new gtlds This Comic Perfectly Shows What Will Happen to New gTLD Investors

[GoKaizen]

by @Eric Lyon

http://domaincomics.com

 

[Kate]

It is public knowledge some people have lost 6 figure on .mobi. It was hugely hyped among domainers.
5-figure amounts, possibly more were also wasted on TLDs such as .me .asia .tel .xxx and others.
We can only hope that people are burning cash that they can afford to lose and are not maxing out their credit cards.
There are many sad stories in domaining... but we only want to hear about the success stories. They are motivational and keep the dream alive, but hey are not representative. The truth is that the majority of domainers are losing money. Generally speaking (I'm speaking only for myself though), the money invested in domain names is not productive most of the time and could have been diverted toward more useful purchases.

 

[Brands.International]

by @Eric Lyon

http://domaincomics.com

It is nice But..mobi is not exactly the best example of new gTLDs

 

[.NJ]

It is nice But..mobi is not exactly the best example of new gTLDs

Actually .mobi had a much larger success then the new gtlds in the beginning.

There will just be a much larger downfall with the gtlds due to the ridiculous number of them released.

 

[GoKaizen]

It is public knowledge some people have lost 6 figure on .mobi. It was hugely hyped among domainers.

That includes Rick Schwartz.

http://www.ricksblog.com/2007/11/the-real-story/#.V9hjNB-i7VM

5-figure amounts, possibly more were also wasted on TLDs such as .me .asia .tel .xxx and others.

We can only hope that people are burning cash that they can afford to lose and are not maxing out their credit cards.

I hope not.

There are many sad stories in domaining... but we only want to hear about the success stories. They are motivational and keep the dream alive, but hey are not representative. The truth is that the majority of domainers are losing money.

Sooooo TRUE @Kate!

Generally speaking (I'm speaking only for myself though), the money invested in domain names is not productive most of the time and could have been diverted toward more useful purchases.

This should be a sticky quote.

Actually .mobi had a much larger success then the new gtlds in the beginning.

Seriously?

There will just be a much larger downfall with the gtlds due to the ridiculous number of them released.

Yup!

 

[DnEbook]

So he's the guy who purchased Flowers.Mobi ........just joking

 

[domainer021]

One has to buy domain names that are aesthetically acceptable. "Mobi" as a short form of mobile is never used in common language and was destined to fail from the beginning.

 

[baseballworld]

Not even gonna throw my 2 cents in this ones too easy.

 

[Jman92]

Not even gonna throw my 2 cents in this ones too easy.

badum tss...

 

[GoKaizen]

Some found it aesthetically pleasing as they bought .mobi.

Never have, never will.

One has to buy domain names that are aesthetically acceptable. "Mobi" as a short form of mobile is never used in common language and was destined to fail from the beginning.

 

[dordomai]

It's interesting how quickly opinions have changed. A few weeks ago .com was outdated and being eaten alive by the new extensions and everyone who disagreed was labeled a hater.

Today many seem to take a more moderate stance. Many extensions will fail and some will be successful they say.

Looking at previous releases, I don't believe this either.

If .xxx couldn't make it, even the best extensions won't make it. The best keywords are reserved so domainers can't really take advantage of the best strings.

The lession from this is:

Don't be overly optimistic when making purchases. Wishful thinking is not a good investment strategy.

 

[Kate]

Naysayers are more often right than wrong in domaining. Much more often. Proven time and again.

 

[carob]

Shouldn't that guy's sign read "Willing to Work for Donuts"?

 

[carob]

It is nice But..mobi is not exactly the best example of new gTLDs

It probably is the best example of all - they pretty much created the template for launching new TLDs. Hype, big backers, auctioning premiums, pushing development, cultivating "investors", unique content, large registration numbers - over 1m domains. After two years it looked like a big success. Then crashing resale prices, broken promises, abandonment by big names, insolvency.

 

[GoKaizen]

.info, .biz, .mobi, .pro, etc. are all new old tlds.

 

[GoKaizen]

 

[Charles Sweeney]

5-figure amounts, possibly more were also wasted on TLDs such as .me .asia .tel .xxx and others.

I lost 10K in my first year on .coms

As you indicate and I agree, most people lose money domaining. I think it's important to point out that it's not just on the new domains.

 

[Charles Sweeney]

Plenty more people have lost money on .coms

I should say, I find your post hugely provocative and trolling. We are all in the same business here and to depict some of your peers as beggers is most unhelpful.

 

[Kate]

Plenty more people have lost money on .coms

Probably true. But there is a major difference here.
They lost money because of their poor choice of domains. Not because of the extension.
At least in .com you have a chance because there is demand from end users.

In new extensions the problem is not just the left of the dot, the right too.
And on top of that the registry is often competing against domainers.

It's no wonder so few are reporting success with new TLDs. And you can get equally good return in 'legacy' TLDs, that are much less risky and easier to sell.

Bottom line: losing money is always easy. Making money is always hard. But if you choose the wrong path it's going to be even harder.

 

[Charles Sweeney]

Bottom line: losing money is always easy. Making money is always hard.

Hee hee! I think the biggest problem with the new domains is the newness. After twenty years of .com popularity, longer than a lot of people have been alive, it will take some time for people to get used to them.

I think there is potential in them and certainly wouldn't rubbish them as some have.

 

[carob]

I think there is potential in them and certainly wouldn't rubbish them as some have.

Part of the problem in discussing this is there are several types of success.

1) the registry is profitable or at least solvent

2) the enduser uses the domain successfully

3) domainers make money in the aftermarket

You could have each of these with or without the others, but if you don't have 1) then failure is inevitable no matter how good things look to endusers and domainers.

 

[GoKaizen]

People know cok/org/ various cctld. You have no chance to sell extension nobody has heard of.

Probably true. But there is a major difference here.
They lost money because of their poor choice of domains. Not because of the extension.
At least in .com you have a chance because there is demand from end users.

In new extensions the problem is not just the left of the dot, the right too.
And on top of that the registry is often competing against domainers.

It's no wonder so few are reporting success with new TLDs. And you can get equally good return in 'legacy' TLDs, that are much less risky and easier to sell.

Bottom line: losing money is always easy. Making money is always hard. But if you choose the wrong path it's going to be even harder.

Don't need #3 but issue is most registries are trying to achieve #1 by being aftermarket. Crazy renewal prices are not working.

#2 ain't gonna happen.

Part of the problem in discussing this is there are several types of success.

1) the registry is profitable or at least solvent

2) the enduser uses the domain successfully

3) domainers make money in the aftermarket

You could have each of these with or without the others, but if you don't have 1) then failure is inevitable no matter how good things look to endusers and domainers.

 

[matrigaldo]

They lost money because of their poor choice of domains. Not because of the extension.
At least in .com you have a chance because there is demand from end users.

In new extensions the problem is not just the left of the dot, the right too.
And on top of that the registry is often competing against domainers.

Kate perfectly expresses my thought.

All these new gTLDs are pretty useless, however they're not ENTIRELY garbage.
The biggest issue is related to all those "premium" reserved domains, i see it just as a way, from TLD owners, to increase the hype and make money.

 

[carob]

A weird update on the mobi fiasco. It was started by Nokia to help people find mobile friendly content, using a stripped-down subset of HTML called HTML Mobile Profile, a follow on from WAP which excluded Javascript. Many think smartphones killed that and missing the boat on smartphones killed Nokia. Google invested €600,000 in Dotmobi and lost it all.

So in 2016 we come full circle as Google pushes a stripped-down version of HTML which excludes Javascript, as part of their AMP project

https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/20/google-brings-non-news-amp-links-to-its-mobile-search-results

The fact that so many non-news sites started adopting AMP even before it drove traffic came as a bit of a surprise to the team, but today, Google’s index includes AMP results from over 700,000 domains.

 

[Kate]

New protocols don't warrant a separate TLD. .mobi was obsolete at birth because the distinction between desktop and mobile had already blurred.
A good domain name should not be time-sensitive. That applies to the extension too. For example I am not sure the world 'blog' will still be fashionable in ten years.
Speaking of which, many extensions will be retired at some point. Don't bet on the wrong .horse.