There has been a lot of activity by domain investors in the gTLD namespace – even by some that were dissenting originally – as domainers begin to realize the benefits of the new domain name system.
Developing a gTLD domain investing strategy now, will determine one’s ability to manage potential shifts in the domain market in the future.
While that exact moment is unpredictable, there is plenty of time to acquire meaningful domain portfolios with a strong potential for long term investments, as the gTLD market offers more opportunities long term.
As part of that strategy, one should refrain from going all ‘Pacman’ on every TLD and keyword available.
Some domains are sold as premium and have an increased price tag and renewal. Those, should be treated with care and developed into active web sites that offer a product or service that generates revenue; it’d help offsetting the renewal cost, which can be substantial.
At the same time, ponder too long on acquiring a particular keyword and you just might lose the opportunity to own the domain, just because you didn’t want to spend an extra $20 today. Many great domains are gone by the time general availability opens up at the various participating registrars.
Overall, gTLD domain acquisitions must maintain a balance of quality vs. cost, and one cannot achieve that by spending money on everything available. Treat your new extensions like a prime stamp collection, specializing in the genres that are most likely to succeed for you.
Great advice that I will be following. Thank you.
The key takeaway here is quality vs. cost. There are certainly some meaningful combinations but generally they will not be available for $10. However, one should not overlook the need to significantly discount the alt TLD keyword value. Recently I reached out to end users on an IT-related .COM. One company had the same name in a CCTLD. Initially they expressed interest in the domain. I quoted a price in the range of $1500 which most domainers used to seeing DNJ sales reports would probably view as too low. But it would still be a nice flip given my cost. Despite a follow-up email to point out the value of .COM for reaching US customers, they seem to have backed off on their interest. So if an IT company doesn’t want to pay $1500 for an exact match .COM, how much does it make sense to pay for keywords in one of these new TLDs?
Tell us what you got! 🙂
“even by some that were dissenting originally ”
I got to admit,i’m one of them.I have changed my position.
I bought 25 .estate the best one is eReal.estate
Why i have changed?
I told my self if i only knew about domains back in 1994 and i would have bought 2 names and things would have bean different now.
Well i bought now some.I figure even if i loose $5k a year that would be the worst that could happen or i could make much more in the years to come.
For us, hollywood.lighting, market.ventures, two dozen or so market and geo-targeted photography like californiawedding.photography and lgbt.photography, and 75 highly brandable .photography domains like mom.photography, honest.photography & mainstreet.photography. Already got a dozen beautiful logos to sell with them and we’re test driving one over at http://westcoast.photography . Domains that look this good on a business card happen only once for $15!
We’ve got a very thorough genre portfolio of 105 premium domains ready to sell to endusers or flip to an active seller for a $2000 initial investment. I’ll take my chances!
When the tide of credit recedes, we will see who is swimming naked with these heavy carrying costs. Remember we live in a hall of mirrors today… but when true market forces take over, who knows where all this crap will be valued (.com included)
lordbyroniv – But of course. I am fully aware that we are heading to a collision with another galaxy and Earth, the sun and our entire solar system is going to become stardust – in a few billion years. Until then, keep calm and carry on domaining.