If you’ve shopped around recently for a domain name, specifically one of the new domain name extensions available, you probably have been confronted with a lot of unfamiliar lingo. With the hundreds of new extensions presently being rolled out, shoppers are now navigating new choices that weren’t available before.
This terminology is important, because it affects what you will pay for a domain name. The earlier you try to get dibs on a particular name, the more it will cost you. So, knowing the language is important. Here’s a few terms to be aware of:
Watchlist: Major registrars that sell the new TLDs have a “watchlist” feature—and it’s exactly what it sounds like. You sign up and add domains you want to the list, and they will alert you with availability updates. Of course, watchlist info is incredibly valuable to the registrars as it helps them determine the level of interest for a specific extension, which influences the pricing of the extension once it’s in general availability. Pro Tip: if you really want a specific extension, sign up for a watchlist at several registrars. I’ve found info can vary from company to company, as the inventory changes so rapidly. Good watchlists can be found at GoDaddy, Enom and NameCheap.
Sunrise: This is the earliest phase of a TLD’s rollout process. The domain will be made available at some point in the near future. This phase is to give trademark holders a chance to claim a particular domain name before its made available. In order to participate in the sunrise period, you need to be to be a registered trademark holder with the ICANN Trademark Clearing House. Sunrise periods are at least 30 days.
Landrush: Again, this is exactly how it sounds. If you’re willing to pay a premium, and a big one, this is for you. This part of the rollout process isn’t required by ICANN, but its very profitable and informative for registrars. This is the phase where registrars will make specific premium domains available at a much higher price. This is more appealingly named “pre-registration” or “priority pre-registration”, and while prices will vary, they will all be very high. Paying for “pre-registration” will increase the chances for getting the name you want, but multiple claims will result in an auction, possibly driving the price up even more. The screenshot here is for .CASH (Aug 2014) – note the steep drop in the pre-registration price in just a few days!! (source of picture is GoDaddy).
General Availability: The domain extension is available to everyone. The pricing on GA extensions is generally stable, but it can vary, so shop carefully and compare.
While all this sounds like a hassle, bear in mind that mostly only serious domain investors or trademark holders are fully into the new TLD market, as it’s all still very new to people. If you have a unique name and you aren’t looking for something obviously valuable like easy.cash, you should have no problem at all getting what you want without emptying your bank account. After all, the point of having all these new options is to make it easier for people to get a descriptive name that’s easy to remember.
Happy domain shopping!