information .LINK - throwing in the towel, and advice from a friend

[ThatNameGuy]

Just a few days ago I sent the following email to Yoni Belousov, Vaughn Liley, and Jeff Gabriel of Nova Registry, the new owners of the .LINK extension;

"Yoni etal.....what a waste of time and money to have created a portfolio of 1,500 .LINK domains believing I could help make .LINK successful.

One of my greatest strengths are the people I've gotten to know through Linkedin, and a few of them had reached out to me because they own .LINK domains.

Marek Eckhaus from Prague owns Sex.link
and
Jim Haung from Shanghai owns Free.link

Furthermore, a domain friend of mine Joe N. from Canada was able to help me get domains like; Bicycle.link, American.link and Dollar.link listed @ Dan, but to no avail in that I haven't received a single inquiry much less offer.

I guess you've heard me say, "If it's to BE, it's up to ME", but without some backing that isn't going to happen.

I consider myself sort of a .LINK walk on who could have been a star, but Nova Registry just doesn't see it that way......SAD!

Finally, i'm blind copying a pretty well respected industry leader that was quoted as saying, ".LINK is no worse than .XYZ", but personally I believe .LINK is far better than .xyz.

Unfortunately, we'll never know."


In addition i copied a few domain friends I made around the world, and here is the response Alessandro from a friend from Italy....you might note I've not heard anything back from anyone at Nova Registry;

Richard

There’s a lot of emotion in this industry, and it’s easy to get caught up on “one thing” … It is important that as investors we diversify our portfolios, own Names that make Sense !

There’s this idea that you should only invest in .com and 90% of “The Domain Industry Club“ will tell you the same thing over and over again like a broken record, BUT the truth is you should invest in good names ^ and understand that what we are all looking to accomplish takes time, effort, and determination ^

2,000,000,000 sites online, you cannot limit all of them to .com much less .net or 10 other extensions … the formation of new industries and new business’ continues to rise - and thus GOOD names become more valuable, I believe this to be true for both .com and combination keyword GTLD examples that match perfectly the left and right of the DOT

I was offered $25,000 for mortgage.loans in 2021 @ the ROTD auction with Monte and I was offered $11,000 for easy.credit at the recent ROTD 2023 auction w/ Monte, meanwhile TeamBank in Germany offered me $1000 even though they are a multi billion dollar company, I received a mysterious offer of $125,000 on DAN for e.credit and the buyer vanished, I had some guy in Monaco offer me 3.2 BTC when BTC was trading @ $55,000 so that he could develop e.credit into an online crypto casino … I bet he feels pretty dumb given where BTC is @ … what is my point, GOOD names receive some attention, and not all the time is that attention going to be “Execution” … In fact more times then not, you are going to run into people who will waste your time,

I have watched the Blue Man Group turn down owning blue.com … I’ve personally talked on the phone with the board of Smith & Wesson; while walking the streets of Venice at night … guess what, they didn’t buy sw.com and neither did Nvidia buy ai.com … I couldn’t sell 77.com to 77Bank in Japan, and Weight Watchers waited for my contract to expire to purchase ww.com … the domain industry is cruel, the priceless opportunity of selling BIG names is a rare thing, patience is the name of the game … Like golf, rare to hit a par much less a Hole In One … BUT damn it feels good when ya do !

1500 .link names, say 10% of that are true quality names Richard @ $1000 bare minimum, that’s $150,000, good $$$ to invest with at the moment. Outbound, outbound, outbound, even if 95% of those leads won’t contact you back …

There was a time when I allowed my emotions to play into the industry, ya just can’t do it, either it works or it doesn’t, and if someone doesn’t understand the value, there is no sense in trying to persuade them, this goes for all names …

And if you invest in GTLDs, focus on exact match keyword combinations,

free.link

direct.link

Instant.link

sex.link (shit, sex.xxx sold for $3M)

big.link

cash.link

soft.link

nice.link

Explain the value, build an audience, and people will then come to you … because believe it or not, there are people in the world with the same ideas as you …

So continue walking tall, put that Big Brain of yours to use, relinquish some of your grand names at a discount, and invest moving forward … if you have that BIG name, don’t sell it, you may want to, but don’t do it, you can put a large price tag on that one BIG name, but that’s it ^ focus on everything else, diversify, and move forward >>>

Best wishes !

Alessandro


Finally, while I still believe in the .LINK extension, without committed support from the Registry and it's owners I just decided to throw in the towel.......VERY SAD!!!

ps. thank you Alessandro

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Personally, if the initial post was about .LINKED
I can only say that I have some that I use for websites dealing with ham radio.
But I don't need them. For those folks the IP address is just fine. They bookmark the same way.
It's a convenience thing. Not needed in a close knit community.

As an investment instrument for .LINKED,
I find little use of them. And the use I see is like any other gTLD. Where it can compliment the name.
So there is use. Just not widespread. But perhaps something can happen to change any of that in the future.

If the initial post was actually about the domain industry and sales using .LINKED by example....
I can only say what I have already been saying for over 10 years. Since it use to be that SEO use of key terms made some value in a name.
Facebook came along and changed that for many. They didn't need a domain at all or nothing exactly to what they were or doing.
At the same time, Google was changing search to remove the SEO value of a name in domains. Some of which was a reaction to search traffic theft arguments.

Given that history, how could anyone suppose gTLD's were going to help that 'a lot'.
Yes, there are a bunch once again where the gTLD compliments the name.
It did lower demand for some .com's since there were clever alternatives.
But anyone should have been able to see that it was going to be a struggle to keep the registries afloat.

If not for domain investors, many gTLD's would be under water as we speak. But at some point, all those holdings will have to show value or suffer some fate. But when. Survival of the fittest I guess.

It is what it is even if I don't like it or even if I do. We can't change it, just react to it if you have been paying attention.

Good points VRdommy....unfortunately i was looking to sell .link domains to potential "end users" who understood the function of a computer/internet "link".........in that it's simply a means to an end.

Much of what you said went over my head but I was able to get the gist of it. Many of my .link gTLD's did in fact compliment the name, and in most cases the .com alternative just wasn't available.

Regardless, it's moot now but ironically it led me to MakeSomethingHappen.tv where I've already developed a significant relationship and possible partnership.

Thanks again!

 

[Bob Hawkes]

That must be frustrating, Richard. Thanks for sharing here, and in particular the response from Alessandro offers some good advice to domain investors in general. The idea to concentrate on a small number of high-quality domains, is in general good advice across all parts of domain investment (even though I struggle adopting it personally too often).

Re the registry, possibly I have missed it in the five pages that I only browsed quickly, but I am still not clear on exactly what type of support you asked for / expected from the .link registry? As you note in a reply, they could not offer a special deal on fees, or others would scream unfair, and beyond that I think their registry agreement prohibits them from dealing directly with registrants on pricing anyway.

There are things registries can do, that indirectly help registrants and investors, beyond just running the registry smoothly and efficiently. I think it is reasonable to expect them to help make the case for the extension, and to highlight some actual sites using the TLD, on their registry page. It is also helpful when registries use their online presence to routinely feature interesting new end users, and perhaps aftermarket or premium sales. Was that the kind of assistance you sought?

If one was doing something unique to promote the TLD, along with your own domain names, such as a booth at a trade show or something like that, not sure whether some registries have done that, or should/could do that, possibly.

Anyway, in my previous position before retirement one thing I was wisely told by someone in admin was that when one is asking for something, always be very clear on what it is you are asking for, and who it is you are asking. They also suggested stressing positives, even if rather minor, is helpful. So as a general approach, if one ran a pilot of some kind of promotion, and got a few people expressing interest, even if none purchased a domain name, that might be helpful in convincing them to help take it to a bigger scale.

Take care,

Bob

 

[ThatNameGuy]

That must be frustrating, Richard. Thanks for sharing here, and in particular the response from Alessandro offers some good advice to domain investors in general. The idea to concentrate on a small number of high-quality domains, is in general good advice across all parts of domain investment (even though I struggle adopting it personally too often).

Re the registry, possibly I have missed it in the five pages that I only browsed quickly, but I am still not clear on exactly what type of support you asked for / expected from the .link registry? As you note in a reply, they could not offer a special deal on fees, or others would scream unfair, and beyond that I think their registry agreement prohibits them from dealing directly with registrants on pricing anyway.

There are things registries can do, that indirectly help registrants and investors, beyond just running the registry smoothly and efficiently. I think it is reasonable to expect them to help make the case for the extension, and to highlight some actual sites using the TLD, on their registry page. It is also helpful when registries use their online presence to routinely feature interesting new end users, and perhaps aftermarket or premium sales. Was that the kind of assistance you sought?

If one was doing something unique to promote the TLD, along with your own domain names, such as a booth at a trade show or something like that, not sure whether some registries have done that, or should/could do that, possibly.

Anyway, in my previous position before retirement one thing I was wisely told by someone in admin was that when one is asking for something, always be very clear on what it is you are asking for, and who it is you are asking. They also suggested stressing positives, even if rather minor, is helpful. So as a general approach, if one ran a pilot of some kind of promotion, and got a few people expressing interest, even if none purchased a domain name, that might be helpful in convincing them to help take it to a bigger scale.

Take care,

Bob

Thanks Bob....i was never expecting or even hoping for any sort of special treatment with regards to registration fee's etc. However I never thought they might be discouraging me from registering Premium domains they wanted for themselves. Vaughn Liley. .links new GM was in the process of repricing the entire portfolio, and I became more of a hindrance than an asset. Many of the domains I registered at Namecheap and NameSilo for less that $5 and renewed @ $10.00 were set for repricing anywhere from $41.30 to $159 depending on the register and renewing for the same amount.

The help I thought I might get from them was more technical than financial. I considered myself more of a "walk on" in that I was not just .links biggest fan, i was also their biggest promoter.

Yes it's a little frustrating, but things like this happen for a reason......when one door closes another seems to open. If you go to MakeSomethingHappen.tv you'll see what I mean. btw, this isn't my domain.

Thanks Bob, and hopefully we'll meet again someday.

 

[bmugford]

The help I thought I might get from them was more technical than financial. I considered myself more of a "walk on" in that I was not just .links biggest fan, i was also their biggest promoter.

That is still very broad.

What does "technical" help mean?

What exactly did you want the registry to do?

Brad

 

[ThatNameGuy]

That is still very broad.

What does "technical" help mean?

What exactly did you want the registry to do?

Brad

Help me build a presence on the Web. How so? In the way of a customized marketplace focusing mostly on .link domains.

I'd registered Varsity.link and VarsityDomains.com just for this purpose. When I started AcSel (a medical billing company) back in the 70's i brought on a technical partner who developed the software for our company. Although I started and named Acsel.org in 1977, it's still in business today because of Phil Redmond who had a computer science degree from LSU. This is my opinion of course, but if it weren't for Phil i doubt the business would have survived.

btw, i'm looking to start a podcast with a good friend of mine and it requires a technical partner as well. There's very little in this day and time anything can be accomplished without some technical talent......sad but true

 

[bmugford]

The help I thought I might get from them was more technical than financial. I considered myself more of a "walk on" in that I was not just .links biggest fan, i was also their biggest promoter.

Help me build a presence on the Web. How so? In the way of a customized marketplace focusing mostly on .link domains.

Are they supposed to have some of their employees working on your marketplace, or hire some outside developers?

Were you going to pay them? If not that actually does sound like you are asking for financial help.

It is pretty unreasonable to expect the registry to help build your marketplace.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

btw, i'm looking to start a podcast with a good friend of mine and it requires a technical partner as well. There's very little in this day and time anything can be accomplished without some technical talent......sad but true

I agree.

Technical talent has value, and rightfully so.

You generally either need to have the abilities yourself or pay someone that does.

The "technical partner" quest has basically been going on since you joined NamePros.

Right now you are wasting time. Time is a more valuable resource than money.

If you want something done, just pay to have it done.

Brad

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Are they supposed to have some of their employees working on your marketplace, or hire some outside developers?

Were you going to pay them? If not that actually does sound like you are asking for financial help.

It is pretty unreasonable to expect the registry to help build your marketplace.

Brad

"It is pretty unreasonable to expect the registry to help build your marketplace."

Oh, i don't think so. Like any "walk on" of an NFL team, the management will provide all sorts of things for you "if" you make the team. In addition to $$$, they'll provide a great practice facility, coaches, managers, travel expense and the list goes on. In retrospect they probably did me a favor. From a sales and marketing perspective, someone with my talent, passion and experience would make most teams, so I look at as their loss

Finally, i have no regrets. Wherever life takes me, i meet new people and make new friends. Dios es bueno, todo el tiempo

 

[DrJacoby]

From a sales and marketing perspective, someone with my talent, passion and experience would make most teams, so I look at as their loss

After more than 5 years, while buying thousands of domains, you still haven't figured out how to list a domain for sale! You wouldn't even make a young kids team.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

After more than 5 years, while buying thousands of domains, you still haven't figured out how to list a domain for sale! You wouldn't even make a young kids team.

Not sure why you would tell a BOLD FACED LIE like this, but i would seriously suggest that you check out the thousand plus .LINK domains that are listed FOR SALE @ DAN, by "Domain Imagination". After you've checked that out, get back to me

 

[DrJacoby]

Not sure why you would tell a BOLD FACED LIE like this, but i would seriously suggest that you check out the thousand plus .LINK domains that are listed FOR SALE @ DAN, by "Domain Imagination". After you've checked that out, get back to me

That was "a friend" of yours (Joe N?) that listed them for you. You yourself has still not, after more than 5 years, learnt how to list a domain for sale. Hilarious!

 

[DrJacoby]

Btw, I just checked out three of the domains in your signature – DoobieDiner.com, CheesecakeRealty.com, and Sneezeeze.com. They are all unregistered!

 

[NYJimbo]

After more than 5 years, while buying thousands of domains, you still haven't figured out how to list a domain for sale! You wouldn't even make a young kids team.

LOL. Amazing isnt it. Yet he still tells people he is smarter than they are.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Btw, I just checked out three of the domains in your signature – DoobieDiner.com, CheesecakeRealty.com, and Sneezeeze.com. They are all unregistered!

So what's the purpose of this post? Are you a domain auditor?

 

[ThatNameGuy]

LOL. Amazing isnt it. Yet he still tells people he is smarter than they are.

I'm not smarter than anyone....how in the world did you ever get that impression

 

[DrJacoby]

So what's the purpose of this post? Are you a domain auditor?

I'm a domain investor. A profitable one, in contrast to you.

The purpose was to make your level of competence even more clear.

 

[Aradhi]

.

 

[branding]

Not sure why you would tell a BOLD FACED LIE like this, but i would seriously suggest that you check out the thousand plus .LINK domains that are listed FOR SALE @ DAN, by "Domain Imagination". After you've checked that out, get back to me

Just forward your domain to your DAN portfolio, brand your portfolio and landers accordingly and you're done.

Shouldn't take more than half an hour.

Where to send my bill to?

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Just forward your domain to your DAN portfolio, brand your portfolio and landers accordingly and you're done.

Shouldn't take more than half an hour.

Where to send my bill to?

Are you telling me that Dan.com is screwing over me? Or is it Nova Registry? You know what you can do with your bill

 

[branding]

Are you telling me that Dan.com is screwing over me? Or is it Nova Registry? You know what you can do with your bill

I'm telling you you're screwing over yourself.

This will add to the bill though...

 

[ThatNameGuy]

I'm a domain investor. A profitable one, in contrast to you.

The purpose was to make your level of competence even more clear.

Are you calling me incompetent? I don't think my bank account will appreciate it, especially since it's grown since you've been stalking me.....it's not nice to fool mother nature

I'm telling you you're screwing over yourself.

This will add to the bill though

Lets get back "on topic" branding. Why do you suppose .LINK names that were listed @ Dan.com and still registered @ NameSilo get this message when a potential buyer attempts to search the domain?

Warning: Visiting this site may harm your computer!​

At birthday.link

You're smarter than me Branding, why do you think this is?

 

[Nick]

https://www.dynadot.com/register-your-free-link-domain

 

[DrJacoby]

Are you calling me incompetent? I don't think my bank account will appreciate it, especially since it's grown since you've been stalking me.....it's not nice to fool mother nature

If after 5 years, and 1000s of domains purchased, you still haven't figured out how to list your domains for sale, or made a single end-user sale, then that shows your level of competence very clearly. If you want to call yourself incompetent, then be my guest. I won't protest.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

So Nick....i see you're working for Dynadot now or is it Nova Registry Whatever happened to your GIG with Dominion and Jim Schrand?

I see where the domain DominionDomains.com that I bought for Jim still forwards to Dominion.domains. How cool is that I wonder what Schrand is up to now?......what an A-Hole!

Finally, maybe you can answer why this message comes up when trying to access .LINK names that are listed FOR SALE @ Dan.com?

Warning: Visiting this site may harm your computer!​

At birthday.link

 

[ThatNameGuy]

If after 5 years, and 1000s of domains purchased, you still haven't figured out how to list your domains for sale, or made a single end-user sale, then that shows your level of competence very clearly. If you want to call yourself incompetent, then be my guest. I won't protest.

Getting back "on topic", what do you think Vaughn Liley, General Manager of Nova Registry aka .LINK meant by;

"We innovation & partnerships?"

Nick.....what do you think he meant? Anyone