Calling all .ca owners - need your input

[$ideline]

I have decided we need a decent outlet just for .ca domains so I am putting together a forum for all of us .ca buyers and sellers and I want everyone's input as this is for our benefit.

I have seen a lot of nice .ca's being posted on this forum and rarely see any bites which is why I have decided to dedicate a forum just to .ca's.

The motivation for this has just come to me so I will need a little bit of time to put everything together but in the meantime I welcome all suggestions you may have.

I will of course post more details in the near future but like I said, I am in the beginning stages of this project.

Any ideas, comments or suggestions are much appreciated! Let's make this long overdue project a success!

-$ideline

[westcoaster]

Cool idea. From what I have seen WE the .ca people don't give ourselves enough credit. Heck we are the choice of Canada. Watched Canadian TV lateley? Most of the commercials have a .ca attached to their business. I'd like to see a once a week or once a month auction of .ca's . or a place where those who have domains to sell can post them in a more permanent place than on a thread in a forum. I'd like to see a site that has domainers able to list their .ca's. (the ones for sale that is)

I also believe, that we have to believe that .ca's are more valuable than what we are giving them credit for.


Good luck with your forum and whatever you choose to do. Keep me posted.

[$ideline]

Completely agree Phil! I am hoping we can turn the .ca market around and give it the credit it deserves. I will certainly keep everyone posted. I really don't have the time for this project right now but I am very motivated on this one so I am hoping to get it rolling asap.

[hugegrowth]

It's a nice idea but what more could you do that we don't already get here at DNF? It is pretty active here with discussing .ca and also being able to buy/sell. Plus, many .ca'ers also deal in other extensions, and you can find it all here.

[$ideline]

It's true but I am looking for a place that we can dedicate to .ca's.

We do have a sub forum here but because we have such an international group and so many things we discuss at this forum often times our .ca's are overlooked or buried by other new posts.

I am not trying to compete with DNF for .ca exposure but simply creating another venue for us and dedicating it to .ca's - worst case scenario we get more exposure...

[nameslave]

Not meant to be rude, but MANY have tried AND FAILED. Good luck.

[$ideline]

That's cool... I'm going for simplicity, not going to try to change the world. Even if it flops at least I am doing more than sitting back and complaining about .ca sales being non existant

[JEsports]

canadiandots.ca is one i saw doing a quick google search .. i dont know how successful or unsuccessful it is as i dont own any personally.

[onlinestoreca]

Originally Posted by nameslave

Not meant to be rude, but MANY have tried AND FAILED. Good luck.

Don't let that stop you, and I realize that was just a friendly warning.

My frustration is that when I drop a .ca domain name it almost always gets picked up in the TBR for minimum $60. There is a market out there, it's just figuring out how to find it like the TBR does.

The TBR is the biggest reason that I am keeping almost all of my names. When I drop something I think might not be a great name and someone picks it up for $60, I wonder what all my good names must be worth.

[TheLegendaryJP]

The dot ca market is plagued by the short sellers.

The reason for drops receiving higher amounts is similar to any extensions drops, .com for example. Competition, the thrill of it, something " new " and not offered elsewhere and so on. All silly reasons but we live in a world of silly people. For example I see some .ca go for $4k on a drop and turn around on here and see equally good names being offered for $500. Thank the short sellers,depressing the dot ca market one $50 sale at a time.

[hugegrowth]

My advice would be to put your energy into starting a .ca blog, you'll build a content rich site, still be able to communicate with others through comments, promote .ca, and it all depends on yourself.

If you go the forum route, you have to chase people to sign up and keep coming back. You'll need a new twist, because many people are already members of existing forums. I'm a member of two domain forums but only check in here regularly - most of my needs are met through DNF, and there's only so much time in a day. Most of the people you would get are already discussing .ca here.

I'm not saying don't do it, just that it will be a hard slog to get going and keep up. Like starting a new Facebook or Twitter, you are trying to beat the ones who had first mover advantage.

If a forum doesn't work out, you don't have much left over. Whereas if you get a blog going and post regularly, you keep building something that will last - and it only depends on your efforts.

[TheLegendaryJP]

lol I replied and forgot about the op... lol

Ok, honestly dont bother, as hugegrowth said, start with a blog, already 2 other .ca forums so dead and so full of members here but no one posts " there " .

[$ideline]

Maybe you guys are right but there has to be something we can do to showcase our .ca's... maybe I will use my perfect .ca domain for my own efforts instead of looking out for all of us... Maybe it's time I start looking out for #1 and being a little more cut throat... maybe once I turn my back that's when the offers will start pouring in...

Thanks for all the advice... it has made me reconsider some things

[Wzhxvy]

I think .ca market is doing just fine. Canadians are more conservative/& cheaper by nature, and our market is relatively small both from an enduser and reseller market. I think the forum idea is a good one...just not sure it will be effective in achieving your objective to increase awareness. I think .ca will be steady/slow growth for long term.

[hugegrowth]

Wz - I agree with your post.

Sideline, not trying to discourage you and encourage selfishness, just providing my opinion. I honestly believe you could spend a lot of time starting up a .ca forum and not get the result you seek. I would only do it if it is really your dream and you would keep at it 100% until it succeeded.

A blog can still benefit everyone and spread the word, and achieve what you want. A blog does not make you a loner or keep things to yourself, actually the opposite, it's a way to share.

My point is after say three months of work on a forum or blog, if the forum doesn't work out you have nothing, with a blog you have a body of content people can look back on - and ongoing visitors coming back to check on new posts, and maybe leave you comments.

[nameslave]

Well, I guess the question lies in whether you (or we, or anybody else) are looking to build a place for a) casual chit chat, b) a closed marketplace for fellow domainers, or c) an open marketplace with end-users.

Even DNForum is good mostly (if not only) for domainers.

I agree though that in a big enough (and booming) market (e.g. CNO), even domainers alone could result in some really good sales. However, we all know that Canada is a little bit modest in population and economy when compared to the U.S., so even the end-user market is not exactly sustainable.

More importantly, there are competing vested interests which may not even be interested in a single venue for .CA domains.

[whitebark]

DNF is about as good as it gets. I've had two end-user sales from people who have read this forum and seen my domains for sale or mentioned in a discussion thread. As was previously mentioned - others have tried and failed...

[Wzhxvy]

I just want to address a point that JP brought which I think is a good one. Although I understand the frustration when you see others devalue their names and sell for cheap (arguably we should buy them all up but given market size, you could find yourself stretched very quickly, if you are not selective). I however am not really bothered by that. If someone chooses to list their 3 Ls for $1000 each BIN, or sell them here for $60 bucks per, that is their perogative, while it might devalue the reseller market, no end user will be getting my 3L for anything less than 5K. Some hand regged these 3 letters, and a $50 ROI is good enough...great no issue with me..and guess what, end users pay. So if your target market is other resellers, then I think its a very tough market right now, but if its end users, I do not think much has changed...at least in the last 3 years.

[$ideline]

Well ideally I am looking to bring more end user attention to our .ca's and yes we do get some end users buying on DNF but DNF can be quite overwhelming to some and I want to basically take our .ca sub forum and create a forum just for .ca's with a focus on simplicity and basically a one stop shop for end users and domainers.

I realize many have tried and failed and honestly if the forum flops that's fine, the domain will sell itself and I will still come out on top so failure is not a concern for me.

I continue to welcome everyone's comments, ideas, suggestions, criticisms... I do not take anything personally and really do appreciate everyone's cautions

I have a few projects to work on tonight and this is going to be one of them so within the next few hours I need to make a decision... blog or forum?

[TheLegendaryJP]

Originally Posted by Wzhxvy

I just want to address a point that JP brought which I think is a good one. Although I understand the frustration when you see others devalue their names and sell for cheap (arguably we should buy them all up but given market size, you could find yourself stretched very quickly, if you are not selective). I however am not really bothered by that. If someone chooses to list their 3 Ls for $1000 each BIN, or sell them here for $60 bucks per, that is their perogative, while it might devalue the reseller market, no end user will be getting my 3L for anything less than 5K. Some hand regged these 3 letters, and a $50 ROI is good enough...great no issue with me..and guess what, end users pay. So if your target market is other resellers, then I think its a very tough market right now, but if its end users, I do not think much has changed...at least in the last 3 years.

I agree, it doesnt affect the end user side but sure is a huge blow to reseller market and tbh most here not just dot ca make a living by reselling.