Why I Invested Six Figures in .WS Domain Names

I bought a portfolio of more than 200 premium 2-3 character .ws names (CHiPs) because, well, I like making money :-). As every domain investor knows, the Chinese market is on fire. Not only are they buying up short .com and .CN, but they’re buying up many, many other extensions. I think .ws is next. I shouldn’t say “next”, knowing what I know now. It’s already happening.

The registry (Global Domains International) has been holding back all 2 character names, most 3 character names and most numerics. They ran a test and quietly opened up 4 character names for 48 hours. More than 2000 names were registered in those 2 days – with NO MARKETING! And who do you think registered them? Chinese investors. I’d say that’s tell-tale.

Did you know that Wang Shang translates to “online” or “to be on the internet”. See translations here. If .web and .online are meaningful extensions for us, doesn’t stand to reason that .ws would be meaningful to the Chinese? I’m no expert on the Chinese market but I’m willing to take the gamble.

I spoke to Alan Ezeir, the co-founder of GDI (who is a longtime friend) and he said that they’ve been receiving inquiries for their premium reserved short names – and they initially sold some privately. I saw the writing on the wall and asked if I could acquire some of the names too.

Fast forward a couple months and GDI has an entire Chinese marketing strategy in the works. An auction roll out, press releases, etc. They’re traveling to China for a big local push too.

Some say that the key to successful domaining is about buying right, not selling right. If .ws is going to blow up soon, I didn’t want to be on the sidelines. Now is the time to buy. I’m just trying to get ahead of this market.

Braden Pollock
Braden Pollock
Braden Pollock is a well-known domainer and serial entrepreneur who owns several companies, both online and off. Among his businesses is Legal Brand Marketing, LLC, which focuses primarily on lead generation for DUI attorneys as well as lawyers in other practice areas.

Braden also owns ScienceFiction.com and several franchises of Smart Start, an ignition interlock provider with service locations throughout the US (IgnitionInterlock.com, SmartStartofCalifornia.com, etc). He has an equity interest in several other businesses including The Grooming Network (StraightRazors.com, etc),FashionMetric.com and Epik.com. His domain portfolio is well into the thousands of names with a focus on premium one-word .coms. He just launched Domains.wine dedicated to strictly wine related names and has heavily invested in a portfolio of premium .ws domains.

Braden's newest venture is a data-driven ad network that will apply predictive behavioral analytics to lead generation products designed to better monetize domains through development, search, social. He also serves on the Board of the non-profit, Benevolent.net.

Connect with Braden: Twitter | Website | LinkedIn

Note: Contributing writers are not endorsed by Publisher (Elliot Silver) or Top Notch Domains, LLC.

208 COMMENTS

  1. I appreciate learning what other investors are doing, but when does a post like this turn from “sharing” into “hyping” an extension?

  2. Hi Braden and thank you for this post.We own dadu.ws (bet/to make a bet) in Chinese and we’ll be buying more. If any extension other than .com will be a hit in China we think it will be .ws due to their efforts and we like that Shane Cultra is also involved.

  3. One other name we just bought is Hulianwang.ws (“Internet”.ws) I strongly doubt that we could find this name in any other extension that is pushing so hard to become known in China. We’ll see how this all plays out.

    • You mean 互联网

      Hùliánwǎng

      Your lucky day, pull out your credit card

      hulianwang.company
      hulianwang.cars
      hulianwang.click
      hulianwang.car
      hulianwang.auto
      hulianwang.sexy
      hulianwang.gift
      hulianwang.christmas
      hulianwang.photo
      hulianwang.pics
      hulianwang.tattoo
      hulianwang.email
      hulianwang.guru
      hulianwang.today
      hulianwang.tips
      hulianwang.guitars
      hulianwang.soy
      hulianwang.host
      hulianwang.country
      hulianwang.vegas
      hulianwang.global
      hulianwang.trade
      hulianwang.poker
      hulianwang.blue
      hulianwang.casino
      hulianwang.school
      hulianwang.apartments
      hulianwang.gold
      hulianwang.golf
      hulianwang.dating
      hulianwang.events
      hulianwang.vacations
      hulianwang.technology
      hulianwang.directory
      hulianwang.domains
      hulianwang.football
      hulianwang.hiv
      hulianwang.co.in
      hulianwang.men
      hulianwang.sex
      hulianwang.srl
      hulianwang.pink
      hulianwang.kim
      hulianwang.black
      hulianwang.rent
      hulianwang.nagoya
      hulianwang.yokohama
      hulianwang.archi
      hulianwang.okinawa
      hulianwang.ooo

    • Ok hot shot-please now post which of these extensions you mentioned is spending thousands upon thousands to put a push on into China and which of the extensions above have you named has some of the best minds in the domaining business invested in them. Then i’d be happy to “break out my credit card”. Have a nice day.

      p.s. while you’re at it please list which extensions the name dadu.ws is also avalible in meeting the same specs we mentioned-we own that one also.

    • @Spencer – If domain speculating is a fool’s game, aren’t we all fools? Certainly not all of my domain investments have paid off, but the vast majority have. I have studied the Chinese market and what’s happening with .ws and think it’s a good bet. And I’m not the only one. Here is a list of other “fools” that I know of that have also bet on .ws ChiPs: Giuseppe, Andrew Rosener, Shane Cultra, Alan Dunn and Morgan Linton. All fools, I suppose. Email me in 6-12 mos and we can discuss how well I did. If I didn’t do well, I’ll be the first to admit it. No risk, no reward – as “they” say.

  4. While I recognize the Chinese are making waves in the domain space, I still do not comprehend the logic of numeric domains or speculating in extensions that have a track of being useless from an investment vantage point. Why would a company or organization want to brand a business or product or service etc on this domain? If you cannot answer that question, then why buy such a domain?

    • It is called gambling, the chinese love to gamble, and they are prepared to lose, or prop up artificial demand long enough to make an exit, and pass the buck.

    • There are two different mindsets buying these. You have the experienced domainers who are trying to ride the wave. They know these domains are garbage and have no resale value to end users. Then you have the unexperience domain buyer who has been led to believe (not sure through what means) that these are great investments. The wolf is profiting off the sheep and it is only a matter of time until the sheep get slaughtered.

    • I too have not seen many .ws sites in the US. I have, however, seen companies in other countries use them, including Coca Cola. It’s been 16 years since .ws was rebranded as a gTLD (the first to be rebranded) and has had as many at 1.5 mil registrations in a year. I don’t think it’s ever had less than 500k so someone is using .ws. That said, my investment is a CHiP play, not an end-user play.

    • These crooks are behaving like a mafia. First, they use their reputation to hype an extension. New domainers fall in their trap. Then, they sell for profit.

      It is up to new domainers to take care of these people.

    • @Ron – That’s a reasonable conclusion to draw however there is no pump and dump here. I’ve no plans to sell to the US market (all of us that read this blog). These will be sold into the Chinese market.

    • He just acquired 6 figures of premium,
      he is not the guy behind the 4N buyout,
      if you look at others extension that have a potential with chinese investors, usually you find plenty of 3N & 4N chips available

      the .ws market is moving right now with chinese investors, this mean the short Chips will be sold out before end of March

      when they soldout, you can already start to sell them

  5. .WS is to much of a gamble.It’s not generic.
    What happens if China will not buy into it?
    Who am i gonna sell my names to?

    For me .co paid off big time.
    It proved all this years and now with the LLL.CO chips i’m making a killing.
    If China stops buying .co i can still sell my .co names to the rest of the world.

    .WEB is the only one i will invest.

    • WS is generic, according to Google:

      https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/62399?hl=en

      Generic Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs): Google treats some ccTLDs (such as .tv, .me, etc.) as gTLDs, as we’ve found that users and webmasters frequently see these more generic than country-targeted. Here is a list of those ccTLDs (this list may change over time).
      .ad
      .as
      .bz
      .cc
      .cd
      .co
      .dj
      .fm
      .io
      .la
      .me
      .ms
      .nu
      .sc
      .sr
      .su
      .tv
      .tk
      .ws

  6. Rich,

    You DO realize that dot co is considered the benchmark in hype. They took a typo South American CCTLD and marketed it to the masses. And did a hell of a job. Had everyone drinking the juice. And all because of marketing. Every blogger was paid (including Elliot’s and mine) to promote. Most people took a bath on it UNTIL the Chinese bailed everyone out in the short names and numerics.

    In short, it will take time to see what .WS will become. It’s not for everyone but we think its a good investment based on the strategy and people involved. And your question “who will we sell to if China stops buying?” Dot .ws will be the least of the domain market’s worries if that happens.

    • today 6 figures,…tomorrow,…6 figure renewal again……5 years later….thats half a mill. sounds RISKKKKKKKKKKKY. Ill stick with the OTC Pink BB’s if I wanna play that gamble.

    • I spent two weeks in Colombia in 2012 and the only time I saw a .CO domain used was in a magazine on the flight back to Miami. The tourism board uses a .Travel but I saw a good mix of .COM and .COM.CO domains. Perhaps a few years later things have changed. Or possibly my experience may have been unique because I only visited a couple of cities. I do have several .COM.CO domains but zero .CO

    • I can explain .co to an end user as an alternative to .com. Take off the “m” and save 90%+ of the cost. There is not one selling point for .ws as an alternative to .com. How many people here have sold a .ws to an end user? How many of Alexa’s top 100,000 sites are on .ws domains? .Ws has been around longer then .co yet look at how many .co sites are on the top 100,000 list compared to .ws. Nobody wanted it before the gTLDs so with significantly more choices now why would an end user want it today?

    • Good luck with your .whatever junk … .ws?, .xyz? speculation, hype, pump-and-dump and nothing more … no end users, just gamblers …
      Sure, everyone is free to invest or waste his/her money as he/she prefers, no question on that.
      “if that happens”? It’s not a question of IF, that will surely happen, IMHO very soon, as soon as the current asset bubble will burst, not only in China.
      Btw, Shane, you are simply pathetic when you delete our legitimate (and polite) comments and replies on your blog … truth hurts … and manipulating, deleting facts won’t help.
      FYI, we don’t own any of the domains you have mentioned on your blog.
      And “congrats” for your omissions and censorship which helps the bad guys of the domain community … what a shame …
      Don’t worry, also this new “tulip mania” will end soon, badly … 🙂

    • “Every blogger was paid (including Elliot’s and mine) to promote. ”

      I was paid a monthly rate for a banner, like many other companies pay for banners on my blog. I did not get paid any more or any less if people bought .CO domain names or if traffic was up or down.

      I just want to clarify what you wrote because being “paid to promote” something sounds like I was paid to write about a topic, and I don’t want anyone to misconstrue that sentiment, especially in the comment section of an article like this!

      For the record, I have only offered a few paid articles on the blog. Those were clearly marked, and the money that was paid went directly to a non-profit organization. In the case of the example below, it was donated by GoDaddy directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:

      https://www.domaininvesting.com/women-in-the-domain-name-industry/

    • Is it possible your comments get marked as spam by Akismet?

      I just found a couple of comments that were caught in the spam filter and I approved them. With over 17k spam comments in the spam folder right now, it can be difficult to find legit comments that were accidentally marked as spam by the plugin.

      • Elliot, you know that Shane blocks or deletes comments – however innocent – from people whose viewpoints he finds threatening. Hell, after I posted a link to Wikipedia once, citing the actual population of China (which was half the number he’d published), Shane not only blocked that link; he deleted ALL my past comments on his blog. Then he wrote an email to you and Andrew Allemann begging for protection from me!

        Akismet has little to do with it. Not in Shane’s case.

      • That is not my policy with comments here (as you can see). In my case, I do my best to find accidentally blocked comments but it’s not feasible with so many comments in the spam folder: https://www.domaininvesting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screen-Shot-2016-02-26-at-11.11.25-AM.png

        I don’t want anyone to think I am censoring comments because someone disagrees with something I wrote or something another writer wrote here.

        Even though we disagree on some things within the domain industry, I appreciate reading your viewpoints.

      • For better or worse, I don’t get in the middle of things that aren’t my business.

        The one time I got in the middle of a fight trying to be a peacemaker was when I was rushing a fraternity and ended up getting hit in the head by a thrown mug. Not fun and maybe a lesson learned.

    • Elliot,

      Don’t get offended. You and I take money from companies and extensions that we do not own one domain in. We put them in front of our readers which alone says we support them. Because our readers assume that if we didn’t support them, we wouldn’t put up their banners. That is promotion. So yes, you promoted .co by simply putting up their banners. You may not have been paid to say anything but you are getting paid and putting your stamp of approval on the company by letting them put up a banner. Plain and simple.

      And you are supporting Braden here as well. Why else would you allow him to post it? You don’t own a .ws but you allowed Braden to write this article. That shows support and respect to Braden and his investments. And is very much appreciated

      Sorry to have gotten off topic

      • I don’t really agree, but that’s ok. When you see a Volkswagen commercial on tv or in a magazine, that doesn’t mean the publisher and writers recommend that people buy VW cars or suggest that they are of good quality.

        An advertising banner on my blog or other website is not an endorsement of any kind. I do business with some advertisers and don’t do business with others.

        I write articles (or have others write them) because I think the topics are interesting to me or will interest readers and/or generate a good discussion. I may or may not agree with the topic.

        I allowed Braden to post this because he is someone I respect and I think people would find his investment interesting and worth discussing. That seems to be the case judging by the number of comments.

        • There is no competition between Shane and me or me and anyone else.

          I enjoy reading what Shane has to say and appreciate reading his blog regularly. I agree with many things and disagree with some things.

          At the end of the day, every one of us can run successful businesses without there being someone who “loses.”

    • I searched by Andreas name and found all 5 comments bashing me and .ws right there for everyone to view. He doesn’t like me and tells me exactly that but they are there. They are on several different IPs so he likes to bash me from all over the place 🙂

    • Shane,
      As I said, truth hurts, you have no credibility anymore … maybe you should stop manipulating things, including your blog posts (for days they are not there, suddenly they are there again … lol), you don’t fool anyone …
      Nothing personal, but facts speak louder than words.
      As for the IP thing, we have a dynamic IP, but our location is the same (unless I’m commenting when I’m away from my desk).

    • @Andrea “Conspiracy Theory” Paladini ,

      There you go again ! Good grief !

      PLEASE put the vodka bottle down and step away from the keyboard !

      Accusing Shane of manipulating & deleting facts !

      First your inebriated & paranoid rants were aimed at Daniel Negari. Now it’s Shane !

      And no , Andrea , Daniel Negari & Shane have NOT implanted a secret microchip in your brain !

      It’s called a “hangover”. Sleep it off !

    • Andrea,

      I am comfortable with my credibility. I’ve earned what I have both good and bad. I put out my thoughts and ideas for the world to see on a daily basis. Have for almost 7 years. I can’t hide from what I say because I show up in person at events and I my posts are there for ever. Unlike your comments. Evidently they come and go

    • Conspirancy? No conspirancy here, I’m used to assess facts, just facts.
      Facts speak louder than words.
      Maybe you should calm down and learn to respect people who have different views than yours.

    • My posts on your blog can’t walk (they don’t have feet …) unless you move them.
      Your statement speaks for itself.
      But now we are OT, better end here.

    • Hello Shane,

      If you have to say, don’t get offended … you should of stopped typing at that moment as you knew what you were going to say was … offensive.

      If a advertiser came to your blog and said here is $12,000 for 6 months of a banner ad, and you didn’t find the banner offensive, you would say yes.

      If I were to guess, that maybe you are jealous that no one offered you that kind of money.

      After reading you complete comment no one would offer you that kind of deal, I can now understand why.

      The only one off topic was you Shane.

      I would question Elliot, as I am sure anyone would, if he accept advertising from porn sites or something similar. None of which Elliot did that I can see.

      Your banner ad for Flippa.com, which for me is kind of worthless for the typical domainer. What I see, in my opinion, unless you are willing to spend $500 to sell a domain or have a “in” to get top or premium listing, like included in a spam email blast, which I am sure everyone gets though they didn’t sign up for it. Flippa sends out SPAM.

      There fore, YOU SUPPORT SPAM, Shane… Thanks for supporting SPAM, you are a SPAMMER.

      That is not logical argument is it Shane? Unless you love to send SPAM :).

      Good Luck Shane in your business, I do sometimes read your blog.

      The above comments are my OPINION…nothing else, I am making NO claims of facts about FLIPPA.com. ENJOY

  7. I think with the way the domain market has been in the past year, and still right now, that .WS has as good a chance of being taken up in China as all the rest have been, like .xyz, .top, .wang, .club and today seems like .site are being regged in bunches. Even .info .biz .cc have been given new life. There are just not enough short .com’s to go around at an affordable price, so all these extensions are looking to be the next best. Even short .gy, .vc, .cx .io are getting good aftermarket prices these days compared to their reg fee.

    We all know the history of the .ws extension from a domainer standpoint, but to new people and the Chinese it is seen with a fresh set of eyes, and could have some meaning.

    • What are you talking about not enough short domains to go around.

      As mentioned above most of these bulk buys are being done by syndicates, or a single party holding tens of thousands.

      The Chinese need to feel what a renewal cycle does to bankroll, thousands of domains nobody Wants sitting their being renewed for years.

      We see this all the time in the stock market, an idea buys a shell, hires a promoter, next thing you hear it’s the next coming of .com only shorter.

      The poster above got an insider deal, domain Shane is on someone’s payroll, they already locked up the good stuff, now they need the lemmings to come buy tha crap, so they can quietly exit.

      Enjoy

    • Ron – very well said.

      As soon as I saw .WS thread ( Namepros ) getting hyped by prominent bloggers/ domainers, I knew .WS premium names were bought in private bulk deal. This reminds me of alternative crypto currencies and the shills. It has become a game, not an industry any more.

  8. Seems these days if a domain extension is short, has some Chinese meaning, has reasonable reg/renewal fee, is easy to push/transfer between accounts, and is available at the big registrars, it has a chance in short strings up to 4L and 5N. This is what has happened with .co in the last few months, what a rise the .co has had!

  9. Shane@
    “Most people took a bath on it UNTIL the Chinese bailed everyone out in the short names and numerics.”
    That is not true.

    There was a lot of negative publicity around .co from domainers mostly o.co loosing traffic etc…
    Since then ( 2011-2015 ) i refocus my .co portfolio from english words to 3 letter acronym.
    All along i was making money to pay for the renewals and some.
    There are 57 countries that are using .co in their extension.(see below)
    That determined me to buy into .co acronyms and yes they had a ton of marketing which helped but apparently not enough because there were people loosing money but i think those were people that did not buy a lot or they bought garbage.

    Domain names is a numbers game the more you have the better you are situated.

    Rick Schwartz at one point wanna to give away all his NNN.co for what he had in them.Nobody bought them.
    I did not buy (now I’m sorry i didn’t) because there was no Chinese market at the time.But i bought letters.

    The take away from all of this is .WS is too much of a gamble.It might work it might not.
    I wish Braden Pollock,you and others good luck and hope for the best.

    Hope some day i will drive and pay you a visit.

    .co.am
    .co.ao
    .co.at
    .co.az
    .co.ba
    .co.bi
    .co.bw
    .co.bz
    .co.ci
    .co.ck
    .co.ck
    .co.cm
    .co.cr
    .co.ee
    .co.fk
    .co.gg
    .co.gl
    .co.hu
    .co.id
    .co.il
    .co.im
    .co.in
    .co.it
    .co.it
    .co.je
    .co.jp
    .co.ke
    .co.kr
    .co.lc
    .co.ls
    .co.ma
    .co.mu
    .co.mz
    .co.na
    .co.ni
    .co.nl
    .co.nz
    .co.om
    .co.pn
    .co.ro
    .co.rs
    .co.si
    .co.sz
    .co.tj
    .co.tt
    .co.tz
    .co.ua
    .co.ug
    .co.ug
    .co.uk
    .co.uz
    .co.ve
    .co.vi
    .co.vi
    .co.zm
    .co.zw
    .net.co

    • Thanks Rich,

      If you’re ever in town I’d love for you to stop by. Surprisingly I’ve had three or four drive in to say hello. Hell, I met Aaron my partner on DSAD.com when he road his BICYCLE from Colorado to Illinois. Call ahead I might be already having a drink with Andrea. You know, the guy with the girls name

    • FYI, Andrea is a male name, which is used mainly as female name in many foreign countries.
      It comes from ancient Greek ἀνήρ (anēr), genitive ἀνδρός (andrós), which indicates the man (“adult male”) as opposed to the woman.
      What else to say, maybe we have “the best of both worlds” … 🙂
      Those roots are from well before your country was even established.
      Terrance aka Shane JR, maybe you’d get informed before speaking 😀

    • Only thing missing is Adam Dicker telling you how you can turn your .ws from a domain into a business sales speech, and we will all be educated for the day from the Domaining Gods!

      All hail .ws!

  10. I completely agree that this does not seem to be a wise move and encourage the author not to quit his day job. I see neither ccTLD nor new gtlds ever catching on and agree that the same money invested in an LL.com would realize significantly better results in far less time.

  11. I think Braden’s comment “I’m no expert on the Chinese market but I’m willing to take the gamble” says everything. Good luck to all investors/gamblers/speculators/dip yer toe in the water candidates and all who sail with them 😉

  12. Why there’s so much hostility towards a legitimate private investment is really a mystery to me. Braden, thank you for sharing and good luck with your investment. And thanks to Elliot for hosting relevant articles.

  13. yabla link you have referred to also provides this meaning:

    伤亡 Trad. 傷亡
    shāng wáng
    casualties
    injuries and deaths

    Would be nice to hear a Chinese expert story on the subject.

  14. Braden,

    I think it’s pretty cool you share your thought and insights , I find it funny most of the comments are so negative most here probably don’t have a clue about your past speculations and successes !! If they did they wouldn’t be so quick to spew negitivity but rather take the opportunity presented to ask a very successful online / offline investor why you make the investments/speculations oh do and form thier own opinion from there.

    im sure people told you not to do lead gen no money to be made lol or any other successful ventures .

    Anyway thanks for sharing your thoughts on ws

    Phil

    • @Phil – Thank you for the kind words. It’s true that most of these people are probably unfamiliar with my investment history. Not that it matters, I suppose. I typically don’t share my buying strategies but Elliot had asked me to write about this one. Negative comments or not, the investment will prove to be worthwhile or it won’t – and only I stand to lose or gain on my portfolio. I’m not sure why so many people are upset about how I invest my money.

    • Because they simply don’t understand diversify. Diversity is what makes the world go around. Many people still live in the past; and don’t want to let go from it. It’s simply in denial of the facts…
      If YOU haven’t let go yourself; you can’t let go others..read and lead.

      “Disconnect yourself from being so negative; and perhaps let yourself discovered the true meaning of “XYZ” By: ZapNano.

      Shane is funny… I read some of his domains name critiques. Sometimes it makes me giggle.me 🙂

  15. I’m glad to see people exhibiting critical thinking in the comments. If the contents of this blog post were said a Cyger interview on his site, there would be a ton of lemmings congratulating him on a great investment. And of course all the critical comments would be censured and deleted. That is how false idols are created.

    I will echo what Ron said above about the Chinese and gambling. I am of Chinese descent so this is not bashing. There is a reason casinos and stock brokerage firms have separate departments just for the Chinese. They are major speculators. Almost everything they touch booms and then busts – from the Chinese stock market to bitcoin. Their money supply is obviously finite. We will see if this happens with domains.

    It doesn’t matter how successful someone is in the past, every new investment should be judged on its own merits or lack thereof. Even the Domain King took a $200K bath in Flowers.mobi.

  16. Very good investment with .ws domains. Your money will be doubled within months.
    .ws registry started marketing in China and they can attract big investors as ws has some meaning and very short.

    I own 90+ 4N.ws domains and expect good $ from the names. I already made profit with .xyz names (low $$$$ investment to $$$$$$ profit)…I am sure, nobody here believe this.

  17. I gambled on subscribing to this thread and lost, got more than I bargained for, so I deleted it.

    The “gambling” sentiment is what stands out to me here. A good rule of thumb is don’t gamble any more than you can afford to lose. I regard this as almost pure gambling and not investing, with this particular TLD. Personally I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole at that level. I see no reason whatsoever to think of it as visionary or a good bet, not even if it winds up paying off. If it pays off, I would regard that as only a fortuity and not having been a good decision or bet. So as long as Braden feels he can say goodbye to the $100k or take a loss, then it’s his choice and his gamble. So long as it is not an undue risk to himself or others who depend on him, then it’s not necessarily a bad risk either.

    • @John – You’re right, it’s my risk that effects no one but me. I never invest any amount of money that I can’t afford to lose, regardless of the type of investing. Although I disagree about your “visionary” comment. If it pays off, I made the right call. If it doesn’t, I made a bad a call. In either case, it’s on me.

  18. My advice to Braden is simple, see this list below coming up for auction, bid like crazy and get ready to spend more. It might be a dirty trick but it’s what this short dot crap markets have become.

    996.WS
    CT.WS
    DX.WS
    887.WS
    HC.WS
    181.WS
    229.WS
    JK.WS
    MB.WS
    288.WS
    366.WS
    NJ.WS
    555.WS
    SW.WS
    899.WS
    989.WS
    SZ.WS
    686.WS
    779.WS
    YZ.WS
    ZZZ.WS
    PPP.WS

  19. I have a friend who dropped over 400K on a loft because his realtor said there was a wait list / lottery to get into this high rise but a unit fell through at closing and the unit was available. This was completely false, the building was empty and my friend sold the unit a few years later in a shortsale for just over 200K. This post somehow reminded me of this..

  20. People may not care about my opinion of .WS and its recent marketing push, but I’ll try to articulate a few points – merely to think aloud:

    1.
    At the moment, practically ANY short TLD with publicity and $1 pricing gets thousands of numerical and 4-letter “CHIP” registrations. There is no slot machine into which Chinese speculators won’t pour buckets of small change.

    .SITE saw 140,000 new registrations in 24 hours, as Konstantinos Zournas reported. 77.4% of .RED domains being registered at a rate of thousands per day begin with a numeral, as I remarked on TheDomains. 5 digits in .RED. 6 digits in .WIN. Everything, even .PET, gets a major share of its registrations from Chinese-style strings. Usually these are being bought with a 1-year-till-dump time horizon, based on prices well below the regular renewal fee. .WS is being marketed on that same casino floor to the same crowd.

    2.
    .WS might be read as “wang shang” if the Chinese find that plausible. But remember, in English it’s supposed to mean “website”! How many of us see it that way? Right now, there might be some Chinese investor confidently telling his Chinese audience that .WS means “website” in the USA!

    .WS may or may not be accepted as meaning “online” in China. It might be regarded much as we regard .ONL. Remember .ONL? It’s real, despite its invisibility. And it also means “online”. In this regard, I think .WS’s chances are much better. After all, China inclines toward abbreviations, whereas we in the West do not.

    3.
    .WANG was introduced because of its “online” meaning. It’s Pinyin, and it’s single-character meaning is more fundamental than the 2 characters in “wang shang”. So even if .WS is accepted as meaning “online”, it is not unique. .WANG is 1 of its competitors, just as .SITE sits next to .WEBSITE for us in English.

    4.
    In December, I wrote an article at DomainNameWire entitled “What if TLDs are Chinese?’ The 295 translations I gathered were the crudest, least correct versions available; and that was a deliberate decision. But I and other bloggers (like Raymond Hackney) have anticipated that a few ccTLDs would pivot and market themselves to China based on a Mandarin reading. Some of them WILL succeed. After all, .ME and .TV have successfully branded themselves as English words. .WS may or may not follow in their footsteps.

    5.
    You may believe, as I do, that the 2015 Chinese surge was partly a bubble, bound to pop or slowly deflate. But the Chinese surge is 1 thing, and the long-term Chinese market is another. Any surge WILL end. But there will be a lasting market demand for some of these domains in China. .WS may be part of that landscape; we shall see. If the bubble deflates, prices will decline; and domains will drop. But there will be value at some level in what survives.

    6.
    To be sure, some bloggers will hype .WS. While there some leftover momentum from the 2015 surge, all the registries want to grab as big a footprint as they can. The .WS registry has recruited bloggers to maximize their promotional reach, and that’s a smart strategy, since domainers are more likely to trust a sales pitch if it’s presented to them by faces they recognize. We might disapprove of bloggers who sell their audiences to the highest bidder, but that ethical question is unrelated to the actual value of .WS.

    7.
    Braden Pollock is quite astute and behaving rationally. The model being followed in all these Chinese asset classes is quite simple. Grab a bunch of domains. Promote the category as the next big thing. Encourage Western domainers to buy up what remains to create artificial scarcity and to raise prices in bidding wars. Chinese investors are conditioned to chase whatever stock or domain subset is seen to appreciate rapidly. So Braden can wait until everybody has INDUCED another bubble with .WS. Then he can sell his stake to Chinese buyers. Even if there is real value in .WS for China, such a surge would overshoot reality due to hype and speculator excitement during the high-velocity pump. Dumping at the peak of that overshoot is a brilliant way to make money.

    Braden can count on many bloggers – all but 1 of whom I do respect, by the way – to help boost .WS. Auction houses will likely contribute a fair share of bidding wars as well. Some will be contrived between buddies and shills. That’s standard practice in this industry. Shilling would happen with no encouragement from these bloggers, the registry, or the auction houses.

    8.
    When we see so many little bubbles arising in new TLDs, it’s safe to assume the big bubble from 2015 has already peaked. All we have now are fragmented, competing attempts to recreate the surge … before domain traders face price plateaus and renewal fees and learn skepticism.

    • @Daniel,

      The anger has nothing to do with Braden’s private decision to invest in .WS.

      Although Andrew Rosener likes to portray all disagreements as squabbles between risk-taking Winners and jealous risk-averse Losers, the fact of the matter is that all domainers take risks; and they admire success more than anything else. Braden is immensely successful. So if there’s a negative reaction to this article about .WS, we must look for some other explanation.

      I think the anger stems from a perception that Braden Pollock, along with other domain industry bloggers and brokers, are engaging in hype. Now you may think they’re not. But my point is that some readers think they are.

      Since 2014, we’ve all endured a continuous barrage of promotional hype from registries. Rightly or wrongly, many regard the 2015 Chinese surge as partly a pump-and-dump scheme. Domainers feel betrayed by bloggers and others in the “establishment” after the Adam Dicker scandal. All of the resentment from these issues is bound to coalesce and cause some backlash when readers perceive celebrity investors and bloggers to have a sales-pitch agenda.

      You don’t need to agree with the anger in order to understand it. In some measure, I happen to agree with it. Regardless, I think the explanation I’ve given is correct.

  21. Full Disclosure: I am invested in .WS domains.

    I saw potential back in late October/Early November of 2015 and began hand registering 4n .WS domains. Recently, the 4n .WS space has sold out and Chinese investors own approximately half of those domains.

    In an effort to cater to the demand coming from the Chinese, .WS has changed their premium policy. Now, all premium .WS domains renew at the standard registration rate. They have also made the domains transfer eligible throughout all registrars that carry .WS domains.

    .WS is working on getting carried by major Chinese registrars, and they are taking preliminary steps to apply for MIIT certification in China.

    Chinese investors do not have the preconceived notions about .WS that some long time Western investors do. We have already seen a ccTLD reinvent itself in the Chinese market with .CC, (one of the many times Domain Shane has been right.)

    I am excited about the future of .WS. The market will ultimately decide.

    I wish everyone much health and wealth.

  22. While I wouldn’t tell anyone to put all their money into .ws, I do think that what makes this industry great is the opportunities that nobody else sees.

    I still put the vast majority of my money into .com’s but I think short .ws names could have value in the future and like Braden said are meaningful in China.

    I’m investing in .ws as well, but it’s not going to be more than about 2% of my portfolio. Risky? For sure. But if we didn’t take risks we wouldn’t be domainers 🙂

  23. Looks folks, it is very easy to be a arm chair quarterback, but the fact is Braden put his money where his mouth is. I think you would be hard pressed to question or find fault with Braden’s character or business acumen.

    As Braden mentioned, we (Media Options) also invested in a .WS portfolio of 2 and 3 character domains and we also helped acquire a portfolio for a large clint of ours. Do I think that .WS is the next .COM? Hell no! Do I think those domains are worth more than I paid? YES! Will they go up in value? YES! Is there still an opportunity to make money on the .WS domain extension? YES! Is it more risky than .Com? YES Is it for everyone? NO!

    The fact is there are all different types of people. The ones that are successful in life and business take risks. I don’t criticize others for taking risk and nor should you. America is built on the back of risk and risk management. Without it, none of you would even have the opportunity to make your comments on this blog and perhaps there would be nothing to comment about.

    Very similar to my opinion when .CO came out, I don’t love it, but I certainly can see where it has an application and frankly I like short domains. I think that .WS has been overlooked and particularly for the Chinese market it has value, particularly short and RARE domains. Before the Chinese were even a factor I had inquired years ago about several two character .WS domains. I even bought a few .WS domains a few years ago totally unrelated.

    Almost anything scarce and rare has value. And one, two & three character domain names in almost ANY domain extension have value. Always have, always will. THIS IS NOTHING NEW!!!! WAKE THE FUCK UP PEOPLE!!!!

    .WS has had ALL of their short domains reserved since inception many many many years ago. Again, nothing new. What is new, is that opportunity to purchase those short domains now that the registry has released them! Let me repeat that because it is truly the only thing that matters in this entire post and all of its subsequent comments:

    THE ONLY THING NEW HERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE THOSE SHORT DOMAINS NOW THAT THE REGISTRY HAS RELEASED THEM!!!!!!!!!!

    And guess what? While many of you were sleeping at the wheel, complaining or just otherwise didn’t care, some of us saw the opportunity and stepped up to the plate. For better or worse we’ll see…

    .WS has been around for a long time. When it comes to domains, shorter and older is better and so comparing .WS to .Wang or .Online or .SITE is bullshit. It’s a two character country code that has been made generic. NO NEW TLD CAN COMPETE WITH THAT. NONE. If .ME released it’s one and two character domain names you better friggin believe there would be a stampede of people to buy them! And I’d be in that line too, even if China got wiped off the map tomorrow.

    Five or six years ago when .DE released it’s one and two character and some of the reserved three character domain names, I stayed up all night, plotted and planned trying to figure out how I could grab some of them. I failed. I was angry. There were backdoor deals done and some folks got incredibly “lucky” to have secured those domains very early on. Good for them. They took a risk, they outsmarted the pack and subsequently they made a lot of money for it.

    While I don’t see the 2 & 3 character .WS domains being as valuable as .DE, I am 100% certain they are worth more than I paid and I would have paid more.

    If you don’t have money to risk on speculation then you are in the wrong fucking business! We have entered a whole new world where all of what you know and all of what you think you know doesn’t matter anymore. China is the biggest party in town and it’s going to stay that way like it or not! I’m taking a calculated bet that China likes .WS for many of the reasons which have already been mentioned. If I’m right and Braden is right, and Shane is right, and Morgan is right & anyone else that took the same risk, well then we’ll make a bunch of money because we got in early and instead of spending time criticizing others for taking risk, we put our money where our mouth is.

    • .com ( sounds like complicated )

      you guy,s live all in habits

      when Chen Mingyu get her first date, nobody will even remember .com

      look on your Keyboard
      find .com
      find .top

      close your eyes and listen

      .com ? ( combucha ) ( complicated ) ???

    • @Andrew Rosener,

      Love your responses! They’re a kind of passionate flailing, as if you’d snagged your manhood in a zipper. Some good sense in there, really. But the tone is always: “If you disagree with me, then it’s because you envy my superiority”! In spite of that vanity and showmanship, I think the 2 of us get along just fine. Fun to spar.

      Pretty sure I made a balanced case about .WS’s prospects. Said several times that it might be accepted by China in the long run. And I expect that Braden and the rest of you will make money, whether .WS ultimately succeeds or not, owing to the number of domainer celebrities shining a spotlight on it simultaneously.

      You say, “comparing .WS to .Wang or .Online or .SITE is bullshit.” In that case, you’re calling bullshit on Braden Pollock because he (not I) made the comparison between .WS and .ONLINE. He also cited the “wang shang” meaning as a primary selling point. If he’s correct, then it’s 100% fair to talk about .WANG. If that’s bullshit, then (once again) you’re calling Braden’s sales pitch bullshit.

      Andrew, you raise 1 very good point. .WS is just another 2-character ccTLD. So there will be a baseline level of interest in 2 and 3-character .WS domains, as there has been in .DE and other TLDs. Likewise, .WS is just another TLD being thrown into the Chinese market. And there’s currently a baseline level of interest in numerics and “CHIPs” that applies to everything from .WANG and .TOP and .XYZ and .BIZ to stuff like .RED and .PET and the 140,000 registrations .SITE received in a single day.

      That’s 2 ways – 1 you brought up, 1 I brought up – in which .WS might get buyer interest. But in these respects, .WS is just another ccTLD, just another new TLD for Chinese speculators. Braden was arguing that it’s meaningful in China, which is possible. Although you dismiss that aspect of the case, I think it’s worth considering in the context of .WANG in Chinese and .WS’s “website” meaning in English. Ah, but that’s “bullshit”, right?

      Always the same chest-thumping in lieu of rational discussion:

      “If you don’t have money to risk on speculation then you are in the wrong fucking business!”

      That’s idiotic. Every domainer risks his money, Andrew. Every single person. Braden and you are quite rich. So the fraction of your net worth at stake here is actually pretty minimal. Right? Right. Many domain investors with less money in their pockets take proportionally greater risks than you guys do. Should we give a crown to the biggest risk taker? That’d be inane. And it wouldn’t be you or Braden. It would be some angry reader here who lost all his money listening to hype!

      “America is built on the back of risk and risk management.”

      Andrew, are you going to be Donald Trump’s running mate? Why are we talking about America? This is a global industry. .WS is meant for China. And you live in Panama.

    • This is an old boys network, they are all in circle, when the bottom falls out, they will not be as nearly as open as they are now.

      In order for .ws to be adopted, people have to start purchasing the crap, nobody wants the best of an extension if it is not fully supported. In order to do that you can’t have a whole bunch of parking pages, and no content.

      Maybe the chinese will wake up, and just buy their own 185K extensions, this is not natural demand, it is simply hype, nobody cared about .ws, until people started getting paid to promote it.

      Shane and his Tulip Mania, look it up guys, if you learn anything from this thread Tulip Mania is it.

    • @Ron- Ordinarily you’d be correct about an extension being adopted – and in general I suppose that applies to .ws as well. Since its been around for 16 years with between a 500k-1.5mil annual registration rate, it has successfully been adopted to some degree. But that’s not the play here. My investment and the registry’s planned marketing campaign is for the Chinese market which one of commodity investing. This is very different from the western investing we do. And to your point about tulip mania, I’ve not suggested anyone buy .ws – and I don’t plan on selling my names into the western market. I’ve simply shared my investment. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  24. da.mba

    da means :

    chinese : big ( 大 )
    russian : yes ( да )

    Baidu 百度为您找到相关结果约100,000,000个
    Bing About 2,400,000,000 个
    Google About 7.360.000.000 个

    Why .MBA ?
    The Master of Business Administration, or MBA, is a highly sought degree for everyone from businesspeople
    to presidents and the network of MBA students, schools, professors, & services is expansive.

    The .MBA extension provides the perfect namespace for the degree and people who have one. Whether lending professional credibility to an MBA-holder or enhancing search-ability of MBA-related educational information and services for MBA seekers, .MBA provides an extension that signals professionalism.

    Get Your Web Address
    Boost your Online Business

    Uniregistry – free push

    also available

    Da.mba ( da.mba ) DA.MBA
    Qa.mba ( qa.mba ) QA.MBA
    Qi.mba ( qi.mba ) QI.MBA
    Mi.mba ( mi.mba ) MI.MBA
    Xi.mba ( xi.mba ) XI.MBA
    Xu.mba ( xu.mba ) XU.MBA

    no need to explain

  25. Why .LGBT?

    .LGBT is the first internet address created specifically for connecting with the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender community. An internet namespace that is inclusive, .LGBT utilizes the preferred term itself as a clear way to indicate a site’s content is for the community.

    .LGBT is great for businesses, organizations, and other entities that wish to express commitment to and unity with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. Since “LGBT” is the term most preferred by the community, .LGBT is the internet address that will naturally be most appealing to this diverse audience!

    Since it is so important that .LGBT is a safe space online, an Acceptable Use Policy has been put into place that supports LGBT – friendly use of the domain and provides the ability for .LGBT to remove any sites that may be in violation, ensuring .LGBT remains an asset to the community.

    When building a site to connect with the LGBT community, .LGBT is the natural choice for your next domain name. Get your .LGBT domain today!

  26. Why .LOAN ?

    Loans help individuals all over the world go to college, buy cars and homes, persevere tough economic times, or even invest in new products or businesses. In order to create a go-to hub for loans online, .LOAN creates a viable, relevant, and targeted namespace for loan services, organizations that help consumers consolidate loans or choose loaning options responsibly, and review forums for consumers to discuss the best loan groups and practices, making this TLD as dynamic as loans themselves.

    With a .loan domain, anyone that is in the business of loaning people money can differentiate themselves from the competition with a domain that is memorable and easy to find.

    The .LOAN top-level domain (TLD) is a new namspace for website owners, bloggers and everyone who wants to have their own web address. Purchasing and using domain names ending in .LOAN (domainname.loan) is as easy as the .COM, .NET or .ORG suffixes you know and love!

    Make the Right Choice with .LOAN

    Making a huge purchase like a car or a house often requires going through the process of obtaining funding from a bank or financial institution. For many the process of getting a loan can be complicated and headache-inducing. With the new .LOAN domain, borrowing money just got a little easier.

    Why .LOAN TLD domain?

    Trying to secure a loan may not be considered one of life’s most exciting pastimes, but loan helps borrowers obtain things ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary: from paying the weekly food bill to launching a super yacht. Loan form an essential and continuing part of the majority of people’s lives.

    .LOAN generic TLD (Top Level Domain) is an easily recognizable domain name and this TLD instantly stands out to those with an interest in lending products and services. As such, this generic TLD is immediately differentiated from the mass of dubious borrowing and lending information circulating on the Internet, as well as being a trusted source of loan-related products, services and information.

    .LOAN generic TLD (Top Level Domain) creates a convenient, dedicated and secure space for online loan resources, enabling relevant parties to get access to the content specific to their needs. Loan-based businesses and organisations can tap into an available marketplace ready to provide their products and services, and consumers will benefit from a wealth of choice without facing the usual overload of irrelevant information, fake or misleading websites and out dated information.

    Thanks to this .LOAN generic TLD domain, they will also benefit from more accurate online searches, being able to identify the content sought by the Internet user. Not only is this beneficial to the consumer, but also to the generic TLD domain owner who can boost search engines, increase web traffic and tap into a global pool of potential borrowers.

  27. Why .POKER?

    .POKER is the only internet address that is dealing out domain names that are perfect for all things related to the game of Poker! You can bet that .POKER will make your website stand out among in the pack because a .POKER domain means that your site (and you!) are “all in” about poker and are truly dedicated to players and the game.

    Poker is a multifaceted game, and therefore are many ways to use .POKER. Organize a local poker night on neighborhood.POKER. Attract players to a virtual table at play.POKER. Share tips and strategies with other players at strategy.POKER, or create a site featuring players that are at the top of their game at sharks.POKER.

    .POKER domains are also perfect for Poker suppliers and online retail stores. Watch a video of how chips are made at chips.POKER or get a brand new deck of cards at shop.POKER

    The possibilities are endless and we’re not bluffing, .POKER is an easy, effective and affordable way to help connect with the seemingly limitless appetite for Poker online! And, the best names are still in the deck!

  28. Ahh well this was fun and entertaining. Lol, I’ve never seen such anger over buying “worthless” 2 and 3 character domains.

    Hahaha, And Shane you big pathetic plant potter, flower grower guy! With all your flowers and shrubberies, and plant domains. Censoring other people’s shrubs and shrubbery comments.

    It’s a shame Andrea is a dude, this whole time I envisioned a sassy blond. You know what I mean, hot and full of life but not that bright. Well, one more shattered fantasy…

    I may have bought 1 or 2 .ws over the past couple of months. Nothing as extravagant as 2 or 3 characters. What I find hilarious everytime I read the comments from a post like this, is how the narrative never changes. It’s always the same talking points, about bubbles and hype and pump and dump. Maybe I’ll lose all my money, who knows. I don’t think I will but I guess it could happen and that’s ok, because it’s calculated risk.

    When you talk about “hype” are you saying your opposed to marketing? “Pumping” a product is wrong? How the hell do you think anything sells? Lol, if you’re opposed to a TLD citing “hype” and embrace any other TLD that’s just hypocrisy plain and simple. You don’t think verisign markets or lowers prices from time to time? Dec of this year they gave an increasing progressive discount at godaddy, down to $5 a com for a week. Godaddy didn’t eat that cost, it came from Verisign to keep the momentum going.

    • @ikehook,

      Assuming the “hypocrisy” comment is addressed to me. So I’ll answer.

      First of all, I wish you luck with your .WS investment. Setting aside the question of pump-and-dump or bubbles – a question which will obscure the battlefield like a haze of smoke for the next year – .WS has a legitimate chance of taking root long-term in China. Along with many other TLDs, of course. Just a chance, but better than .PET or .RED or most of the nTLDs that were originally conceived for the Western market. People will make money with it in the short term, no doubt.

      Hype and Marketing are not the same thing. The distinction has to do with gross exaggeration, with false promises, with asking others to do something we wouldn’t do in their shoes, with short-term exploitation instead of long-term relationships built on mutual success. Somewhere in between Hype and Marketing there is a dividing line. Different people will see that border in different places, and neighbors will disagree about where the border is. But it’s important to acknowledge SOME border between responsible selling and unlimited hype.

      It’s the difference between selling beans … and magic beans.

    • Actually it wasn’t addressed at you Joseph, I’d tell you if it was. It was a general statement about hype v marketing. Every successful NTLD has marketed non stop. Xyz, club, Top, believe in their product and push it with confidence, because there’s no other way to do it, if you want success. The legacy TLD’s also market their domains. The point is that what one might call hype, another calls marketing, and every business does it. The people involved with .ws have been transparent with their mission to promote and rebrand .ws to the Chinese.

    • @ikehook,

      What the registry is doing seems fine. Quite savvy, in fact, the way they’re principally going after Western domainers based on what might happen in China … and the way they’ve recruited Western bloggers, brokers, and celebrity investors.

      The issue is how those guys behave – how they divide their loyalties between their own profit, the .WS registry, and their audience.

  29. If I would have deep pockets I would take exactly the same risk as Braden took by spending 6 figures in .ws domains. This is the people that others call stupid when they make the risky investment and visionary when that risky investment pays off, people start saying: “he was a visionary, he saw the opportunity when everyone else were thinking he was a fool”.

    Time will tell, but I think Braden is no fool.

  30. I really don’t understand what others problem is to spread so much negativity?
    One Investor makes a big purchase in an extension and he says it loud that he has made that investment. Naturally when he is invested he would like others to follow so he made the post, what’s wrong with that? Is that not what everybody do? He did not take a gun pointed and asked all of you to register all the .WS? You can agree with him and register some .WS if you trust its future, if not just discuss about how he sees the market or the future of .WS. Braden did not ask all of you to give money to invest in .WS. Grow up people be constructive in your discussions. People having different views should be respected and not trashed like this.

    As with any investment do your own research.

    • @Vinod.R,

      It’s not as simple as 1 private investor talking about his purchase. Nobody’s bothered by that.

      Most of us see Braden Pollock’s article as part of a larger marketing campaign coordinated between the .WS registry and various bloggers and brokers – among them, Shane Cultra, Andrew Rosener, Giuseppe Graziano, Alan Dunn, and Morgan Linton.

      Now, I won’t smear any of those guys as sellouts merely because they buy, sell, or praise .WS. For the most part, I respect those people. Maybe they’re receiving discounts, payments, or stock shares from the registry. Maybe nothing but support. Such things aren’t morally wrong, although they can compromise a person’s reputation for giving objective advice. Each of them will conduct himself differently, and you can draw your own conclusions.

      But if you want to know why readers are upset, think of it this way. Suppose these bloggers, brokers, and celebrity investors have all bought stakes in .WS. Now they, the registry, and the auction platforms can all simultaneously tell a big combined audience of domainers, “Buy! Buy! Buy!” That’s called a Pump.

      Do they have any long-term interest in .WS? Probably not. They’d be smarter to sell a large part of their positions once all their combined marketing efforts have caused all the excitable “little” domainers to engage in buyouts and bidding wars. Then they can cash out at a large profit. That’s called a Dump.

      These guys are smart. Are they investing in .WS as individuals or as a team? Are we merely reading about Braden’s priate investment, or are we being prepped as part of a marketing campaign? Really, I think the primary reason to invest in .WS short-term is because of the blitz these bloggers and brokers will be running together with the registry. That’s bound to cause a short-term surge where money can be made … especially if you toss away the hot potato when the bubble peaks.

      Readers are smart too. They’re tired of being duped. Hence the negativity.

    • @Vinod – Thank you. This post was me just writing about ONE of my recent investments. Frankly, I just spent more on a single domain than I did on the entire .ws portfolio. I’ve also purchased ~600 .wine names and ~400 .lawyer names. But No one asked me to talk about those deals… I’m not “pitching” anyone else to buy them, this is just what I’m doing. And Elliot asked me to share it. It is amusing how many people have gotten so disturbed by my own personal investment.

    • @Braden,

      If nobody else asks you to discuss those other investments in .WINE and .LAWYER, you have a standing invitation to talk about them with me. Granted, my comments here might have ruffled your feathers. But I’m assuming your feathers are hardier than that – water off a duck’s back.

      May I ask some direct questions? More curiosity than an interrogation.

      Did someone at the .WS registry encourage you to write this article about .WS? Perhaps 1 of the other high-profile .WS buyers? Was it really Elliot’s idea initially?

      Who first recommended that you buy .WS? Did the registry approach you, or was it 1 of the other .WS buyers? It seems unlikely that the idea occurred to you and all of them spontaneously.

    • @Joseph – Zero ruffling of any feathers. On the contrary. Your posts have been most thoughtful and insightful of any on this string (mine included). I appreciate the intelligent conversation.

      Here are your questions and my answers:

      Q:Did someone at the .WS registry encourage you to write this article about .WS? Perhaps 1 of the other high-profile .WS buyers? Was it really Elliot’s idea initially?

      A: No one encouraged me to write that post, other than Elliot. I mentioned to him that I made the purchase and asked him if he was also interested. (Elliot and I are friends and talk often).

      Q: Who first recommended that you buy .WS? Did the registry approach you, or was it 1 of the other .WS buyers? It seems unlikely that the idea occurred to you and all of them spontaneously.

      A: I was speaking to Alan Ezeir (co-owner of .ws) and he mentioned to me that Chinese buyers started registering his numerics and LLLL’s in large quantities and he’s been getting offers for his 1-3 character names. I asked how much he was selling his premiums for, which I thought was inexpensive relative to other similar TLD’s. In the meantime, he put his numerics on reserve because they were getting registered by the thousands. After a couple of weeks I followed up with him and he explained how he planned on taking a trip to China and focus his his marketing on China. I figured I wanted to get ahead of the curve so I asked to buy a portfolio. To be clear, I asked him. He did not pitch me. We worked out a deal and I wired the funds. I actually wanted to buy more of his names but he wanted to “share the wealth”. So I reached out to a few of my friends to see if they were interested (hence the conversation with Elliot). A few said yes and a few said no. Shane and a few others had invested independently so not sure where they came up with the idea.

      • I think it is interesting to see what others are doing with their domain investments. I also felt it would make more sense for Braden to write about why he bought .WS domain names rather than writing about it myself.

    • @Braden,

      Thanks for the direct answers.

      The .WS registry is wise to pivot and try their hand at a Chinese rebranding, since (despite some efforts) the “website” meaning hasn’t really caught on in the West. They have nothing to lose and perhaps a great deal to gain if they can persuade China to read .WS as “wang shang” in the long run.

      I think I can wish you good luck with your .WS and other investments while simultaneously urging others to take a cautious look at .WS. Like anything, .WS has pros and cons. The Chinese market is all over the place right now. We don’t know yet if it has found stable footing anywhere. That 2015 surge was only yesterday, and the speculation in some quarters is nuts.

      There is always some risk of a pump-and-dump in this sector, especially when so much publicity is concentrated on a short-term release. It’s generally the most established players who can avail themselves of quick, large price movements. For “smaller” domainers, that’s a real risk.

      My hope is that the bloggers and brokers involved with .WS right now won’t sacrifice credibility for easy gains. Good luck!

    • @Joseph Peterson
      I agree with your points, most of the extensions are pumped up keeping the Chinese wave in front. When domainers see bloggers writing about an extension naturally the less researched people will start buying its a natural tendency and many newbies would be left holding the bag, frankly there is nothing that can be done to stop that. But the second version is that the readers should be aware what is happening and should be researched well before he puts his money on anything. As normally investors do make investments on these types on the money they can loose.

      Even if the scheme is pump and dumb, that is what happens when bigger players are around especially the Chinese, See how Bitcoin was done, as well as how their stock market was played. Pump and dump is what they do and the others have to learn when to dump with the pump.

      As far as a blogger is concerned, an industry related advertisement and promotions comes in with money naturally they are all in the business, they put a lot of time and effort to keep the blog updated and its business at the end. Readers should be aware if what’s happening when a blogger says something.

      The most pumped up was 5L.com by the western domainers, keeping the Chinese wave in front and sadly it was a disaster as of now, it may or may not go higher with the next wave, only time will tell.

    • @Joseph – I’d like to add one more thing that you didn’t ask. I have no financial interest in the .ws registry and have not been compensated in any way – nor will I be. And I paid the same prices for the .ws names as the other investors, as far as I know.

    • Joseph-as a rule I enjoy your chatter but your “I won’t smear them” comments reminds me of Lyndon Johnson during one of his early campaigns for office against a Texas farmer. He told his campaign manager “start a rumor that he (the farmer) got caught screwing a sheep” The campaign manager replied “but that’s not true” Johnson said “just make him deny it” .

    • @John,

      Point taken. However, I’m not a politician. Meaning that I’m not running a cutthroat “us versus them” campaign in some “race” or zero-sum game. Those bloggers and brokers and investors – with 1 obvious exception – are colleagues whom I respect. We are not competing for 1 seat in congress. Their success isn’t my failure or vice versa. And I don’t see the domain industry as a match between opposing sides.

      Culturally, my background is 1 of teamwork aboard a submarine or peer review in an academic setting. Both entail a LOT of healthy disagreement. That’s not animosity or rivalry; it’s about asking questions and arriving at facts.

      I take pains to say exactly what I mean. So when I say I respect somebody, please don’t misread that as sabotage.

    • @Joseph – This .ws play is absolutely not for everyone. I’d like to point out that not once in my post nor subsequent comments have I recommended investing in .ws. I simply spoke about my investment and why I chose the strategy. Getting in early has the highest possible risk (and getting in too late as well, I suppose). The early investment has a limited downside since the value doesn’t have far to fall to hit zero. On the other hand, if a market is created for the extension, it’s all upside.
      It’s certainly not for the faint of heart nor the “safe” investor. I also wouldn’t recommend anyone make a risky investment if they couldn’t afford to lose the money.
      I don’t know if I’m in this for 6 months or 6 years. I’ll watch the market and hopefully make the right call when the time comes.
      I’ve made good calls and bad calls with my domain (and other) investments. As long as I’m making more good calls than bad calls, I’m doing the right thing.

    • @Braden,

      “As long as I’m making more good calls than bad calls, I’m doing the right thing.”

      1 good call can pay for 10 bad calls, provided the former profits by a factor of 10 and the latter don’t lose 100% of their value.

    • @Joseph – That’s exactly what happens. Every time I sell a domain for 6-figures or 100x, I feel like I just made up for 25 other domains I’m still waiting to sell.

  31. Funny to see people complaining about blog owners picking and choosing which comments they allow to be posted. If you want your own soapbox go start one. Some people just don’t have anything better to do. Spend more time getting them good domains.

  32. the best extension is .qa

    qa is of course Qatar ( Questions and Answers )
    but look on your Keyboard

    .qa
    .ws
    .ed

    btw
    Qatar is to host Fifa World Cup 2022
    Qatar is the richest country in the world

    It’s a matter of time that you finally recognize…

    • When Max ( Chen Mingyu ) get her first date, .com will be history…

      close your eyes and listen…. .com ( complicated )

      look on your keyboard – what do you see ?
      wich extensions is the most simpliest ?

      do you know what is my advantage ?

      i think in english
      i speak english
      i think in german ( i denke in deutsch )
      i think in czech ( Myslím, že v češtině ) and much more

      i guys you even don’t know the meaning of IDN
      in germany we value this very much

      Ärzte.de sold for 56.000.-Euro ( doctors )

      make yourself a favor
      restart
      rethink
      update yourself

      this doesn’t harm you…

      michael

  33. I applaud people who think through opportunities and go for it. If we all thought the same and had the same approach, it would be a very boring world.

    I secondly applaud people who put their ideas out there and expose their strategies. They have everything to lose from that, and nothing to gain. But the rest of us can open our eyes to different ways of thinking and be enriched by it, simply by being open to a different point of view.

    The fact that many veterans find .ws with little appeal, is irrelevant, when one is looking at a different culture and different things that may appeal in that culture. Those who are the most adaptable to change and trends are often the ones who can capitalize the most. It’s a good strategy to be clear about your own strategy and approaches, but to also have an ear to the ground, so to speak, to catch wind of new trends ahead of time, and then evaluate from there.

  34. You might want to make a retraction on what you said:

    As quoted above:

    **Publisher Note ** The rest of this comment was removed since the comment it referenced was removed.

  35. Knowledge is power. Western investors need to read Chinese news!

    1. China bulk buyers are gathering soon with China bulk sellers to test the
    possibility of creating a new trading platform. China investor’s believe the
    time is right to transform a widely accepted form of “property” into a bulk
    traded commodity. These types of trades don’t require China government
    approval. However, inclusion in the China market will increase value.
    American bulk sellers want to participate.
    In business terms, is it time for this “start-up” industry to scale? Is there sufficient support to scale ? If yes, then you need investors to cash flow the process.
    So, as an individual investor, where are you in the process?
    2. One very important factor in this case and others is China’s rules on extension
    acceptance into their market. The west doesn’t exclude the east does. This
    could be a potential problem for the entire global market going forward.
    .XYZ and .CLUB from what I have read, are the only 2 extensions even close to
    getting approval. Both being open about the process. Other extensions from Radix, .Global etc. are trying to do the same. .ws is just getting started so for now it’s a longer bet than the others.
    3. China Bulk buyers/sellers are looking for a certain level of support for
    extensions to be included in a bulk trading platform for good reason.
    stability.
    Will this experiment work? Will it be good for the industry as a whole?
    I think so. We all want the industry to continue to grow in some way. Have a better idea?
    Put it out there. Test it. That’s all these people are doing and it’s not much different than creating a monetized traffic platform shortly after there was the ability to do so.
    4. Investing in domain property isn’t “all” about selling to the end user and
    traffic anymore.
    Control over the most rare in all supported,relatively stable extensions is”on”
    Shorts, are the new king for obvious reasons.
    5. Business around the globe never has been or will be a level playing ground.
    Yes, “consultants”, “friends”, “partners” will have more knowledge to act upon
    in advance of general public announcements.
    It is up to each investor to decide to play along at their own level or not, based on the knowledge available, trusted opinions, and pure gut instinct. The market always has a way of rinsing the wash.

    6. There are a lot more factors to consider in today’s market, more research, more
    choices, more regulation, more politics, more points of perception globally.
    Chalk 1 up for China for being a step ahead of it’s American peers.
    From what I have read there is a 4 year plan already in place !
    Chalk 1 up for America’s newest innovators (because it’s in our DNA) for
    attempting to create yet another market of more updated modern digital
    identities used in ways not yet imagined.
    Step up and play your best game regardless of others “hype” or “opinion”.
    Cheers

  36. “DomainInvesting.com” is now becoming “DomainGambling.com”.

    Please stop allowing people to post their gambling investments.

    We expect domain investment related articles on this blog.

    Of course, this is your blog. You are free to allow gamblers (by their own statements).

    • @Krishna – The folks who registered all the generic .com names 20 years ago took a big risk and now we all wish we had that same vision. Same could be said for .net, .ca and may other extensions. We would all say the same for 2-3 numbers and letter domains. More than 80% of my portfolio are .com names. And most of the portfolio’s value is in the top couple hundred single word, generic names. They’re safe – and this is 100% Elliot’s strategy. I like to take some flyers every so often. They’re certainly higher risk, but that equals potentially higher reward. I’ve done my due diligence and believe it’s a relatively safe investment. And if it tanks, I can withstand the financial hit.
      You call this “gambling” and don’t want to see it on this blog – but what if I turn out to be correct? Then what would you call it?

    • There’s nothing wrong with Braden Pollock sharing a story about his own personal investment in .WS.

      What contributed to the backlash here is a perception that this article is an advertorial, a sales pitch that would be leading up a bigger marketing campaign by the .WS registry, possibly including many other bloggers and brokers. Taken as a whole, that would look like hype. And if they had all bought up big positions in .WS prior to such a coordinated publicity blitz, then it could be interpreted as a pump and dump.

      It’s easy to understand why most of us would interpret things this way. Shane Cultra has been bragging for the better part of a month that he’s working for the .WS registry as part of a “team”. On February 4th, Shane wrote:

      “There are some of the biggest and best domain investors and business people in the industry involved. I will let them tell you who they are if they so choose.”

      The implication is that prominent domainers are collaborating with Domain Shane and the .WS registry to promote .WS. Maybe that’s untrue; maybe it’s just Shane. But with that narrative of his in the background, this article by Braden seemed to fit into place like a key in a lock. The list of other .WS investors looked like Shane’s much vaunted “Dot WS Team”. Lots of people drew that conclusion before I showed up.

      However, Braden says he just wrote up this piece on his own at Elliot’s spontaneous invitation. No prompting from the registry or other .WS investors. Andrew Rosener also tells me that he’s just a .WS buyer (since he regularly buys short domains) with no further registry involvement. Hope he doesn’t mind me saying so, since it clears the air somewhat.

      I choose to believe them.

    • @Joseph – I appreciate the vote of confidence. Elliot and I both confirmed that he asked me to write this post. Shane and I each made our investments independently, at different times. Drew invested after I told him what I was doing and that I could introduce him to Alan Ezeir if he was interested. So as you can see, there’s no coordinated “pump and dump” effort here. And other than the registry’s Namejet auction (which I had no prior knowledge of, might I add), there is no western marketing strategy, as far as I know. I’m only aware of a strategy being built around Chinese registrars, and I would guess, Chinese auction sites like 4.cn (I’m just speculating here).

      I understand the sentiment of a readers feeling like they might be getting duped but that’s just not the case.

    • To my knowledge, I do not own any .WS domain names and have no plans to buy any.

      Nobody connected to .WS (management, investors, or otherwise) paid or compensated me this article.

      The only benefit is the traffic and interaction associated with the article.

    • “Hope he doesn’t mind me saying so, since it clears the air somewhat.”

      Glad that you guys seem to have connected to clear things up.

  37. A lot of great comments. A lot of passion and certainly there are people feeling betrayed. One can see that in many of the responses.

    7 years ago I reached out to some of the respected bloggers a couple who have posted here regarding development of a name or two I had.

    These names are what we call “category killers” remember those?

    The challenges I faced getting some help with development where because of the extension itself.

    What is wrong with the extension? Well Mainstream Domainers simply did not support it. So if its not supported of course it has no value.

    Except of course that everyone who took that position was and is wrong. Its memorable. It has meaning with hundreds of millions of people all over the world.

    It does not have to be translated.

    And there are killer business built and been built on it.

    Here is the kicker. I and a few good friends who are not Main Steet Domainers have a combined portfolio that would make most posters here “Blush with Envy” Geos to die for. Category Killer single word dictionary names that we cant even believe we have. Why do we have these names?

    Because many posters here simply beleived that because a certain segment of Domainers dont approve it therefore it cant have value.

    Now that obviously new rules for garbage names are been created by another country, finally we are seen pushback towards many of the Domain leaders that originaly shunned category killer names ff great non.com non.net and other gtlds

    I’M absolutely tickled pink that an entire blog and remarks have been written about an extension like .WS that has nothing to do with development, branding , traffic or memorability.

    It simply has something to do with the Chinese. The same Chinese or Investors that just recently grabbed 200,000 names in a week in the extension I and my friends believe has immense value.

    This extension years ago had a special GoDaddy auction. Oh no one really likes to talk about it. Why? well it was successful thats why.

    A two letter domain sold for $40,000 dollars. In the very best most shunned gtld that no one writes about. Its so ridiculously bad that many of my posts have never been allowed.

    Its such an obvious fantastic gtld investment that many have missed. Except the Chinese?

    In the end lets remember its about development. ( maybe Im naive about this )

    Lots of great fantastic dictionary words still left to reg.

    So on the back of this great coming out of .WS

    I will gently remind everyone here.

    .PRO is a truly fantastic gtld… short and memorable

    Its time has arrived. I wish the .WS investors good luck!

    Elliot I hope you allow my post. In the past I too have been shunned.

    • The tough thing about being so early is that investments have multiple years of renewals, making break even and profitability more elusive.

      I think Braden (and others) are taking a big risk with their .WS investments. Just because they are buying does not mean they will come out ahead. I hope they do just as I hope you do well with yours.

      IMO, simply because Chinese investors are buying domain names in some extensions it doesn’t mean all extensions will benefit. Even if .WS domain names do increase in value, it does not mean that the same will happen with .Pro, .CO, .Info…etc. It may but it may not. I am not going to take that chance as I explained a couple of days ago.

      As Shane pointed out yesterday and as I’ve written about a few times, I have mostly been on the sidelines when it comes to domain names that seems to be favored by Chinese buyers. I am sticking to what I know.

    • Next time you get a Chinese Spam email, ask them about .ws

      Reponse

      ‘In China nobody like .ws, waste of money’

      So maybe somebody needs to ask the Chinese, Western investors seem to think they know what the Chinese want

    • @Elliot – You and I are often times bidding on the same inventory. Everyone once in a while I need to find something to work on 🙂 You like to play it safe. I do too most of the time – but sometimes I like to mix it up and step out of my comfort zone. Although, the fact is, I’m not alone. I waited for this tide to start to come in before I jumped on my surfboard.

  38. I’ve been investing in .PRO domains for years with the objective of developing an expert based, moderated platform. Of course, nothing comes easy…

    Naysayers told me that without .PRO domain restrictions being lifted, .PRO was unlikely to succeed.

    Then, when it was clear that restrictions would be lifted (and were lifted on Nov. 15, 2015) naysayers told me that without GoDaddy on board, .PRO was unlikely to gain general acceptance.

    Last week, GoDaddy began selling .PRO domains. So, while I’m waiting for the next round of .PRO objections to come forward, I continue to look for .PRO domains that have been overlooked and/or dropped. In domain investing, I have found that inefficient markets do, indeed, create opportunities. Beyond what special domain characteristics Chinese investors may be looking for, .PRO domains have inherent value independent of how the extension happens to be trending at any particular time. I’ve commented on that here:

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/going-pro-sid-marcovitch?articleId=6106991840043491328#comments-6106991840043491328&trk=prof-post

    Even before the recent changes that have significantly boosted .PRO’s marketability, It wasn’t unusual for me to turn down offers from $500 to several thousand dollars per domain name. That’s the great thing about end users. They’re not looking for domains that are trendy. They’re looking for domains that increase the likelihood of business success.

    No doubt, it takes more than one horse to make a horse race, but I find it puzzling that popularity in .WS suddenly surges forward awhile hundreds of great .PRO single word, dictionary domains are ripe for the picking.

  39. Hi Braden

    I want share some thoughts

    fist

    you can not buy ( own ) a domain
    it is always just for rent…
    you can buy ( own ) a car ( title )
    but you cant own a domain name

    second

    you think you speak english ?
    you think you think in english ?

    English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England

    sometimes it is important to have thoughts about self-evident

    About me :

    I had bike accident in 2009 in LA
    broken arm – food – shoulder

    my lawyer fought and invested in me 4 years
    we got a settlement ( 605.000.-$ )

    when I was back in germany ( rehab ) I had a vision
    this vision came true…

    Soccer is the biggest business in the world
    germany ( deutschland ) are 11 letters
    euch is the german word for ,,you,, ( euch is in deutschland )

    so I registered my claim in .com 2010
    wir für deutschland – wir für euch ( we for germany we for you )

    I couldnt trademark this claim ( to general )
    2012 started the german olympic team the exact same claim
    they stole my idea – they known that I have an onlineshop
    the president of the german olympic team is now the president of the international olympic games ( IOC )
    Thomas Bach ( I dont like him )

    let me come to the point

    now I am handicapped and do some domain investing
    I am focused on Arab – Bank – China domains
    because of too big events in the middle east

    Expo 2020 Dubai
    World Cup 2022 Qatar

    but off course I am always open for the new extensions

    when you look on your keyboard than .qa is the first good combination ( QATAR )
    Qatar is the richiest country in the world Liquefied natural gas
    ( LNG )
    in Qatar are only 22.000 domains registered there are a lot good domains available
    and they invest a lot of money to get visitors to the World Cup

    than will come .ws wich has a meaning in chinese…
    .WS ( I am 我是 (1) wǒ + (2) shì )

    http://domainnamewire.com/2015/12/23/what-if-tlds-are-chinese/

    the most easy to spell extensions is of course .top

    https://namestat.org

    for me

    .com is boring
    .com is complicated
    .com sounds like combucha

    myself I got some nice .com,s but I believe that we all have to rethink about the domain business and learn learn learn

    people live in habit,s…

    when Max ( Chen Mingyu ) get her first date, .com is history !!!

    if you want to know more about me, feel free to take a look

    https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/458742015?trk=prof-sm

    I got already 5000 connections on Linkedin
    most are Arab and Chinese

    michael

  40. Why .KIM?

    While the Internet has previously let you classify your Web presence as commercial or informational, it’s never before let you say, “We’re all part of the same family.” That’s what .KIM offers. A .KIM domain lets you proclaim your allegiance as a member of the first family of the Internet.

    “Kim” is an ancient Korean surname, meaning “gold,” and is the most common Korean last name: more than 10 million individuals carry the name Kim, including many famous Kims.

    As a first name, Kim is used by women and men. According to U.S. Census data, over 300,000 Americans have the first name Kim (87 percent of them are female).

    If you’re a Kim, use a .KIM domain to show your pride in being a .KIM family member. The .KIM domain lets individuals from all over the world proclaim themselves and their businesses as part of the first family of the Internet!

  41. Why .LGBT?

    .LGBT is the first internet address created specifically for connecting with the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender community. An internet namespace that is inclusive, .LGBT utilizes the preferred term itself as a clear way to indicate a site’s content is for the community.

    .LGBT is great for businesses, organizations, and other entities that wish to express commitment to and unity with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. Since “LGBT” is the term most preferred by the community, .LGBT is the internet address that will naturally be most appealing to this diverse audience!

    Since it is so important that .LGBT is a safe space online, an Acceptable Use Policy has been put into place that supports LGBT – friendly use of the domain and provides the ability for .LGBT to remove any sites that may be in violation, ensuring .LGBT remains an asset to the community.

    When building a site to connect with the LGBT community, .LGBT is the natural choice for your next domain name. Get your .LGBT domain today!

    http://get.lgbt/
    http://get.lgbt/why-lgbt
    http://get.lgbt/newsroom/news/4-reasons-why-you-should-ditch-com-good

  42. Why .LOAN ?

    Loans help individuals all over the world go to college, buy cars and homes, persevere tough economic times, or even invest in new products or businesses. In order to create a go-to hub for loans online, .LOAN creates a viable, relevant, and targeted namespace for loan services, organizations that help consumers consolidate loans or choose loaning options responsibly, and review forums for consumers to discuss the best loan groups and practices, making this TLD as dynamic as loans themselves.

    With a .loan domain, anyone that is in the business of loaning people money can differentiate themselves from the competition with a domain that is memorable and easy to find.

    The .LOAN top-level domain (TLD) is a new namspace for website owners, bloggers and everyone who wants to have their own web address. Purchasing and using domain names ending in .LOAN (domainname.loan) is as easy as the .COM, .NET or .ORG suffixes you know and love!

    Make the Right Choice with .LOAN

    Making a huge purchase like a car or a house often requires going through the process of obtaining funding from a bank or financial institution. For many the process of getting a loan can be complicated and headache-inducing. With the new .LOAN domain, borrowing money just got a little easier.

    Why .LOAN TLD domain?

    Trying to secure a loan may not be considered one of life’s most exciting pastimes, but loan helps borrowers obtain things ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary: from paying the weekly food bill to launching a super yacht. Loan form an essential and continuing part of the majority of people’s lives.

    .LOAN generic TLD (Top Level Domain) is an easily recognizable domain name and this TLD instantly stands out to those with an interest in lending products and services. As such, this generic TLD is immediately differentiated from the mass of dubious borrowing and lending information circulating on the Internet, as well as being a trusted source of loan-related products, services and information.

    .LOAN generic TLD (Top Level Domain) creates a convenient, dedicated and secure space for online loan resources, enabling relevant parties to get access to the content specific to their needs. Loan-based businesses and organisations can tap into an available marketplace ready to provide their products and services, and consumers will benefit from a wealth of choice without facing the usual overload of irrelevant information, fake or misleading websites and out dated information.

    Thanks to this .LOAN generic TLD domain, they will also benefit from more accurate online searches, being able to identify the content sought by the Internet user. Not only is this beneficial to the consumer, but also to the generic TLD domain owner who can boost search engines, increase web traffic and tap into a global pool of potential borrowers.

    https://www.famousfourmedia.com/loan/

  43. Why .MBA ?

    The Master of Business Administration, or MBA, is a highly sought degree for everyone from businesspeople to presidents and the network of MBA students, schools, professors, & services is expansive.

    The .MBA extension provides the perfect namespace for the degree and people who have one. Whether lending professional credibility to an MBA-holder or enhancing search-ability of MBA-related educational information and services for MBA seekers, .MBA provides an extension that signals professionalism.

  44. Why .POKER?

    .POKER is the only internet address that is dealing out domain names that are perfect for all things related to the game of Poker! You can bet that .POKER will make your website stand out among in the pack because a .POKER domain means that your site (and you!) are “all in” about poker and are truly dedicated to players and the game.

    Poker is a multifaceted game, and therefore are many ways to use .POKER. Organize a local poker night on neighborhood.POKER. Attract players to a virtual table at play.POKER. Share tips and strategies with other players at strategy.POKER, or create a site featuring players that are at the top of their game at sharks.POKER.

    .POKER domains are also perfect for Poker suppliers and online retail stores. Watch a video of how chips are made at chips.POKER or get a brand new deck of cards at shop.POKER

    The possibilities are endless and we’re not bluffing, .POKER is an easy, effective and affordable way to help connect with the seemingly limitless appetite for Poker online! And, the best names are still in the deck!

    http://get.poker/

    http://get.poker/why-poker

    http://get.poker/newsroom/news/4-reasons-why-you-should-ditch-com-good

  45. Why .RENT ?

    35% of occupied housing is rented, according to the National Multi-Housing Council, and although housing rental accounts for a large portion of rental income, it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the rental industry. .RENT is an open registry, meaning that any rental service, from car rentals to equipment and furniture rentals may register a .RENT domain extension. Therefore, .RENT offers a multi-dimensional, unique, relevant TLD option for the rental sector that also provides flexibility.

  46. Do certain top level domain names have a Chinese meaning?

    We’ve often seen TLDs repurposed. For instance, .ME and .TV – originally the country codes of Montenegro and Tuvalu, respectively – are mainly understood as words. While .SI means Slovenia in Slovenia, Spanish speakers might read it as “yes”. More recently, .PW has been marketed as a shorthand for “professional web”. Such extra interpretations can be either natural or forced. Some arise without prompting; some fail to catch on despite heavy promotion. Either way, they occur.

    .AF Avatar 阿凡 Ā fán dá

    http://domainnamewire.com/2015/12/23/what-if-tlds-are-chinese/

  47. about domain investing…

    .ME ( What 么 me ) or Michael Ehrhardt

    inside ME

    https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/458742015?trk=prof-sm

    4 Reasons Why You Should Ditch ‘.com’ for Good
    One of the first steps entrepreneurs take when jumping into startup life is setting up a company website. But then reality strikes: Most find that their dream “.com” names have been taken, or else are being held by brokers looking to make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to release even the most mediocre domain.

    Entrepreneurs in this position would be wise to take advantage of some of the new extensions being rolled out and ditch .com for good. Instead, they should consider some of the following opportunities when jump-starting their digital presence or a new campaign:

    1. .Email, .design, .rentals and other industry-specific domains

    The truth is that while consumers are the most familiar with searching for a .com, many of those same .com domains fail to tell the company’s story.

    Fortunately, there is now a new domain for just about every industry. A new creative agency can launch on a .design, while a startup competing to find the path to inbox zero might consider a .email. The new domains being rolled out are more memorable than a traditional .com; and they are positioning companies at the forefront of upcoming internet trends.

  48. As a Chinese domainer, I hope I can bring some useful information from a Chinese perspective. .WS is short though, but it’s not quite easy to pronounce in Chinese – five syllables. For us, the meaning is very important, things related with business better be upbeating and auspecious, and I personally think it’s one of the reasons .top is so popular now. “ws” can mean WoShi/I’m, WanShang/night, WoShuo/I say, WangShang/on Internet(not the same with online/在线/ZaiXian), WangSu/Internet speed, WuShu/martial art, and numerous more possible combinations like in English abbreviations. So there can be a good meaning waiting exploration but I haven’t found one generic or good enough.

  49. I always visit the Chineses’namepros forum-Ename, there are few domainers talking about .ws extension. And also .ws is not well known in China, only a few end users use it as websites. If you were a company, you’d like to choose a well known extension such as .com, .net, .club, .top or unfamous extension such as .ws, .pg, .bb etc? Do not expect too much for this extension. Good luck to you.

  50. Fully respect Bradon’s “my investment is a CHiP play, not an end-user play” since every one has his own appetite, and decision, right or wrong.

    But a shame for the .WS extension though. Any domain extension should be targeted at end users, not just buy-sell-buy-sell among domainers, otherwise it’s doomed to be garbage.

    As far as I know, the Chinese market is on fire, but mainly for new gtlds like .top, .wang, .win, .xyz, etc instead of .ws, in addition to .com, .cn. There are bubble in new G’s too, should scout the market before investing.

  51. .WS is a very good extension !

    – easy to find on the keyboard
    – it has a meaning

    could be used for ,,WebSite,,
    this says it all
    even when it is not the best extensions – it is a good extension
    and we talk about the internet

    the internet is not america and china only
    the internet is not .com
    .com is not a location

    there are much much more

    soon will come the middle east ( arabs ) UAE and QATAR

    they will have 2 big events

    World Expo 2020 Dubai ( Dubayy )
    World Cup Qatar 2022

    and they just invest billions of dollars to get the infrastructure done…

    so open your eye,s

    don’t focus on the extension
    focus also on keywords

    i got already a lot of offers from connection on Linkedin
    about the new extension and cccld,s ( ae and qa ) and more

    also .de is a good extension ( de is Deutschland -Germany )
    and there a great sales…

    aktien.de 500.000 Euro
    poker.de sold 695.000 Euro

    even IDN

    ärzte.de 56.000.- Euro ( plural for doctors )

    http://www.domain-recht.de/domain-handel/domain-preise

    if someone here need German translation or help
    just contact me…

    https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/458742015?trk=prof-sm

    skype : nexusmshop

  52. O.K.
    Let’s Promote .WS
    Here is the PLAN :
    AtMy.WS – free 10 plus char subdir addys
    ditto free tenletters@MyWW.WS email addys
    also free tenletters.Bniz.WS
    we can sell nine and less to recoup our costs
    and maybe even make a profit
    so let us target the Chinese
    I have 45% to offer
    Prospective Partners…
    😉

  53. more thought,s about domain investing :

    1. Mandarin 1,000 millions
    2. English 450 million
    3. Hindi nearly 400 million
    4. Spanish 370 million
    5. Russian ( cyrillic ) nearly 300 million
    6. Arabic more than 200 million
    7. Bengali nearly 200 million
    8. Portuguese nearly 200 million
    9. Malay-Indonesian 150 million
    10. Japanese 130 million
    11. German 120 million

    ★ The first true alphabet was Greek, the most widely Latin

    Arabic ( Hindu ) numerals
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

    Bengali numerals
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    ০ ১ ২ ৩ ৪ ৫ ৬ ৭ ৮ ৯

    Cyrillic numerals
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    А В Г Д Є Ѕ З И Ѳ

    Devanagari numerals
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    ० १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९

    Gujarati numerals
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    ૦ ૧ ૨ ૩ ૪ ૫ ૬ ૭ ૮ ૯

    Gurmukhi numerals
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    ੦ ੧ ੨ ੩ ੪ ੫ ੬ ੭ ੮ ੯

    Kannada numerals

    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    ೦ ೧ ೨ ೩ ೪ ೫ ೬ ೭ ೮ ೯

    Nepal numerals
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    ० १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९

    Telugu numerals
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    0 ౧ ౨ ౩ ౪ ౫ ౬ ౭ ౮ ౯

    • Can we block this guys IP or something?
      Those aren’t “thoughts” you’re copying and pasting shit. Wikipedia links would be better, just put them all in one post.

  54. exactly,
    Chinese think differently and have different approach to business

    one year ago random CCCC dot com were trading below 100$, and you had hard time selling them
    now they trade for 2k$+ and are the Chips

    Lot of Chinese end-user will be looking for cheaper and shorter domain alternatives,

    my experience is that greed can be your enemy in domaining,
    if you plan to sell them at affordable prices targeting small businesseses, that’s a good plan

    i registered 100 great 5Number .ws at a bargain, and the 5Number .ws will be selout by next week

  55. I’ve managed to handreg a slang one-word domain in .ws and I have the intention of developing it since the non-slang word has about 1m searches per month and mine has over 15k searches per month – I’m sure once I put content on it and keep updating it, it will give me a regular monthly income – I’ve made .biz and .info sites to rank number one before in the times that all gurus were saying .biz could not rank better then a .com and how wrong they were…… So, if you have a .ws name which has loads of searches, then run it as a developed site. You would be amazed how much affiliate money you could make.

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