Donuts drives domainers out of the New gTLD domain name game

I checked exactly 115 domain names from the 5 Donuts New gTLDs that entered Early Access Program Program (EAP) pricing this week: .house, .coffee, .international, .florist and .solar.

From these 115 domains I am only after 1 (one) domain name. That is because all domains are either taken in sunrise (some with bogus trademarks), either are in the collision list, reserved by Donuts, blocked by DPML or are marked as premium with renewals ranging from $50 up to $500 per year.

Here are the 115 domains :

2 were registered in sunrise (wedding.florist, london.florist: Wedding.florist is using this bogus trademark from that company that bought 30+ Swiss trademarks for “pens”)
3 domains have a DPML block (e.g. office.house)
74 are either on the collision list or reserved by Donuts
35 are Premium with renewals ranging from $50 up to $500 per year. (irish.coffee, turkish.coffee, instant.coffee, Cappuccino.coffee all have renewals at about $500/year – power.solar, energy.solar, black.coffee, tree.house, business.international are reserved)
1 domain has regular pricing

As it turns out I will only be going after that 1 domain that has regular pricing.

Also in previous weeks I had at least 10-15 domains that I would leave for the general availability day. This week I have none.

The way this goes I think that this is how it is going to be with the next Donuts New gTLDs. The deals from the first few New gTLDs are long gone. All god domains are either reserved or have premium renewals that range from $50 up to thousands of dollars per year.

So Donuts has officially drove the domainers out of the New gTLD game. Let’s see what happens with the New gTLDs from other companies that are coming up in the next few months.

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About Konstantinos Zournas

I studied Computer Engineering and Computer Science in London, UK and I am now living in Athens, Greece. I went online in 1995, started coding in 1996 and began buying domain names and creating websites in 2000. I started the OnlineDomain.com blog in 2012.

34 comments

  1. I am sorry to tell you people bogus trademark claims for companies essentially weeks old are gaming the system. Donuts is to busy counting money, to even figure out that most of it’s better terms are being gamed.

    Things are fun right now, wait till the other parties come to town.

    These gtlds are looking like one big cash grab, sad and stupid, take a pass.

  2. Columbian.coffee is available, but for $799 a year on Godaddy. Sumatra.Coffee is available for $199 a year on Godaddy.

    There are some decent names still available for $39.99 like FrenchRoast.Coffee, but you are going to have a much lower ROI when you sell them.

    As a domainer, you can: (1) pay the higher price and buy fewer domains, and hope you can sell them in a year or two for a good ROI (it’s a gutsy move), or (2) pick up some of the domains that are available for $39.99 like FrenchRoast.Coffee and DarkRoast.Coffee and just accept the fact that your profit margin is going to be lower.

    You can also save a lot of money in registration fees using Uniregistry, and I am not making a single penny for saying so. I checked it out yesterday and the prices are a lot cheaper than Godaddy. Like any software, it has a learning curve. Domainers are just going to have to open it up and learn to use it. The speed at which you can search the availability of different domains is awesome.

  3. “You can also save a lot of money in registration fees using Uniregistry, and I am not making a single penny for saying so. I checked it out yesterday and the prices are a lot cheaper than Godaddy.”

    Funny you picked the registrar with the highest prices to compare to Uniregistry and left out the cheaper ones.

  4. I was going to register.
    yuban.coffee
    maxwellhouse.coffee
    folgers.coffee
    I wonder if i will have any problems with these, they are available…lol.

    • *

      Brand, you are obviously a newb at this game, so the answer is NO!

      Avoid registering someone else’s brand.

      It’s called “cybersquatting” and could sink you into legal problems, besides giving yourself a bad reputation.

      The new gTLDs are particularly prone to drawing out the ire of trademark owners.

      Read up in this industry before registering domains.

      You’ll save yourself a lot grief and money.

      *

      • @Ms domainer, thanks for the advice, but it was a joke.
        I have been around for a bit in this game and with all the udrp’s going around with the new extensions, just though people would find the humor in my comment.
        So you think..
        puma.shoes
        nike.shoes..would be out of the question as well..lol.

        But thanks for your help anyway..

      • *

        Good to hear that.

        However, humor doesn’t always translate well in text, and, unfortunately, there ARE newbs out there who might take you up on that and reg such names.

        🙂

        *

      • If one wanted to have a site about the best and worst ways to make Folgers coffee, or how to make great sand castles out of wet Folgers grinds, etc. and were careful to proclaim a lack of affiliation with Folgers, then those would be straightforward, permissible fair uses. If a trademark holder doesn’t get it and there is legitimate fair use value, then take the domain, develop it, and don’t look back. Just don’t create brand confusion and you’re fine.

      • *

        Bruce,

        Good luck with that plan.

        Of course, the minute that a TM link shows up on your site, you can expect an instant URS or a C&D.

        🙂

        So have at it.

        *

      • Well, here is an article with a good, recent breakdown from the final word in California absent a trip the the US Supreme Court, the 9th Circuit. It’s not my “plan,” I’m just stating basic fair-use trademark law.

        http://www.thedomains.com/2010/07/11/federal-court-rules-against-toyota-in-domain-case-buy-a-lexus-com-buyorleaselexus-com/

      • *

        Those kinds of UDRP wins are very rare, and this case could have easily gone against the domain owner and very well might have in today’s climate.

        Most people who register obvious TM’s are newbs who use them for dodgy link farms and minisites.

        So your advice is still poor.

        I recommend that domainers do NOT register such names as Folgers.coffee.

        It would be a fool’s mission.

        *

  5. I’d be creative and try sub-geo and smaller town cities and slang on coffee, Uniregistry.com doesn’t do premiums but they can help you identify registration price names and when you buy through the new affiliate program they are cheapest by far. It doesn’t surprise me that the very best of these are taken but good ones still in between

  6. Donuts, and some of the other registries are really drinking their own Kool-Aid.

    They are miscalculating if they think they can just sell domain investors garbage, and reserve all the best terms for themselves and to sell to end users. I highly doubt there is enough end user interest to carry many of these extensions.

    These registries could be left holding the bag as “Premium” value goes down over time. It has happened with every new extension in the past. How many extensions released in the last 10 years has demand actually gone up after the newly released hype stage? Pretty much none.

    Brad

  7. Guys beware with godaddy its my personal experience whaterver i searched premium or catchy new domains some of them i come across available if i hold for a day to place order either i find it reserved or dpml block i feel godaddy tracking domain search and supporting donuts to block them. Anyone one of you experienced the same on godaddy please share with because i stopped searching for catchy new domains on godaddy

  8. while EAP, i never searched before EAP otherwise i wont post comment here about godaddy domain search tracking initially i ignored but confirmed when i received email from godaddy (subject: Guess what – your domains still available) ( message: YOU SEARCHED FOR IT…. Now get it) without domain search tracking how godaddy will send email about the domains what i searched. If you want i attach email received print shot

  9. Warning: looks like they have put up the renewal fees on all but the cheapest of domains. So if you register one for say $129 or $69, that is also your renewal. Last week it was cheaper. Or at least I hope it was 🙂

  10. ^^ the funny time is def over

    • same with .club
      i was happy as i heard about it .. coooool .. so many matches
      music.club fashion.club swiss.club sport.club science.club and thousands more

      but then .. all was reserved -.-

  11. I registered god.domains,jesus.domains and jesuschrist.domains Should I sell?

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