9 Months Later whats worth more... .xxx domains or the....

[Raider]

I think constantly saying stuff like ".com is king" misses the point... it would be like every time a city reaches a sizable population and you start telling someone about it - they cut you off and go "yeah well new york city is king." or maybe "ha, you dork - you and your stupid corner grocery store - dont you know wal-mart is king!??!!!"

now, i understand that some of the really old school domainers from the 1990's feel its worth mentioning often because they remember the days when the internet was a black hole of nothingness and there were only a few geeks online... if you were simply on the internet in the mid 90's doing absolutely nothing you were a geek and people thought you were kinda weird. to go even further and have the guts to pay real money to register words ending in .com when most the population had no idea what that was -- yes i do see why some of the old school domainers continue to mention this.. credit is due where credit is due.

I think when people like Rick say that .COM is KING, their referring to the market.. You have to admit the likelihood of selling .COM is far higher than selling any other TLD, and when it does sell, it often sells for far higher... I've found some great domains in the .net and .org, registered them early and sold almost all of them, but I didn't sell them for nearly what I could sell a .COM for, your negotiating power is limited because end users will often settle for another TLD they can get for far less since .COM is off the table... Even though I made a decent profit from selling my .nets and .org's, it was miniscule compared to my .COM sales.


....

 

[jmcc]

The registry says there are 200K+ domains registered, which in itself is not a feat, .tel still has got more regs lol.

And .tel is continuing to lose registrations.

But only half are provisioned in the zone file.
So one half of .xxx is totally dead, just reserved domains that don't resolve.
As for the other half, my initial survey indicated that 83% were parked to a registry placeholder page. The figure should have improved a little bit, but no matter how you look at it, the figures are appalling.

This is not unusual for what is a non-core (.com/ccTLD depending on the market) TLD. But 83% parked on the registry placeholder page is not good. (The other indicator would be the number of supposedly active domains that point to Godaddy's undeveloped domain PPC landing page.) The important thing would the concentration of PPC nameservers in the top 20 hosters. Well used TLDs will have a mix of large registrar nameservers and PPC nameservers in the top 20. The ICANN .XXX report shows a lot of brand protection registrars (Markmonitor/CSC etc). There also seems to be some cyberwarehouser registrars (registrars owned by other registrars) active in the TLD. The Landrush Anniversary renewals should be interesting.

Regards...jmcc

 

[jmcc]

I would be interested in seeing how many .CN's (China's domain) are registered compared to .COM's, but can't seem to find that info anywhere...

The last published figure (End of May 2012) was 3,502,064. The .cn bubble burst a few years ago.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Raider]

The whole concept of the .XXX TLD was so pervs could have their own Red Light District, now that they have it, how long will they have to wait for .lube.?

Johnson & Johnson want to know.

 

[A D]

The whole concept of the .XXX TLD was so pervs could have their own Red Light District, now that they have it, how long will they have to wait for .lube.?

Johnson & Johnson want to know.

They have it but nobody uses it.
Maybe they need disclaimers like on all the viagra commercials.

-Side effects include:
Registry will get rich but you will make nothing, you will actually lose.
.xxx sounds good but nobody in the adult industry likes it or will use it.
The government won't make it mandatory for all adult sites to use it so there is no point in owning one.
The T-Shirts are cool.
Purchasing an .XXX will actually diminish the value of your portfolio.
Although buying a .xxx is not hazardous to your health you will get screwed.

 

[Gerry]

Although buying a .xxx is not hazardous to your health you will get screwed.

The one I have, even though it gets traffic, does not make enough per click to renew so it will be dumped.

 

[mjnels]

the internet is vast. the existence of .XXX is not going to create a separate area or create more porn just like the existence of .MOBI was not going to create more mobile content or create a separate area. the sales pitch of the TLD registries are irrelevant and i dont think they should be given anymore thought than some of the ridiculous commercials we see on TV... e.g. wearing the new Nike's will make you play basketball much better. its JUST another option to the right of the dot - thats it.

these new TLD's will not "pollute" the internet either - this is a domainer way of thinking. plus, you cant have it both ways - either these new TLD's will clutter up the internet with unnecessary options or they will go largely unnoticed. saying both just doesn't make sense because one is coming from the perspective of a domainer - the other the way the regular public sees things. the "new TLD's are unnecessary" argument is irrelevant as well because they're coming anyway. lots of things in this world are completely unnecessary and they are still an option to purchase..

 

[katherine]

these new TLD's will not "pollute" the internet either - this is a domainer way of thinking. plus, you cant have it both ways - either these new TLD's will clutter up the internet with unnecessary options or they will go largely unnoticed.

They are still a nuisance because of the amount of defensive registrations that they generate.
And .xxx is the perfect example. I completely understand that TM holders are not happy.
Icann's way of doing things amounts to legal extortion imo.

 

[Gerry]

Icann's way of doing things...

The phrase turning a blind eye is the first thing that comes to mind.

That is a big reason I have said that the domain industry needs to police itself before something or someone steps in and takes control. The FCC has strongly opposed many decisions made by ICANN.

Now Congress is getting involved:

Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., sent a letter to ICANN on Aug. 7, requesting answers to questions on how individuals and brand can protect their trademarks from those seeking to profit from the new domains.

While many people are opposed to government intervention, it is also clear that individuals, groups, business, and brands want assurances of being protected in the case of nearly 2000 new TLD's to be released.

But it is not just U.S. interests and legislative bodies expressing concern:

Others are looking to block new domains on the grounds that they will create trademark confusion. Active commentators include Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission and AIM - European Brands Association, an umbrella group that represents companies like Coca-Cola, Nestle, Kraft, Unilever, and other major commercial brands.

This information is rather new (as of yesterday) in light of the time-frame for comments was to close this coming Sunday.

 

[mjnels]

They are still a nuisance because of the amount of defensive registrations that they generate.
And .xxx is the perfect example. I completely understand that TM holders are not happy.
Icann's way of doing things amounts to legal extortion imo.

true, but up until about now it was on a pretty small scale. now that the TLD cat is almost out of the bag though - how realistic is it to register an infinite amount of defensive registrations? also with thousands of possible TLD's coming - will defensive registrations become less important if say, strict penalties for trademark infringement exist..rather than just being awarded the domain.

it just seems unrealistic to expect trademark holders to keep doing things the way they've been doing now that .anyTLD is possible..

 

[katherine]

true, but up until about now it was on a pretty small scale. now that the TLD cat is almost out of the bag though - how realistic is it to register an infinite amount of defensive registrations?

That is the problem, it's becoming very difficult to keep pace.
The '.cat' TLD is a good example of the problems Icann created, they essentially opened Pandora's box and are getting involved politically. In the future there will be more demands for controversial extensions and it's going to be a tightrope exercise for Icann. Quite frankly, it's a game that is too big for them.
Just remember for how many years the .xxx saga has been going on.

Right now .xxx is a dead zone. The bulk of the zone is defensive/inactive domains. So we are clearly in a situation where the benefits do not offset the drawbacks.
Do not expect the situation is going to improve as time goes by. It is a glimpse of the things to come.

I am seriously starting to think that TLDs should have sunset provisions built-in. If they fail to satisfy a number of criteria then their relevance should be questioned. Game over.

The DNS needs stability, it should not be a live test bench for silly marketing experiments that we know are doomed to fail with almost no exception.
TLDs should be added one at a time, after careful consideration of the benefits/drawbacks and drawing the lessons from the past.
But Icann and their sponsors are not willing to learn from past mistakes.

To sum up there are two ways to run a Ponzi scheme legally:

1. run a government program like social security
2. run a TLD program

Don't be a sucker, domainers should know better

 

[Raider]

Purchasing an .XXX will actually diminish the value of your portfolio.

I actually take this into consideration every time I buy a domain, I spent the last year cleaning out my portfolio of names that have little traffic and little to no potential of selling, the result is a much more impressive portfolio, one I'm quite proud of. Even though 90% of my domains are .com, I do diversify into other TLD,'s, but I don't do it nearly to the degree that some others do because history has proven time and time again that new TLD's diminish in value, and they rarely attract end users, Resellers YES, but who want's to deal with buyers who want something for nothing?

I woke up this morning to find another big domain offer, this one from Godaddy for another .COM, If the sale goes through it will be my 6th .com sale in less than 45 days, something that would NEVER happen if my portfolio consisted more of other TLD's.

 

[dvdrip]

My sales from the last 45 days: 1 .com, 1 .org, 3 .info, 1.us (All sales are for 1500 Euro and up)
Does this prove that .info sell more than .com? Of course not.
Does this prove that having more of other TLD's doesn't stop you from selling domains? Of course yes.

 

[jmcc]

They are still a nuisance because of the amount of defensive registrations that they generate.
And .xxx is the perfect example. I completely understand that TM holders are not happy.
Icann's way of doing things amounts to legal extortion imo.

The TM owners seemed to be very angry with the way that they had to register their marques in all new TLDs. The .eu fiasco was the worst for them with an abuse of a dodgy deposit trademark system (where there was no review or challenge of TM applications), poorly framed regulations and an incompetent registry that managed to have their servers fall over a few seconds into Landrush. Over the years, some kind of common idea has evolved of a kind of global or high profile trademark or brand. But dropping TM/Brand Protection registrations in a TLD can be a very good indication of that TLD's health and long term prospects. While TM registrations might bulk up a TLD, few if any will lead to functioning websites if the TLD is a non-core TLD. TM holders seem to be increasingly focused on ccTLDs these days.

Regards...jmcc

 

[jmcc]

strict penalties for trademark infringement exist..rather than just being awarded the domain.

The problem with this is that there would have to be some method of imposing the penalty and with the complainant and respondents in different countries/jurisdictions. It is surprising that no TM owners have gone after the registries themselves.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Gerry]

Does this prove that having more of other TLD's doesn't stop you from selling domains? Of course yes.

you've got it. If it is a good name, good keyword that will stand on it's own in nearly any TLD, chances are someone will come seeking it.

I have a dot org that is wanted by a few individuals and firms but I am not negotiating down. It is so much in the news and so high on the health and technology radar I am not going to budge on the price.

But this is about xxx. And no one is knocking on the door asking for it.

 

[Gerry]

It is surprising that no TM owners have gone after the registries themselves.

If I am not mistaken, I believe J. Berryhill or Marco had posted some instances of this but none stuck. At some point, I do believe it will come down to this and I do believe rightly so. If you were to look at GD terms of service, it will tell you that you cannot reg such a domain. But, GD (et al) still allows it. Somehow they have managed to get by.

The most surprising part is there is software that can help prevent this.

If a company like Yahoo can purchase software alerting them to the TM or variations of it have been registered, then that same software can be instituted and made to function with all new regs. But, GD and everyone else does not want to pay for that software or service. They want the companies to police the internet and registrations.

 

[Raider]

My sales from the last 45 days: 1 .com, 1 .org, 3 .info, 1.us (All sales are for 1500 Euro and up)
Does this prove that .info sell more than .com? Of course not.
Does this prove that having more of other TLD's doesn't stop you from selling domains? Of course yes.

One difference between your sales and mine is that I don't sell to resellers, my sales are primarily to end users, Secondly all domains sold were brandable as opposed to generic. So when I made the point about having 6 sales in a 45 day period, I was referring to my names, that I could in no way sell these domains in any other TLD in that short period of time.. That I'm convinced of.

 

[dcristo]

I can see how brandable domains would be a good strategy to attract end user sales, but if you're in the development game, it's all about generics. You simply haven't got the time to build one big brand, much less several.

 

[dvdrip]

Nobody was knocking on the door asking for .info or .us 10 years ago.
Wait 5-10 years and then we will talk again about .xxx.

you've got it. If it is a good name, good keyword that will stand on it's own in nearly any TLD, chances are someone will come seeking it.

I have a dot org that is wanted by a few individuals and firms but I am not negotiating down. It is so much in the news and so high on the health and technology radar I am not going to budge on the price.

But this is about xxx. And no one is knocking on the door asking for it.