I attended my fifth NamesCon this past week and have a special lapel pin to show it. As I have come to expect, the conference was top quality, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to see friends and colleagues. This year’s event seemed to run even more smoothly than ever, and the NamesCon organizers were on point throughout the event. Now that I am back home and rested, I want to share my NamesCon recap with you.

It is very important to note that I spent very little time in the panels and sessions. In fact, the ICA panel about UDRP proceedings was the only panel I attended – in addition to parts of the domain auction. For additional transparency, I should also add that I paid for my conference ticket right after last year’s conference and NamesCon has been advertising on my blog.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, here are some thoughts I am back in the office:

The best time to buy NamesCon tickets is typically right after the conference concludes. The time to get the best deal on 2019 NamesCon tickets is now:

Now that NamesCon 2018 is almost over, it’s time to get locked in for next year’s event! NamesCon 2019 will take place January 27 to 30. Only a limited number of presale tickets are available right now, so act fast! https://t.co/PmSRI6nUML pic.twitter.com/f1EiglWfsa

— NamesCon (@NamesCon) January 31, 2018

Organizers are selling tickets for next year’s conference for $199 + a $13.15 fee or $349 + a $21.51 fee for VIP tickets. It says there are only 200 tickets of each available right now. I am not sure if these special offers will

A business colleague from New York emailed me a week ago to ask if I have a NamesCon discount code. I did not have one to provide for him, but the conference organizers just announced one “final sale before the conference.”

Until Tuesday, January 2, people can save 50% off the current conference pass rates. The two tiers of prices are $399.50 for the standard pass and $574.50 for the VIP pass. This does not include the EventBrite booking fee. NamesCon 2018 will be held in Las Vegas January 28 – 31 at the Tropicana hotel.

If you haven’t bought your NamesCon ticket yet, now is probably a good time. The discount code is located within the NamesCon tweet:

#ICYMI: From now until January 2, get yours for 50% off. This is the final sale before the conference, so take advantage before it's too late! https://t.co/RZHujNkzci pic.twitter.com/qMI170N7am

— NamesCon (@NamesCon) December 29, 2017

As we get closer to NamesCon, the ticket prices rise and the discounts generally fade. From now through November 28, NamesCon organizers are offering a 50% discount on ticket prices in honor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In addition to offering a discount on the cost of tickets, NamesCon is also offering a discount on some of the remaining sponsorships that are available.

In case you missed it, I published an interview with Soeren von Varchmin, who recently became the President of NamesCon after the conference was acquired. Soeren answered several questions about the conference and what attendees can expect. NamesCon is the largest domain industry event held in the US (and possibly the world) each year.

NamesCon 2018 will be held at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas from January 28 – January 31, 2018. Visit the NamesCon Black Friday page to get the promo code discount.

Every once in awhile, NamesCon announces a special offer for conference passes. As the conference gets closer, the offers and discounts tend to disappear. If you have not bought your NamesCon ticket for January’s conference, now might be a good time.

In a tweet today, NamesCon announced a 50% off discount code: “HappyHalloween”

This Halloween, NamesCon​ is all treats. Enjoy 50% off NamesCon tickets, using the discount code HappyHalloween: https://t.co/FlZIYjrxUm pic.twitter.com/3cytORagmL

— NamesCon (@NamesCon) October 24, 2017

I can only assume the code will expire after Halloween, but you will need to check with the conference organizers to confirm. With this promo code, it looks like standard conference passes are little over $300 and VIP conference passes are around $500. The EventBrite page has all of the details about what each pass gets you.

NamesCon 2018 will take place January 28-31, 2018 at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas.

NamesCon put a call out for speakers for the 2018 conference coming up in January in Las Vegas:

Want to get on stage at #NCGlobal in January? Speaker submissions close this Friday Oct 13 at 11:59PM PST: https://t.co/7ETZKe99sc

— NamesCon (@NamesCon) October 10, 2017

Since there are typically several topical tracks during the conference, the speaker positions are most likely not limited to people within the domain name business. In fact, I would imagine NamesCon organizers (and conference attendees) would be interested in welcoming speakers with expertise in tertiarily related businesses and industries. Having speakers discuss new and interesting topics helps keep people engaged and likely draws a wider audience. My guess is that we will see more speakers discuss