So I came across an old post on Key-Systems.net that dealt with new gtlds.
The title of the article, “These 87 sites dropped their .com for a smarter new TLD (New data)” It was written in 2015.
The first thing of note was that there were only 52 names listed, with the number 51 being repeated twice.
So I took a look at each name to see who kept their new gtld, who switched and who closed up shop.
Dekora.fashion (dekoraconceptstore.com) out of business.
Parisfashionweek.buzz (parisfashionweek.com) site doesn’t resolve.
Risurisu.paris (risurisu.fr) Now risurisu-paris.com/fr/ So they not only gave up the cctld to a new gtld but now are .com.
Home.barclays (barclays.com) Still using
Sierra.finance (sierraep.com) Still using
Bse.london (blacksea-estates.com) site doesn’t resolve.
Robsullivan.estate (robsullivanrealestate.com) Went back to the old site and now no longer resolves.
Stevenyoung.realtor (steventherealtor.com) Went back to the .com and dropped the .realtor.
Printnw.rocks (printnw.net) Still using
Nneyah.cards (nneyahcards.co.uk) Still using
Doomd.ink (doomdink.com) company closed.
Esg.glass (essexsafetyglass.co.uk) Still using
Lusso.bike (lusso-clothing.co.uk) Still using
Savoy.wien (savoy.at) Back to the .at
Toureiffel.paris (tour-eiffel.com) Still using
Festival.melbourne (melbournefestival.com.au) Still Using
Infoengine.wales (infoengine.org.uk) Now uses .cmyru.
Rostrum.agency (rostrumpr.com) Still Using
Bnry.digital (buynary.co.za) Still using
Beach.london (beachlondon.co.uk) Went back to the .co.uk.
Extrabold.design (extrabolddesign.com) Now it uses ExtraBoldBooks.com.
Fatbeard.vegas (fatbeardstudios.com) Still Using
Behold.photography (bhldphotos.com) No longer active.
Jbm.photo (jbmweddings.com) Dropped the .photo it has been reregistered this week, the .com redirects to the owner’s new brand loveandwolves.co So from com to photo to .co.
Alessandri.law (alessandrilaw.com) Switched to another new gtld .legal.
Williamsport.lawyer (pa-law-firm.com) Still using
Jacksonville.attorney (ericblocklaw.com) Dropped works for a big firm now, no personal website.
Futurelegends.cricket (futurelegends.me.uk) Still Using
Londonsport.exchange (sportex.com) Site does not resolve.
Wyoming.fish (fishtetons.com) The .com now owned by Huge Domains, the .fish expired.
Antrobusgolf.club (antrobusgolfclub.co.uk) Back to the .co.uk.
Inferno.fitness (ptinferno.com) Still using
Blackfelt.poker (blackfeltpoker.net) no longer active.
Sport.Wales (sportwales.org.uk) Still using
Lionsgate.academy (lionsgateacademy.org) Still using
Ugr.university (ugr.es) Still using
Ipc.education (internationalpreschoolcurriculum.com) Still Using
Triple.care (esnfpatientcare.com) rebranded to CuraviHealth.com.
Bresse.healthcare (bresse.fr) no longer active.
Aha.vet (animalhealthassociates.org) Still Using
Simplesteps.coach (simplestepsweightloss.com) expired free to register.
Thegreen.diet (tallabajadiet.com) Still using
Mother.management (managewithmother.com) rebranded to TheTechGuys.co.uk.
Foxwell.tools (foxwell.com.au) Went back to the old cctld domain name.
Boom.lgbt (boommagstl.com) Still Using
Thewright.nyc (thewrightrestaurant.com) Now the site is part of a subdomain on a .com.
Driftaway.coffee (driftaway.co) Still using
Scratchtown.beer (scratchtownbrewingcompany.com) Still Using
Triplerock.vodka (triplerock.co.nz) Back to the original domain.
Halfhitch.london (halfhitch.co.uk) Still Using
周杰伦.中文网 (jaycn.com) Expired
Jermyn.consulting (jermynconsulting.com) Site does not resolve.
So 24 websites are still using the new gtld they moved to over 4 years ago. 2 others rebranded to another new gtld.
New tld have failed in the marketplace. The 24 left will eventually drop to 12, 6,3 0.
No they won’t go to 0 because some do love them. Not talking about selling as an investment, I just mean I have talked to some who think it’s cool to have their name end in .beer or .games for example. They are not big sites so what does it matter? If they like it, they like it, they are not trying to sell the name. The problem is how many extensions can enough people who like the word combo or think it’s cool to keep their extension in business?
Bingo Raymond.
Snoopy never really understands that, but it is the real question. If ICANN’s fee structure changes and even more consolidation happens those reduced costs will make registries more sustainable. Higher levels of registrations would of course also help.
Different registries have different models. But regardless, we will not know for many years. Even those making a loss know that it takes time. .com took time to mature. Some shortsighted folks believe gTLDs are a failure in 4 years yet they forget how many enterprises make a loss for many years before making their significant profit. Think Amazon and YouTube for example.
Also many gtld registries are making a profit. Also many are not in it for a profit, but are in it for a public good.
Also for a bit of balance (for the article) there are many businesses on non-.coms who have been extremely successful in this time and there have also been many businesses on .com domains that have failed.
We have to be reasonable when considering the state of domains and be careful about false equivalency. Switching to a gtld wasn’t the cause of these businesses failing although some obviously want people to believe that – many other details are needed to know why they individually failed along with a comparison to successful businesses operating on non-.com domains.
New tlds rise and fall in a very short space of time. Nobody is giving .info, .mobi, .top or .xyz time grow organically as though it was 1994. It is filled with speculation, high prices, confusion and abnormal renewal fees from day 1. Unlike .com in in the 1990’s new tlds are already seeing years of declining numbers despite being only 5 years old.
Take .nyc, it peaked in December 2015 and has been steadily falling since.
https://ntldstats.com/tld/nyc
.com only ever dropped after the dot com bust and that fall was very small and short lived. The two are not comparable. Amazon and Youtube didn’t have years of falling sales either, so the comparison has no basis in reality.
“New tlds rise and fall in a very short space of time.”
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That isn’t a reversal of organic use. Most weak or extremely niche new gTLDs don’t take off at speed to begin with. You are confusing high registration numbers with organic success. Think about it.
“Nobody is giving .info, .mobi, .top or .xyz time grow organically as though it was 1994.”
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What are you talking about? Organic growth either happens or doesn’t. Remove bizarre domain investor interference in organic growth and you get a much better picture of TLD health, growth and decline, success and failure.
When Rick Schwartz (“Domain King[TM]”) bought flowers.mobi for $200,000 and later sold it for 6k or 7k, that isn’t natural. Definitely not organic (end user adoption).
What is your point, you think they should give the new Gs time or not? Really don’t know what you’re arguing for or against but either way, end users will determine the success or failure or new Gs.
“It is filled with speculation, high prices, confusion and abnormal renewal fees from day 1.”
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People who bought .coms in the early days by completing the application/paperwork and sending it in and paying $100 each were either speculating if they had the foresight or they valued the name for organic (real) use. How is this different to people today, buying a new G because they like the domain because it is more meaningful and is their perfect-fit name?
People buying .coms in the very early days for investment/resale were clearly speculating on something that was unproven – same as today. But again I am not saying that people should invest in new gTLDs, although I think there is money to be made in some areas – my main point is that there is real value to end users of many new Gs and that they will determine the success of each namespace. Registries can affect that by making sure pricing is reasonable and clear and also make sure their namespaces are free from spam, safe, etc.
“Unlike .com in in the 1990’s new tlds are already seeing years of declining numbers despite being only 5 years old.”
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Mainly because of domainer speculation.
You cannot have it both ways and say “oh no, there was real organic, end user adoption of these new Gs, the numbers were high because of the organic use, and then, all of these organic users jumped ship because they weren’t a successful business on a new G…” If the numbers spiked initially it was mainly investor speculation – not organic users – those take time to become aware, try the domains and either keep them or drop them.
“Take .nyc, it peaked in December 2015 and has been steadily falling since”
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.nyc is for folks in NYC. Those who live, work and have a business here. Neustar and the City of New York are great caretakers for the namespace and this is exactly what you need in management of new Gs. If the focus was on high registrations, they could easily achieve that (by dropping prices and removing the nexus requirement) but they have made the decision not to for the health of the namespace and for it to develop organically, to be used by people in NYC.
There is a nexus requirement means people must live/work/have a business in nyc which keeps many (not all speculators out) and the price is fairly steep at ~$25/year, but simple/clear pricing with no premium renewals. Also even the pot of premium initially-premium domains was quite small. Many $25 registrations that I made were strong premiums and shockingly didn’t have a premium registration fee.
There are other new TLD registries out there who are responsible, who are not on a money grab, who are not obsessed with registration numbers and are growing their namespaces carefully, deliberately and organically. With geo TLDs that is evident when you visit the cities and see if the TLDs are being used on buses, the subway, on local radio… As for .nyc it is clearly evident and has grown steadily over the last 5 years.
You are obsessed with registration numbers of new Gs on every single post. Even though all the other information provided to you in comments across all the blogs should be considered, that is if you were thoughtful and really wanted to understand what is happening with new Gs, investors and startups. Instead you have this ridiculous bias and it isn’t well-intentioned, to protect people from bad business. If it was that can easily be said in one sentence: “New domain investors be careful with new Gs because there is a very high chance that you will lose all your investment unless you are extremely selective of domains, do massive research and grow any new G portfolio steadily after making sales”. I’d completely agree with that sentence.
Instead at every opportunity you attempt to undermine any sign of success with any of the new Gs. If registration numbers were higher, you’d say they were too low. If they were really high, you’d say there’s not enough usage. You ignore facts and evidence and when one questions why, the only reason that remains is that you are protecting your own hidden self-interests by effectively spreading misinformation or at least obscuring evidence contrary to your narrative.
There are builders in this world and there are breakers. Snoopy maybe it’s time that you built something.
….too long to read beyond a skim. Key point is new tlds are in decline.
Thanks for the in depth post, it’s interesting to me the two sites that went from one new gtld to another new gtld.
Agree, sometime people just want something unique and new, like have a personal blog ending at .monster is my favore…some time, it is also an alternative to have a LLL.one if a serious business want a well elegant LLL…..I have to say, the trend is changing….com still the king no doublt, but people will have more choice and whole society will getting familar with ngtld…
“….too long to read beyond a skim. Key point is new tlds are in decline”
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@snoopy, you just confirmed what I was saying.
Matt you did not expect these troglodytes to be able to read a detailed comment did you? These guys are anything not .com sucks man, now repeat that 1000 times, a day.
I just love snoopy’s insight! Matt’s post was most certainly too long to read. I couldn’t do it either!
Snoop always calls it like it is!
What is there to love he is a bore that says the same thing over and over, He calls nothing, he is a dinosaur who is irrelevant in 2019.
If you like repeating anything not .com sucks then you love him. It reinforces your crappy .com portfolio.
Just do you, the opinions of avatars on the internet are meaningless.
if non coms work for you great! if not switch to .com.
no need 2 fight