what will keep the demand and value down. it would most likely just be a parked page owned by another domainer just like all the other extensions. Going to indian.pro to look for indian professionals wouldnt necessarily be better than the .com since anyone could own it and put anything up on the page. just like how .org doesnt have to be a non profit organization either.

 

[sierra]

Since anyone can buy a .pro domain name through encirca then there is no guarantee that when you type in a .pro website that you would be taken to something professional so that is what will keep the demand and value down. it would most likely just be a parked page owned by another domainer just like all the other extensions. Going to indian.pro to look for indian professionals wouldnt necessarily be better than the .com since anyone could own it and put anything up on the page. just like how .org doesnt have to be a non profit organization either.

yes I agree actually - that was my original argument (and still is) - as .pro will be used for anyone and for everything eventually. However... whilst this will will not be (in the end) an avenue for professionals - it is a domain that has loads of $ potential. As it is nice and easy to market (as opposed to .org or .info) and it's non-country specific and it has the 'allure' of professional. Granted... type-in traffic will be minimal for now... however search engines will look upon it favourably.

 

[dotprofan]

The difference is that at $99/year there will be less parked pages. If you are going to spend that kind of money you generally need to try to develop to make it worth your while IMHO. I honestly plan to either develop myself or sell to someone who will develop all my names.

Also I think that the so-called spirit of dotPro is something that will fade away such as the spirit of dotUS, dotOrg, dotNet and all the rest. It's a gTLD with an extension that sound good and actually has some good keyword names available for registration. That's how I see it.

Since anyone can buy a .pro domain name through encirca then there is no guarantee that when you type in a .pro website that you would be taken to something professional so that is what will keep the demand and value down. it would most likely just be a parked page owned by another domainer just like all the other extensions. Going to indian.pro to look for indian professionals wouldnt necessarily be better than the .com since anyone could own it and put anything up on the page. just like how .org doesnt have to be a non profit organization either.

 

[mwzd]

Going to indian.pro to look for indian professionals wouldnt necessarily be better than the .com since anyone could own it and put anything up on the page. just like how .org doesnt have to be a non profit organization either.

At least if someone goes to Indian.Pro, he/she will be looking for Indian Professionals (a need we plan to fulfill).

If he goes to Indian.com, he could be looking for Indian anything (and there's a whole of of Indian things)...whole different approach. Ditto all other TLDs.

At least with .PRO he/she/it has a higher chance of finding a professional in that 'keyword' as against viz any other tld (including dot in).

Just my 0.02

 

[bocanames]

Now is your chance guys. I need money for renewals and I'm selling these:

carinsurance.pro
italian.pro
latin.pro
student.pro
lessons.pro
reit.pro

going for $99 see my sales thread:
http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?p=2018182

 

[Nattydomain]

Im thinking of either selling my Mechanic(dot)pro OR looking to make it a portal site with mechanic affilates, where someone can log on and type in a repair problem or car related problem and get an answer as well as an estimate from a local mechanic who signs up with the site....

Those are my plans that I like to see for this domain. Im sure one of the BIG auto parts stores or Dealerships could pull it off.

 

[Erdy]

In case anybody is looking for a good pro domain, more.pro is available. I'm not sure about the future of this extension and $99 a year is lot of money, so I'll pass that one.

Does anybody know when pro domains will be available to register at any major registrar?

 

[dotprofan]

No one knows for sure when they will "open up" the .pro extension so that you can register them at any registrar. There are reports that this is the goal of the newly appointed president of Hostway - the company in charge of administering dotpro. It is known that the contract with ICANN is up for renewal soon, though finding out an exact date is rather tricky. I've emailed Hostway a few times about this and haven't heard anything back.

If and when the extension opens up and the registration fee goes down, I think .pro will become very popular.

In case anybody is looking for a good pro domain, more.pro is available. I'm not sure about the future of this extension and $99 a year is lot of money, so I'll pass that one.

Does anybody know when pro domains will be available to register at any major registrar?

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

If and when the extension opens up and the registration fee goes down, I think .pro will become very popular.

I would agree with that 100%. dotpro looks good, sounds good, and depending on the keyword, can be very fitting (moreso than even dotcom). Once the regular public knows of it, they will start using the extension to find professionals, or professional services.

With that said, I just bought my first dotpro, and have plans to purchase 2 more (all three will be developed). And speaking of developing, how would I best put to use players.pro? Gambling? Sports? Social? Rep points given for any ideas. TIA

 

[Ben42]

And speaking of developing, how would I best put to use players.pro?

Would be cool to list high school stats for sports of those looking to go pro.

Then agents just have to go to Players.pro and look for their next stars there.

 

[bocanames]

Anybody notice search.pro - an ask-powered search engine from Hostway, the parent company of RegistryPro? They don't seem to give higher weighting to .PRO extension as you would expect.

 

[dotprofan]

Hah - maybe we can team up and do something in conjunction with my player.pro. I guess this coincides well with the other .pro "singular vs. plural" thread.

And speaking of developing, how would I best put to use players.pro? Gambling? Sports? Social? Rep points given for any ideas. TIA

I hadn't noticed this - thanks for pointing it out. Seems kind of a strange site - I wonder if they are just using someone elses engine with a different front-end.

Anybody notice search.pro - an ask-powered search engine from Hostway, the parent company of RegistryPro? They don't seem to give higher weighting to .PRO extension as you would expect.

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

Hah - maybe we can team up and do something in conjunction with my player.pro. I guess this coincides well with the other .pro "singular vs. plural" thread.

Sooooo, you'reeeee the oneeeee . Actually I think I saw player.pro in your sig after I bought players. PM me if you're serious about teaming up on this particular name.

 

[lubicon]

Would be cool to list high school stats for sports of those looking to go pro.

Then agents just have to go to Players.pro and look for their next stars there.

...speaking of agents, just registered agent,pro and agents,pro :]

 

[dotprofan]

Nice acquisitions. You guys who buy both the singular and pluiral are bold. I always agonize over which one to get but maybe I'll start going this route.

*scratches another name off my list* :]

...speaking of agents, just registered agent,pro and agents,pro :]

 

[lubicon]

It really is the time to be bold if you're bullish on .pro.
Personally, I love this extension and if Hostway ever manages to get some major registrars on board, and the pricing is slashed (even by 50%)... I can see this extension exploding. JMHO

 

[bocanames]

OK here goes again - this time a dutch auction for:

back.pro
extreme.pro
hearing.pro
patriots.pro
redsox.pro
taxi.pro

Price starts at $200 each going down to zero!
details: http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?p=2074130