Why do .org.uk's hold so little value?

[ian]

I appreciate they are the second (or now third) best option in the UK, but why have they taken such a massive hit in value recently? I refer to the many quality domains that have been for sale recently for a mere few £ simply because they are .org.uk.

Have I missed something, will Nominet no longer allow a 'general' website to be used on an extension designed for organisations/charities etc? Or is it simply a case that they just not worth it any longer.

 

[Skinner]

There were only really a few reasons to buy or use a .org.uk.

1, The google emd bonus.
2, the .co.uk is held by someone not using it, selling crazy high, doesn't sell, and never going to be competition.
3, The EMD Bonus.

Take away the emd bonus and its not worth much unless your charity/org.

 

[WealdDomains]

I don't understand why .org.uk geodomains have fared so badly. I understand product generics weakening. And, once .uk has really taken off, fair enough for everything weakening. However, I would have thought that a solid EMD geodomain org.uk would still be perfectly respectable and valuable in the short/medium term.

David (declaring a vested interest in .org.uk geodomains)

 

[scottmccloud]

I don't understand why .org.uk geodomains have fared so badly. I understand product generics weakening. And, once .uk has really taken off, fair enough for everything weakening. However, I would have thought that a solid EMD geodomain org.uk would still be perfectly respectable and valuable in the short/medium term.

David (declaring a vested interest in .org.uk geodomains)

I've thought the same thing (although I don't own any .org.uk). Once the EMD bonus was taken away it was quite understandable that more commercial names suffered in the.org.uk. But geos seem to be one of the few areas where a .org.uk can seem a reasonably natural fit.

 

[murph]

Yep, as said, it's all about the change in EMD situation with G.

 

[Edwin]

It's also because of the yawning chasm between ambition and action (hey, I'm as guilty as anyone - probably more than many)

What I mean by that is that a lot of people can look at a good geo .org.uk domain and say "hey, that would make a fantastic site if fully developed" and that might be true in isolation.

But then if you take away all the people who said that to themselves but don't have the skills, the intent, the ambition, the energy, the resources etc. to actually fully develop that so-called "fantastic site" and you're left with a very small number of people.

And from that small number of people, how many are really going to go to all that effort on a .org.uk (and therefore be willing to pay a premium for that .org.uk) when they in theory now have TWO better extensions to chase? My guess is very few to none.

Whereas if you consider a .co.uk or .uk, it's safe to pencil in the fact that "somebody will want to develop it" even if that somebody isn't you when it comes to trying to determine its current value.

 

[Edwin]

An example:

If we look at placename.co.uk (largeish town, popular with the tourists) and think "hmm, that's got to be worth £5,000 any day if it's a penny" we might well be willing to risk £3,000 on it because we're safe in the knowledge that somebody somewhere WILL want to develop it and if not it's an easy flip to get our money back (plus we get the .uk too).

But then we look at placename.org.uk (same town) do we think

"if the .co.uk's worth £5,000 this is going to be worth £1,000, surely?"

or do we think

"I'd pay £3,000 for the .co.uk because it's worth £5,000 any day and somebody WILL want it, but I can't develop to save my life so it's not worth venturing more than £100 on the .org.uk. That's as much as I'm willing to bet that somebody keen will come along one day and take it off my hands for a profit."

 

[julian]

That's just another AD myth that somehow .org.uk make amazing geo's. They can be ok as potentially better than nothing if really need to start in that area.

I don't understand why .org.uk geodomains have fared so badly. I understand product generics weakening. And, once .uk has really taken off, fair enough for everything weakening. However, I would have thought that a solid EMD geodomain org.uk would still be perfectly respectable and valuable in the short/medium term.

David (declaring a vested interest in .org.uk geodomains)

 

[mat]

Because people could take a emd .org.uk and rank it pretty much overnight with a few dozen blogroll links.

Now of course because you cant do this "seo is dead" and so is the value of .org.uk and in fact any other emd domain name.

I also believe that the publicity and hype of large .org.uk sales really drove up the prices among people on forums because "that was the value"

 

[diablo]

That's just another AD myth that somehow .org.uk make amazing geo's.

I agree with this.

.org.uk domains, according to Nominet are "The preferred non-commercial domain for championing causes and raising support".

For commercial websites, they are now the equivalent of .me.uk domain names.

 

[philiporchard]

I'm guessing this isn't the right thread for selling Photographers orguk then

 

[disruptive]

I had a good offer for obesity.org.uk but I decided to try and build it out. As I like the whole area...I might be wrong, but I like the idea of grabbing a condition that affects millions of people in the UK. http://www.obesity.org.uk

 

[diablo]

I had a good offer for obesity.org.uk but I decided to try and build it out. As I like the whole area...I might be wrong, but I like the idea of grabbing a condition that affects millions of people in the UK. http://www.obesity.org.uk

I think obesity works very well as a .org.uk - fighting obesity is a cause worth championing.

I realy like the clean design of your site too. Is it a custom theme?

 

[disruptive]

Thanks for the comments, I'm always trying to think beyond simply articles and try and build an information portal. Its not a custom theme btw - I just found it on WP stanard search tool.

 

[sdsinc]

.org.uk domains, according to Nominet are "The preferred non-commercial domain for championing causes and raising support".

For commercial websites, they are now the equivalent of .me.uk domain names.

I think you said it quite well. It's not fit for purely commercial websites. And if you are going to run some not for profit project, you don't see the point of buying a domain at a premium.