question What is holding back demand for NewG's?

[Internet.Domains]

What is holding back demand for NewG's?

Is it lack of end user education? Premium renewals? The ability for renewal prices to skyrocket with no price controls? Something else?

NewG's have been out for a half decade now, yet they still have very little demand. The amount of sales by both monetary and volume metrics show there is little demand.

So what gives? What is holding back the demand for NewG's in mid 2019?

(Disclaimer: I am pro-NewG and own a few. I own enough, not to change a lifestyle, but to gain a better understanding.)

 

[DomainRecap]

As well as the insane pricing structure of new gTLDs, I'll chime in with another of my pet peeves:

There are too freaking many of them.

Right now there are over 1,200 active new gTLDs in operation, and with almost 2,000 applications (and growing) there doesn't seem to be an end to this bizarre ICANN money machine.

These numbers are just stupid and there is no way in hell that the marketplace requires almost 2,000 new extensions. Worse, these growing numbers continue to water down, and make largely irrelevant, the entire new gTLD program - it's like watching feral rabbits multiply in Australia or a massive tsunami that never seems to end.

At a certain point, people will just tune out all this garbage.

 

[Grilled]

I wonder how many newG registries are profitable?

And what are these newG's doing with their profits?

Spending on marketing, advertising, and raising consumer awareness?

Or are some hedging for the possibility that

At a certain point, people will just tune out all this garbage.

And using the profits (money that otherwise would have been spent by another domainer competing against the registry owner in .COM auctions) to fund premium .COM purchases?

Dun dun dunnnnnn

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I wonder how many newG registries are profitable?

I suspect it is hard to dig out for tiny registries but big ones report finances regularly. For example this is most recent for Radix. They are apparently profitable with profit growing (by 45%). Interestingly 87% of revenue come from standard registrations (27%) and renewals (60%) with premium not that much of pie. I expect Donuts rely more on premium revenue.

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20190..._45_percent_growth_in_profitability_for_2018/

Bob

 

[Rich]

I like the idea of the new gtlds, i thought about grabbing ****.place for development of a local restaurant but the .us would work just as good at a fraction of the cost. Maybe the problem is too many to choose from, along with greed of the registries, misinformation, and it's simply too early or late for them. None of my friends have heard of .dental or .world but we expect people to buy into them.

 

[jmcc]

The new gTLDs are of course a collection of rather different extensions. If we turned the OP question slightly, do we see any extension/registry as close to doing the right thing with their TLD(s)?

A very good point, Bob,
Registries have to do what is right for their TLDs rather than for domainers. That's an expensive lesson that many domainers have to learn the hard way. Some of the leading new gTLDs have used discounting to grow their zones. These are generally short-lived registrations (one year wonders) and most do not renew. However, there are some who have stuck with a higher than .COM registration fee and they are relatively stable but they are growing slowly. Only .XYZ has been successful in using discounting as a tool to drive growth. Its low reg fee makes it attractive in developing markets. Most of the new gTLDs have geographically based core markets and they reflect that in the renewals and usage.

There is some confusion about "demand". Does it mean demand for premium domain names or demand for domain names in new gTLDs? They are two very different things. Secondary domain name markets are only viable once there's some kind of established primary market. Establishing that primary market takes development and that takes time. It will take time for some of the new gTLDs to develop that primary market and it could be anything from a five year to a ten year hold on some registrations. A few of the new gTLDs are already casualties and the blood trails are evident to those of us who analyse TLD markets.

Once a newly launched TLD gets beyond the second launch anniversary, renewals become extremely important for the TLD. Where registrations are faltering, some registries have resorted to using discounting to drive registrations volume. Unfortunately, it is like shaving while drunk with a chainsaw.

There is a major market correction in progress on the ex-Famous Four NGTs. (.LOAN/ACCOUNTANT/BID/CRICKET/DATE/DOWNLOAD/FAITH/MEN/PARTY/RACING/REVIEW/SCIENCE/TRADE/WEBCAM/WIN) as the new registry management has stopped the discounting and increased the wholesale price. The .LOAN NGT may end up with only 20K registrations later this year. But this is actually a good move and intended to repair the reputational damage that discounting did in some of these NGTs.

Some of the NGTs are taking on the growth characteristics of early-stage ccTLDs. That means slow and steady growth while they develop the TLD's brand and credibility. These are not quick flip TLDs and their market size is only a small fraction of that of .COM's market.

Regards...jmcc

 

[DomainRecap]

The current new gTLD market is like putting 1200 rats in a cage, and then coming back in a few months.

What you'll find then is a couple of very strong alpha rats prowling around, but the vast majority of the original 1200 will be long gone.

That's the inevitable future for new gTLDs, as the market simply cannot support 2K+ extensions, and only the few strongest ones will survive.

 

[namemarket]

...There is a major market correction in progress on the ex-Famous Four NGTs. (LOAN/ACCOUNTANT/BID/CRICKET/DATE/DOWNLOAD/FAITH/MEN/PARTY/RACING/REVIEW/SCIENCE/TRADE/WEBCAM/WIN) as the new registry management has stopped the discounting and increased the wholesale price.

Today Dynadot is offering only $3,49 reg fee with low $3.49 renewal on .TRADE which I discovered when looking at buying 2 dot-trade names.

 

[jmcc]

Today Dynadot is offering only $3,49 reg fee with low $3.49 renewal on .TRADE which I discovered when looking at buying 2 dot-trade names.

2018 renewals are not high. (4.61% January 2018 doms, and 2.41% on February 2018 doms. The 338 new registrations over April 2019. Very different to those over April 2018 (18,084) and over May 2018 (12,460)).

Regards...jmcc

 

[HotKey]

What the new G's really need is for @Kate to jump on board. Preferably in this lifetime, sometime. Where the heck is she, anyways??

 

[DotKing]

IMO, biggest concerns about newG:
- majority of population is not aware that new extensions even exists, which is imo a huge downside to own business website on newG
- it's hard to advertise without 'www' prefix as someone mentioned already, especially if extension is a longer word
- multiple and confusing pricing models

 

[Bob Hawkes]

What the new G's really need is for @Kate to jump on board. Preferably in this lifetime, sometime. Where the heck is she, anyways??

I was wondering the same thing. Even though her view was not in favour of new gTLDs most of the time (or .mobi either ) I very much enjoyed @Kate 's logically argued and clearly expressed posts. She helped keep us on our toes! I hope we hear from her again soon, and that she has just been enjoying a well deserved holiday or selling a zillion domains and too busy to post lately.
Bob

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

- majority of population is not aware that new extensions even exists

Majority of population is using Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and that's all... they don't need any domains.
And they click - what they see on their smartphones...

Internet has changed since 90s, did you notice?

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

a huge downside to own business website on newG

Visit REX.ONE
Business or not???

p.s. I sold it for $5K in Feb.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I used to feel that there are too many new extensions (and definitely feel that some like .sucks should never have seen the light of day, and identical singular/plural like .loan/.loans should not both have been approved), but I am not sure I still think that.

In my personal sphere I see a bit of evidence that people are changing mindset not to that they know the names of a bunch of extensions, but rather that there are many things possible and they are not surprised to see something after the dot that they have not seen before. I think several things have helped this, including the success of the general purpose country extensions, some start of brand TLD use in public view, publicity re a few big sales, and I think especially the impact that TLDs like .app and .blog have. The link to big name companies and use in venues that many people see.

In many areas of life a huge number of things coexist, each finding their market. Think publishers. A few big names have a lot of the market but there are many tens of thousands (probably more) publishers. When you look for a book you don't insist on it being published by a big name. As long as their is a robust supply chain small publishers can define a small niche and be successful. If ICANN fees and costs take this into account, there is no reason that very specialized extensions can't succeed.

The other reason I am not as negative on so many new gTLDs as I once was, is they allow many more companies to get a domain that exactly matches their name. I think one of the most promising routes for new gTLD investors is to get a role in helping startups choose a name looking at possibilities with new extensions. Much inertia to overcome for it to ever succeed, though.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Bob

PS On a different topic, but in answer to the OP, I think the most important thing the registries could do is have a lengthy list of examples of significant real world organizations using their extension. Some do it, but many do not, or not well at least.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

helping startups choose a name looking at possibilities with new extensions.

This week I had $500 inquiry on .tech from Indian startup...

 

[EASYPICKINGS]

Another point is that the domain investors liquidated, and invested in crypto currencies instead, leading the stagnation we see today.

And all the main registrars legitimized all these crazy extensions making new customers think its normal, and okay to base your business off it.

People are uneducated about the negatives of what it means to NOT have a .com.

Obviously the .ksjdfhasldkj will be cheaper, and most likely be available for them to hand-register or buy for under $100.

I think maybe if cryptos died down tens of billions of dollars would flood back into the domain market, and I think in the future 3-5 years, all random extensions will be obsolete when it costs those businesses many many many times more to advertise online than a .com, because also I think sites with random extensions will be getting hacked more often.

 

[biggie]

What is holding back demand for NewG's?

if there is no demand now, then maybe nothing is holding it back.

domainers are majority of first end-users for new.whatevers
and their thirst fuels the speculation, which creates an illusion of desireables, in the reseller market.

there is no demand outside of that market because .com and the rest of the tld's/cctld, are still coveted by the masses.

if anything, the registrars/registries would be biggest obstacle for new dot whatevers,
since they created multistage releases for new extensions and/or holding auctions for premium keywords or premium pricing them, to register and renew.

all that seems counterproductive to getting general public acceptance and usage,
when many of their registration and renewal costs are priced higher, than cost to register and renew a .com

imo...

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Yesterday some of GoDaddy brokers has contacted me regarding a plural .online
Doing negotiations in 4F range...

p.s. This is my 1st experience with GD brokers...

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

People are uneducated about the negatives of what it means to NOT have a .com

Already 10 years I live from domaining only by selling non-.com domains...
What I'm doing wrong???

 

[VRdommy]

What is holding back demand for NewG's?

Is it lack of end user education? Premium renewals? The ability for renewal prices to skyrocket with no price controls? Something else?

NewG's have been out for a half decade now, yet they still have very little demand. The amount of sales by both monetary and volume metrics show there is little demand.

So what gives? What is holding back the demand for NewG's in mid 2019?

(Disclaimer: I am pro-NewG and own a few. I own enough, not to change a lifestyle, but to gain a better understanding.)

Some of us were telling the story of demand for gTLDs even before it officially started.
You could see it in existing TLDs like .info .biz .mobi .tv .me

While some names where the TLD compliments the Name are always going to be choice names but if you look at it, it ended up the same as the fore-mentioned tld's.
And I'm not expecting any more unless overall names demand triples and there is little chance for that.
If it were not for the speculative investor buying these and holding them, most of them would be flat on their bottom half. And note that I do own a couple of dozen of them. But that is going to be sliced about in half over the coming year. They may be 4% of my total portfolio.
If you think you got a good one and are willing to hold it for 10+ years... go for it. hope you sell it sooner.
No single advise will hold true with all names but you had better be prepared to hold it a long time or for more investors come along for you to dump it on.
There are not but 5% of the future need for the names held out there now.