The Wall Street Journal just covered .NYC domains name in a story “The Gold Rush Is On for .NYC Domains; Some May Resell for $100,000 +”
In the story The Wall Street Journal featured long term domain name investor Steve Kaziyev.
“Since the new .NYC domain extension hit the market last month as an alternative to better-known extensions like .com and .org, Mr. Kaziyev has snapped up more than 400 Web addresses at $25 a pop. He’s now the proud owner of SingingLessons.nyc, Cognac.nyc and the ever-so-sexy LoanModification.nyc.”
His intent is clear to anyone who swings by his website, YourBrand.com.
There, he offers these new URLs for resale at eye-popping prices.
He’s asking $8,500 for RoundTrip.nyc; $25,000 for REO.nyc.
Mr. Kaziyev 45, got his start as a URL broker and investor back in 2004.
Until now, the Kew Gardens marketer mainly dealt with .com domains, which are in high demand.
But he loves the idea of .nyc. The city is full of huge companies that will happily pay six figures for the right New York Web address, he predicts.
It could take years to see if his investment pays off. “I’m a sheer speculator, hoping that one day this will be a home run,” he says. “I’m gambling my money right now. It could be a dud.”
But digital-world observers say the .nyc market is already hot. Since the domain launched in early October, more than 50,000 .nyc URLs have been registered, pushing it into the top 10 of the hundreds of new extensions released this year.
And that’s despite the fact that .nyc it can only be purchased by folks with a city address. “Dot NYC came out of the gate strong,” says Mike McLaughlin, general manager of domains for GoDaddy, the largest of the Internet registrars designated as an official .nyc vendor.
So what are locals buying? A GoDaddy analysis shows that across the city, among the top five words appearing most often in the new URLs are “new,” “Brooklyn” and, somewhat predictably, “law.” In Staten Island, top keywords include “cars,” “cash” and “kids.”
In Manhattan, of course, the top keyword is “best.”
New Yorkers certainly have been creative. Freshly registered domains range from the morbid (QueensFuneral.nyc) to the pedestrian (airductcleaning.nyc) to the canine (schnauzer.nyc).”
More than 60 pizza-related domains have been registered, including dollarpizza.nyc and pizzadrone.nyc. Real-estate developers like Related are registering address URLs (55HudsonYards.nyc), while mom-and-pops register their own business names.
One can only wonder about the stories behind domains like OysterNightinAstoria.nyc, JewishPhoneBook.nyc and BrokenNose.nyc.
Attorney Bryan Kishner, 50, doesn’t plan to sell any of the 75 .nyc domains he bought in recent weeks. He’s linking them all to the website of his Midtown East firm, Kishner & Miller. A real-estate specialist, he’s registered dozens of related domains ranging from attorney.nyc to zoninglaw.nyc.
Some of his buys may be super valuable. He had the presence of mind, for example, to snap up condominium.nyc and village.nyc.
But Mr. Kishner says that even if someone offers big bucks for his new properties, he’ll hang on. He plans to bequeath the URLs to his children, like a king might pass on vast tracts of land.
“It’s like getting a piece of New York City, which is a rare opportunity,” he says.
He might get some tempting offers. Some .nyc domains have already sold for well over the $20 wholesale price set by the city and its administrative partner Neustar.
Roughly 500 domains sold in the first two auctions of properties garnering multiple claims in the pre-release registration period, says Craig Snyder, CEO of SnapNames, the domain dealer administering the sales. The typical price? $800 to $1000.
A few, including Bitcoin.nyc, Orthodonist.nyc and CarService.nyc, sold for more than $10,000.
Some highly desirable .com addresses, including restaurants.com and slots.com, have sold for more than $5 million in the aftermarket, says Mr. Snyder. So it stands to reason that next year, when the 1,000-plus so-called premium .nyc domains including limo.nyc, bagel.nyc and pizza.nyc hit the market at auction, some could sell for $100,000 or more.
“It will be interesting to see if we can crack the seven-figure mark,” he says.
With 50,000 .nyc domains already registered, does that mean all the best addresses are taken?
I tried to buy coffee.nyc—which wasn’t available, of course.
Nah, it’s just as cheesy and dumb as all of the other new gtld’s. They will all soon wither on the vine.
If renewal stays at $25 – $40 I expect a blood bath next year
Only way .nyc has a chance is to bring down cost to compete with other extensions
The competitive advantage of a .nyc aint THAT great
Most people dont have that many domains, those that do, knew it will be long haul. I highly doubt it will be blood bath, what those sitting on domains will realize that they need to develop them to get most millage.
That guy “domain investor” they mention in the article according to record sitting on 70%+ domains that are somebody brand , aka cyber squatting. Not sure what is his financial plan with those….
everybody thinks they will have no problem rolling over $500 – $5000 in domains in renewals…….
until the next recession actually happens.
Than they say,….”why am I holding all this crap that makes me no monies???”
I think we will see really see how things are once the main open auctions hit. After that we can plan future, if they will be a flop then you might be right. If they sell for a right, then its very unlikely that people will be dropping them. .nyc one of the few extensions, where i dont expect blood bath on good domains. If person is holding a bag with garbage, thats one things, but if you got solid hand of names then you just either sit on them, or develop or both.
I have seen no traffic come through on my .nyc names
now granted, its early….
but thats what I am looking at.
Traffic is the lifeblood of domains.
seriously….. you are looking for type in traffic from extension that just launched? traffic is not life blood of domains, development is life blood of domains.
I hate to break the news to you but there wont be any real type in traffic for at least couple of years on .nyc . That doesnt mean it doent have value, it just means there is no type in traffic. If you develop a .nyc domain, it will rank nicely. But waiting for typing traffic wont work. And yes, anyone who expects type in traffic and make money on parking is going to get killed on renewal fees, but that just means they went into .nyc with wrong expectations.
I went into .nyc with 3-5 year time line (and longer on few of my best names), infact i wont even offer any of my domains for sale until next fall and when i do it will be 2nd tier domains that i got specifically for 1-3 year sale. I will be sitting on my Tier 1 and Premiums for at least 3 years+. Anyone who expecting to turn quick profit on .nyc , and thats probably best gtld domain right now, is up for rude awakening.
Lol,..no. I am not looking at traffic now.
I think every domain needs to be bought with 10 year horizon….always.
That said,………direct traffic is life blood imho.
No direct traffic to the extension…and .nyc dies.
Regarding SEO and development…..
only for shitty long tail maybe…
But for good key words….
.nyc will always compete with .com and more entrenched players,…
so .nyc will only work if PIGEON selects .nyc as local premiere extension.
And even all that said,……..development if you go that route better be with a real business model…and by real,…I dont mean adsense nonsense…I mean MINIMUM 15K real development so as to bring real product into the market space.
Well at least you realistic, there will be plenty of people trying to sell it out of the gate… good luck to them.
We wont see type traffic for few years, for .nyc to become house hold name it will take a while.
That said, .nyc is better brand then .com to communicate city presence. Even without Pigeon update, with Pigeon it will be mandatory. If pigeon will affect .nyc, then the ball game will turn from maybe to must have for a lot of premium and non premium domains.
Ya, development requires time and money, and this is one of the best times for any small business or budding entrepreneurs to jump in the game. Since great .nyc name can level the playing field and allow to play with big boys.
I am developing a name already as a business on .nyc extension. Will keep everyone posted.
DeepLink.nyc is a fresh brand for a totally cool website! I blogged about it here:
Website Using new gTLD for Emerging Tech!
http://emergingdomains.com/website-using-new-gtld-for-emerging-tech