For Sale SnapNames and WLS? When will it all begin?

[mole]

Snapnames has sentimental value for me, as I was one of their first customers. My customer comment is still there on their site *sob*.

As 2003 rolls in together with WLS, I wonder what will happen to Snaps. Will they finally achieve a solid roll into the black and good profits?

They say that they will convert all SnapBacks into WLS applications, but haven't heard any news yet from Verisign on ETA. Anyone here have any updates?

 

[Kid Kool]

Originally posted by mole
Snapnames has sentimental value for me, as I was one of their first customers. My customer comment is still there on their site *sob*.

As 2003 rolls in together with WLS, I wonder what will happen to Snaps. Will they finally achieve a solid roll into the black and good profits?

They say that they will convert all SnapBacks into WLS applications, but haven't heard any news yet from Verisign on ETA. Anyone here have any updates?

WLS died on the appeal so names will just continue dropping in the usual fashion for the forseeable future
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i wish. actually most people have speculated WLS will be implemented next summer.

 

[mole]

Hey kid, don't give me a heart attack now you hear?

 

[hollayo]

dotster is fighting it still...

 

[morel]

Mole, do you know how much WLS subscriptions will cost? How much will Verisign get for each subscription, and what will the retail price be?

 

[DomainSage]

WLS did not die. Kid, where did you hear that? It is still comming out.

 

[DomainSage]

VGRS is gonna charge REGISTRARS $35 for each domain (pure gold) and g-d knows how much subscribers will be charged.

 

[mole]

Originally posted by morel
Mole, do you know how much WLS subscriptions will cost? How much will Verisign get for each subscription, and what will the retail price be?

The last I read when the news broke on their site rel, Snaps did mention that all existing SnapBacks will be exchanged for WLS applications when the system goes live (can't seem to find that comment there now). So my best guess is that it will be going for $69 retail there, maybe cheaper for other resellers.

Everyone is keeping mum about the WLS, so guess things are still being sorted out. Meantime, it does appear that Verisign is already starting to hoard names in time for the WLS.

 

[avs162]

i believe that they will not exchange the snaps but in fact use the registar partners to attempt to aquire wls using the api in place when opened.

will give them edge as does the rrp used by them currently to snap names.

never heard any exchange claim if you have link with that could you post it

i could be wrong but thats what i heard and never saw onpaper

 

[StockDoctor]

Originally posted by mole


The last I read when the news broke on their site rel, Snaps did mention that all existing SnapBacks will be exchanged for WLS applications when the system goes live (can't seem to find that comment there now). So my best guess is that it will be going for $69 retail there, maybe cheaper for other resellers.

Everyone is keeping mum about the WLS, so guess things are still being sorted out. Meantime, it does appear that Verisign is already starting to hoard names in time for the WLS.

Hey Mole I talked with Snaps VP in person 3 weeks ago and he said they still had no idea when the WLS will go into effect. Still have to sort out the challenges. They will attempt to convert the snaps into WLS subscriptions, but can not guaranty anything. They lost their request to get them all converted in the final approval by ICANN.

 

[gariben]

>>>They say that they will convert all SnapBacks into WLS applications

they can never do that as it won't be fair competition. Everybody should have equal chance.

WLS might happen but auto converting SnapBack into WLS will NEVER NEVER happen, IMHO!

 

[hosting3.com]

No, snaps will be not transfered to WLS system.

 

[morel]

SnapNames will try to convert Snaps into WLS subscriptions, but there are no guarantees of success, of course.

 

[mole]

Originally posted by morel
SnapNames will try to convert Snaps into WLS subscriptions, but there are no guarantees of success, of course.

Trying is better than not trying, imo

Seems like Netsol are getting rid of their .orgs like a hyena in heat as the takeover transition nears. Snaps alerted me of a deroot change 24hrs ago and then bam, DiscountDomain24.com grabs it for Snaps. Never seen such a fast deroot-grab in my experience.

Ah, another industry .org for my collection Wonder if Ults is still clinging onto their .coms for dear life and won't sell. Anyone ever managed to get a name from them for under 5k yet?

 

[Shiftlock]

Can you imagine the rush on WLS subscriptions the moment they go live? It's going to be a mess.

 

[Kid Kool]

Originally posted by Shiftlock
Can you imagine the rush on WLS subscriptions the moment they go live? It's going to be a mess.

yes this is what i've been saying all along. people think WLS will give ordinary people a chance to compete for the best names.

They have a better chance under the current system. When WLS arrives, big companies will buy up hundreds of thousands of them in the first 5 minutes. you will have about an hour to get a wls for the name you want, then the game will be over.

Under the current system at least you can use a drop service and get a dog in the fight. Under wls emailing the registrant will be your only hope of beating wls.

 

[hosting3.com]

yea...I wonder how much registrars will charge for WLS subscriptions.. I think Verisign proposed $25/year

 

[morel]

Originally posted by kidkool


yes this is what i've been saying all along. people think WLS will give ordinary people a chance to compete for the best names.

They have a better chance under the current system. When WLS arrives, big companies will buy up hundreds of thousands of them in the first 5 minutes. you will have about an hour to get a wls for the name you want, then the game will be over.

Under the current system at least you can use a drop service and get a dog in the fight. Under wls emailing the registrant will be your only hope of beating wls.

Verisign will be probably getting a whopping $40 per WLS subscription, just as they now get $6 per domain registration.

Therefore, a company who wants to buy 10,000 WLS subscriptions will have to cough up $400,000 per year. 100,000 subscriptions is $4,000,000 per year (assuming that such a buyer will be able to get the minimum price). I don't care who you are, in this industry $400,000 / year - $4,000,000 / year is an incredible amount of money.

Any company that buys in such large quantities will eventually run out of money, IMO. In today's depressed market, there is no way that a decent return on such a large investment can be made. Why no ROI? Because the best names will drop with even less frequency than they do now --- as you pointed out, if I can't get a name under the WLS, I will simply contact the owner via email, thus negating the WLS.

My prediction:
All of the best WLS subscriptions will be taken in the first day, like you said. However, most of them will become available again after the first year, when dumb companies realize they just burned through an amazing amount of cash with no ROI.

Bottom line (IMO):
The high cost of the WLS will eventually become a deterrant for the "big" companies.

 

[Beachie]

Yes, that's the problem with WLS. The secondary market for WLS will be just as competitive as the secondary market for domains.

How long will it be before SnapNames and others offer a service to catch dropping WLS subscriptions?

 

[Chad]

>>Therefore, a company who wants to buy 10,000 WLS subscriptions will have to cough up $400,000 per year.

It might seem like a lot of money to the average Joe...But keep in mind that a lot of the big speculators make 100's of thousands of dollars a month. 400k is a nice tax write off too when you make that much.

There will be plenty of names going and room for plenty of people.

It has been said before...If your not doing any good in the drop game now, then you probably wont do very well when the WLS rolls out. Practice while you can