Why Will the”Domain Industry” Never Look the Same? Last Days of a Treasure we will all Miss!!

Afternoon Folks!!


All things come to an end. What you have grown comfortable with in our small pond is coming to an end. Sadly there is nothing that can be done but remember the good ole days. Folks, this is the sunset of the good ole days. Things are changing that makes our pond something that we will just remember. It's not in our control and it is not our fault. But progress and age are going to rewrite what domaining looks like.


There are two keywords you are hearing of this year,'gTLD' and 'Leasing'. One will cost you money. One will make you money. That's how I see it. The next phase is coming at us faster than you might think and the WORST mistake I could make at this stage is be LATE to the game. To the landing of this new phase.


I have patiently been waiting on the beach all these years. Now it is time to prepare the runway. Build the infrastructure. Get ready for the assault. Why now? Because the movement is already in the air. The plane has taken off and now it is just the time to travel here and land. 18 years of waiting STANDBY at the gate waiting for the plane to taxi on the runway. That plane has finally taken off. There are 1900 bumps along the way so it won't be a smooth ride. But when we emerge on the other side in 2-3 years, folks will look back like it was always that way and new folks coming in won't know any different. They will just think it was always like that just like many of you think there was always a domain aftermarket and auctions and unlimited places to register a domain name as opposed to one that did not work well. Working like your local DMV in those days. But 'Horrible' has its privileges.


In 2-3 years nobody reading this TODAY will even recognize the 'Domain Industry'. It is about to change in an uncontrollable way and voices like mine will be drown out by thousands with an agenda. Including myself and maybe you too. That is the way of the world. That is evolution. We can't control it but we CAN HARNESS IT!!!!


It is that 'Drowning out' that will elevate great domains names to their proper place in the eco chain of business. The more everyone yells me, me me, the more the domains will stand out as a way to.....stand out!


See it is the gTLD''s that will make leasing a viable option. It's just so simple and that is why you are seeing a WAVE of folks focusing on this area. Progress is not to be feared. It is to understand what happens when something new is introduced. ALL of our voices will soon be drown out by 1800 STAFFS of 'Cubicle Whores' each with their job spreading great rumors about their extension. There will be announcements of multi million dollar deals and maybe NONE will actually be done from an arms length. 1900 competing motives. They will rip each others eyes out trying to survive. Let's see how long t will be until 'Consolidation' begins. I suspect very quickly. Each consolidation is an exclamation of failure!


That's the difference going forward. It won't unfold the way 99.9 expect it will. It could be ugly. All I know is you will see a lot of caucuses lining the road to the future. All with high hopes. Most based on the second coming of something that will never be repeated. Each step only fortifying and increasing the value of .com no matter what they spew in their own self interest.


Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz





52 thoughts on “Why Will the”Domain Industry” Never Look the Same? Last Days of a Treasure we will all Miss!!

  1. Tom

    I wonder why my iphone has .com as a shortcut, and not .aero .biz in my keyboard hmmm….

    Reply
  2. Bryan Gray

    The only people I see making out on the gTLD rush is the service providers and consultants.
    Just a lot more .info, .biz and .mobi type options out there. I can’t see any of these getting more hype individually than .me or .co and there was a lot of money lost with brands sinking money into those. I think gTLDs just water everything down offering more second rate options.
    The one extension that will most definitely get stronger is .com. ccTLDs and .net will probably hold on strong for business purpose as well because people know them. The more options that hit the market the more people will realize they can’t keep up and will just stick with what they know. If I’m a business owner I want to make sure people interested in my business get to my website. That means sticking with something everyone knows.

    Reply
  3. UFO

    Google will try to force the market with a button on its motorolla’s that will be a google gtld.
    But the more that Google tries to corner the market the more likely it will lose. Apple, Sony etc have all tried this and while its successful in the short run to gain greater profits consumers prefer open source (lower cost option) and as such Apple will follow Sony back down to whence it came from.

    Reply
  4. AHEAD OF TIME

    Rick,
    You are so correct about the below infomation.LOVE IT
    There are two keywords you are hearing of this year,”gTLD” and”Leasing”.One will cost you money.One will make you money.

    Reply
  5. Franky

    I am 100% sure Apple will remove the .com navigation from its keyboard at some point in the next 5 years. New gTLDs have value”because” .com names are so expensive. Not everyone can afford millions for the .com but they can afford 5-10k for a secondary market SLD in a new gTLD that would be a million dollar .com. Most importantly, there are not enough .com names to go around. There are more flower shops than there are good flower related .coms.. buy.Flowers, my.flowers, send.flowers and others will have some impact on the value of their .com equivalent. 1900 new TLDs will do that across every category. I think .com will hold its value but new names will grow in value faster than .com names continue to grow. More importantly, you can buy new names run by a well managed registry for $8 .. They will not resell for that in the secondary market but the first guy has a chance to win the lottery. I love the leasing thing and expect to see some big changes around leasing this year Rick. Good luck to all in the space.. If you have nothing more than a good name related base education, this year and 2014 are going to represent a huge opportunity for you.. The only limit is your imagination and the amount of the grub-stake you have to invest.

    Reply
  6. Jeff Schneider

    Hi Rick,
    Prime .COM Foundations are a valuable rarity, sought by the largest of corporations. Please tell me how they will NOT only get rarer as the pool of money swells and the small fish want to be big fish. The gTLD Fad is a God sent for prime .COM foundation holders. If you think differently you have no grasp on Market Fundamentals.
    As a result of this most .COM Foundations will recieve a 10X valuation increase and some really Prime Properties much much more!
    If you are positioned in .COM Foundations Don’t Worry be Happy !!
    Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)

    Reply
  7. Rick Schwartz

    “Most importantly, there are not enough .com names to go around.”
    Franky, that is the one thing we don’t see eye to eye on.
    I beleive there is an unlimited amount of .com’s.
    Now there is not an unlimited amount of PRIME .com’s. That we agree on.
    Then the best I see is an equation where the .whatever comes with the stigma, baggage and leakage. And at that point, I think a business is making a better business decision to go with the secondary .com than the primary new gTLD. That becomes the crux of the issue.
    I still can’t bring myself to develop Rick.tv without owning the .com. I may try at some point. But I can’t say it will work and I don’t feel like it will be the smartest thing I ever did.
    So flowers.com is gone but there are still workable variables of .com that would be less risky for those small businesses. First names, geos, first names and geo. Verbs and adjectives. Any business that spent a few hours tracking down a good domain could hand register something for $8 that I think would work in a .com and trump the .whatever.
    I just looked up BocaRicksFlowers.com and for $8 I can hand register it. Not the best name. But in 2 minutes I was able to find something I could build a business around if that was what I decided to brand next. In a few hours I can find better. For a modest grand or two, I can find something on the aftermarket. For less than the cost of a physical location folks can lease to own. :-)
    I am sure enough will disagree with me to keep many in business for a long time. That’s why as you suggest we are in for a very exciting period. That’s why so many things we take for granted today may never be the same moving along.
    I just think in the best of successes that things will circle back to the .com. In success the .whatever will want the .com. So I have never seen any of this as a threat. Only a growing opportunity. What ever form opoortunity comes in we are all positioned well to take advantage of it. Some better than others. ;-)
    All eyes are on you my friend. You are in the single best position to pull it off and even tho I see this differently, I root STRONGLY for your success!!

    Reply
  8. Robin

    My RIM playbook has the .com button also.
    The gtld’s wil probably pan out similar to the pro athlete who thinks he wants to own a restaurant . The equipment suppliers (registrars) do well selling the shiny new equipment and all is okay but within a few years the restaurant goes broke when the player no longer wants to subsidize a mistake. Then comes the auction and the true restauranteurs pick up whats left for pennies on the dollar and the garbage ends up in the dump.

    Reply
  9. Lyle

    Ask yourself how many sites do you visit a day that aren’t .com?
    The number will surprise you, me it’s just one .net, and that company owns their .com

    Reply
  10. Partial, Former, or Quasi-Domainer With Many Domains

    Now that you (all) mention it (leasing), something I have wondered for years or so: where can one find (the best) premade contract forms for leasing, where you can just fill in some blanks and maybe tweak it a bit according to need? Or can you? Have the best and most necessary terms and clauses to include even been openly discussed in any of the forums? For example, it seems to me one would want a penalty clause in case the lessee causes some problem, which could clearly be a multi-million dollar clause for some. Been a while since I searched, but never found any, or any such discussion. It seems to me there would be a market or desire for this if no one is filling it yet. Or it would make a nice freebie for those who want such legal forms.

    Reply
  11. UFO

    I think one thing that always needs to be kept in perspective is the big players will always go for the money.
    Unfortunately I almost think that the domain industry itself needs to fire some strategy ideas off to the big players to help ensure they don’t p^ss on our patch.
    For instance, Google could actually make one of its gtlds the flip side of .com and when you buy its gtld you are also buying into google checkout etc. So when someone uses their device they can use a buy button. NO companies selling product will appear in their SE reults unless they have checkout. (This is what I talk about SE splitting commercial and non commercial traffic). Yellow pages v reference library (Google SE can easily detect ecommerce sites and exclude them unless they have google gtld linked).
    See? Google would make far more off the commission on sales, create a better experience for users and not try to recreate the wheel.

    Reply
  12. UFO

    One thing to watch though is that google via its play could try to hone in on certain generics that it could push through its own systems. In effect generics could come under attack because they’ll steer clear of RTMs.
    Don’t think they’ll push the boat out too far though simply because they aren’t experts in running many varied businesses. But I guess they could lease keywords like the way yellow pages allows bigger adverts for more money. Rather than adverts you get into paying a percentage of sales over their systems including access to the best keywords. Like I need a ‘cab’, so who bidded the highest appears when someone types cab and their ‘action’ button.

    Reply
  13. UFO

    Too true, They need to be efficient market makers rather than trying to monopolise their position. There’s plenty of money out there for them.
    But its easy to see Googles convergence of operating systems, browsers, phones and gtlds all coming together.
    Good thing about .com’s is all the biggest players in the world are sitting on them, So if anything is going to get protection then it will be the .com channel.

    Reply
  14. Tom

    Look at sales force buying up social.com, and citrix systems buying up cloud.com. The are market leaders in software systems, they knew the gltd rush was upon them, with their marketcaps, they could have been a front runner in any extension, they simply are not phased, they focus on their business, and they know what works.
    Nothing new here, guys, let’s face it, there are some really dumb people in this world, I have domains related to cleaning, where people are constantly using the buy it now links, to send their resumes, inquire about jobs. Do you really think the average user is going to catch onto all these new extensions. I will tell you what will happen, scammers, and spammers will use this as a underground network to trick innocent people for their user data, and private info, .com will always remain the the secure top tier extension.

    Reply
  15. Mark B

    If someone saw buy.flowers or get.flowers advertised, they would most likely type in buyflowers.com and getflowers.com.. These 1800 .whatevers are ALL going to fail massively…

    Reply
  16. RAYY

    It can be very confused with many other variations as well:
    flowers.buy
    flowers.free
    flowers.web
    flowers.london
    flowers.apps
    flowers.eco
    flowers.green
    flowers.nyc
    flowers.xxx
    flowers.earth
    flowers.online
    flowers.gifts
    etc…….

    Reply
  17. Anunt

    You guys are freaking idiots…
    You keep seeing this thru domainers eyes…
    no wonder you can’t see pass your ass…
    There are only couple thousand domainers…
    There are billions of average joes
    When u see John jones thru John jones eyes,
    u will sell John jones what John jones buys
    The registry owners like franky and google are going be successful
    because millions of average joes will register these new gTLDs
    Domainers will lose money trying to buy and sell these new gTLDs…
    Why can’t u idiots understand that these new gTLDs registry owners like Frank
    are going to make huge gains while you moron clueless domainers who try to flip
    these new gTLDs are going to lose money..,
    It’s fucking common sense…

    Reply
  18. Tom

    Anunt, You think these new gtld owners are going to pass of the handful of common terms their tlds can attempt to replicate for $8 you are sadly mistaken. Anything that resembles a premium keyword will be warehouses, and slowly auctioned off. They will not make money otherwise, or even attempt to break even, most will go broke.
    Anunt your track record in the past 2 years is horrific, You seem to lost your sense of domaining, even you know you have lost a solid 5 figures in the past year or so, that we all in the public eye have seen…

    Reply
  19. Those Who Fail To Learn History...

    Clearly, the gtlds will be all be quick flashes in the proverbial pan and will see each one disappear shortly. Honestly, I give them all about 30 days before their lack of interest becomes painfully apparent to all.
    Anyone remember New.net? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New.net) How’d that turn out for ya? Yes, I realize that a browser extension was needed and that contributed to its demise, but, the sad reality is that there was simply no demand. Had there been any sort of demand for .agent, .arts, .auction, .chat, .church, .club, .family, .free, .game, .golf, .inc, .law, .llc, .llp, .love, .ltd, .med, .mp3, .school, .scifi, .shop, .soc, .sport, .tech, .video, .travel, .kids, and yes even, .xxx, the browser companies would have already addressed it and integrated new.net’s plug-in into their product. There wasn’t. They didn’t. It failed. Same chip, different dip. Nothing to see here folks. Keep renewing those .com’s.

    Reply
  20. Anunt

    Tom…u freaking retard…i have admitted several times that I have lost money in the past 2 years….
    Yes, i agree there will be an auction…so that’s great for registry owners…
    Just like I said…registry owners are going to make money..
    While domainers that try to buy and sell these gTLDs are going to lose money…
    What the fuck don’t u understand here???
    Big companies like Google who own these new gTLDs are NOT going to run out of money…
    They have billions…they can’t fucking lose…

    Reply
  21. DThomas

    Well lots of startups have come to me, one was ###cod.es, they were losing all their traffic to me, they bought ###codes.com, they made a low ball offer, DENIED, 6 months later, they came to my terms, they had no choice.
    Another lame ass tried to send me a fake udrp email as they were using ####Ap.ps , I kindly sent them a link to RDNH UDRP, and told them my lawyer will await a filing, 6 months later, nothing, except they have hired a few brokers to send low ball offers, I explained to them it costs me $70 a decade to renew the domain, and I will await the right partner.
    These are all examples of what gtlds represent, eventually they all come back for the .com, I have countless examples.

    Reply
  22. krishna

    Wonderful article and interesting comments by experienced people.
    We are entering into the most interesting phase of domaining.
    “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” – Warren Buffett.
    I am eager to see who will be these naked guys.

    Reply
  23. Franky

    You’re totally right that today you wouldn’t want to run rick.tv.. For the average person it’s as hard to manage as a .com, difficult to set up email.. a pain in the ass to host.. and it’s very expensive compared to the .com equivalent. For all your trouble you look like the weird duck, the odd-man-out in a .com world. But that’s going to change because 1900 tlds will make it seem okay to register something different. Few of those 1900 registries are going to be sitting on their hands.. There is going to be 10 years of marketing. Pushing on this beginning next year. Billions will get spent promoting them.
    Brands of the world like nothing more than the sound of their own name. That’s why URL hacks have been so popular. Once the brands get their own TLD they have the ultimate hack. They can do things differently because they control the .com side of the name and there is no way .NIKE is coming out next year and .REEBOK won’t follow.
    When you start driving by those Running.Nike and Drive.BMW billboards (and you will see them) – it will make it okay for others to pick up a ricks.flowers or boca.flowers which is a lot shorter than bocaricksflowers.com. Honest to God, taking all economics out of it, I would rather have boca.flowers or ricks.flowers than bocaricksflowers.com.
    The new registries will make getting email and hosting easier.”Click here to pay with paypal”..”Click here to point my new name to my Facebook” ..”Click here to create your email address” all things are possible when you control the registry to the right of the dot.
    The .com will still be aspirational for a succesfull business, but having all these other options at cheap prices and”really” easy to use will change things.
    From a domainer’s perspective, where is there more upside? In bocaricksflowers.com or in ricks.flowers and boca.flowers? That is really where we disagree.. I think the upside is greater registering the shorter punchier names in the new extensions at registration price than more longtail .com. The longtail will still have value but it won’t go up as fast.
    You can lease new TLDs at lower payments than the .com equivalent. I appreciate the rooting Rick but I honestly think some smaller guys will make a lot more than me on a percentage basis and with considerably less risk.
    Remember that the birth of Los Angeles didn’t diminish the value of New York real estate. But the LA real estate went up in value faster.. that is all I am trying to say with the preceding ramble. In the end everyone here will do well if they open their eyes to the possibilities and apply themselves. There is opportunity in them thar hills.
    I understand the resistance to change. I spent 10 years building a .com portfolio like you did. I don’t want new strings to dilute that value. But the World will change next year whether I want that to happen or not. The good news is the change will be slow enough to manage.
    The real winner with these new names is the guy with a lousy name who now has the opportunity to get some better ones in the new city. Everyone can play along.

    Reply
  24. Rick Schwartz

    “The .com will still be aspirational for a succesfull business”
    And I think that is the clarity domainers need to know and hear because of all the fear mongering.
    Domainers make a big mistake when they think there will be a competition. However, as a domainer, our crappy domains just got a little crappier. So I think the only affect on .com is on the marginal edges.
    T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is gearing up for 1900 new entries because as you state, billions will be spent branding, introducing and marketing. Plus everything competition brings. This is a big deal. The trick for a domainer is to see the differences and the similarities and decide if there is an investment there or not.
    It will be the wild west all over again and it won’t be boring. I think this will be the catylst for a huge jump in value of prime .com. We’ll see. Many will dabble, many won’t.
    I love it either way. Just want to alert folks the massive change coming to our little pond. Change is not a threat. Being surprised by it is.

    Reply
  25. Mark B

    They will be wasting those billions on branding, because Drive.BMW will be perceived as DriveBMW.com and will be typed in as such…

    Reply
  26. UFO

    You’re right to a large extent. I’ve always maintained it’s the low end .com’s that will lose value.
    While the likes of Nike and others may well take up their own gtld it will actually only be used solely for marketing purposes with everything pointed back to the .com (IMHO). In that sense it will help them gain market data from specific advertising campaigns. (This is actually already being done using various .com’s but not to a huge extent).
    In effect these gtlds will be used for marketing and branding but they’ll still use the .com as their central corporate identity. I mean Nike isn’t going to sit on nike.nike as its central point and I don’t think it will try to educate the public on this as a method.
    The little players will go for these new URLs. Cost is everything to them.
    It should be noted that most of the large corps won’t go for their own gtld, only the most marketing focused will. Hence .com will continue to be advertised in the majority.
    I actually think most registries will go bust before the market ever changes. They may have to maintain losses for 15 years.

    Reply
  27. UFO

    “Mark B said… They will be wasting those billions on branding, because Drive.BMW will be perceived as DriveBMW.com and will be typed in as such…”
    The marketing guys won’t like that because its seriously negative for any consumer experience. They’ll probably do a URDP on DriveBMW.com before running their marketing campaign.

    Reply
  28. Apprentice

    Franky- I don’t mean to barge between you and Rick the 2 Jedi Masters.
    However, for some of us that are slow, I would appreciate a clarification.
    You say that : “ The .com will still be asparitional for a successful business, but having all these other options at cheap prices and”really” easy to use will change things.” This statement somewhat contradicts itself. If people will aspire to the .com why will things change? And if things change, why will they aspire to the .com?
    You also stated that .coms will be and the new gTLD’s will go up faster in value but .com will still be there as a leader , in addition to a few other comments that make it seem you believe the new gTLD’s will change EVERYTHING about good .com’s.
    Also, if that is the case why are you buying .net domains?
    Apprentice

    Reply
  29. Jeff Schneider

    Hi Rick,
    I have a unique take on this whole gTLD Farce,coming from a Marketing Analyst profession background. I have looked at most of the angles and find all angles pointing back to a companies .COM site.
    These gTLDs are nothing more than temporary Ad campaigns leading consumers to their .COM foundation. Its that simple.
    Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)

    Reply
  30. BullS

    I told you all, dot whatever is pure BS
    ******************************
    Bryan Gray said…
    The only people I see making out on the gTLD rush is the service providers and consultants.

    Reply
  31. Partial, Former, or Quasi-Domainer With Many Domains

    And nary a single thought on my query above about off the shelf or semi-standardized legal forms and related issues for leasing, or perhaps it just got lost in the ensuing flood? :) Leasing those premium .com’s if or when they become even more valuable and more desired because of all this new gtld stuff? :)
    Or maybe people would rather only sell vs. lease?
    http://www.ricksblog.com/my_weblog/2013/01/why-will-the-domain-industry-never-look-the-same-last-days-of-a-treasure-we-will-all-miss.html#comment-6a00d83451f3f569e2017c361c5b08970b

    Reply
  32. Danny Welsh

    RE:”If you have nothing more than a good name related base education, this year and 2014 are going to represent a huge opportunity for you..The only limit is your imagination and the amount of the grub-stake you have to invest.”
    — Frank Schilling
    WOW, does anyone else get cold chills reading that?
    Danny Welsh
    JointVentures.com

    Reply
  33. Danny Welsh

    RE to Frank Schilling:”I think .com will hold its value but new names will grow in value faster than .com names continue to grow”.
    If one of the most seasoned and successful .com domain investors in the world thinks that’s the”worst case scenario” for .com owners of best generic names, gosh almighty the next few years will be exciting!
    Thanks for your wisdom shared here, Mr. Schilling.
    PERSONAL ASIDE: Yours was one of only 6 blogs that Rick told me to read– and put blinders on to filter out all the rest of the chatter and noise online about domains– when I told him some of my ideas to monetize only the best domain names in the world better and asked him how I could learn what’s the difference he sees between an OK domain and an $xxx,xxx-$xx,xxx,xxx value diamond in the rough currently underutilized as a mini-site or parked domain.
    (something it appears many who call themselves ‘domainers’ cannot do accurately)
    After studying Rick’s blog, yours and a handful of others written by selfless guys that share and share and share…my ideas collided with already proven ideas, and well…here we are today.
    Hopefully tomorrow Rick will post about the day I first had an idea worth putting 100% of my efforts behind for as long as it takes to create a lasting legacy my family will live comfortably because for generations.
    I enjoy reading your ideas here today, sir, as I have for 2 years read everything I could find written by whom anyone reading this likely knows is a proven thought leader and a big fish in this small pond of domaining. Nothing you say I disagree with, really.
    Sounds like you, too, like Rick and I also believe that 1993’s and 2003’s .com investors AND 2013’s and 2023’s .extension speculators can both win big. One group bought their ticket to the lottery 20 years ago and people thought he was crazy.
    Another has 20 years of history to draw from as they hope for a second coming of .com, and 20 years of lessons learned and shared by BOTH guys like you and Rick Schwartz to educate themselves in picking a better ticket. Those same lessons learned can help the domain speculator of 2013 in .extension domains later down the road educate the end user on which of them has value to buy for more than reg free and why.
    Both the old and the new can make money because anything can be sold and there is and will be money to be made from registry side and an aftermarket for domain speculators. Rick and I just think .com will always have investment-grade prices and valuation, while other extensions have commercial use but less increase in value potential compared to the standard .com.
    Personally, I’ve made my all-in bet on .com in 2013 for 2033’s ultimate price which I believe will far exceed any single domain name sale we’ve yet seen. Doesn’t mean I don’t think Frank Schilling is anything but BRILLIANT. :)
    I admire how you’ve positioned yourself to become a liquid billionaire in record time compared to historical asset classes, and appear to be setting things up for yourself where you simply make many multiples MORE money no matter HOW it all shakes out in .com vs .extensions.
    Win, lose or draw the future picture painted is damn bright for the Schilling family! There’s something pretty damn impressive about that.
    Danny Welsh
    JointVentures.com

    Reply
  34. Danny Welsh

    Gonna grab some fajitas and get back to the plan in a minute. But I really want to share this so people understand why I’m”here today DAILY” and”GONE tomorrow” starting in February as the focus for the message SHIFTS.
    While I’ve enjoyed this run posting regularly on RicksBlog sharing my ideas with domain owners, and it’s cool to see a movement happening among a community of people I consider VISIONARIES aka real domain name investors…the real “grade” for the test me and Rick have set for the team of BIG DEAL-MAKER$ we’re building is realizing that we’re going to be graded not by domain name owners but the market of bigger business.
    Will they see the “WIN” in allowing the domain owner to “WIN”?
    If and when the message with JointVentures.com we’ll tell the market in the next 2 years– in media far more sophisticated than RicksBlog.com– resonates with an increasing number of mainstream end users in small-to-medium-sized business owners, aspiring start-up entrepreneurs, and marketing execs and boards at big companies…
    It’s going to be exciting indeed.
    And our success does NOT cause any other’s failure, or vice versa. There are MANY ways to climb the mountain!
    I can tell both Rick and I are wishing Frank Schilling continued luck, as well should anyone that does business online. While he may or may not ever read this, at least I know it’s as Rick says “on the record, for the record”. So if we ever have a beer, we’ll have something to laugh about.
    So anyone else reading this knows…I wish good luck to *every reader* of the blog and participant in the community built on this domain. What was once domainers only is increasingly becoming a readership of ALL KIND of entrepreneurs.
    I’ve just made my biggest bet on the *owner* of the blog as a unique guy that knows where he was going 20 years ago, and stated publicly over decades that while he sat on the beach with his pina colada and did nothing to build on some of the highest value land in the world, he KNEW I would show up and many more just like me.
    We’re here.
    And we’re ready to build.
    Think WIN-WIN and never look back.
    Let the next phase of eRealEstate begin!
    Danny Welsh
    JointVentures.com

    Reply
  35. passing through again

    In reply to Franky –
    From a domainer’s perspective, where is there more upside? In bocaricksflowers.com or in ricks.flowers and boca.flowers? That is really where we disagree..
    Hello ! bocaricksflowers.com is 3 words and your using 2 in your comparisons.
    bocaricks.flowers AAAArgh, My head hurts from the cofusion! no wonder your tryin to pull a fast one:)

    Reply
  36. passing through again

    Part 2
    ooops sorry, your not making a direct comparison.
    I think your trying to say,
    Hey if the .com of your choice is taken why not think about .somethingelse
    For many people something else is all they can afford.
    .Com is the gold standard.

    Reply
  37. Altaf

    WoW Danny ! You got the skills to write like Rick or others. Very detailed.Thoughtful & creative. Keep it up !!

    Reply
  38. urlowner@gmail.com

    First of all the average current price for a dot com is about $3000 +/- (Ron Jackson). Second, there are plenty of good dot coms at 15K to 25K (Toby Clements almost daily lists are one reference for that). Dot coms costing millions are very very very rare.
    Third, getting one of the new extensions for 5K-10K is no bargain is your customers don’t ‘get it’
    Carl

    Reply
  39. Danny Welsh

    Rick it may or may not be relevant to your discussion with Frank regarding the limited number of flower related domain names available in .com
    Perhaps you can explain why you see the price for a lease you’d put on Carnations.com the domain?
    And what the potential is for a BUSINESS not a website?
    After our chat earlier I’m thinking more and more it IS pretty damn relevant.
    Especially when this ones an ASSET not an expense.
    One goes up in value for the company that wants to own it down the road buying you out. And gives them a chance to be a perceived player instantly.
    One costs them money and has to be branded to have any meaning.
    Or am I missing something the folks touting http://www.left.right see that I don’t?
    Cuz BocaRicksFlowers looks like a bad choice but Ricks.Flowers looks worse.
    Kmart watches compared to a rolex
    Not everyone can wear Rolex but for one florist in the world with money and growth ambition…to have a worldwide presence using a flower related .com and instant generic branding?
    $8.99 for unproven vs $xxxx/mo for proven is an easy end user choice.
    Just my 2 cents, mentor of mine.
    Danny Welsh
    JointVentures.com

    Reply
  40. Ramahn

    Rick,
    Long time reader, first time poster. Thank you for all of your insight. Patience is a virtue. Timing is everything. Dot com is King.

    Reply
  41. Ramahn

    Another thing…don’t domains need to pass”the radio test”?
    So lets see…if you hear an ad for buyflowers.com, i think we can all agree that anyone would remember that domain and there is no confusion.
    But what about an ad for buy.flowers? First of all..what will be the”universal” way in which domains with the new gtld’s be enunciated over the air?
    Will it be buy-(pause)-flowers? Or, buy-dot-flowers? Average Joe hearing an ad for buy.flowers will hear:”a lady named Dot has a flower shop and wants me to buy flowers from her shop….I think that website was, buyDot(s)flowers.com….yeah I think I heard that right..”

    Reply
  42. Joseph Peterson

    If I could single out a great quote:
    “The more everyone yells me, me me, the more the domains will stand out as a way to…..stand out!”

    Reply
  43. UFO

    “But what about an ad for buy.flowers? First of all..what will be the”universal” way in which domains with the new gtld’s be enunciated over the air?
    Will it be buy-(pause)-flowers? Or, buy-dot-flowers? Average Joe hearing an ad for buy.flowers will hear:”a lady named Dot has a flower shop and wants me to buy flowers from her shop….I think that website was, buyDot(s)flowers.com….yeah I think I heard that right..”
    Any .com owner owning the likes of flowers.com needs to closely monitor any extension with their key word and create numerous subdomains to 1) Protect their .com identity and 2) Scoop the untold nectar from any advertising spend.
    hint for registries: if you own a gtld then it would be wise to buy the .com (Even lease it!) and then have redirects off subdomains that are generated when purchases are made. You need a bit of software written and tie it in.
    Can’t believe I gave that advice.. but there you go. Thats how confident I am that .com will last another decade or more.

    Reply
  44. Middle Tear Domainer

    I am betting on .com values only continue to go up in values. Last year I spent over 35k on 5 purchases with 2 sellers. I will always have that type in traffic. The value in the names.
    Frank-no dis respect and I like u as you a leader but I remember your smack talking against .tv years back. Look at things today and you always preached .com. Funny how things changed and flip flopping. Now from hedge perspective, getting regular renewals I see it be a good business for u. From a domainer perspective, small business owner, 95 out of 100 extensions will fail.
    Training wheels on bicycles. .com is the mansion on the beach. Fuck, this is coming from a middle tear domainer even.
    Either way, let the games begin, agendas and very little opportunity. In the meantime I will always enjoy my type in traffic and I wont be googles search engine bitch.
    2 great leaders. Rick and Frank. Let the games begin. In the meantime I am saying fuck the noise. Fuck the agendas. Fuck the bloggers who need to please the advertisers.
    and yes I will take a very small hedge in things, probably less then 1k worth of capital in this. While others are being distracted, sidetracked, jump up and down, fan boys, there will be much money lost! Simple as that! Domainer pool will also shrink.

    Reply

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