Monday, January 15, 2018

New Sections for the Catalog

We have recently added some new sections to our catalog. Please check them out, and we hope you find what you are looking for!

Catalog image for NamesThat.win domain names

New Sections

  • Blockchain and crypto-currencies (okay we finally got on the blockchain and crypto bandwagon, at least with a few domain names!)
  • Family Life (most of these domain names are also in another section, but we wanted a section promoting family activities)
  • Fun (every website needs a section devoted to good family-friendly fun, right!)
  • Makerspaces (for those who are members of the vibrant maker community, and those who support them)
  • Psychology (especially positive psychology and mental health)
  • Shopping (for both store owners and shoppers)
  • Startups (this used to be our Names section, but now expanded and revised)
  • Writers (names for authors, publishers and avid readers; some of these are general, and some are suggestions for book titles and sites)
  • Other (a set of miscellaneous domain names that don’t quite fit in the other categories)
We have expanded most of our other sections. Note that the segment that was called investment is now called finance. The discounted price name section is now called Special Offer; while these are some of our most deeply discounted domain names, we feel that we offer good value in all of our domain names - see the complete list here. Thanks for checking out the new sections, and all of our catalog!


Why Is A Catalog Important?

When you purchase shoes you don't expect to have to paw through them in a pile of different sizes and types; when you buy a house or car you expect the salesperson to efficiently and attractively present the property or vehicle, when you buy online you expect objects to be presented in a way that you can quickly find what you want – why should domain names be different?  We have put a lot of effort into our domain name catalog.  Thanks for checking it out, and as always we welcome your comments and advice.

Friday, January 12, 2018

What Names Will Be Strong in 2018?

I posted some of these thoughts on NamePros the other day, but thought I would refine and expand my thoughts in this post. The original post was in response to a poll about which types of domain names would be popular in 2018. The poll listed crypto, AR, VR, AI and other (I voted other). So what other do I think will be important?

I think it is fair to say that 2017 was the year of Bitcoin and crypto-currencies in general. If you look at the top 100 sales of the year on Namebio, eth.com took third place at $2,000,000 and crytpbank.com and cryptotrade.com are also on the Top 100 of 2017 domain name sales list. The daily Namebio reports for the year indicated many other significant sales throughout the year.

While I think crypto-currencies in general will remain hot in 2018, I think more interest will focus on the underlying blockchain technologies. Blockchain is applicable to much more than just crypto-currencies, and will revolutionize real estate, financial transactions, investing, identity products, international trade, etc. While the prime crypto-currency names will command huge prices, I see a glut of crypto-currency registrations will help cap prices for the run of the mill crypto-currency names.

So what do I think are domain names that will see a big rise in popularity in 2018? On the list below I have after each indicated some of the common hashtags on Twitter and other social media, although of course the list is not complete and there is no real standardization of hashtags. The order that I list them below is not meant to imply relative importance.

(a) Blockchain technology (#blockchain, #BCT) Blockchain is sstock prices on Kodak doubled overnight simply based on an announcement that they would use blockchain technology in image tracking and authentication. I see most of the blockchain attention in .com and .io TLD extensions, although some country codes will also do well and here and there new gTLDs like .trade and .fund may find sales. There will be a mix of modest sales to small startups and big sales to major players.
ociety changing in importance, and I think that good blockchain domain names will sell for large amounts. An indication of blockchain attention is that

(b) Internet of Things (#IoThings, #IOT) The Internet of Things and the general idea of connected plans and projections here. The following article makes some predictions for the Internet of Things.
devices of all kinds will continue to grow. Clever names in good extensions, or brandable options, will find customers. Both .com and .io will be good, some of the country codes, and possibly a bit of traffic in the more generic of the new gTLDs such as .online, .site or .xyz. I think words directly IoT, IoThings, InternetOfThings will sell of course, but even more so ideas that use connected or synonyms in a clever and memorable way. Creativity will pay off for those who can come up with a memorable startup name for the connected era. CISCO is a big player in the Internet of Things - you can find some of their

(c) Nanomaterials (#nano, #nanoscience, #nanomaterials, #nanoparticles, #nanotech, #IONT) While nanotech and nanomaterials have been around for years, I think many of the most exciting applications, in particular building really tiny and smart nanodevices for things like medicine (to precisely deliver pharmaceuticals) and smart material science. More than just experts will begin to combine these two ideas in an Internet of Nanoscale Things. (#IONT). This Scientific American article looks at the transition to nanoscale objects in the Internet of Things. This article looks at IONT from a business perspective. I think that while .com will as always command many of the sales, .io will be very popular in this area perhaps even more than .com. There will be some interest in a few of the new gTLDs, particularly .site, .tech and .science.

(d) Genetic Medicine (#genetic, #DNA, #CRISPR, Both in terms of editing to cure or prevent genetic related diseases using things like CRISPR, and genetics broadly and generally (e.g. consumer things like the ancestry services) is I think the sleeper that no one is talking much about (in the domain community - lots of talk in the world of science and medicine!). Unsure what CRISPR is? Here is a good short article including some potential applications, while this article from New Scientist describes 20 human trials either in place or about to start. I don't think there will not be a huge number of sales, but some of them will be at very good prices. While CRISPR has many applications outside health, I think medical applications will drive most of the domain name interest. The most obvious CRISPR name extensions are held in a few hands currently, only some of which are listed for sale. The golden era for CRISPR domain name sales is still a few years away, but 2018 will see some movement.

(e) Psychology/Healthy Mind (#PositivePsychology, #Happiness, #HappinessAdvantage) The idea of positive psychology was popularized through The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor (see this link to learn more, including links to both the book and TED talk). The essential idea is expressed this way: "When we are positive, our brains become more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive." This means that the first step in becoming more productive is to work on your happiness level. I see various combinations of positive, psychology, happy, happiness and advantage in domain names as finding customers, both at the moderately high end and particularly at prices modest enough for a single consultant or counsellor. Positive psychology has clear implications for successful schools and businesses, although the impact is much broader than that. Of course this is just one topic in the area of mental health, and I see topics such as meditation, mindfulness, counselling, etc. all finding interest. Overall I think 2018 will be a good year for .org, and I see some of the big players here choosing .org, .net or possibly .site, .club or .online, instead of .com. There is probably room for some of the new gTLD to have an impact here too.

(f) Design I think design of various kinds will be popular, selling at amounts ranging fro tens of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. It is encouraging that big names like NPR, Facebook and Kohler have meaningly used the .design TLD, and I see this helping get the new gTLD finding a market among smaller companies. I don't see many sales of $1000 or more, but I think there will be a number of sales in the hundreds of dollars range. Those with good .design names will be able to make modest profits, or hold for another year for better returns.


(g) Environmental For good reason there will continue to be lots of international attention on issues of climate change and the environment more generally. Of course many of the players here will already use existing organizational or educational sites rather than purchase new domains, but I think media, non governmental organizations and others will be willing to pay small but significant amounts for a descriptive domain name. This is one area that I think .com will not be the best option. I think many environmental organizations will select TLDs like .site, .space, .website and .online, as well as the environment centred .eco TLD that comes with controls on who can use it.


(h) Startups Certainly 2017 was active for the TLD extension .io for tech startups, and the first couple of weeks of 2018 shows that trend continuing. Each year many startups begin (and end), and each wants a name that will feel unique. With limited budgets in some cases, I think we will see a small rebound of .xyz as a very low cost option for tiny startups and I see some cost-conscious startups with global hopes will go with .gdn (global domain name). Environmental startups may select .eco that brings credibility and the possibility to get a really short domain name.


(i) Freelancers I saved for last what I think will be the largest market for domain names - individuals starting single person companies, many of them part time. They will be looking for a domain name that is simple and catchy, but not be willing or able to pay a large amount. While many will use .com and .net (or a country or region extension), I see .pw, .site, .online, .top and .xyz finding some sales here. I also see good potential for the more specialized new gTLDs such as .design, .guru, .tech, .agency, studio and many others, as well as legacy extensions such as .pro and .biz (although overall I think .biz does not have a bright future). While the rebranding of .pw as professional web has had fairly modest success so far, I see 2018 being good for .pw including some sales in the tens to hundreds of dollars on the resale markets.

Clearly the above list reflects my own interests and biases. Please feel free to expand the list with your ideas through the comments section here, or through interacting with me on Twitter. There is no doubt that 2018 will be an interesting one in the world of domain names!

Original post Jan 12, 2018.
Formatting only modification July 29, 2018 – no change to content.


Disclosure: This report presents the views of the author, and is not intended as professional individual advice on which to base business decisions. The author has domain names for sale in several of the areas mentioned here, so bias is possible (or probable!). The complete list of domain names I own is available here.


Photo credits: The images used to illustrate the article are from Pixabay and believed to all allow commercial use. If you spot an issue with an image please let us know and we will remove it immediately. The images we use here are provided by Pixabay users Tumisu, geralt, TheDigitalArtist, qimono, CreativeMagic, stux, stevepb, StartupStockPhotos and OvidiuTepes.


Note: This report is presented both on the author's blog and as a white paper on NamesThat.win. The white paper version will be updated, and should be regarded as more authoritative. In particular the author owns CRISPR in various TLD extensions and a number of nanotech related domain names.


This article may be reprinted in whole or in part provided that a credit of the original source is given, ideally with a link.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Guide to Namecheap Marketplace

In this posting we walk you through purchasing domain names on the Namecheap Marketplace.  This is a great place to find some good domain names at reasonable prices, and to transfer them with a minimum of hassle in a risk free environment.  The folks at Namecheap handle the payment and transfer process, making the process safe and you are sure you get the domain name.  Note that the Namecheap Marketplace does not have a process for making lower offers, so the price is the one you see.

How do I find one?

Head over to to the Namecheap Marketplace.  To make it easy we made a link with just our Namecheap Marketplace listings.  If you click the Buy Now button on the top right of the listings, and it will order them from the lowest price, so you can see at a glance what is available.



How long are they registered?

When you purchase a domain name on the Namecheap Marketplace (or most other ways) the remaining period that the name is registered goes with it. Therefore it is important to know how the current registration period.  If you click on the domain name, it will show that information (don't confuse the amount of time the domain is listed on the Marketplace with the time the domain is registered for).

Do I just own it until then?

The way domain names work is that you own (or perhaps lease is a better term) the domain name while it is currently registered to you.  But you also own the right to renew the domain name, so you can keep it as many years as you want as long as you annually pay the renewal rate.  So by purchasing a domain name you are purchasing the rights to own it forever, if you want.

Namecheap have a great article on how to renew domain names here. If wondering which registrar offers the best rates for renewing or transferring a domain name, the folks at TLD List have a great service where you just enter the top level domain (such as .me) and they show you the best rates currently available.

How do I buy on the Namecheap Marketplace?

The process is simple and protects both parties. Here is how it works.
  • Go to the Namecheap Marketplace and find the domain name(s) you want.
  • Click on the domain name and add it to your cart.
  • When finished, select Checkout.  If you do not already have an account with them you will be prompted to make one (creating a Namecheap account is free, and you only need one for both new registrations and Marketplace purchases).
  • Select your payment method.  The options include credit cards, PayPal, Dwolla, account funds (if you already have money on deposit with them) and Bitcoin. Pay for the domain purchase.
  • Confirm your order, and any other details like your contact information for the domain registration.
  • Namecheap will automatically move the domain from our name to your registration name and details. Congratulations on your new (to you) domain name!

Why are only some of your domains on the Namecheap Marketplace?

We offer several choices in most of our domain names, including Undeveloped.com and our Efty Marketplace (at www.frugal.bid).  You can also complete a contact form to start a discussion on our main website at NamesThat.win. We also have a selection of our domain names on Afternic. If you want to see everything that we have, arranged alphabetically, including a link to where that domain name is for sale go to this page.

We only offer a domain name with a buy it now price on one market to prevent any possibility of two people buying the same name simultaneously.  For this reason, if a name is listed on the Namecheap Marketplace it will be "Make an offer" on any other markets.  If we get an offer we plan to accept we take down our listing with the price prior to confirming acceptance, so no chance that two people buy the same name.

We can only offer on the Namecheap Marketplace those names that are registered at Namecheap, and where the price is in the range from $5 to $5000.  If you prefer to purchase a name on the Namecheap Marketplace that we don't have listed there send us a note and we will see if we can take it off the other listings and list it there.

Are these extensions valid?

Any domain extension can be used to host a website. For example, our main website is at www.NamesThat.win - you can check it out as an example. Obviously some are more popular than others.  For the new domain TLDs (top level domains), you can see current statistics here. For example, at the time I am writing this just over one million .win domain names have been registered, and well over two million .top and more than 500,000 site domain names. Strictly speaking .co and .me are country code TLDs, although they are widely used for company names and personal names respectively, and those country codes are open to anyone to registrar.

Can I resell it?

Yes, of course.  If you continue to hold it at Namecheap you can resell it on the Namecheap Marketplace right away, or according to ICANN restrictions if you want to transfer it to another registrar you normally need to wait 60 days after the last change in ownership. You can also choose to sell it from many different other marketplaces.

Final Questions

If you are new to domain names, you may find our FAQs at this link helpful. You can also use the contact form on that site if you want to get in touch with us directly. 

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