The folks over at Minds + Machines Group Limited – aka MMX – have announced a major change to their business model. They’re repricing their premium domains across their gTLD portfolio and releasing them in one go in an event they’re calling ‘The Great Release.’
On April 23rd, 2021, MMX will move over 725,000 domains across several gTLDs to standard pricing from the former premium pricing. All the domains have an estimated value of $80 million.
- 827,000 domains reducing in price
- 725,000 domains moving to standard pricing
- 5,000 domains reducing in price by over 75%
There will be some great deals to be had on some key domains names across several niches.
What’s the logic behind this change?
MMX said this in a recent press release:
A lot has happened since we launched our first TLDs back in 2014. No one could have foreseen the impact that a Global pandemic would have on how businesses and individuals interact online. Even the most traditional bricks and mortar businesses and services are moving into the online world to better connect with their customers and markets. That shift always starts with a domain name and finding the right one is becoming even more critical and difficult.
At MMX, we are proud of the part we play in getting people online, and every time we see a new site launched on one of our TLDs, it brings a certain amount of joy to us. We love seeing our TLDs in action, whether it’s a Formula 1 car crossing the finishing line in first place with a dotFASHION domain plastered all over it or a yoga studio just outside of Munich launching classes online through their unique dotYOGA domain. Each new use reinforces that descriptive domains play an essential role in letting users know what content they’ll find when they navigate to URL’s.
In any TLD space, there will be names that carry a higher value than others. Back in 2014, MMX created premium domain tiers to reflect that value. Over the past year, we’ve been inundated with requests to purchase premium domains as well as names the registry had reserved for exceptional use cases. Our premium pricing meant these domains were too expensive for some businesses to use in some cases. That got us thinking, and we decided to review all our premium inventory which hasn’t changed since 2014.
Over the last few months, we’ve painstakingly assessed over 820,000 domains across 26 of our TLDs. The result of this work means some significant changes in the way we assign pricing to our inventory, and we are excited to announce The Great Release.
The cool bit is that you can browse the entire list of domains that will be released. This gives you a chance to find the ones you want and then plan to snatch them when they enter the new pricing on April 23rd. If you don’t want to wait, you can snatch them now at their normal premium pricing. They’ve even provided a spreadsheet so domainers can have fun with the raw data.
Browse the database here at The Great Release website. You have to have a registered account with MMX or register a new one.
About the Author: Jonathan Thomas
