In the next few weeks, Namebase will open up the registry program to the public. That means anyone with an account and a TLD can sell SLDs!

Gateway.io will accept all names while 101Domain & Encirca will be more selective.

There’s a few important things to note before we continue too far into other details:

The program is 100% custodial. Your name(s) will not be in your wallet & once someone registers an SLD, you must keep the TLD in their custody for the duration of the longest registered term. Registration is currently set for 1 year but that may change.

Namebase withholds 30% of your list price as commission & registrars will mark up the price, often by double, from there. So, I listed .gin names for $225, they’re sold for $450, & I receive $157.50 worth of $HNS for each sale. Some of those sales have now doubled in value.

For the opportunity to be among the first listed HNS TLDs in legacy markets that otherwise charge a 6 figure entry fee, while stacking $HNS, I consider these acceptable terms.

Marketing kits are not required, but it sounds like they will be accepted. These consist of a logo for the domain, banner image, & a description for the name. I would strongly suggest creating a brand, your own terms of service, & setting up a site to market your domains from.

Premium pricing for specific domains will not be in the form but can be accommodated by emailing Namebase.

SLDs are rented, not owned by registrants, & UDRP does apply here. Special requirements for registration (KYC) are not possible within the program, so hang on to those for later developments.

So, what’s a great fit for the program?

IMHO, the big winners will be around personal identity. It’s still too early for rapid brand adoption, but if you have something that could make a fun handle or email address that people identify with, it will be much easier to market & sell, especially with moderate pricing to discourage mass speculation, while still being reasonable. I think $10-25 (sold for $20-$50) depending on quality, would be a good range here.

If you want to list a category defining brandable, I would recommend listing them for no less than $50 (selling for $100+) and have some of the top brands in the category listed with premium pricing to maintain the integrity of your namespace.

While it sounds counterintuitive, a rush of registrations may not be a good thing. Sales drive entrepreneurs, but active end users that draw more attention are what drive network effects into ecosystems & reduce churn. Quality > Quantity.

A quick test for whether you should list a name or to gauge the probability of it being accepted by 101Domain or Encirca, is to type it into Google with a space and .com

The results should show you all the .coms that end with your term. If there’s at least a few pages of decent results, you probably have a good candidate for SLDs.

Overall, I’ve had a great experience with the program & can tell you that waking up to “Subdomain sold” is one of the greatest feelings imaginable. It never loses its luster & when you realize it’s doubled in value & use it to buy new domains, it’s pure bliss!

My hope with this post is that you, the community, understanding the terms & strategy laid out here, will take a long look at your domains, figure out which you want to flip, which you want to hold on to for ETH or other developments, and which premium names you want to submit to debut your registry.

I can’t wait to see what you do and look forward to buying some domains.

Cheers!