Defensive Domains Are They Worth It?

Just want to canvas the thoughts of other members on this topic

Having bought the .Com & Co.uk, I also bought the .Tel and one or two other extensions.

As I'm not a multinational it didn't make much sense to buy them all (or most of them) I just bought the ones that were on Special Offer.

This has turned out to be a Mega Mistake because after I'd had them for a year the registrars Hiked the price right through the roof.

Leaving me with a Cash Cow that I could do without!

I won't be making that mistake anytime soon, with my biggest regret being the purchase of a defensive Telname, which I no longer want or need because I have a Main Website.

Are there any dangers in the dropping of a defensive domain?

In doing so am I giving someone the right to use it in Competition with me or Trade on my name?

What makes matters worse is that this name is so far undiscovered, so if I drop a defensive, would I not be leading the competition in the direction of what I consider a little crock of gold, as it is a great name.

Orangeblossom wrote:What makes matters worse is that this name is so far undiscovered, so if I drop a defensive, would I not be leading the competition in the direction of what I consider a little crock of gold, as it is a great name.

It's difficult for anyone to make an informed comment without knowing what the domain name is !

Remember that with 1000+ new gTLDs about to be launched going defensive could get very expensive.

I currently have just 1 domain name (awaiting a future development project) where I have registered ALL the main extensions - I find for most sites owning the .COM (and perhaps the .CO as well) is by far the the most important thing, with .TEL being used for long-tail subdomain-based SEO that also generates AdSense revenue.

Check out http://Domains123.tel & http://www.Domains123.com to see what I mean.

http://MikeSeaton.tel

Yes Mike you are so right! going defensive is getting very expensive and now with the prospect of an increase in the price of a Telname, which I don't want, do not need but at the same time dare not drop its costing a considerable sum of money.

When I think that every day for the past four years, I've paid out cash to registrars I want to shoot myself for being so stupid!

It got to the point where I was actually scared to add it up! but wanting to start the New Year off I thought I had better 'man up' and go for it.

45 Grand and counting! its not something I'm proud of but can anyone beat that?

The only thing that keeps me going 'or should that be spending' is that if you get lucky, things could turn out alright (or maybe not!)

IMHO everybody needs to register defensive domains only for TLD that matters.
That would be .com and every ccTLD of the countries your business will be present.
.org could be helpful too if you own a global organization.
Global players should register .net and .co and every TLD where other people could try to harm you too, but I assume you are not that big.
If .tel would provide name dialing, registering .tel would be a requirement too, but there are no signs for that yet.
.com and .co.uk should be enough for you!

Expert wrote:IMHO everybody needs to register defensive domains only for TLD that matters.
That would be .com and every ccTLD of the countries your business will be present.
.org could be helpful too if you own a global organization.
Global players should register .net and .co and every TLD where other people could try to harm you too, but I assume you are not that big.
If .tel would provide name dialing, registering .tel would be a requirement too, but there are no signs for that yet.
.com and .co.uk should be enough for you!

Very wise words Expert and I am obviously playing the kind of game that I can no longer afford.

If I had only known from the start how these Registrars reel you in with their 'Special Offers' I would not have touched them with a Barge Pole.

Whenever I registered a name, I would also automatically buy all these so called 'Special Offers' unaware of the fact that in a years time, they would jack the price up.

Of course once they have lured you into their baited trap they shut the door and know that it will take you nerves of Steel to drop those extra extensions.

So unless its something very, very, special, it's better to never have bought them in the first place.

Orangeblossom wrote:45 Grand and counting! its not something I'm proud of but can anyone beat that?

Hopefully you will be able to recover some or all of this with the sale of a premium .com ?

I still can't get over how what appears to be a very average domain GamesForGirls.com sold for a massive $500,000 on 23 February 2011 (see entry 9 on http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2011/2011-final-ytd-sales-charts.htm).

That sale gives hope to all who own premium .coms !

http://MikeSeaton.tel

mikeseaton wrote:

Orangeblossom wrote:45 Grand and counting! its not something I'm proud of but can anyone beat that?

Hopefully you will be able to recover some or all of this with the sale of a premium .com ?

I still can't get over how what appears to be a very average domain GamesForGirls.com sold for a massive $500,000 on 23 February 2011 (see entry 9 on http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2011/2011-final-ytd-sales-charts.htm).

That sale gives hope to all who own premium .coms !

http://MikeSeaton.tel

Hi Mike

That is an Awesome find and is the only reason that I'm still in the game!

I cannot believe that something so bland can sell for so much money!

I'm sure we've all got better ones than that.

But and this is the 'killer' question. How did they market that name to get such a price.

I cannot imagine an Auction Site putting something like that in a Premium Auction, why? because its not a normal word, which seems to be the entry level criteria together with an absurdly low reserve.

So over to you Mike, How did they find that buyer?

Solve that question for us and then we can all go home happy!

Orangeblossom wrote:So over to you Mike, How did they find that buyer?

Solve that question for us and then we can all go home happy!

It was sold by Sedo, so probably it was a brokerage sale rather than an auction, particularly as it went for a round $500,000.

Here's the link to apply for a Sedo brokerage sale - I imagine they are pretty selective over what they take on.

Good Luck !

http://MikeSeaton.tel

mikeseaton wrote:

Orangeblossom wrote:So over to you Mike, How did they find that buyer?

Solve that question for us and then we can all go home happy!

It was sold by Sedo, so probably it was a brokerage sale rather than an auction, particularly as it went for a round $500,000.

Here's the link to apply for a Sedo brokerage sale - I imagine they are pretty selective over what they take on.

Good Luck !

http://MikeSeaton.tel

It does seem a little bit involved with all the terms and conditions, as one of the potentially Hottest names I have has no traffic at all!

Its time to start thinking out of the box, there must be a better way?