.UK Domains Do NOT Pre-order - Ignore 123-reg and other Registrar Sales Misinformation
Companies / Internet May 30, 2014 - 04:18 AM GMTBy: Nadeem_Walayat
Some 10.5 million .co.uk domains are registered which means there is a huge amount of potential demand for the new shorter .uk domains that are set to become available from 10th of June 2014 which has prompted many domain registrars to send out sales pitch emails, and other advertisements enticing .co.uk domain holders to urgently act to pre-order .uk domains.
For instance the following email landed in my email box from 123-reg.co.uk -
LAST CHANCE - Pre-order your .UK now!
Dear Customer,
The brand new .uk domain is due to the launch on 10th June! So make sure you don’t miss out and pre-order yours NOW!
What is the .uk?
It's a shorter, snappier and smarter alternative to a .co.uk domain. It shows your visitors that you are located in the UK and as it is shorter it is easier to write and easier to remember than a .co .uk. It gets straight to the point and clearly shows you do business in the UK.
So what are you waiting for? To pre-order your .uk domain today simply follow the link below and sign in NOW!
Clicking through to the .uk web page reveals a further call to action sales pitch.
Who can pre-order .uk domains?
Absolutely anyone!
There are no restrictions on .uk registrations which means that anyone can pre-order one. What's more if you already have a .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk web address, your pre-order for a .uk domain could be guaranteed. So pre-order it now to take advantage of this!
On reading such messages from 123-reg.co.uk amongst other registrars, many co.uk domain holders may be panicked into immediately signing up to pre-order the .uk domain. However the whole .uk sales push is based on MIS-INFORMATION as your .UK domain equivalents are NOT available to everyone! Instead they are automatically RESERVED for FREE for FIVE YEARS for the .co.uk domain holder. So there is NO rush to go and register a .uk domain that you may not get around to utilising for several years.
Key facts you need to know excerpted from the Nominet dotuklaunch faq
Will existing customers be offered their equivalent .uk first?
For the vast majority of you who already have a domain with us (over 96% of around 10.5 million domains registered), we will automatically reserve the equivalent .uk for you for free for five years. At any point during that period you can decide to register the new .uk domain as long as your existing domain continues to be registered to you.
Which domains are eligible for rights to the equivalent .uk domain?
Domain names ending in .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk and .net.uk are eligible, subject to the outlined criteria. Domains that were registered before 23.59hrs on 28 October will have rights to the equivalent new .uk domain, provided there was no other corresponding .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk or .net.uk registered.
Where there are two or more domains with the same website name, the .co.uk will be offered the .uk equivalent. Where there is no .co.uk, the .org.uk will be offered the new .uk equivalent. Where there is no .co.uk or .org.uk the .me.uk will be offered the new .uk equivalent.
All .co.uk domains registered after 28 October 2013 and before the new .uk domains are launched will also have rights to the .uk equivalent, as long as there is no ‘clash’ with any existing domains meeting the criteria above.
The current domains that are not eligible for this process are .sch.uk and those not managed by Nominet, such as .ac.uk, .mod.uk, and so on.
Please visit the Nominet website for the full rules.
There’s a domain that I have wanted for years – if I get in quick, will I get the new .uk?
If someone else already holds the .co.uk , they will have the first right to register the new .uk equivalent domain. This right lasts for five years. If they decide not to take up the right, you may be able to register the .uk domain.
Should I pre-register a .uk domain name?
If you already hold a domain within the .uk domain family that is eligible for the free reservation period, you don’t need to pre-register the new .uk equivalent. This will be automatically reserved for you for five years. If you decide you want to use it, you can register it at any time during this period.
Once the new .uk domain is launched on 10 June 2014, you can secure the one you want by registering it (provided it isn’t reserved already or registered by someone else).
Some registrars may run pre-registration promotions. These can be useful in letting you know when the domain you’re looking for becomes available. Before signing up, it’s important to check exactly what’s included as these types of promotions cannot guarantee being able to register the chosen domain name.
My domain name is eligible for the ‘free reservation period’. When do I need to pay for my new .uk domain?
The .uk equivalent of your current domain will be automatically reserved for you for free for five years from the launch date as long as you keep your current domain registered.
If you decide you want to register the new .uk domain, you’ll need to pay for it through your registrar as usual. You can do this at any point within five years of the launch date. However you can get ahead of the curve and secure your new online future with .uk anytime from 10 June 2014 onwards and take advantage of this new online space straight away.
My domain name is eligible for the ‘free reservation period’ but I am not interested in registering it
If your domain name is eligible for the .uk equivalent, but you don’t want to register it, no one else will be able to register it in the five year reservation period. But once the five years are up, the domain will become available to anyone who wants to register it.
If you would like someone else to be able to use the .uk domain name before the 10 June 2019 - for example you may have been asked if you would be interested in selling the domain name to another person or company - you can do this. You will need to register the .uk domain name yourself and then transfer the domain name to the third party.
There is nothing on the 123-reg.co.uk .uk sales pitch page to indicate the above facts, instead it implies that virtually anyone could register your .uk domain equivalent which does not match the facts.
To check if the .uk domain will be reserved for you use the Rights lookup tool.
The current fee for a .co.uk is £3.49 whilst customers are being asked to pay £9.99 to pre-register a .uk domain.
What I would do is -
a. Wait to register .uk until I am actually ready to utilise the domain.
b. Wait for the price to drop so that .uk is priced inline with .co.uk
Again, there is NO rush to over pay to register a .uk domain as it is already reserved for FREE for 5 years for all existing .co.uk registrants.
Source and comments: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article45827.html
By Nadeem Walayat
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Nadeem Walayat has over 25 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis focuses on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and housing market. He is the author of five ebook's in the The Inflation Mega-Trend and Stocks Stealth Bull Market series that can be downloaded for Free.
Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication that presents in-depth analysis from over 1000 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets, thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk
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