“Domain names aren’t nearly important nowadays”

The commercial registration and use of domain names goes back to the early 1990’s.

Since 1995, domain registrations are paid for, instead of being free, selective, and manual reservations.

Today, more than 350 million domain names are registered, but not everyone agrees on their value and importance.

A recent inquiry that arrived via the Uniregistry Market, claims that domain names are past their prime, and are not important anymore.

Said the Eastern European buyer in bad English:

“I don’t find spending that much money good investment. Domain name isn’t nearly important nowdays as it was 5-10 years ago.”

As a domain investor and developer, I know better.

Domain sales are sustained at high prices, having gone through a cycle of rejuvenation by educating the massive Chinese domain market. Generic domains, along with quality brandables, increase in value and use, year after year.

While there are alternative TLDs, gTLDs and ccTLDs, most .com portfolios appreciate every year. In essence, what costs $10k now will cost $15k or more next year.

I try to find amusement in the buyer’s statement, but I simply can’t; he’s a company operator with a localized country presence, who aspires to take his company and ccTLD domain to a global audience, and for that, he needs the .com.

He won’t spend low five figures for an aged .com – and that’s fine, for every reason other than how important domain names are these days: very important indeed.