TPP $1 .net.au extravaganza (not)
- Thread starter nt81
- Start date
Cooper Mills DomainLawyer
Top Contributor
There are a number of registrars who will be offering this special - watch this space! It will be a great chance to get a matching .net.au for your .com.au.
If domainers want to own the .net.au of a .com.au I can't see how a one off discount of $19 per domain on the initial purchase (not renewal) would be a deciding factor
But that's consumer behaviour for you. $1 looks like an absolute bargain!
Something similar lured me once upon a time when I registered about 10 domains through Yahoo as part of their $1 initial registration offer. Turned into a big headache trying to move them away and ended up paying an inflated price for the first year renewal.
End result of this is a kind of Pavlov's Dog reaction to offers of $1 domain names: I immediately check to make sure my wallet is firmly in my pocket and that it's not coming out
But that's consumer behaviour for you. $1 looks like an absolute bargain!
Something similar lured me once upon a time when I registered about 10 domains through Yahoo as part of their $1 initial registration offer. Turned into a big headache trying to move them away and ended up paying an inflated price for the first year renewal.
End result of this is a kind of Pavlov's Dog reaction to offers of $1 domain names: I immediately check to make sure my wallet is firmly in my pocket and that it's not coming out
eBranding.com.au
Top Contributor
I really don't see the value add in getting the .net.au to match my .com.au domains. It's just not an extension that is widely used and if I have the .com.au already - why would I bother?
The .com.au isn't going to bleed traffic to a .net.au. In fact, Drop.com.au declined 'acquiring' the .net.au version of their name on this very forum recently - it wasn't even worth their time or money.
From a development standpoint, I don't think I would ever build a business on a .net.au.
From a domain investor standpoint, they rarely sell and when they do it's super premium terms that sell for a small fraction of what the .com.au equivalent would fetch - so where's the investment opportunity here?
$1 on something that's worth nothing is still a waste of money.
findtim
Top Contributor
just wait for drop.net.au to "drop" and see what bids are placed on NF
hopefully none is my vote and then they can hand reg it.
my view is 3 fold: if i have a great domain then a cheap .net.au hand reg is brand protection, secondly, this is not my idea but i agree with it and thats let the .net.au person do the work and you get the bleed being the owner of the .com.au
but actually buying .net.au and not owning the .com.au is a waste of money and $1 offers THEN regular price after that just leads to more drops IMO
tim
Cooper Mills DomainLawyer
Top Contributor
I agree that this will be great for brand protection. Either way no one is forcing anyone to register a .net.au, if it works for you great, if not then no harm done.
nt81
Top Contributor
Afraid. What exactly do you mean by that?
My main comment is that .net.au is much less popular for obvious reasons. If AusRegistry want to pimp out .net.au domains, I have nothing against it at all. Power to you if this offer helps you protect your brand better.
Most people buying domains are pretty savvy though - at least in my experience, even my more clueless clients are always asking about the .com.au and .com combos before anything else. And I certainly don't market them .net anything unless they want their whole namespace reserved.
$5 .com.au (First time) domain rego would be huge and blitz the crap out of potential .net.au registrations.
It would be interesting to see how the .net.au registrations do over that period next month. I hope that we can see some stats, and there will be a spike. The question is - just how big will it be?
My main comment is that .net.au is much less popular for obvious reasons. If AusRegistry want to pimp out .net.au domains, I have nothing against it at all. Power to you if this offer helps you protect your brand better.
Most people buying domains are pretty savvy though - at least in my experience, even my more clueless clients are always asking about the .com.au and .com combos before anything else. And I certainly don't market them .net anything unless they want their whole namespace reserved.
$5 .com.au (First time) domain rego would be huge and blitz the crap out of potential .net.au registrations.
It would be interesting to see how the .net.au registrations do over that period next month. I hope that we can see some stats, and there will be a spike. The question is - just how big will it be?
eBranding.com.au
Top Contributor
I do own one .net.au, so they don't scare me!
I'm just calling it as I see it, but people can make up their own minds. Your wallet, your decision.
Personally I think it's a waste of money, maybe others will see it as an opportunity and best of luck to them.
I did not express any opinion regarding .net.au's as such. I merely pointed out that if the item on offer is considered to be desirable at the discount introductory offer then why isn't it desirable without this discount introductory offer?
In other words, Item X is for sale it will cost $100 over 10 years it will protect your brand and provide a range of other benefits, but for whatever reason people don't purchase Item X.
Retailer then offers Item X at a special introductory discount of say $19 off the first two years so over 10 years it will cost $81 instead of $100.
Do you think something that wasn't important enough to buy at $100 over 10 years is now worth buying at $81 over 10 years? If that is the case it must not have been worth much to start with.
If someone can make a .net.au work for them then that is great no reason why they can't build a website and drive traffic to it. I just can't see how domain names can magically become attractive at this introductory price point to people wanting them for reasons such as 'protecting their brand'. Maybe they would be attractive to people wanting to test out an idea but still, deciding on this over $19 seems pretty shortsighted.
Summary - if you want a .net.au you should expect to pay the going rate for it and not wait for an introductory offer to make it worth your while to buy.
In other words, Item X is for sale it will cost $100 over 10 years it will protect your brand and provide a range of other benefits, but for whatever reason people don't purchase Item X.
Retailer then offers Item X at a special introductory discount of say $19 off the first two years so over 10 years it will cost $81 instead of $100.
Do you think something that wasn't important enough to buy at $100 over 10 years is now worth buying at $81 over 10 years? If that is the case it must not have been worth much to start with.
If someone can make a .net.au work for them then that is great no reason why they can't build a website and drive traffic to it. I just can't see how domain names can magically become attractive at this introductory price point to people wanting them for reasons such as 'protecting their brand'. Maybe they would be attractive to people wanting to test out an idea but still, deciding on this over $19 seems pretty shortsighted.
Summary - if you want a .net.au you should expect to pay the going rate for it and not wait for an introductory offer to make it worth your while to buy.
auAppraisals
Regular Member
Some registrars are now offering $0 net.au registrations, presumably taking the $1 hit up front in the hope that they'll make a tidy sum in renewals down the track, but I totally agree with @elbranch - even at the lofty price of $25 at registration and every two years thereafter - price is not a real barrier to entry for a real business. And, based on what I've read here, I think I can assume that most think that even FREE registration is not worth the bother for speculative registrations?
I do wonder why AuDA didn't invest the cost of this campaign into changing the perception that net.au is worth less than com.au. This could have increased their registrations of net.au (and generated additional revenue in the process) without potentially reinforcing the perception that net.au domains are rubbish. But, perhaps that's the next campaign. I doubt they will just give up on it as they clearly want to make this work - it could be worth a lot of money to them.
I understand that the perception is that com.au holds much higher value, it would probably be my first choice for a new domain name, and holding both is the best option for brand protection (but not always necessary). However, I think that perception could be changed, and that's what AuDA's trying to do.
Consider abc.net.au for example. Sure, we're not all national broadcasters with very deep pockets to increase brand (domain name) awareness, but they chose to register the net.au 2LD because it was the obvious alternative to (the already registered) abc.com.au. Of course, they may have lost some traffic to ABC.com.au, but people would quickly have learnt the correct domain name; ABC childcare is now gone, and the broadcaster now owns both domains (I think). Would the ABC have been better registering AustralianBroadcastingCorporation.com.au, or TheABC.com.au?
So, the question should really be, is joesplumbing.net.au a better option than joesplumbingsydney.com.au? And would business owners (who are perhaps more flexible in their view of 2LD value and more aware of the benefits of, for example, spelling a shorter domain name over the phone) agree? Sure, you're gonna lose some traffic to the alternative, but this campaign (and presumably future campaigns) will encourage people not to assume the com.au 2LD when typing in or sending an email.
I think the problem here is the relatively trivial of any and all domain registrations, which means many in the industry will be unwilling to invest the effort in working out who would benefit from a shorter, more generic, more applicable net.au than their current com.au.
I do wonder why AuDA didn't invest the cost of this campaign into changing the perception that net.au is worth less than com.au. This could have increased their registrations of net.au (and generated additional revenue in the process) without potentially reinforcing the perception that net.au domains are rubbish. But, perhaps that's the next campaign. I doubt they will just give up on it as they clearly want to make this work - it could be worth a lot of money to them.
I understand that the perception is that com.au holds much higher value, it would probably be my first choice for a new domain name, and holding both is the best option for brand protection (but not always necessary). However, I think that perception could be changed, and that's what AuDA's trying to do.
Consider abc.net.au for example. Sure, we're not all national broadcasters with very deep pockets to increase brand (domain name) awareness, but they chose to register the net.au 2LD because it was the obvious alternative to (the already registered) abc.com.au. Of course, they may have lost some traffic to ABC.com.au, but people would quickly have learnt the correct domain name; ABC childcare is now gone, and the broadcaster now owns both domains (I think). Would the ABC have been better registering AustralianBroadcastingCorporation.com.au, or TheABC.com.au?
So, the question should really be, is joesplumbing.net.au a better option than joesplumbingsydney.com.au? And would business owners (who are perhaps more flexible in their view of 2LD value and more aware of the benefits of, for example, spelling a shorter domain name over the phone) agree? Sure, you're gonna lose some traffic to the alternative, but this campaign (and presumably future campaigns) will encourage people not to assume the com.au 2LD when typing in or sending an email.
I think the problem here is the relatively trivial of any and all domain registrations, which means many in the industry will be unwilling to invest the effort in working out who would benefit from a shorter, more generic, more applicable net.au than their current com.au.
auAppraisals
Regular Member
Further to what I've said above (apologies if I'm rambling), but once you convince Joe the Plumber that joesplumbing.net.au is better than joesplumbingsydney.com.au, he (Joe) becomes part of the army of people that start to reinforce the notion that net.au is of equal value to com.au. He does the marketing for you.
This promotion represents real opportunities, IMO, and I've been really surprised by what I've read on DNTrade and within the general domainer community.
This promotion represents real opportunities, IMO, and I've been really surprised by what I've read on DNTrade and within the general domainer community.
Personally..I think the $1 idea blows. Devalues the .net.au brand of any worth it had. Take a look at what happens when domains are given away at stupid prices..
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2138752
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2138752
I'd hope it wouldn't be as easy to turn off. ;-)
My point is all about lowering the perceived "value" of the extension.
The .net.au has always been a slow extension.
IMO- If ausreg and auda wanted to really push some new registrations in .au, they could help open up the top level of .au and give current .com.au holders first dibs at full market prices..
My point is all about lowering the perceived "value" of the extension.
The .net.au has always been a slow extension.
IMO- If ausreg and auda wanted to really push some new registrations in .au, they could help open up the top level of .au and give current .com.au holders first dibs at full market prices..
