.au land boom starts 1 June 2008
From 1 June 2008, an .au domain name can be marketed and sold to an eligible third party by its current license holder.
Australia’s Internet domain authority, auDA, has finally ended the anticipation that has been building since news of the policy change was announced in early March.
Key features of the new policy are as follows:
• it will not be allowable to register a domain name for the sole purpose of resale or transfer to a third party
• registrants will not be able to transfer their domain name for the first 6 months after the initial registration (this does not apply to domain names that have been renewed or previously transferred)
• after 6 months, registrants will be able to offer their domain name for sale/transfer by any means (eg. by listing the domain name for sale on a domain brokerage website, advertising the domain name for sale in a newspaper, or contacting a prospective buyer directly)
• the new registrant must comply with normal eligibility and allocation rules
• registrant transfers will be processed by the registrar of record using a standard transfer form, and the registrar may charge a transfer fee
• parties to a transfer will be asked to disclose the sale method and price, on a voluntary and confidential basis, so that auDA may collect aggregated statistical data to improve access to market information for buyers and sellers.
Above guidelines extracted from http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-14042008/
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Whether this is cause for celebration or the onset of more online worries, let’s review what some industry experts have commented in the past months in the media.
“There are lots of people with Australian domain names they’re not using, and would like to sell and there’ll be nothing to stop them selling them on eBay, if they like. Once the public learns about it, we think it’ll be quite popular. We’re expecting a fair volume of changes going back and forth between us and the registrars … it’ll be a largely automated process.” Simon Delzoppo, AusRegistry, The coming dot.au property boom, www.theage.com.au, 26 February 2008.
“I see it as a pure real estate. If you think of buying domain names as like buying land, then what you are buying is ‘traffic’ - or the number of people who are coming to visit that site. That might be because they’ve typed a guess at the domain name directly into their browser, or come via a search engine or even got there by clicking on links from other sites. But what you’re paying for is the value of the traffic. And compared to the US sites the sites using Australian domain names don’t attract anywhere near the same level of traffic.” Joshua Rowe, Australia Post executive and auDA board member, The coming dot au property boom, www.theage.com.au, 26 February 2008.
“When this change comes into effect we can expect to see a mini “land boom” with speculators grabbing names they think are likely to be worth something. So right now it’s a good investment to spend a hundred dollars claiming your domain name. If you have a good business or product name and you haven’t yet registered the domain to go with it, get your skates on.” Paul Wallbank, Beat the domain name gold rush, www.smartcompany.com.au, 8 April 2008.
To protect your business from competitors and domain name speculators, it is recommended that you secure relevant domain names in the .au space.
Need Help?
- Call Melbourne IT on 1300 793 248 (Int’l call +61 3 8624 2492) for expert advice
- Order a FREE Online Brand Protection Report
- Register your .au names online and save
Useful links
- Domain Name Registration
- How to name a good domain
- Covet thy neighbour’s domain guilt-free
- eFinance driving premium names
- Hot property online
April 18th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
This is good news. Its about time auDA realised that a free market for domain names will improve everyones online business.
Having a good quality domain name makes doing business online and offline so much easier and there are big advantages from a branding, SEO and traffic point of view.
Regards,
Graeme
April 19th, 2008 at 5:23 am
hello I would like to register the http://www.propertygallery.au domain name as well as the domain names sarong .au and seaside.au please reply with prices and confirmation of availability all 3 are registerd trademarks and trading names of business that are functioning in Australia.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
That’s great news for the .au domain industry. No doubt we’ll see an increase in new registrations as a result.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
This is not a good thing. When you look at how hard it is to find a good .com domain name it is easy to see how this will have the same effect in Australia.
By loosening the rules governing domain name registration it is making it easier for hijackers to buy up domains and virtually blackmail the companies who wish to use a name into paying them far over the odds.
The biggest plus with .com.au’s is that they are relatively protected. Slowly but surely we are heading down the .com path where you will end up having to pay thousands for a domain name.
I am not an advocate of monopolies but when MelbourneIT had sole control of domain names it was a very straight forward system and you could find a good domain name. Changes like this are a definite backward step and will let in the low lifes.
Our business has worked with thousands of online businesses both here in Australia and around the world over the years and the randomness of domain names being used on sites that we are working with is increasing dramatically.
I understand that the more people online means less domain names available. But allowing an open market on domain names has allowed hijackers to buy up any variation of a good name very cheaply.
My 2 cents
Regards
Cam Flanigan
May 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
It’s bad news for small businesses and those trying to start out. Now, just like with the .COM domains, everything will be snapped up and they’ll want thousands for a domain name that is not even being used.
Wholesale purchase of domain names for profit will harm those who can’t affort to pay the greedy cashed up middlemen intent on further profit.
Another blow to all but big business and the already-wealthy.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I think its good news. A point for the last 2 comments is the registrant must still be Australian and have the relevant business name required for the domain so I dont see the spammers will do much damage there.
It means if I was lucky enough to be eligible to own a great name, I can market it myself and make money or sell it off to somebody who will take advantage of it.
I own two great names that I haven’t done much with but wouldn’t sell any of them under a million
As I must be an Aussie to own the names in the first place then ONLY Aussies will benefit.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I think it is good news. I have several generic 2 and 3 letter domains that were started up with (and still running after 7-10 years) good intentions and reasons. These sites have been operating since last millenium, and were never intended (when registered) to be sold off.
However, I have moved interstate, and the sites I now have for sale are websites that I can no longer maintain, or have secured more generic or geographical relevant addresses.
I notice most of the arguments against the open market are presumptions on what may happen in the future, however they do not argue for/against existing holders with long standing domains - what is your stand there? I think I have been very fair registering a domain name with good intentions years ago, and now I have an asset thats worth something.
I suppose it is not dissimiliar to being a member of the NRMA, and when they decided to go onto the stock market, all its members and insurance holders received money. Its just being in the right place at the right time.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I don’t see how creating liquidity in this market can be a bad thing.
As Graeme noted “Having a good quality domain name makes doing business online and offline so much easier and there are big advantages from a branding, SEO and traffic point of view.”
If a business can’t see the value in buying/registering a quality domain name then they are already at a disadvantage against competitors who understand the benefits associated with a memorable and/or descriptive domain.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I think you guys have misunderstood what is happening here. .au registrations will still have to abide by the eligibility rules that have prevented the free-for-all that blights the .com domain. All that this change will allow is for domain owners to sell domains that they have legitimately registered. Buying up myriad domains for the sole purpose of selling them for a profit will still not be possible as eligibility rules will apply.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Fantastic news. I registered a generic .com.au domain and have been using it. I could up to now sell my domain name, but only if I sold the business lock, stock. Now I can keep my business, sell my domain name which I value greatly (as Peter K says, around the $1M mark) and still keep my business and internet capability by registering a new, but non-generic domain name. Business is about making smart investments, and I believe I’ve done that!
May 19th, 2008 at 1:41 am
I just wish i could have bought even more generic australian domain names. Why waste time in the office “working” when you can get money from your parked domain names.. I hope prices for .com.au domain names really go through the roof (although i doubt they will).
All the people who are complaining that someone is going to make a lot off money from domain names are just being naive. It’s like realestate … there are those people who have it… and those who don’t.
My suggestion is to stop complaining and go out and get some good domains (although sadly most are gone). Park them, and then get a small passive income from them. That will get you farther then bitching… because at the end of the day, no one cares about your bitching anyway… so you might as well try to do something constructive with your time.
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I have held several generic automotive domains (.com and .au) for several years, that relate to the specific services offered by the core business and website.
A couple are very desirable, but to be honest - I believe that the 30% commission put forward by Melbourne IT is a preposterous amount compared to any mainstream consignment selling channel.
10% sure, but 30% is going to throttle this as an avenue of choice. An ad in the weekend paper linked to eBay should do it, if that is the fee being put forward.
June 10th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Too true Mark J.
I have a little bit of a problem with the ‘free listing’ quoted on the website. While technically it is free to be listed, you must read go thru all the Terms and Conditions which say that MelbIT will charge you 30% if it is sold, and that they have exclusive marketing rights. This is disappointing as I am getting quite a few enquiries thru a Google campaign, which is showing my ads in not only searches, but also in all the relevant forums and advice sites.
Sure, MelbIT will provide great exposure and a central place for .au domain name sales, but maybe a sliding scale with the commissions should be seriously looked at.
MelbIT continues to call the .au domain market ‘Real Estate’ then maybe domain names that can command a ‘Real Estate’ price should only be charged Real Estate sized commissions, not Used Car Salesmans commissions?
There should be a fixed agreed amount (due to processing costs), and then a sliding scale, say 30% up to 10K, and then sliding down to 10% for sales over $100K. I don’t see the value of paying MelbIT my (possible) commission of around $100K when they are doing the same amount of time and plugging everyone elses domain, for maybe a commission of $30?
If a Real Estate Agent is trying to sell a $1M property, they may spend $25K advertising the property, where as they wouldn’t spend $25K trying to flog a $50K property. The same should apply to Domain Real Estate.
Maybe there has been enough comment around for another business to see an opportunity to provide the same services, but for a fairer commission on high price domains? The first to do that will end up being the premium trader of domains, and the others will end up trying to sell the rest.