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.

 

[MicroGuy]

I currently own 240 and have stopped buying for the time being.

Thank God you stopped buying them.

I would tend to disagree that the extension is heading in the right direction. I see a cliff up ahead. Let's let up off the gas a bit and look for a nice quiet place to pull over.

 

[Dave]

I own Cardiff.pro and it is set to expire in a month or so. Keep or drop?

 

[akcampbell]

Excluding 43,493 zip code .pros, total .pros registered in December 2011 rose by 5.9%, from 77,117 to 81,681. This was the biggest month on month rise since January 2009 and the 25th consecutive monthly rise.

I own London.pro and plan to keep it. Paris.pro sold for $2,888 and Moscow.pro sold for $470.

 

[mwzd]

I'd keep Cardiff.pro only if I was based there.

There are a lot stronger Geo's available in .pro

And though my first few sites were geo specific, let me tell you they're tough to scale.

 

[JoeBiz]

From Sedo Domain News - April 11, 2012

Domain prices reach record highs in March
IDNX domain name price index shows fifth consecutive month of growth Prices have never been higher in the domain name market!

This is according to IDNX, the first scientific grade price index for the domain market. IDNX—the internet domain name price index—has shown a consistent growth five months running, and the figures for March 2012 have broken previous records. This suggests that the domain market has rebounded from the slump of 2011, and that the remainder of 2012 could reach even greater heights.

March showed an increase of +4.2%. This growth exceeds the more modest upswing for share prices in the IT and technology sectors, but in spite of this, it correlates to other economic indices, proving that domain prices are at an all-time high without being inflated. Alongside higher prices during March, there was also a strong increase in the number of transactions taking place on Sedo’s domain market.

 

[-EM-]

I am sure that article is just for marketing purpose. I will not believe price statistics from sedo (or any other domain market). I read it as "Come one people, bid more/pay more for domains because the domain value "is increasing"" :lol:

 

[siga]

I watched a few uk city geos expiring couple of years back and they were getting picked up on the drop straight away, but not picked up from snap.

Probally only worth holding if you have a plan or are willing to hold for quite a few years in my opinion.

 

[JoeBiz]

I am sure that article is just for marketing purpose. I will not believe price statistics from sedo (or any other domain market). I read it as "Come one people, bid more/pay more for domains because the domain value "is increasing"" :lol:

Why are you buying Pros if you don't think that the market is trending upward? Our own data supports it. ..

---------- Post added at 05:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:46 PM ----------

I watched a few uk city geos expiring couple of years back and they were getting picked up on the drop straight away, but not picked up from snap.

Probally only worth holding if you have a plan or are willing to hold for quite a few years in my opinion.

How do you feel about high profile, well known geos?

 

[MicroGuy]

Why are you buying Pros if you don't think that the market is trending upward?

This is an excellent question. I think it is clear that individual development is the only choice for this extension. And even then, one should tread with extreme caution and consider it carefully.

Speculative buying (sans development) will be an ever increasing losing proposition as domain values overall continue to decline. The Internet is forcibly trending away from "mom and pop" development and more towards consolidation. What we are seeing is a massive consolidation phase.

Ten years ago, when an individual professional wanted a web presence, they created a website. Today those same people are more likely to establish their presence on an existing mega-network. To add insult to injury, everyone that wants a website and a domain already has one.

The great build-out is over. The domain gold rush has ended and .PRO has now become coal. IMHO

 

[mwzd]

There are a few loopholes in your theory MG.

Number of domains currently registered: 225 million. Number of websites online: 643 million (approximately). So there is a current shortfall of 400 million domains.

Granted, a lot of them are mom & pop stores, but if you're selling to them, you're probably doing it wrong.

The number of people coming online is growing exponentially. I guess within our lifetimes it will grow by 2x-3x from where it is today. More people - more demand - more sales, eco 101.

Startups are launched everyday, the domain, believe it or not, is probably the most important bit of the puzzle for online brand building, fb / twitter / g+ / pinterest notwithstanding.

It's the centre of all brand activity for a company, even apps have their own website.

In fact a company which only uses say facebook for promotion isn't really even a company imho, it's probably a one person organisation looking for retail sales.

Good domains will always be in demand and people will pay top dollar for them. Crap domains never were worth much, never will be, even in .com

 

[Jawed]

The great build-out is over. The domain gold rush has ended and .PRO has now become coal. IMHO

:lol: One can argue .pro was never a diamond.

Joking aside, the "great-build-out is over" argument applies to all the extensions, including almighty .com, doesn't it?

 

[gkjunior]

:lol: One can argue .pro was never a diamond.

Joking aside, the "great-build-out is over" argument applies to all the extensions, including almighty .com, doesn't it?

I wonder if this person thinks its a diamond ?

 

[Edward Smeu]

I like the debate here and would like to see MG's answer to Jawed's post.

I see Encirca announced that this is the last month for .pro at 2.99$

 

[webdomain]

expect .pro prices to shoot back up high end of month. I've gotten 3 emails on this from different domain registry sites saying the same thing. it will be interesting to see who ends up being the cheapest for renewals.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Lille

On Sedo at now… :wave:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lille
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lille

 

[MicroGuy]

Joking aside, the "great-build-out is over" argument applies to all the extensions, including almighty .com, doesn't it?

Yes. Therefore alternative extensions will become more and more unnecessary as the .COM market opens up. This is why it is urgent to quickly exit from .PRO if your main objective is that of speculative resale. I think individual development has less risk and is okay (eg. someone has a couple of .PROs for their business use.).

It is those that are buying and holding tens or hundreds of .PRO domains that will be hurt the most. This pain will come in the form of the "perpetual renewal" and unwillingness to drop domains that are unsold. IMO.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

.PRO is NOT alt-extension to .com!
.PRO has its own positioning.

 

[InvisionTech]

Is encirca's renewal still at $14.95? I am looking to move out if it is...

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Move to hexonet.net before May 1.

 

[webdomain]

I agree with Jergen Wolf and nicely said..I also think .pro has its own positioning. Hate to admit it, but selling .pro on the cheap is great in one sense, but prime real estate should not be given away for nothing. I think the discounts have served their purpose...but it is sending the wrong message.

This is uptown!