Thursday, May 8, 2008

Landrush Period ?

A "Landrush period” is not a Landrush anymore

Previously, participating in a Landrush period offered the possibility to acquire a domain name with no prior right. Landrush was a “Go Live”; the right period to claim a domain name and be the only one to acquire it following the “first come fist served” rule. It is still the case but…

The launching of .ASIA seems to have changed this simple rule. Today, there is a huge difference between a Landrush period and a “Go Live” (also called “open registration”).

These confusing terms for the Registrant with no knowledge increase the risk to just…lose a domain name. Here is a brief description of these different periods:

A “Sunrise period”: Need of a prior right to claim the domain name (registered company, brand, etc…)

A “Landrush period”: Open to anyone with no prior right but your domain goes to auctions if at least 2 persons ask for the same domain name.

“Go live”: Open registration following the “first come fist served” rule.

So: should I participate to a Landrush period?

When acting to register your domain name during a Landrush, you also inform your competitors there is an interest in a specific domain name: if one tries to register this domain name, your domain goes to auction and the richest bidder gets the domain.

When not acting during the Landrush, you take the risk to lose your domain name to anyone faster than you during “Go Live”.

My suggestion would be to participate in Sunrise if you have a prior right. If you have a budget but no prior right, register during Landrush. If you have no budget: there are 2 options:
Search for a good Registrar with few clients who will send his list of requests as soon as Go Live period starts ( a large registrar will have a longer list).

Search for several Registrars and register with more than one to increase your chances to get the domain.

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