The .PRO Discussion

[InvisionTech]

It seems .PRO is slowly coming out of the cage with cheaper reg prices than they were a year ago and major registrars like netsol taking notice of the extension and promoting it.

Here are some that I picked up in last couple of days:

Alexandria.pro

Anchorage.pro

Arlington.pro

Belfast.pro

Birmingham.pro

Budapest.pro

Durham.pro

Fairfax.pro

Italian.pro

Lisbon.pro

Fire away with your regs after the relaunch on September 8th, 2008.

 

[mojoguru]

keep stripper and collaboration..

 

[sky]

sky, are you quitting the .pro? I see you are selling all your .pro some are great ones like recording, treadmill (aeiou site), hairstyles....
Why do you quit?
Your sig says: "... Always weighing the .pros and .coms" Di you come in conclusion that com weights more than .pro?

I actually have several more that are things that interest me enough to put the energy into developing. I assumed I wouldn't be able to sell all of them and so I wanted to get a little cash to pay re-reg fees for other domains. So what people don't buy, I'll re-register and either develop or pursue and industry specific enduser. I got enough bread to hold out for quite awhile now. Actually a few I might let drop. But the best of the ones I listed for sale I'll pursue myself. It's a good opportunity for someone, even me

treadmill.pro doesn't even rank with Google. It's a great name. Ads pay up to $4.00 per click and it's a big industry but very competitive, so to really shine and stand out in the crowd would take more of an investment of time/money/energy than I have actual interest in the subject of treadmill sales. If I can't even get on the first page of Google with a keyword domain, what's the point? I think the way to go here is for me to find an interested end-user who knows the business.

As for recording .pro that is for the brother of a good friend of mine, and they have the perfect company for that name. I can't imagine it in the hands of more qualified people, so I'm happy to be able to give it to them at a decent price, and I made a tidy little profit at the same time. Win-win. Everyone is happy, and a good thing happened. What could be better?

I still like .PRO but I'm not happy with the registry and how they've handled so many things. Anyway, this represents a change in my overall approach to domaining. I can only pursue the long tail approach insofar as the topics and domains are of personal interest to me, otherwise it's too much of a drag.

 

[b2b]

I'm selling some of my highly searched .PRO's, if any of you .pro fanatics are interested.
Link: http://www.namepros.com/domains-for...ro-portfolio-premium-highly-searched-1-a.html

Cheers guys!

 

[WordWalker]

Based on most of the drop recommendations this thread has provided, it seems to me there is little or no confidence in the .PRO TLD whatsoever and/or a complete lack of vision. If most of my .PRO domainss are near worthless, then even the top 100 .PRO domain would be near worthless times whatever multiplier you want to fill in the blank with. Let's see, what's near worthless x 10? Anyone? Bueller?

Yeah, you guys are right! HomeTheater.pro - Who could ever imagine a website or business card with something like that on it? What was I thinking?

 

[terol]

I am afraid to tell this, but IMHO I would not renew any of them... :imho:

 

[akcampbell]

I would agree with Terol, you are a bit low on quality. Out of this list, I would renew Televisions.pro and Moped.pro, maybe Snowboarding.pro and Voicemail.pro. You also have some nice two word .pros like SolarEnergy.pro and LifeCoach.pro which I think could sell if .pro was ever marketed properly. You should drop about 70%-80% of the domains on the list.

 

[b2b]

Definitely on the same wave lenght with the boys above, I would drop 90% of them.
Televisions is always a strong keyword IMO.
I also like barbeque.pro & snowboarding.pro .

 

[Kate]

These 2 are nice:
COLD.PRO
SOLARENERGY.PRO

voicemail too maybe...

 

[InvisionTech]

I would keep: BAKERY.PRO :wave:

 

[mwzd]

Here are my picks:

ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE.PRO
BARBEQUE.PRO
BLUES.PRO
CONFERENCING.PRO
CONVENTION.PRO
DIGITALCAMERAS.PRO
EARNINGS.PRO
ELECTRICAL.PRO
FAQS.PRO
FIXEDINCOME.PRO
GENOME.PRO
HEAL.PRO
INCENSE.PRO
LUNCH.PRO
MOVER.PRO
NANOTECHNOLOGY.PRO
ORIGAMI.PRO
PUTT.PRO
SNOWBOARDING.PRO
SOLARENERGY.PRO
TOON.PRO

Best of the lot imho.

 

[akcampbell]

Based on most of the drop recommendations this thread has provided, it seems to me there is little or no confidence in the .PRO TLD whatsoever and/or a complete lack of vision. If most of my .PRO domainss are near worthless, then even the top 100 .PRO domain would be near worthless times whatever multiplier you want to fill in the blank with. Let's see, what's near worthless x 10? Anyone? Bueller?

I would buy any of what I considered to be the top 100 .pros and other people on this thread would do the same, which is why they have value. Value in any alternative extension disintegrates as you move down from the top 100 keywords, through to the top 1,000 and on to the top 5,000. If you register the 10,000th choice .pro and the top 100 aren't selling, you are going to have a problem if you are looking to resell and that was reflected in the renewal advice given.

 

[WordWalker]

I would buy any of what I considered to be the top 100 .pros and other people on this thread would do the same, which is why they have value.

Exactly my point. If that's where they derive their value, without domainers, they're next to worthless. The ability to understand the intrinsic value of HomeTheater.pro isn't something that should need explaining - not if you believe the .Pro concept is viable in the long run. I believe that it is.

The hack approach to "evaluating" my portfolio offered by some on this thread was the only thing more worthless than the value they attributed to my domains. At least you took the time to provide insight and a rationale. Thank you. Nevertheless, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[mwzd]

Crap attitude WW, first ask for advice then diss the people who give it to you.

As for not providing you detailed reasons for each domain we recommend you keep, or "hack approach" as you prefer to call it, it comes from our experience with the tld - you can always hire a professional valuation service if you need each recommendation explained.

If you're offended by valuations from anyone else's perspective, don't ask. :p

 

[Ben42]

I really like Lens and deck. I'll offer $100 for the pair!

 

[InvisionTech]

I really like Lens and deck. I'll offer $100 for the pair!

:D Thanks for the offer but I plan on keeping Lens.pro however, I am willing to give up deck.pro for $125.

 

[WordWalker]

Crap attitude WW, first ask for advice then diss the people who give it to you.

As for not providing you detailed reasons for each domain we recommend you keep, or "hack approach" as you prefer to call it, it comes from our experience with the tld - you can always hire a professional valuation service if you need each recommendation explained.

If you're offended by valuations from anyone else's perspective, don't ask. :p

What I referred to were responses like the ones that said to drop 90% of my .Pro names or not keep any of them. These were not helpful in any sense. Your feedback was appreciated. That was what I was hoping to get.

It's frustrating when opinions offered are not even calculated to help me better understand this industry or a domain's value. As you know, so much of domaining is based on metrics of one form or another that become the measure for desirability and worth of a domain name. I don't think that asking for the "human metrics" on which an opinion is based is unreasonable.

If the people posting understood that domaining is not a hobby for many of us and that we are looking for useful, actionable information, maybe it would take the conversation level up a notch or two on this forum.

I spend at least fifty hours a week pouring through lists, reading forums, talking to developers, working on projects, etc. in an effort to create a better future for myself and for my family. If you read my posts here at NamePros, you will see that I take this business very seriously and that when I post, I try to add something useful to the conversation. So when others dismiss me and my efforts without a thought, I feel compelled to respond because all I'm asking for is thoughtful feedback - whether or not someone agrees with me is not the point. I welcome opposing viewpoints, but tell me why so I can learn from it. -WW

 

[MicroGuy]

If the people posting understood that domaining is not a hobby for many of us and that we are looking for useful, actionable information, maybe it would take the conversation level up a notch or two on this forum.

Domaining is not my hobby. I support myself exclusively with domaining and development. Here is my take on the matter: Run, do not walk away from anything .PRO related. It is a complete waste of your time. There is no present and almost certainly no future in this extension. IMHO.

 

[WordWalker]

Domaining is not my hobby. I support myself exclusively with domaining and development. Here is my take on the matter: Run, do not walk away from anything .PRO related. It is a complete waste of your time. There is no present and almost certainly no future in this extension. IMHO.

So the question becomes, "Why?"

Long before the internet was ever created, the generic word, "pro" was used both as a prefix and suffix for thousands of businesses because it communicated a clear message. That still hasn't changed. Lack of a good marketing plan and/or an ineffective/nonexistent ad campaign doesn't mean an idea or concept is not viable. It just means that the message has not been received or understood. Let's not confuse the two issues. :imho:

In other words, tell me what's not to like about the potential of HomeTheater.pro?

In fact, let's do a line-up:

HomeTheater.com

HomeTheater.net

HomeTheater.org

HomeTheater.info

HomeTheater.co.uk

HomeTheater.pro

HomeTheater.me

HomeTheater.de

HomeTheater.im

HomeTheater.jp

HomeTheater.pl

HomeTheater.travel

HomeTheater.aero

HomeTheater.museum

HomeTheater.la


Does one of these stand apart from the others? Without the bias of years of internet history and experience, one actually rises above the others: .PRO

.Info makes sense, too, but without anywhere near the impact. Translation: Potential for widespread enduser/visitor acceptance.

 

[sky]

Domaining is not my hobby. I support myself exclusively with domaining and development. Here is my take on the matter: Run, do not walk away from anything .PRO related. It is a complete waste of your time. There is no present and almost certainly no future in this extension. IMHO.

OK, I'll bite. WHY is it a complete waste of our time?
Maybe people have different goals.

Are you saying PRO can't get SERP? It doesn't sound good? You can't put a good website up at a .PRO site? You can't sell it to non-domainers, and only a small subset of domainers will bite? What?

I see a lot of <soandso>pro.coms, so obviously people like the sound .pro.

The worst things about .PRO is the snootiness of the Registry and bad marketing, and confusing, ambiguous, classist hypocritical legaleze and restrictions, and the fact that it is not well known.

Otherwise, .pro shows up and looks great in Google searches. And it's less likely to confuse people than hyphenated .COMs which also can look good in search engine searches but hard to explain to others how to type without directing them to the non-hyphenated site.

Anyway, when you make big sweeping opinionated generalizations like yours you should not fail to back up your statements or at least clarify them. I hope that wasn't just a hit and run post.

 

[MicroGuy]

So the question becomes, "Why?"

The answer is complicated and includes many, many factors that have been answered time and time again on this forum.

But to put it into easy-to-understand layman's terms:

1) What can you sell a really good .PRO domain for now in the marketplace? I'm not talking about the rare $xx or $xxx sale, I'm talking about on the open market quickly and reliably. Be honest with yourself on this answer.

2) Considering that more and more money is being printed everyday (and more domains too courtesy of ICANN), why on Earth would anyone believe that something that is practically worthless today become more valuable in the future?

The worst argument in the World (in my mind) is to infer that because the word "Pro" is a common household word that somehow this gives credibility and value to this gTLD. So is .TRAVEL and how is that extension doing?