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My Take on .TV (& Other TLD)

Elliot Silver
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A discussion about the Geo Domain Expo turned into a lively discussion/debate about the merits of the .TV extension and developing .TV domain names. As most people know, I don’t care to own alternate extensions for a variety of reasons, with the most important being that consumers aren’t really aware of these alternate extensions. If I am going to buy a domain name for development, it will almost always be .com since they tend to get the type-ins, search engines seem to like them better, and when consumers tell a friend about the site, chances are good they will assume it’s .com. After some back and forth in the thread, someone made the comment:

“Since you own the .com, why bother with the .tv??? You are right…I understand you are developing oenophiles.com, so I registered oenophiles.tv today which will make a great video site of wine conneseurs [sp] talking about their passion for wine, grapes and wine making in general………….it will also include vine growing tips, videos of famous vineyards across the globe, where you will be able to book online tours of these establishments………
But hey no worries right??…No need to secure the .tv that means absolutely nothing to nobody”

Developing a website on any alternative non-.com TLD is probably the only way to make money (other than flipping it to another domain investor). I think it is much more difficult to rank well in the search engines with a non .com site – especially if the .com is developed. From my perspective, Google and Yahoo give more credence to .com names, so it probably takes less effort to rank well with the .com than it would to rank with a .TV or .Whatever. This will make it more challenging to make money, as it is far less likely that a consumer will type in .TV for a domain name than a .com, even if they are looking for video.
The real money from development comes from direct to business advertising sales. In fact, when I developed TropicalBirds.com, one of the people I spoke with about a free advertisement with a link back told me she wanted to buy my featured breeder section for 6 categories. She told me I had a great domain name and a great looking website, so it wasn’t a tough sale. I am sure it would be difficult to get less than Internet-savvy businesses to advertise on a non .com TLD because many people only know .com, .net, .org and .gov.
Without strong search engine rankings, driving traffic to a website is a more difficult job. It’s hard enough to get links to an established site, and I would think it would be made more difficult with a non-traditional TLD. Some words and phrases are so difficult to spell that type-in traffic is virtually non-existent. This is the case with Oenophiles.com, and it’s the reason I am developing it – (that and I drink quite a bit of wine!) I am going to need to rely on links and search engine optimization for my traffic.
Incidentally, I checked out the Whois information for the .TV name, and the owner has a Flatbush Brooklyn address, so I thought I would make a more poignant illustration. From a real estate point of view, owning Oenophiles.tv is like owning an apartment in Brooklyn, while owning Oenophiles.com is like owning an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Sure Flatbush might be a nice place to live, but it will be more difficult convincing your friends to take the 2 or Q train to Brooklyn on a Saturday night than it will to get them to visit Manhattan. You can arguably have a great time in both places, but what fun is it if your friends aren’t enjoying the fun with you?
The bottom line is that I believe .Whatever have value if you develop them. Consumers for the most part aren’t aware of them, so the more that aren’t developed mean it will be tougher teaching consumers that they exist. I would think it is tougher to drive traffic to a non .com than a .com – especially if the .com is developed, so you need to determine if it’s worth the extra time and effort to develop a non .com TLD rather than trying to buy the .com.
I think the most vociferous supporters of non .com TLD are those who own them, clearly trying to make them relevant (and create liquid value).   If you need cash quickly, it’s obviously MUCH easier selling a .com domain name than a TLD domain name. If few people care (or know) about a TLD, it’s much more difficult to sell them.   It’s always amusing to see forum posts and blog posts of the most ardent .Whatever supporters who have a full page dedicated to selling these TLD.   Makes you go hmmm…

60 Day Lock at Godaddy Still?

Elliot Silver
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I read that Godaddy had done away with their 60 day transfer lock policy on domain names where the Whois information changes. I know ICANN prohibits transfers away when a domain name is newly registered, and I heard that there were major rumblings when Godaddy had their own lock, but I thought that situation was remedied.
Today, I tried to transfer WeddingEntertainment.com to my account at Moniker, and I received this message from Godaddy:

“Dear EJ Silver,
The transfer of WEDDINGENTERTAINMENT.COM from GoDaddy.com, Inc. to another registrar could not be completed for the following reason(s):
Express written objection to the transfer from the Transfer Contact. (e.g. – email, fax, paper document or other processes by which the Transfer Contact has expressly and voluntarily objected through opt-in means).
The express written objection may be the result of a pending or recently completed Change of Registered Name Holder. This is an opt-in process during which the new Registered Name Holder agrees not to transfer for 60-days. This domain will be transferrable on 7/26/2008.
If you believe that this domain name does not fit the situation described above, go to http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/support.asp?prog_id=GoDaddy&isc=gdbb35 for assistance.
Regards,
Domain Services
GoDaddy.com, Inc. “

Luckily for me, I have a couple of great people at Godaddy who I am sure will make this problem go away in no time. However, if I didn’t have an executive account with them, I would probably be stuck making phone calls, trying to get this resolved, which would have ended up in the office of their President. Also, if I was selling the domain name, it would add unnecessary hassle.
A change in Whois shouldn’t require a 60 day lock. I thought this was resolved, but apparently it wasn’t.

Red Bull in France

Elliot Silver
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A few years ago, I met a cruise art auctioneer who was a few years older than I, but we got along well discussing art and investing while on a cruise. My dad and I became friendly with the guy and connected a few times after over email.
Long story short, while on the cruise, he told us that he and the company he founded owned the distribution rights to Red Bull in France, even though it was illegal to sell there, simply because cruise ships that had ports in France were allowed to load up on Red Bull at the port. At the time, I thought this was genius since competition for selling Red Bull in France was probably light, and he was still able to do well because of the ships that were able to add Red Bull to their stock.
Incidentally, I just read in the NY Post this morning that the EU turned over a law prohibiting Red Bull from being offered in France. This guy must be really happy today!

Why I Don't Sell at Live Auctions

Elliot Silver
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Unlike many domain investors, I rarely ever submit any of my domain names for live auctions anymore, and there are reasons for this. I don’t like the terms offered by the auction houses, nor do I believe it’s in the best interest for me to sell my names this way. For what it’s worth, I think the commissions are too high for what is offered, I think the exclusivity period is far too long, and the time it takes to be paid appears to be much too long.
First things first – the commission. I have no problem whatsoever paying someone a fair rate for selling my domain names. No, I don’t expect an auction house to contact every potential end user for my name. However, I don’t believe banner advertising on domain-related websites or email advertising to the same crowd is enough. Simply selling my domain names to a group of domain investors at an anticipated auction isn’t enough incentive to pay 50-100% more commission than other outlets.
If I want to sell my domain names to other domain investors, I know many buyers, and I am very happy to try and sell on my own first (no cost). There are also the forums (like Namepros or DNForum) where people are looking to buy domain names (no cost). Additionally, there are some great newsletters (like Rick Latona, Eric Rice and DomainsNewsletter.com) who reach these same potential bidders at a much lower rate (5-10% per name).
My next issue is the long period of exclusivity that’s required and the exclusivity renewal period if you don’t notify the auction house in time. Yes, I understand that they need to protect themselves so others can’t wait until the day after the auction to buy a name that didn’t receive bids. However, I don’t see auction houses (other than Jay’s blog posts before his auction) that really spend time on particular names. IMO, the auction house should get one opportunity to sell a good name at a good price. If they can’t close the deal, they shouldn’t hold exclusive rights on a domain name. If it really is priced fairly, it will sell at auction. If it isn’t, then maybe it shouldn’t have been listed by them in the first place.
As I told one person that has run domain auctions, there are ways to get around the exclusivity even if the domain is tied up (I won’t mention them because I don’t endorse this whatsoever). Although it’s unethical to do and a good reputation is the most important thing in this business, if a good customer of an auction house does this, I highly doubt the auction house will track them down over a few thousand dollars. The legal fees to take action would be high, it would be tough to prove an illegal activity occurred, and the cost of future lost business would be high.
Finally, I think the period of time it takes to be paid can be ridiculous. When I see a domain sale reported in DNJournal from an auction 2 months prior, I think that’s a bit crazy. If a person has a reputation of not paying on time, they should be prohibited from bidding. Also, something should be done to ensure payment is made ASAP. I bought Secaucus.com at the geo auction, and I am ready to pay. As soon as I receive the wire instructions, I will make payment. I wish others did this.
As Rick mentioned yesterday, there are going to be 5 auctions by 5 auction houses at TRAFFIC New York in September. I think this is going to be great for the industry. I have a couple of great domain names I would consider selling – if the terms are fair for me. Once the 5 auction houses have been selected, I will review the terms. If it’s too late to submit, well, I have no problem selling to clients I know or using the less expensive alternatives available now. I think live domain auctions have reached a saturation point and people expect more from them than is realistic, but I do think the 5 auction format is going to change things quite a bit.
I also believe that auction houses should actively seek to find domain names to list at auction. Forget about asking people to submit their names. Most of these are either repeats or just junk. While the auction houses get blamed for listing poor names sometimes, it must be difficult to sift through 100k+ domain names. I’ve learned that most people think their names are more valuable than they really are to other domain investors (I am prone to this, too), so it’s tough to find good names at fair reserves. The auction houses should go after strong domain names that might not be making money (more on this in a future post). They could hand select their names and use past auction results to entice non-domainers to sell.
For what it’s worth, I would love to see the following auction houses in New York: Moniker, Trafficz, Sedo/GreatDomains, Bido, and Afternic/BuyDomains. I think this would make a very successful show in terms of domain sales – although it’s getting very close to the show.

Geo Domain Expo Recap

Elliot Silver
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Those who know me, know I don’t particularly like to fly – scratch that – it’s taking off and landing I don’t like so much. Today it wasn’t a problem, as I slept like a baby on the flight, exhausted from the great weekend I had in Chicago.
Th geo domain industry is unlike any industry in which I’ve ever been involved. There is a sincere feeling of camaraderie, and everyone I met seems to have a genuine desire to help others. I started my blog to share what I know and have learned, and the geo domainers that I met at the show seem to have the same objectives of helping others learn and succeed in this industry.
At the show, there was very little talk about declining revenues and PPC. The real money is in development and building a business on geo domains. From what I saw and heard, there has never been a better time to develop domain names with the technology that’s available. While I felt a bit like I was behind in the times by using HTML, I learned more about solutions like eDirectory, and as I grow my sites, I plan to make the change to their platform.
Everything positive you hear about David and Michael Castello, Skip Hoagland, Dan Pulcrano, Josh Metnick, Jess Bookstaff, Sarah and Mark Mannix, Fred Mercaldo, Mike Ward,….etc.. is 100% true. These people have amazing success stories, and they are very approachable and willing to share advice and feedback. I met some great people at various stages of their geo domain development, and my best piece of advice was to grab the business cards of the most successful geodomainers and stay in touch. As someone said at the show, in 10 years from now, these people won’t just be geo domain pioneers, they will be the heads of major media companies.
This show was open to all geo domain investors, and I’ve learned that there are tons of ways to make money from developed geo domains. I believe we are on the cusp of something great, and I believe that the geo domainers are leading the way for all domainers.
Some takewaways from the show (aside from my hangover)
While the geo domain pioneers have great revenue-producing websites, the sky is literally the limit with geo domains. You can create goals for yourself and your sites, and once you hit those, you can improve on them. With new technology, new thinking, and determination, there is no stopping what you can do with your websites.
Trafficz’s involvement in domain auctions is going to change the game. Ammar and Jay have great ideas, and coupled with their technology, I think we are witnessing the growth of a giant in the domain space.
If you have good domain names but might not have the ability to execute your plans, try to parter with someone who has the expertise. Nearly everyone with whom I spoke has partnerships of various degrees, and they are able to balance their skills with those of others. Being a one trick pony is kinda cool, but you can’t be a jack of all trades – so find someone who has the skills you don’t and work out something amenable.
Patrick Carleton, MidwestBusiness.com, Jess Bookstaff, and Associated Cities know how to put on a professional show. Attendance more than doubled from last year’s show in San Francisco, and as a betting person, I would wager that it will be continue to grow. This space seems to be where the smart money’s at right now.
If you own a city .com and someone else owns a city + keyword name (Burbank.com & BurbankRestaurants.com for example), you can work together to improve both sites and make money. Just because you don’t have a pure city .com, doesn’t mean you are left out. This is an inclusive group and partnerships can benefit everyone.
While the live auction result wasn’t really impressive, I think that’s more related to the domain names that were auctioned rather than the state of the market. There were plenty of buyers in attendance (myself included – Secaucus.com), but the names weren’t great for the most part. I think that much of this can be attributed to the fact that most top city/state/regional geographic domain names aren’t for sale at domain auction prices.
Special thanks to Steve Morales. In addition to helping promote the geo domain industry, he is proudly serving our country.

Update from the Geo Domain Expo

Elliot Silver
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I have to run to the Trafficz cocktail party, but the Geo Domain Expo has been fantastic so far. While the past year or so has been a bit “bumpy” for the domain industry, the prevailing feeling in this sector of the industry is genuine optimism and excitement. Dan Pulcrano just released some very good news about his company, and I’ve heard other stories about tremendous growth for geographic domain owners.
The pioneering geodomainers continue to see growth in their websites (both in terms of traffic and advertising revenue), and new geodomainers like myself are more excited about the opportunities in this niche than anything I can recall. I haven’t been to a conference where people have been so willing to share advice and knowledge. As I’ve been told by several people, we aren’t really competitors, so it doesn’t hurt us to help someone else.
Instead of focusing on how the changing economic times are hurting revenues, lower PPC payouts, and the struggling economy, people at this conference are enthusiastic and excited about changes that are going on today. While I may be pessimistic about the health of the domain industry at times, I am very optimistic about my geodomain holdings.

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