How long until Domaining really takes off in Australia?

[Jonathan]

Even though we've seen evidence of quite a bit of growth over the last year, both right here on this forum, and also with services like Netfleet and Drop who seem to be doing more and more turnover with every passing month, compared to the US and UK markets we are still waaaay behind (even after you account for population differences).

On this forum, for example, even though there are 'officially' 242 members, there are probably at most a dozen of us that post on a regular or semi-regular basis, and DNTrade is not only the leading, but pretty much the only domaining forum in Australia. In the UK (which has roughly three times the population of Australia), the leading forum has over 8000 members, and the leading US forum has over 150,000!

My point is, domaining and development are still very much 'on the fringe'. 99% of Australian businesses don't understand the importance of a strong domain name, and most people would have absolutely no idea what a 'domainer' even was.

How long until domaining in Australia hits the mainstream? Will it ever?

 

[paz]

I feel when it is open to non ABN holders, when you dont need to age a domain for 6 months, and when good keyword domains (including .net.au's) are all registered therefore only available resale.

Also when you buy a domain and dont have to worry about the auDA taking it off you!

 

[Data Glasses]

I feel when it is open to non ABN holders, when you dont need to age a domain for 6 months, and when good keyword domains (including .net.au's) are all registered therefore only available resale.

Also when you buy a domain and dont have to worry about the auDA taking it off you!

well said paz , some domains i dont mention here because of big brother !

 

[FirstPageResults]

well said paz , some domains i dont mention here because of big brother !

same here. maybe we could have a restricted forum for senior members to discuss sensitive topics?

 

[DavidL]

The 6 months restriction does impede growth and there's no real point to it except to appease the people who were protesting that the trading of domains would be detrimental to the domain space.

18 months on, I think even the doomsayers would have to admit that things haven't gone spiralling into commercial anarchy but that a small legitimate industry has been created and has only benefitted the namespace.

Every undeveloped name that has been sold & developed is a slight improvement to the .au namespace and something that can only happen through trading.

The next step should be to abolish this 6 month period. It serves no purpose except to occassionally frustrate and confuse legitimate buyers & sellers.

Imagine buying land to be told you can't sell it for a period of time??? It doesn't make sense.

An across the board reduction in retail registrant transfer fees would also help things move along. Most people on this board can probably get a deal but for the one-off buyer, looking at MIT's published price of $339, they are going to think twice.

But saying all that, the industry & awareness is growing. We'll get there I have no doubt

 

[Lorenzo]

Till AUDA is what it is, you can bet is likely after Aussies stop drinking beer...

 

[Max]

It's not going to get much better than it allready is .. only the aftermarket prices can get and will get better over time .. the public .. Joe Everbody cannot buy a Au domain nor trade-in/deal-in Au domains without an ABN number .. that is not going to change any time soon .. so your opportunites are severely restricted to commercial end-users or domainer to domainer sales .. the general public has no interest nor are they exposed to domain names in the Au space .. we dont have a godaddy.com type of company in Aus running $3 million ads at the super bowl .. what good would that do even if possible if the general public cannot even register a .com.au domain name ...

 

[djuqa]

STOP thinking that Aussie domaining is some $2 hobby where you buy 89cent .info's from Godaddy & resell for $10Million on eBAY

Start applying real business planning to the equation.


auDA specifies ABN/ACN/TM as the 3 most common Ownership criteria

1/ ACN Setup your own company online for Approx. $500 (As I did)
(takes as little as 20 minutes)
a Pty Ltd. now only requires 1 director and very little paperwork.
Best if SERIOUS Domainer and the company can be used for other purposes.

2/ ABN Apply for one FREE online only needs your Tax File Number
to obtain one as a SOLE Trader.
(Only takes minutes)
Best if buying only a few domains.

3/ TM apply online for $430 (in 3 sep. parts) for your Brandable TM
(Takes 5-7 months but gives you TM for brand for 10 years)
BEST if getting domain as part of business or brand promotion.


So as you can see not hard for someone to choose the option that is most applicable.
Stop whinging about only businesses can buy .au names and work within the system by becoming a business.


If you want auDA to make changes, then become a member of auDA and vote for the changes at their meetings.
I DID, whats your excuse not too?

 

[Max]

**I DID, whats your excuse not too?**

I guess that comment is refering to me ? frankly i dont give a s**t .. i am not into selling Au domain names .. i have only ever purchased one name on the aftermarket (privately) for a hefty sum ... thats now a website ...

I am just telling those who might want to know/agree or disagree my thoughts on the Au space ... i have had Au domains since pre-99 .. these are/were website businesses .. i make my living from selling my product on Au websites ...

I do have a number of .com's and have done since 99 some of these are working websites but most are PPC and affiliate sites/names these i sell and trade-in on the aftermarket ...

As for Au .. in my case it is for business not trading in ... so the existing rules and regulations dont bother me .. the relaxation of the PPC rules and the ability to buy and sell .com.au was a help to me making it possible to aquire the later domain names that i did aquire in the Au space .. i am still trying to buy a couple of names that are listed on Netfleet but they are well over priced by the owners ... so far

By the way i did submit an extensive submission to AUDA when input was called for to free up the Au space ... most of the issues i raised have come to pass ... other people had far more infulence than i did .. those working behind the scenes ...

But having said that your comments above are factual if some one wants to be a serious contender in the Au domain space ...