I am building "productx", which is a nice and suitable name for the product. Unfortunately, productx.com isn't available. But getproductx.com is available.<p>While I am used to these kind of domains, my target audience isn't. Will opting for getproductx.com hurt in the long run?
From a personal perspective, I'd say choose productxapp.com, if it is an app, over getproductx.com. (Or choose a domain hack, like produc.tx, if that would be possible/available?)
But you always should keep in mind and accept the fact that some of your target audience and visitors will end up at productx.com anyway.
Problem with Xapp.com or getX.com is that once you gain traction (and possibly funding), at some point you'll be buying the original domain for a lot of money (since the owner knows about your startup). I'd recommend to look for another name with an available .com domain.
Is productx.com a parked name or will you be infringing on someone's copyright/trademark? If it is the former and you think you have a home run, buy the domain. If it is the latter you need a new name.
At some point, if you're successful you're going to have to buy them out. I believe mobify started with mobify.me (hey another option!) and then later bought mobify.com after gaining traction.
dropbox started with getdropbox.com and it didn't seem to do them any harm.<p>Their customers were techies though so I take your point about lay people not being 'used' to them. It's really a pretty arbitrary decision though, 'google' means nothing to their customers intrinsically. Build a brand and the name is unimportant.
Did you try to make an offer for productx.com first? The fact that a given domain name is taken shouldn't immediately preclude you from obtaining it. If you were to contact the current owner and pitch a deal, you might be surprised by how flexible they are in working something out.<p>I say this as someone who has direct experience in these matters.