The Better Business Bureau (BBB) applied to manage the .BBB new gTLD extension. According to an article about the application on the BBB website, the reason the organization applied for this extension is that “A new .bbb domain would create an online community of trusted businesses and charities that would be required to adhere to the highest levels of customer service, security, privacy and transparency.”
I received an email from Rob Sequin, and he let me know about a survey that was apparently sent to members to query them about .BBB domain names. The two question survey asks:
1. Would you use .bbb as an additional marketing web address for your business?
2. How much would you be willing to spend to register .bbb for your business with a domain registrar?
One thing I found interesting was that the second question has many price points listed, with the starting price point being $50 and the high price being $300.
I would be curious to learn about the results of this survey, but I imagine they will remain private and for internal use.
The Better Business Bureau is a respected organization, and I personally use them when I am looking to hire a contractor I don’t know. I most likely wouldn’t use a service provider that had a low BBB rating, and there are many businesses who proudly share their BBB rating on their website. It remains to be seen if local businesses are willing to pay for and use the .BBB domain name extension.
Based on my experience, when some company is BBB whatever certified or whatever highest level, it is still just quasi sticker with no guarantee of any level of service. Simply BS.
I’m surprised that the BBB is still relevant at all in 2014
Their ratings are bought and not earned. Even worse companies are penalized for not paying.
Here’s a reference news story
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/business-bureau-best-ratings-money-buy/story?id=12123843
In that one they talk about a group of business owners that to prove a point bought an A- rating for the terrorist group Hamas
I don’t think .bbb is a good choice considering some alternatives that spring to mind.
Perhaps it may stand for something else and become misleading, for example. In South Africa it could relate to affirmative action or something.
Or perhaps it just feels un-natural striking at the same letter three times at the end of a domain name.
Reminds me of Ye–lp
you don’t play by their rules and don’t pay, your business is F-uk
Online ransom=online sabotage
Has anyone wondered why the BBB is thought of as a Government agency? one of the big reasons is that many years ago the BBB ran a quiet marketing campaign that intentionally misled the public into believing they were a public agency looking out for consumers.. I still think back to the threatening letter they sent me after I filed for a fictitious name statement, the wording was threatening in nature and deliberate, I actually fell for it and called the number, it didn’t take me long to figure out is was a shake down, just like Mike says, “Pay us X amount and you’ll have a A+ rating with us”, don’t pay us and anything a consumer reports about you will go in your record and will effect your rating.
The BBB is not that different than what the Government and organized crime do, only instead of adding liens and seizing your bank account or breaking your legs, they assist in destroying your business, that result in layoffs and unemployment, and ICANN awards these assholes with their own TLD?
In a era of lawlessness in our Government, I’m not the least bit surprised.