At ICANN I had a chance to get a personal tour of MindsandMachines.com new domain registrar site.
Mindsandmachines.com which is part of Top Level Domain Holdings (TLDH), a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange, applied for 100 or so new gTLD’s and recently launched its own domain name registrar site.
Not only can you register domain names on five new gTLD’s extensions; Casa, .CEO, .Best, .Cooking and .Horse, but also .com .net and .org registrations.
Since MindsandMachines.com is also the registry and/or the backend provider of the new gTLD’s .Casa, .CEO, .Best, .Cooking and .Horse they are offering real domain registrations not reservations or expression of Interest.
Here is what MindsandMachines.com says about these domain name registrations which are live on their site:
“Not an “Expression of Interest” but a real reservation.”
“The master list of reservations is kept by the registry, the authoritative source.”
“A registrar can only hold your place in “their” line — and they have to compete with other registrars to see who will get the name.”
“But any registrar connected to our Priority Reservation system — for instance, Minds + Machines — is connecting straight to the master list. ”
“If you get a Priority Reservation your name is automatically marked as “taken” and won’t be available to anyone who doesn’t own an exact-match trademark on the name.”
Under the ICANN rules no new gTLD domain name can be allocated until the end of the Sunrise period, the time which trademark holders who have registered with the Trademark Clearing House had have a chance to apply for their trademarked terms.
So like any good domainer presented with a new site and opportunity the firs thing I did was start to look around and Based on my Domaining 6.0 post that the future of domains is in brandable domains, here are my three first new gTLD registrations:
BuyA.horse
RideA.Horse
Stallions.Horse
The three domains cost us €29.95 each for the 1st year registration.
We already own Stallions.com and therefore thought that since .horse is meant for the Horse industry it was a good domain to register.
MindsandMachines.com is one of the registries we chatted about yesterday, that is charging premium annual pricing (renewal fees) like the old .TV pricing model.
For example a very popular type of Horse, PasoFino.horse is priced at €5,999.95 priority reservation & 1st year registration.
Keep in mind that the company is located in Europe and therefore all of its prices are stated in Euro’s not dollars and at the current rate of exchange €1 will cost you $1.35
Each of the 5 different new gTLD’s have different general annual pricing and different premium domain name pricing.
Want pastry.ceo; that is a regular registration and will set you back €89.95, however cakes.ceo will cost you €479.95 to register it.
The registry like all other has come up with a list of premium domain names and priced them accordingly.
So its very possible you will find a domain available for registration at the normal price (like the one’s I registered) that you like better than a premium priced domain; beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Remember our registrations, well a very similar domain geta.Horse is priced at €1,199.95 first year registration
Keep in mind that 2 letter domain names new gTLD’s are not allowed at this point to be registered by any new gTLD registry.
Any domain name on the ICANN collision list is blocked from registration as well for now.
Once again any domain you get is subject to being registered during the sunrise period by a trademark holder so you don’t “have” the domain until after Sunrise ends and you can’t use the domain until after Sunrise either.
Otherwise happy hunting.
junkfood.cooking $5,995 – I think I’d rather have a burger and keep the change.
The fallacy of new gTLD registries will be their pricing: if it’s affordable without silly reservations such as the one I mentioned, they will expand quickly. Otherwise, I predict an uphill battle.
oldfrench.horse (€5,999.95/reserve)
This is either a joke, or the site was hijacked.
A few more notes
Not all new gTLD registries will be going to variable pricing .
Some new gTLD registries hired ROTD to do their pricing on reserved or premium domain names.
None of these 5 did.
I hope I can land Cock.Horse
Good domain for me 🙂
hunglikea.horse
“Not all new gTLD registries will be going to variable pricing “. – Berkens
@Berkens,
Two points: recall when I debated Mr. Stahura of Donuts here on this forum, and I vividly pointed out to him, of which he acknowledged, and to his credit, accepted, that Registries should not be dealt with in the abstract, that they are a known phenomenon, and that we didn’t have to wait to predict certain events regarding the new gTLD scheme. I believe he was suggesting that e.bet will be offered at $137 or so. Now, first predictions can be judged, we are all on record, and you chronicle them well. Sorry you’d have to find the permalink yourself.
Secondly, I also mentioned that what one Registry does affects them all.
Imagine the balls you’d have to have, in the midst of a release of over 700 to 900 auxiliary, or rather, ancillary TLDs, to charge thousands for what amounts to junk domain names, the first year, before the sunrise, in a completely dark unknown universe? If they can charge that kind of money the first year, what’s to stop them from jerking it up in year 3 or 4 to astronomical numbers for renewal? Nothing!
So, I had accused the new gTLD people of launching a fire works show with spent pyrotechnics, hence no pizzazz, now I see where the show gets its bang!
Those that blindly support a crazy-priced gTLD extravaganza are equally clueless as those that fully refuse to partake in the new namespace expansion.
Every premium (read: usable) .cooking domain is reserved. Sorry Minds+Machines, you’re out of both elements of your brand.
Domenclature.com
Correct not all new gTLD registries will be going with variable pricing.
For example your 5 time winner of Domainer of the Year, Mr. Schilling is not going to have variable pricing and isn’t even planning on having many reserved or premium domains in general allowing everything to be registered at their normal prices.
As for your comment:
” If they can charge that kind of money the first year, what’s to stop them from jerking it up in year 3 or 4 to astronomical numbers for renewal? Nothing!”
Correct the registry can change the renewal pricing for new gTLD every year after required notice to the registrant.
So at the end of the day your the consumer and you can decide to buy or not to buy a new gTLD, which one’s to buy.
At ROTD I can tell you were are not a supporter of variable pricing.
I am getting a kick out of this.. hard enough to get stingy end users to pull 5 figure offers, how the heck are you going to sell this horse.shit
MrEd.Horse
get it before anyone else! see details
€1,199.95 priority reservation & 1st year registration
Where can I send the check for poop.horse
poop.horse is available for priority reservation!
get it before anyone else! see details
€1,199.95 priority reservation & 1st year registration
blowjobs.horse is still available BS at a bargain price….
€199.95/reserve
Guys to be clear and I thought I was, these 5 new gTLD are not something we are involved in at ROTD, we were not hired for the project, did not advice them and did not prepare the list, I’m just a customer like you.
So its not my “shit” to sell.
It’s in my opinion it highlights the difference between hiring a professional domainer like ROTD to hand prepare a premium list and hand price the list as opposed to having staff do it or pulling it off some keyword or auto generated list.
After watching DomainSherpa today I was inspired to go register RentA.Horse. Umm, I think one can rent a horse….
3dprintman, google will tell you that you just wasted $50. The fact the .com sits parked, and unsold after so many years will back that up also. That term seems broken for whatever reason. RideA.Horse is a better choice, do not think most people rent their horses to random strangers. Horse Riding, or Horse Rentals would probably trump your domain. You acted on emotion, and not facts, sorry.
Good luck with your race.horse. Let’s see how it comes out of the gate.
Mike, you’re one of the biggest champions of the new gtlds and you only purchased 5?? And at reg fees? Not exactly a glowing endorsement.
HungLikeA.Horse
Mike, Gtlds will have their place, but these registries have millions at stake, they have offices, insurances, employees, etc… bills need to get paid.
Many of these people were under the influence that these premium names would be available for reg fee like .com’s. These registries have blocked all the good names, and have used all your pre reservation data to block the others. They will price high, or have many bidders fight it out. Then you can continue paying $20-$xxxx a year in renewals.
So far the only guy with a clean cut strategy is Frank, which all domainers can respect.
A lot of the interest related to new gTLD is because the average person thinks they are going to get a top term for cheap. It is not going to happen.
The registries exist to make money and will be maximizing their top terms via auctions, direct sales, and variable pricing models.
This is going to take a lot of interest out of the new extensions.
Brad
@Mike Schrobo if Berkens bought 5 domains for every new TLD coming out, that WOULD be a sizeable investment/endorsement…
these new gtld registries want to be both registrar and domainer by charging these premiums. domainers should view the new gtld’s as a threat as they basically want to take your job away and make it theirs.
Michael, thanks for the write up. I’m glad to see a lot of responses, even if they are not all hallelujahs and hurrahs. You should also know that we will come out with a new release next week with a lot of usability improvements and (of course) some bug fixes. -Antony
I was checking out some names at MindsandMachines.com and look at the prices of these that they recommended. LOL What the fuck!! They got a crossed wire somewhere. My favorite is fry.horse for $8100. I wonder what fried horse tastes like. Probably like chicken. Everything tastes like chicken. LOL
fry.horse $8100
rot.horse $8100
fix.horse $8100
mug.horse $8100
midcenturymodern.casa $1640
saucepan.casa $1640
renaissance.casa $8100
washingmachine.casa $8100
cuisineofethiopa.casa $1640
carbonicacid.casa $1640
gastronintesinaltract.casa $1640
royalsocietyofchemistry.casa $1640
mountainous.cooking $8100
beijinginstituteofgenomics.cooking $400
breastinternationalgroup.cooking $400
Kool Aid…get your fresh batch of Kool Aid.
stallion.horseS (which it makes much more sense) since it won’t resolve it
will go straight to the navigator search box… namely Chrome/Google, Yahoo, Bing, Aol , SE’s and ISPs …
if any of these New gTLDs succeed the confusion will be of biblical proportions people will start making up/wild guessing their own non-existent extensions
freshMilk.cow
Iam.sexier
ocho.cinco
Renta.Panda
cheaphomes.SantaFe
Good grief!
Yes registries invested millions of dollar to make money, not to give their products away
Shocking
Cheap is relative was meet.me cheap when we bought it for $6K as it turned out dirt cheap
Yet I get lists everyday and I mean everyday from “domainers” with hundreds of domains they are looking to sell and NOT ONE is worth a renewal fee
If you haven’t yet done so go to domainsherpa.com and listen to yesterday’s session and pay attention to Mr. Schwartz and his comments on quality.
All of you guys are so concerned about getting domains for “cheap ” that your willing to register 500 “cheap” worthless domains which carry $5K or more in renewals fees rather that one good domain for a few thousand.
If you don’t think
i can assure those worried about me that I will not be registering a domain in every new extension that comes out.
Registering these domains which are not cheap by any means is a road to bankruptcy this mind over machines company needs a reality check. Any decent keyword is about $2-$7k US, what end user is going to pay you this, nobody… All the while your stuck with $40 renewals…..
There are about a gazillion domainers from India, China, that put reservations in for free, when it comes time to pay nada…
Really .build, what can I do with it, house.build, builder.build, construction.build, home.build, materials.build, lumber.build, bill.build … They all sound stupid…
Being cheap is one thing, but being reckless is another…
@michael, your point is well taken but doesn’t the list that todd posted above demonstrate that these new registries are employing the exact same tactics of trying to sell worthless domains for high prices?
in my opinion, if a registry can’t profit by selling domains at a base price then they shouldn’t be in business.
@CMAC
The list that Todd posted is all about one new gTLD applicant however, registries are definitely thinking like and acting more like domainers than like traditional registries which have been large public corporations.
@Todd
There is a type of horse called “Small Fry” this is what happens when you pull lists to built and price a premium list rather than doing it with live people :
http://www.equine.com/horses-for-sale/horse-ad-2912629.html
@ Domo “if any of these New gTLDs succeed the confusion will be of biblical proportions people will start making up/wild guessing their own non-existent extensions..”
This! People will assume any word can go ROTD. Its pretty much how this whole gtld program is being marketed. Scams, confusion and frustration will result. Winner=sub domains off of the matching keyword(s) in .com
Register them while you still can! My favorites are asshole.ceo for $125 and fucka.horse for only 40 bucks. LOL I know asshole.ceo will be taken by the end of the day for sure.
associationfootball.horse $8,000
landgrantcollege.horse $8,000
horsinaround.horse $8,000
romancircus.horse $8,000
airconditoning.horse $2,000
whitewaterkayaking.horse $2,000
asshole.ceo $125
fucka.horse $40
The fact that ICANN would allow such “domainer” pricing on any of the new extensions seems to belie the claim I believe they made that the basic purpose of the new GTLDs is to enable people to obtain good domain names more cheaply (someone correct me if that’s incorrect). In either case I agree with Brad Mugford that this is going to take a lot of interest out of the new extensions; once the press gets wind of it articles on the rollout and ICANN may not be so glowing.
Furthermore, since this is happening with ICANN’s blessing it should legitimize “domainer pricing” so that asking a hefty price for a domain name should no longer be allowed to be vilified in UDRP proceedings or complaints filed under ACPA.
An intriguing way to start generating revenue now. Will be interesting to see how well it works. Wish they would offer a direct reseller program for this.
Domainers should be rooting for Frank Schilling’s Uniregistry bids. No reserve names – straight to GA after sunrise.
The Frank Schilling Uniregistry Gold Rush
“Domain names not allocated during the trademark sunrise process or registry reserved in accordance with ICANN policies and GAC advice, will be made available to all registrants equally on a first-come, first-served basis.”