.EU domains

fintan

What are peoples views on the new .eu domains?

Who in Ireland is allowed sell them?

Will it be a gold rush or damp squid?

Will it be of benefit to web users?

steve-hosting36

Most of the domain resellers will be able to sell them, altho only a few are currently offering registrations in the complex 'sunrise period' (open to trademark holders, etc). It's very hard to determine demand, I can see most larger companies simply 'securing' their domain, but most people will continue choosing .ie and .com

mneylon

Who in Ireland is allowed sell them?

Most of us sell them already or will do by the time the registry goes "live"

Will it be a gold rush or damp squid?

Very hard to say. Other recent TLD launches have not met with the success that was predicted, but the .EU TLD is quite different

Will it be of benefit to web users?

I suppose the fact that registration is not completely "open", as in you have to be an EU resident (or have an agreement with one) means that there should be slightly more security.

fintan

I have talked to a .eu registars who are processing claims during the sun rise period (shall remain nameless) and Im left with the distinct impression its just an excuse to take €250 + vat off me for every name.

Any suggestions on a reputable company offering .eu registrations during the sunrise period? and what a ball park processing fee should be?

mneylon

Fintan

The amount of paperwork and administration invoved with the sunrise applications means that most companies have to charge a premium for the trademark and prior rights domains.

200 euro ex-vat for a .EU domain sounds about normal.

Any reputable company would probably offer some form of moneyback guarantee if the registration were to fail

If you need advice please feel free to call us

Michele

jmcc

fintan wrote:

Will it be a gold rush or damp squid?

Given the "success" of .info and .biz, I think that it may turn out to be more of a case of wait and see. There are some aspects built into the .eu registration rules that allow for a fraudulent or speculative (cybersquatting) domain registration to be challenged.

Whether .eu is a success will only become apparent in approximately 18 months time. This is the preiod overwhich the churn factor (deleted domains and new registations) become apparent. With .info, registrars ended up giving away free .info registrations with every .com in an effort to push the .info gTLD and it still is a poor choice compared to the .com gTLD.

For web users, it may not make much difference at all. What makes .eu different from .com is that it has the geographic requirement that a domain owner has to be in the European Union or have significant trade connections. However two of the biggest country code top level domains are already in Europe, .uk and .de and the new .eu domain will have to fight for relevance against them.

Regards...jmcc