I monitor the domain sales lists over at DNJournal and constantly look for trends in both keywords and TLD. To me these lists represent the state of the industry – a window-into what people are buying, where they are buying it, and how much they are willing to pay.
While of course it’s always fun to see the latest big .com sale I like to look in the CCTLD and Global Contender (non .com gTLDs) space as these are the TLD’s I focus on myself. That’s right – I said it – I am not a big .com investor! Do I believe in .com – absolutely – but I’m always looking to take my own path and find the next big opportunity.
So what trend have I seen lately? Just looking at the Global Contender list from this week I see fifteen out of the top twenty sales are .net – and the rest are .org. There is not a single .biz or .info in the list! Does this mean that .biz and .info are useless TLD’s? No – but this should be a clear sign to all the domain investors out there that the market is not actively looking for .biz and .info at this time.
Now I’m not saying you should stay-away from .biz or .info in all cases – .info can actually be great for monetization – but if you want to sell your domains you’ll want to stay focused on .net and .org with a stronger focus on .net since this is what the buyers are looking for. These domains are not selling for peanuts either – just take a look at the top five gTLD sales:
- Apps.net – $25,900
- Amsterdam.org – $25,000
- Review.org – $14,502
- ConstructionManagement.net – $12,500
- CheapestAutoInsurance.net – $7,495
Yes – there are no six-figure sales on the list but it only takes a few five-figure sales a year to get yourself into the six-figure range. I can’t say I’m there yet myself but I can say I know where I’m investing and it’s a buyers market out there – so get your share of great domains and you might just find yourself on this list in 2010!
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t disagree really. I’ve said for some time that extensions like .info, .tv, .us, etc all require good development in order to make serious money as there’s not a huge aftermarket for those extensions. That said, I’ve moved a few dozen alternative extension domains this year (mostly through Bido) and have made a profit. It’s just not efficient.
But really, .net and .org, while they do have a bit of a markup over the .info’s and the .tv’s, are still really best as developed assets because A. they don’t get nearly enough type ins to really be worthwhile parked and B. they won’t resell as quickly or nearly as well as a .com. I don’t doubt that it’s easier to flip a .org than a .info, but it still doesn’t make it a valid business. Stick with .com if you want to resell. If you want to develop, find a relevant extension for your keyword and go to town.
Thanks @Andrew – excellent point!
Specially for geodomains, in europe, .info is used. Most of official tourism websites use this estension; vienna.info austria.info slovenia.info etc. So .info is becoming popular.
Well, the fact is that .net and .org are that much older than .biz/.info et al and it only makes logical sense that it’d take more time for these latter to get where the former are today; like the wise say: buy when no one is buying and sell when everyone is buying…!!!
I agree! Dot com’s are the best, but most, if not all Dot Com’s are taken. That’s why I buy Dot DE, Dot FM, Dot ME, Dot co.uk, and a few others…….
I would rather have cameras.fm than myCameras.com!!!
You all are right, the .com extension is the best for resell value, but I like the .info extension for development purposes.
Generic terms under this extension (.info) should be very valuable in the long term. The .info extension is perfect for directories, something that is highly needed for subjects A through Z.
Thanks @Perslata – I completely agree – .info is fantastic for development…just not many selling right now.
Excellent point @Riq!
Thanks @John – I’m also a big fan of .info for development and have found they can rank very well over time. As for selling .info I think we are still far-away from people being interested paying a fair price for these names.