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

 

[SuperDudePro]

What kind of committed support are you looking for? A discount on renewal fees?

 

[Samer]

Wonderful!
Now, why cant you apply this logic to all non-coms?

 

[ThatNameGuy]

What kind of committed support are you looking for? A discount on renewal fees?

No....i'm not sure they could do that because i purchased the domains from Namecheap, NameSilo, and some from Epik where I'd need to renew. Actually I didn't plan to renew any more than 10% of the very best domains, but one would think the Registry would bend over backwards to work with me in some/any capacity to keep me as part of the team.

I never met or spoke with Yoni, but I did have a few zoom meetings with Vaughn Liley and had several conversations with Jeff Gabriel who also happens to be the CEO of SAW.com.

The hell of it is, i may have been able to help grow .link IF ONLY they saw the value in what i could bring to the table. For example, one of the premium names I own was/is Bicycle.link, and a good friend of mine Wayne Souza recently became a partner/owner with ConteBikes.com (with 26 Bike Shops from New England to Florida).

Wayne is also a lawyer, and besides being a college classmate of mine Wayne handled the closing of a business I started and sold back in the seventies and eighties.

This is just one of the domains I may have sold or developed if Nova Registry cared enough to work with me.

That's all I have for now and thanks for following this drama

 

[Grego85]

Heres a few more hand regs which might be up your alley, name guy:

Failed.Link
DumDum.Link
StupidIdea.Link
ImmaLoser.Link

"Renewals are negotiable!" lmao

 

[NickB]

Heres a few more hand regs which might be up your alley, name guy:

Failed.Link
DumDum.Link
StupidIdea.Link
ImmaLoser.Link

"Renewals are negotiable!" lmao

Revelling in someone's misfortune is a bit harsh and petty........calling him a loser and a dum dum.....really?

He can't say he wasn't warned that this venture was doomed to fail though.....

https://www.namepros.com/threads/link-binge-continues.1289392/

Hopefully Rich will learn from this (and his other splurges over the last few years) and bounce back stronger

 

[bmugford]

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.

Well, at least now you know. The domains were listed and they didn't get interest.

That is just the reality of the situation.

.LINK is one extension in a vast ocean competing for a small share of the pie.

No....i'm not sure they could do that because i purchased the domains from Namecheap, NameSilo, and some from Epik where I'd need to renew. Actually I didn't plan to renew any more than 10% of the very best domains, but one would think the Registry would bend over backwards to work with me in some/any capacity to keep me as part of the team.

There really is no team.

They are a registrar. You are a registrant.

Most registries seem to be willing to collect registration fees while the extension itself dies on the vine when it comes to actual usage.

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!!!

I am not going to rub it in or anything, but it is probably good you had this epiphany.

We have had our differences, but I wish you success in the future.

Brad

 

[pb]

The thing about nTLD domains is that they have to make sense as a whole. What's a "bicycle link" or "American link"?

 

[BaileyUK]

https://www.namepros.com/threads/link-binge-continues.1289392/

Forgot that thread is 17 pages long. It still makes for a perplexing read. I think, like many of us we read Richards posts with a sense of puzzlement. Certainly an eloquent speaker/writer but someone who doesn't need the registry hype when he can create imaginary scenarios in his own head.

I would love to see you pull one great sale out of all those imaginary great domains as a kind of repayment for all those bewildering but fascinating posts, they in themselves have become an addictive read dare I admit.

I'm still struggling with all that Chocolate.link is a winner, not to mention the wine stuff, realty etc. I was hoping to read that many of these registrations were $1 promos but that doesn't seem to be the case at-all which makes it an even more painful read.

The other element that keeps raising its head is this apparent need for collaboration, partnership or support from those who's only interest is selling you domains, Surely you must realise there is no leverage to be gained for them in partnering with, dare I say, ill thought out investment strategies.

I acknowledge your mentions of past (pre-domain) acumens.

 

[DrJacoby]

.homes – FAILED
.realty – FAILED
.online – FAILED
.link – FAILED

.horse next?

 

[Blueleaf66]

.homes – FAILED
.realty – FAILED
.online – FAILED
.link – FAILED

.horse next?orse

PleaseBetOnMy.horse!

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Revelling in someone's misfortune is a bit harsh and petty........calling him a loser and a dum dum.....really?

He can't say he wasn't warned that this venture was doomed to fail though.....



Hopefully Rich will learn from this (and his other splurges over the last few years) and bounce back stronger

Nick

Revelling in someone's misfortune is a bit harsh and petty........calling him a loser and a dum dum.....really?

He can't say he wasn't warned that this venture was doomed to fail though.....



Hopefully Rich will learn from this (and his other splurges over the last few years) and bounce back stronger

Nick.....it's posts like Grego85 that make me bounce back even stronger I'm still a believer in the .LINK extension for the very same reasons i liked it in the beginning. I'm not sure how much Yoni and his group paid Frank Schilling aka Uniregistry for the .LINK extension, but i do agree with the rationale and reasoning behind their purchase.

While i may have invested about 15K on .LINK domains, i had a blast doing it......especially when I learned that names like dollar.com leads to Dollar Rent a Car, Fruit.com goes to Fruit of the Loom, and American.com goes to American Airlines. I don't expect you to understand why I own Dollar.link, Fruit.link or American.link, but in my visionary mind, i have my reasons.

Thanks for sticking up for me Nick, but I wouldn't continue to play the domain game if it weren't for experiences like this.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Forgot that thread is 17 pages long. It still makes for a perplexing read. I think, like many of us we read Richards posts with a sense of puzzlement. Certainly an eloquent speaker/writer but someone who doesn't need the registry hype when he can create imaginary scenarios in his own head.

I would love to see you pull one great sale out of all those imaginary great domains as a kind of repayment for all those bewildering but fascinating posts, they in themselves have become an addictive read dare I admit.

I'm still struggling with all that Chocolate.link is a winner, not to mention the wine stuff, realty etc. I was hoping to read that many of these registrations were $1 promos but that doesn't seem to be the case at-all which makes it an even more painful read.

The other element that keeps raising its head is this apparent need for collaboration, partnership or support from those who's only interest is selling you domains, Surely you must realise there is no leverage to be gained for them in partnering with, dare I say, ill thought out investment strategies.

I acknowledge your mentions of past (pre-domain) acumens.

Bailey.....you may understand me better than any of my critics. Actually the folks at Nova Registry were trying to discourage me from buying too many of the .LINK domains? And they really didn't seem to want my help to help them grow the .link extension? I find that very puzzling, but maybe someone else following this could share their thoughts.

Bailey....i paid just $118 for Chocolate.link and even Jeff Gabriel (CEO @ SAW.com) felt it had potential. At the time the owners of Chocolate.com were asking well over a million dollars for it. I see now someone (GOATfoods.com) must have bought it? Seriously Bailey, if you can't see why I might have invested $118 in Chocolate.link when Chocolate.com sold for over a million dollars you'll never understand my strategy/thinking.

Thanks for commenting Bailey

 

[ThatNameGuy]

The thing about nTLD domains is that they have to make sense as a whole. What's a "bicycle link" or "American link"?

Seriously.....what's a "Bicycle com" or "American com" ......if you go to AmericanLink.com you may understand the thinking behind American.link....hopefully

 

[Grego85]

Seriously.....what's a "Bicycle com" or "American com" ......if you go to AmericanLink.com you may understand the thinking behind American.link....hopefully

You still don't seem to have learned anything, that's the saddest part.

Especially the plan on renewals. I remember when you went on the .online binge and when I and others tried to help you understand about renewals and how they would burry you, and you told me "Dont you Understand?? Renewals are negotiable!!" in a quite condescending and dismissive way as per usual, and even as you continue to do in this thread.
You really thought you were going to deal directly with the owners of the .online registry and get them to subsidize your hand regging venture, and you really thought this was realistic. Crazy.

Then with .Link, you made the same silly assumption again, and have the audacity to play it like you really had something to offer and a realistic plan. You are domain drunk or something man, and you can keep making dumb mistakes all you want, but please quit with this condescending and pompous attitude. You have no domaining career and its time for you to realize that.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

You still don't seem to have learned anything, that's the saddest part.

Especially the plan on renewals. I remember when you went on the .online binge and when I and others tried to help you understand about renewals and how they would burry you, and you told me "Dont you Understand?? Renewals are negotiable!!" in a quite condescending and dismissive way as per usual, and even as you continue to do in this thread.
You really thought you were going to deal directly with the owners of the .online registry and get them to subsidize your hand regging venture, and you really thought this was realistic. Crazy.

Then with .Link, you made the same silly assumption again, and have the audacity to play it like you really had something to offer and a realistic plan. You are domain drunk or something man, and you can keep making dumb mistakes all you want, but please quit with this condescending and pompous attitude. You have no domaining career and its time for you to realize that.

Grego85.....when i go to Sweet.Domains, is that actually you? My friend Bob Hawkes just started a thread titled; "What is it that Domainers Do?", and here's the first thing he said,

"Domainers create names. They come up with names that were never used before, they combine words in clever ways, merge words, or alter spelling. While a domain name is much shorter than a poem, in a broad sense it is similar, saying or suggesting something in a short form. Those who create names are similar in some ways, not all, to poets, artists, crafters, and composers."

So how do you fit that description Grego? Check out my response to Bob and tell me again how, "you/i have no domaining career and it's time for you/me to realize that"

 

[Lox]

Outbound, outbound, outbound, even if 95% of those leads won’t contact you back …

Understanding the process of building a network step by step will help you sell - via recommendations. Outbound works only inside the network / ecosystem (XwX / IKSWKS I know somebody who knows somebody).

Regards

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Understanding the process of building a network step by step will help you sell - via recommendations. Outbound works only inside the network / ecosystem (XwX / IKSWKS I know somebody who knows somebody).

Regards

I believe"Outbound, outbound, outbound" will work IF i could just find the time. The Linkedin network would be perfect for targeting industry specific domains.

By recommendations i suppose you mean referrals......thanks for the REMINDER!

 

[maksimfa]

Seeing your post reminded me of when I was young, stupid and naive and invested in a bunch of .pics and .photo domains... and then I was dumb and stupid and forgot the auto-renewal went through and I had a bill for $2k....

.link has a few uses but dude, some of those names in the other topic, just don't make much sense.

.link is very specialized, like .pics, etc... while I can see it being used for a link shortener aka no_url_shorteners etc... beyond that, it just does not make sense.

Hopefully someone buys a few names and you don't lose your shirt...

 

[bmugford]

I believe"Outbound, outbound, outbound" will work IF i could just find the time. The Linkedin network would be perfect for targeting industry specific domains.

By recommendations i suppose you mean referrals......thanks for the REMINDER!

After reading your first post, I was hoping you learned something and were going to course correct onto a better path.

After reading the last few posts, I think that is clearly not the case.

The same thing repeats in extension after extension.

Maybe what you are offering to registries, partners, etc. is just not as valuable as you think it is.

If you want to outbound do outbound. You already know the domains don't sell themselves.

If you don't, that is a lack of priorities or just an excuse.

Brad

 

[Joe N]

Rich, if you still believe in the .link extension, then hopefully you'll hang onto some of the better single word terms that don't carry a premium renewal. I think that's really the key when it comes to the ngTLD names. Limit your exposure to only the top tier names and avoid premium renewals. Swetha taught us all that lesson (whether those sales are legit or not), and it's a valuable one.

Personally, I think this is a great opportunity for you to make a plan for your next area of focus before investing money into more domains. Why not pick one of your interesting business ideas and see it through? Take the next $15K you might have spent on names and invest in some development work to have a website built.

 

[maksimfa]

btw @ThatNameGuy , in the other topic you were super excited about .link for linkedin people...

Have you heard of .Pro? lol. Pro is better than Link for those users....

We also had a bunch of people excited about that... but .Pro largely turned into a Pro Bust...

Outside of a few European countries where it was popular.... Germany, Russia, it largely went nowhere despite being a great sounding name... Plumbing.Pro , Marketing.Pro etc.

The large reality is, the majority of these new extensions is nothing more than a way from registrars and tld creators to separate you from your money.

They build up the hype , throw up a few big sales to get newbies excited and then the registrations come in.

the problem is, you then have to educate your buyers... who in turn have to educate their customers that there exist more than .com and .org

I own a portfolio of about 100 high quality names, and a good amount of them are developed. Only 2 or 3 of them are not .com, and 1 of them is a link shortner, and the other is a .org we use for our hosting nameserver. All of the developed sites are .com because that is what our customers and their customers expect.

 

[Joe N]

They build up the hype , throw up a few big sales to get newbies excited and then the registrations come in.

the problem is, you then have to educate your buyers... who in turn have to educate their customers that there exist more than .com and .org

So true. Here's one in Ontario that does a lot of radio ads. Full marketing campaign to make sure you remember the "dot buzz":

https://www.mosquito.buzz/

Great name, though! One of the few that fit that extension well.

 

[bmugford]

So true. Here's one in Ontario that does a lot of radio ads. Full marketing campaign to make sure you remember the "dot buzz":

https://www.mosquito.buzz/

Great name, though! One of the few that fit that extension well.

Then you have the marketing hit jobs on domainers, from the latest registry selling some nonsense.

.BEST comes to mind.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/how-to-make-a-7-digits-domain-sale.1127458

Sucker some domain investors, mainly noobs, with a bunch of fluff...then disappear.

Despite all the excitement, the extension has 26 reported sales in the last (3) years for $20K total.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/what-are-your-best-domain-names.1126251/

Overpromise and underdeliver. It happens over and over with new extensions.

Brad

 

[maksimfa]

So true. Here's one in Ontario that does a lot of radio ads. Full marketing campaign to make sure you remember the "dot buzz":

https://www.mosquito.buzz/

Great name, though! One of the few that fit that extension well.

As with all of the extensions, there are definitely opportunities there... but let's be honest... if that company would be able to register Mosquito.com.... would they even bother with .buzz? as an end user, is it .buz or .buzz? Just too much to education customers.

Of course there are always good examples where these tlds can work...

wedding.pics
plumbing.pro
hunting.pro
etc...

Basically two word search terms that can be made into one word + extension.

But thankfullness.link is just stupid... and majority of these type names will never be in use.

even with direct search... it is no guarantee it will work out.

Most recent example was when .realty was launched on Epik. I thought it would be a bit different so I registered about 30 location.realty names of popular MSAs.

Did a ton of outbound emails and calls... and in the year of the promo pricing... sold exactly ZERO.
Let them all lapse.

At the same time, I had a mid $x,xxx offer and sold a Name+Realty.com domain. lol.

Don't get me wrong, .Link sounds cool and I can think of a few uses, but no way in hell would I pay $150 or more to register a renew a name I would be sitting on and majority of users would not want to touch.

$10? Maybe
$2? Sure... but then drop it if you don't sell it.

Paying $150 for a name to register... guess what? The registry just found a way to cut out the domainer and sell directly to the end user/customer.... and that is YOU.