Pre-Orders for Non-Existent Domain Names — Pool Taking
Pool teams up with Quintaris to offer pre-orders domains for fresh TLDs.
In a move that will surely add confusion to an by now crazy process, domain backordering service Pool.com is accepting pre-orders for non-existent domain names such as .xxx and .web.
The service accepts pre-orders for second level domain names on regarding 50 top level domain names that it thinks will be pursued. Clients can also pre-order a domain for any top level domain they can think of.
The pre-orders will have no official standing with the registries that ultimately offer any of these top level domain names. (Unless a registry decides to work with Pool and honor the pre-orders).
The idea behind the service is to figure out how much demand there is for each individual top level domain name. This data will be used to push forward fresh TLDs in general, and the firm will attempt to sell it to organizations interested in launching TLDs. Since no up front fee is required, I don’t think anyone ought to take this data pre-order seriously.
As stated by Pool’s terms:
“A pre-order is similar to a backorder in that it represents a commitment to purchase the domain in the event Pool.com is successful at securing the domain on your behalf.”
Billing information won’t be requested up front, but this language seems to indicate that you will be required to pay an undetermined fee if Pool ultimately gets the domain name on your behalf.
