.Me domain names. Has anyone purchased (or tried to) one?

[TomW1]

Hi all,

I'm pretty keen on acquiring a .Me premium domain name for our startup, but the organisation that is holding it domain.me (which holds all premium .me domains) is asking for a lot before they even hint if the domain could be purchased.

Has anyone here inquired into or acquired a Premium .Me domain name?

You'll find info on domain (dot) me

According to their guidelines, one has to highlight how they will either bring 100,000's of users to the .me site, or offer at least 20,000 euros upfront. They also require a business plan and they ask for an offer on the domain rather than sharing their 'sell' price.

My concern is that by revealing my business plan I'll likely majorly increase the cost of the domain I'm trying to buy before I buy it - assuming our idea is as good as we think, that is.

I would love to hear your thoughts as I can sort of understand why they have it this way, but I feel we'll still lose out to the corporate giants...

Thanks in advance

Tom

 

[fisicx]

Don't bother, it's a vanity TLD. The history of the domain names it littered with these (.tel, and .mobi being two examples).

If you want to project a professional image use a .co.uk or .com.

Dunno why they want so much money for a .me. I've just checked and I can get them for £15/year

 

[Deggle]

I'd not class .me as a vanity TLD, and certainly not in the same way as the new .london etc TLDs. The great thing about .me is that it's short and can be very brandable.

We have a 4 letter .me domain which was bought at auction when they were first released them in 2008/9 for over $10,000. That domain, along with a accompanying one (which was available, so was cheap) form the basis for our most successful brands, including one I hope to be a household name some day.

Google now recognises .me as an international domain (when we first bought, they were geo-linked to Montenegro only) so we used the .me.uk for a couple of years. Now .me domains are internationally accepted and we've had no problems getting #1 rankings etc.

We wanted to buy another one which was flagged for the development programme. We thought the 100,000s of users was unrealistic so didn't progress, but in hindsight we should have just paid the €20,000 (though I'm not sure that was an option at the time). The domain we wanted has now be passed to a 'developer' who's clearly just squatting on it to add value and hope to sell on. I suspect they promised the 100,000s of visitors, will fail to deliver but after a few years will get to keep the domain anyway. The .me registry told us if the targets weren't met the could take the domain back and would be in touch, but I don't see it happening - disappointing.

I was recently told our domain was probably worth over $100,000 - it is a good domain, but I never believe the values people put on domains as they often seem completely unrealistic!

My advice would be to try and make cash offers towards the €20,000 and see if they bite. If not, develop a rough business plan putting in crazy traffic projections and they may hand it over.

 

[StevePoster]

Regarding .me domain and aside from being short and can be brandable. Is there anything else that are more beneficial? I would like to see other angles why there are some people seeking for this premium domain.

 

[fisicx]

My advice would be to try and make cash offers towards the €20,000 and see if they bite. If not, develop a rough business plan putting in crazy traffic projections and they may hand it over.

Why?

Far better to just choose another domain name. All that money for a .me is pointless, they may be intenationally recognised but a .com has far more credibility. Given a choice of brand.me and brand.com I'd click on the .com everytime

 

[ServWise]

If your brand includes a use of the .me e.g. yougot.me or youhavetobekidding.me then it might at a stretch be worth it. But if not then I really can't see the value in a .me domain especially as there are so many new domain extensions that cost a lot less and would likely have your key words available..