The .TEL Discussion Thread

[brendan52190]

Hi

For this, let's assume that .tel will not be a total flop.

What type of keywords will be most valuable for this extension? Will it be geographical keywords, like newyork.tel, losangeles.tel, etc, or what else?

 

[Ms Domainer]

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Let's just say that I'm holding and not folding.

I have plenty of premium names.


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[jagdotme]

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Let's just say that I'm holding and not folding.

I have plenty of premium names.


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I 2nd that

 

[tkstark]

Is anyone still investing in .tel?

i'll likely sell or drop some of mine, but i plan to keep some (5-12). i'm also thinking about regging a new one for a project i've got in mind. i think .tel may have a future, and some of the names i'm shedding are strong...but i'm not confidant enough in the extension to renew a bunch of .tels i don't have personal use for.

 

[CDM]

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Let's just say that I'm holding and not folding.

I have plenty of premium names.


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well that would be more past tense, i.e. you 'invested'

i guess i should rephrase the question.

is anyone at this stage actively putting capital towards acquiring premium aftermarket .tel domains?

is there an aftermarket?

there have been some sales at Sedo, but not sure about recently. DNSalePrice only shows as late as October.

a couple went at one of the live auctions recently, i think it was Lisa.tel and another one.

overall the aftermarket is fairly weak though, imo. just wondering if anyone is actively pursuing picking up good domains (not regging), it would be a buyers market, for anyone who thought .tel was still a good investment.

however if the general price floor for premium keywords is at or below the landrush price of $375, that is a horribly fatal indicator.

for people picking up a handful or a dozen at reg fee that is just what I would call a little speculating. but if for people at this stage to be picking up dozens or hundreds of new names at reg fee (spending hundreds/thousands), that is an investment but why wouldnt you instead put all the money into one or a few top keywords? otherwise it is rather a classic case of the pitfall of noob domaining (to reg hundreds of names at reg fee rather than buy a few top generics).

i'm gauging things based on what i see, not on what i hear and what people say. lots of people are invested, myself included (though I will not be at a loss since i've already sold over my initial investment. I did this early on to hedge my bet), and that is fine if that is the case and you are in bought and hold mode. That 'wait and see' mode is indicative of an unsure market, i.e. afraid to buy and afraid to sell, not knowing which way the market will go.

however as I said, i cant see much beyond what the public sales show, which I cant find beyond October. So I'm just wanting to know is anyone actively buying up keyword domains privately? Is anyone in buy mode? (again, not reg. mode)

I'm still holding on to some good ones, but also looking to liquidate a few due to wanting to fund some other projects. as some of you may know I had NewOrleans.tel at auction recently, it did receive one bid for $500 which was below the reserve. IMO, for the aftermarket to even be considered to be good domains need to be seeing at least 2x on the landrush pricing, meaning sales of $750 +.

those are some of my thoughts on the subject. welcome anyone else to share your perspective.

---------- Post added at 03:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:05 PM ----------

i'll likely sell or drop some of mine, but i plan to keep some (5-12). i'm also thinking about regging a new one for a project i've got in mind. i think .tel may have a future, and some of the names i'm shedding are strong...but i'm not confidant enough in the extension to renew a bunch of .tels i don't have personal use for.

following on my above comments, what i'm asking in a nutshell is, "to who will you be selling and for what kind of profit?"

 

[Ms Domainer]

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I could be wrong, but I think that many investors are holding, unless there are a lot of unreported sales going on in the aftermarket (other than the few we have seen in auction).

I am NOT buying on the aftermarket, nor am I trying to sell the ones I have. I am NOT hand regging--the premiums are gone (though some that were grabbed for reg fee right after landrush may expire in a few weeks--that remains to be seen). I have enough .tels that if it were to take off, I would do very well. On the other hand, if it totally bombed, I wouldn't lose my shirt, so why mess with that model?

I don't know if the Google adsense addition will make much difference in terms of desirability. What could make a huge difference is if the .tel registry were bought out by a major mobile phone company, heavily advertised, and put to use by customers. I don't think that telnic has the budget to advertise heavily.

I, too, would be interested in hearing what other investors are doing. It seems that just about everyone has gone "mum," which could mean one of two things: something major is in the offing OR the enthusiasm has died down.

I know for a fact that two or three major investors have invested A LOT of money in this TLD. They did so dishonestly (by applying for bogus TMs on premium generic terms during sunrise), BUT I doubt if they would have spent so much time and money on a TLD if they didn't think it would go anywhere.

I think it's too soon to write the obit for .tel. A year is not that long. If, after three years (March 2012), we're still at this point, then it may be time to fold.

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[wot]

Aftermarket in general is fairly quiet. I have some quite good .tel, including geo's for sale on NP's "fixed price" at fire sale prices only one taker so far.

But then I have some .com's for sale on another forum at mid $xx many of which has previously received $xxx bids but little interest.

Have sold $xx,xxx .co.in/.in in the last week though!

 

[DubDubDubDot]

It seems that just about everyone has gone "mum," which could mean one of two things: something major is in the offing OR the enthusiasm has died down.

A number of the pumpers from earlier in this thread have since stopped domaining. I can't recall their names, but I recognized them at the time of their firesale or posts saying they were quitting.

At first .tel attracted a lot of noobs who didn't know how to develop regular sites and saw a low bar of entry in .tel. Then the directory plans that so many had didn't pan out, and everything went quiet.

I think now the only thing to do is wait for 50-100 Million people to start using .tel, because that is what it's going to take before there is the kind of commercial use necessary to pump the values up. We didn't see companies advertising their MySpace, Twitter and Facebook until those services were massive, and .tel will be no exception. It too will have to grow massively.

 

[mjbenterprises]

I still believe in .tel, and the lack of aftermarket sales hasn't surprised me one bit...I don't think sales will increase anytime soon, the main draw for .tel to me is the fact that it is unique... And it will remain unique in the years to come, the main thing people need to do is "develop" their tels in the sense of simply populating them with relavant info...Too many times, if you go to a .tel, you'll find no info at all on it, this is the main problem to me...

 

[Ms Domainer]

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The problem is, a lot of noobs want instant results, and when they don't happen, they call the wahmobile and then quit. It amazes me, too, that some who have invested complain that you can't build a website on .tel.

Well, duh, then why did you invest? It wasn't like Telnic kept this fact a secret. These noobs want ICANN to change the rules, but I don't see that happening, at least any time soon (if at all).

It took 10-12 years (from 1985) for .com to take off; at first, no one knew what to do with the internet or how to monetize it. In fact, if I recall correctly, there were purists out there who felt that the internet should not be commercial at all. It WILL take a while for .tel, and it WILL take a major investment by another company and lots of advertising. Or something very clever that will send .tel into going viral (perhaps a bit like winning the lottery).

Telnic will find its path to monetization within its constraints, sell to another company, or wimp out. So far, this company seems to be working hard NOT to do the latter.

But if it all fizzles, that's life.

I have other investments (other than domains), so I'll be fine either way.


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[MattheP]

is anyone at this stage actively putting capital towards acquiring premium aftermarket .tel domains?

is there an aftermarket?

Wait 30 days when .tel's starts to drop. Will be interest to see backorders on snap/NJ/pool.

 

[Kate]

A number of the pumpers from earlier in this thread have since stopped domaining. I can't recall their names, but I recognized them at the time of their firesale or posts saying they were quitting.

I recall of at least one person who said he invested 50K+ in tel... I might be wrong but that's what I remember. That's a frightening thought IMHO.

I have observed the same patterns with .mobi too, a few enthusiastic posters that have invested a lot of money in .mobi and have now gone AWOL. Perhaps they are busy developing their domains but I doubt that.

This thread has cooled down for sure.

PS: my sig is a must read for some persons, in particular the newcomers. The site is not mine but is an excellent source for domain news and I encourage everyone to visit it often.

Well, duh, then why did you invest? It wasn't like Telnic kept this fact a secret. These noobs want ICANN to change the rules, but I don't see that happening, at least any time soon (if at all).

You are right.

The outlook seemed more favorable for .mobi because it had major backers. There was some degree of justification for the enthusiasm (but not the hype).
Telnic never had that sort of industry support and the .tel extension has even more limitations.
It is quite unlikely that .tel would fare any better.
.tel investors should have drawn lessons from the .mobi epic (and other past debacles).

It took 10-12 years (from 1985) for .com to take off; at first, no one knew what to do with the internet or how to monetize it. In fact, if I recall correctly, there were purists out there who felt that the internet should not be commercial at all.

That was then, but now CNO/ccTLDs are well entrenched and it's getting harder for any contender extension to grab a share of the pie.

The issue is not whether .tel will grow or get 'some' usage, but whether it will attain critical mass. I don't see that happening.

 

[CDM]

great comments all. thanks.

 

[lexisdomains]

.TEL - Simply Too Late To The Party!!!

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It WILL take a while for .tel, and it WILL take a major investment by another company and lots of advertising. Or something very clever that will send .tel into going viral (perhaps a bit like winning the lottery).*

.TEL is simply too late to the party!!​

There are two fundamental problems with .tel and that is -

1) Outdated Business Model
2) Limited Market Appeal

To begin with, the .TEL TLD is outdated and seeks to replace traditional telephony

The .TEL is late to the party and seeks to replace an age-old telephony business model started in 1967 (800 tollfree & vanity name) that has offered proven results to both small & large business constituency.

And with the introduction of Vanity telephone numbers, demand has simply increased as business owners discovered that Vanity Phone Numbers (names) are a marketing sales tool that increases consumer response & sales rates. In view of this, .TEL will never own a viable place in the consumers mind as most are geared toward tradition telephony versus .tel technology.

Lack of Market Appeal

And because .TEL is largely limited in functionality, it has failed to present itself as viable marketing contact tool that is both scalable and sustainable in structure. Simply, put, people will always defer to Traditional Telephone, .COM, .NET, .ORG and even cctld's over .TEL.

Sounds like a bold statement?......

O.K..... Here's an aptitude test for you: As a completely unbiased consumer, which buy/purchase action would you choose to buy the love of your life flowers?

1. 1-800-Flowers (telephone)
2. 1-800-Flowers*com
3. Flowers.tel

Here's the consumer results

 

[spline]

.TEL is simply too late to the party!!​

Sounds like a bold statement?......

O.K..... Here's an aptitude test for you: As a completely unbiased consumer, which buy/purchase action would you choose to buy the love of your life flowers?

1. 1-800-Flowers (telephone)
2. 1-800-Flowers*com
3. Flowers.tel

Here's the consumer results

I would chose Flowers.tel :kickass:

That google insight means nothing...And I acctually thought you hade a relevant poll....

 

[invincible55]

I need a help. I want to add the advertisement to my .tel, but I do not know where to start. I was trying to read the related docs on telnic.org, but I could not understand. Can someone help me in this matter and show me the step by step instructions. Thank you in advance for help.

 

[tel-buy.com]

.TEL is simply too late to the party!!​

There are two fundamental problems with .tel and that is -

1) Outdated Business Model
2) Limited Market Appeal

1. Yeah, YellowPages and the like are really scared ... that's why Google is entering the market.

2. Coming SOON !


Go .TEL !

:kickass:

 

[kprobe]

I need a help. I want to add the advertisement to my .tel, but I do not know where to start. I was trying to read the related docs on telnic.org, but I could not understand. Can someone help me in this matter and show me the step by step instructions. Thank you in advance for help.

ads4.tel is my site. Free insertion and management of adverts.
Mark

 

[Jeff]

Last I checked RegistrarSTATS, I believe .TEL total reg's were approx. 30% of total .MOBI reg's ... there was/is definitely a lot less HYPE in the highly brandable .TEL extension, and it is much more memorable and intuitive for use by those that are "on the go", IMHO. :talk:

All the best,
Jeff

 

[wot]

Last I checked RegistrarSTATS, I believe .TEL total reg's were approx. 30% of total .MOBI reg's ... there was/is definitely a lot less HYPE in the highly brandable .TEL extension, and it is much more memorable and intuitive for use by those that are "on the go", IMHO. :talk:

All the best,
Jeff

Hello old fella, how's things?

Don't want you to miss the opportunity and I hope nobody else sees this before you have time to act -but---- HighlyBrandable.tel IS available. :p

 

[Steven]

Last I checked RegistrarSTATS, I believe .TEL total reg's were approx. 30% of total .MOBI reg's ... there was/is definitely a lot less HYPE in the highly brandable .TEL extension, and it is much more memorable and intuitive for use by those that are "on the go", IMHO. :talk:

All the best,
Jeff

Welcome back Jeff.