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Go Daddy confuses buyers by presenting unpriced domains as being in an 80 day auction. Most of these domain names are being send by Go Daddy’s partners such as Afternic and Sedo that recently started a partnership. Sedo refuses to remove domains from Go Daddy. I believe this is confusing to buyers and hurts domain name sales.
All unpriced domains for sale at Go Daddy come up as:
xxxxxxx.xxx is available through Go Daddy Auctions!
Minimum Offer: $xxxx.00 | Auction Ends: 2/xx/2013 6:05:00 PM PST
If you have set a minimum offer at Sedo or Afternic then it appears at Godaddy. If you haven’t then the default $500 minimum appears. Either way this doesn’t change the fact that all domains without a Buy It Now price are presented to buyers as being in an auction.
Of course Go Daddy is more US targeted but nevertheless Go Daddy will destroy domain sales worldwide. Prices are going to come down on domains listed at Go Daddy and fewer sales will happen.
I had never listed a single domain name at Go Daddy and suddenly all my domains appeared there overnight.
Go Daddy perpetually lists all domain names as being in a 80 day auction. Nobody in their right mind will make an offer for a domain that is in auction. They are going to wait for the auction to be close to the end and then make the lowest bid and expect to win the domain. That will not happen. So you are going to have a disappointed and confused buyer and no sale. And you would have wasted 80 fu***ing days. I have had numerous buyers emailing me that Go Daddy has my domain in auction with a $500 bid. That is not true and I will not allow it to happen any more. I don’t put my domains for auction. Not everything is about auctions.
Sedo and Afternic want to target the $500 market and that is their choice but I will not be dragged into that. I don’t sell domains at that price. I don’t even sell below $1500. At least Afternic offers an opt out option of listing your domains at Go Daddy. You just need to contact support and they will remove all your domains from Go Daddy. But Sedo refuses to remove your domains from Go Daddy so the only option left is to remove all your domains from Sedo. I have already removed 3k domains. They didn’t seem to care so I will remove another 3k today. Goodbye Sedo!
So the time to choose is here for all domainers. List at Sedo and have all your domains listed at the Go Daddy garage sale or leave Sedo? I know that a trend is already forming…
This is what is happening to buyers in this email I got:
I’m interested in your domain ***********.com. I bid on 8/10/12 and you counter offered for $*****. I will go no higher than $****.
You’ve had this domain for seven years and I was the only bidder in your auction. This is your one chance to sell the domain.
There was no bid on my domain. The buyer requested a price from the GoDaddy aftermarket and then Afternic asked me to set a price for my domain because it is listed in Afternic. The “counter offer” was me setting a price for this domain name at Afternic that was pushed to the interested buyer. Buyer also seems to think that the domain is in auction and for the past seven years (the years that the domain is registered) nobody has made a bid. This very disturbing. GoDaddy should make it clear that most domains in it’s system are NOT in auction. Just because their aftermarket is called Go Daddy Auctions it doesn’t mean that all domains listed are in auction!
I tried searching for my domain name at GoDaddy and of course it appears to be in auction. Auction ends on 9/13/2012 and says “Minimum Offer: $500.00” although the domain is now priced. My price is nowhere to be seen.
Then a week after the email above I got an offer through email for one of my domains for $300. I politely declined the offer for my 14 year old .com domain only to get this reply:
What are you looking for?
It is listed on GoDaddy Auctions for $500.
No it’s NOT! GoDaddy confuses the buyers by presenting the minimum offer at $500 instead of what it is and also by implying that a bid for $500 will win the domain in the auction if there are no other bids. Buyers then get the real price and they feel cheated and angry.
And here is another email:
Dear Sir or Madame,
I noticed you have for sale the domain name: ****.info .
The minimum to trigger auction appears to be $500.00 .
I’d be interested to learn what you would accept to buy the domain please.
Thank you.
I also get questions from blog readers that ask why does my domain shows as auction at GoDaddy.
Yesterday someone searched at google for “what happens make offer godaddy auction” and ended up at one of my posts. People don’t know what’s going on and are trying to find out. I am not getting any sales tat Go Daddy and potential buyers are confused by the whole process.
And here is the last email from today:
I find this domain on an auction and there was a start price for 1278$ and there were no bids… I will do this price bid like a chance to have this domain, but this auction were finished early.
That is enough for me.
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Well said. As I stated at http://acro.net/blog/domains/get-in-control-of-your-domain-assets/ domain investors should take control of their domain assets. No-one has the right to peddle your assets on every bazaar and every street.
An industry clusterf*** of grand proportions. GoDaddy wanted inventory for its TDNAM, the easy way was Sedo, which held 1.6 million domains last month. We’ll see how many will be left next month, what with Internet Traffic and other PPC platforms rising fast.
That ain’t looking good.
Very well said. This is really frustrating and after reading your article I am planning to remove all my domains from Sedo.
where to go ?
Right, nice article and very well said. I kinda had a weird feeling about my registrars actions. i guess i needed this eye-opener. Now i need a new plan of attack!
I’ve also received such confused emails, it’s not good at all… we should at least define the minimum amount but perhaps their system isn’t able to provide such option on an account basis yet…
I have set the minimum amount on all my domains at Sedo but the listings still appear as auctions at Go Daddy.
They just have a higher minimum bid and an 80 day auction in progress…
WHAT does Sedo think they are doing??!!
My domains are MY assets – I never gave Sedo permission to offer MY domain assets for sale via GoDaddy….I never gave GoDaddy permission to offer my domain assets for sale/auction.
I’ve asked Sedo FOUR times now to remove my domains from their SedoMLS system – and they have not even acknowledged my request, let alone removed my domains from their MLS system.
I, too, will now most likely remove all my domains from Sedo.
Wake up, Sedo…!
.
Maybe ask Sedo again, they did remove my domains from their system each time I asked them. Contact security@sedo.com
Remove all your domains from Sedo!!!!!!! Now!!!!!!!! Do not delay again!!!
Put them for lease!!!!!!!!
Same happened to me with applicious.com, which back in 2009 drew an offer of US$5350 (though negotiations broke down subsequently). I have it listed as at SEDO and recently received an offer of $60 (of which SEDO would take $50, leaving me $10). What person in their right mind would accept such nonsense.
As others have said and will say again, this linkup twixt SEDO and GoDaddy, dilutes SEDO’s brand, given the animosity it’s causing.
Carl Edgar
applicious is a very good and innovative name. All the best!
I’m not very knowledgeable regarding the GoDaddy acuction process either. But I have had interested parties contact me asking if I can sell them the domain without waiting for the auction to end.
Why can’t GoDaddy just offer a simple program where we can directly list our domains at Buy Now prices? Then… who would need Sedo?
Thanks for sharing. I want to sell my domain getmedi co uk. Can you advice me on that?
All domains should have a mandatory price of $10 and owners should have to prove legimate use or be force to sell domain for $10 to anyone who actuals wants it for a website.
Whatever…
We can do this for everything. Houses etc….
Housing is a completely different commodity with a completely different market and you know it is.
That is just a lame arguement.
Housing is a need and more housing will be build.
Domain names are a want and there is a finite number of usuable ones.
I cann understand the business ideal of making a bucks but I know domains have been on sale for years with no website and no buyers.
Domain names are a commodity too. Domains are not a want and they are not finite!
You can have any number of domain names you want. But of course you want the domains that people bought before you did. Sex.com is not being used… Why don’t you take it and give it a good home?
Let me think… I want a couple of blocks in Manhattan. Why don’t we make all blocks in the world priced at $10 so everybody can buy one and use it? I’ll take 100 in Manhattan please.
But then you will not be able to rent them or lease them or sell them. What are you going to do then? You are back at the beginning.
Why don’t people buy houses in the north pole? Maybe because these are not USABLE???
Do you know how many houses have not been sold in the US for years?
Why don’t we stop all transactions in the world for every thing that exists?
Give one example where having a house costs only $10 a year in tax/fees. You are just taking advantage of a system that was created decades ago and never updated. I doubt anyone 20 years ago would think that one person buy 6,000 domain names to have no site. Too bad that when it comes to technology law markers are too slow to act.
99.9% of my domains are not worth the same as a house.
I’m 64 and on the Net since 1993. I don’t offer free advice any more, but when I see things like this, I feel I must react before people begin to believe this kind of ideas.
No offense, Mike, but value is all in between the ears. There’s no such thing as Fair Market Price, Over Pricing and Under Pricing. The latter two ideas are used by jealous people who cannot or don’t want to pay for asking prices.
$10.00? Kidding? Registration fee begins around $9,99 at GoDaddy.com.
Also, everybody is free to contact a domain owner directly to negotiate. That’s what happening on markets: People negotiate and win or loose.
On plenty markets, where fish is presented on ice, some sellers price their fish higher in the morning because their products loose in quality in the hope they will sell before the competition that stays on the market when they have left.
In the end, like it or not, the truth is that most things in Life are on a First-Come basis, including nicely priced homes, cars, holidays, women, etc. So, unless one gets into a better position towards competition, clever negotiation could be the better option.
Good luck,
Johnny.
I totally agree. On the other hand i was just scammed by godaddy when I looked at registering a domain name under .Expert . I typed in window and was told yes its available for $4999.99 then I saw the other names that were available and one was WINDOW.com. I immediately went on to make the purchase of which I have screen shots of and when i hit accept I went to my account which had just been created with the purchase. I then noticed that i didn’t privatize my registration so i went to buy that as well but couldn’t find my order. And although there was a button for pending orders there wasn’t anything in there either. So I called and basically was told I was lying, then after I confronted the person with 2 pictures, was told I didn’t accept the order and then that my cc was used in the past for other names but not this one (which was bs as my bank sent me a new card recently. To make matters worse I was also told that the name was worth $250,000 as to make me even feel even angrier. So I am sick and tired of this scam as its either a marketing promo to get you to divulge all your info and open an account hoping you come back or they actually screen your purchases and instead of holding it in a QUE or CUE they spot a great name that lapsed and SCOOP it up for themselves and then auction it off or give it to an investor that they have. Either way its a disgusting business practice and I would like to know what someone can do to file a complaint. PS: If they told me it was just an error I could understand but they actually blame me for: being stupid to think its available, that I didn’t hit select (which i did) that I didn’t hit ok to TOS and so on. BUT THEN WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME ITS BEEN TAKEN! Then those things would be irrelevant right?
You mean the registrar price right?, Then I too would accept.
I believe the owners have the right to set a price they want. Its up to the buyers t decide.
Buying domain names from people who lost their domains because some professional screwed them and forgot to renew their domain name is lame. Selling domain names that were registered for the first time is ok by me,
The whole domain commodity argument has a big cloud over and too much greed.
Just my opinion.
The vast majority of expiring domain names are simply abandoned because they are no longer needed. The fact that some expire by accident doesn’t change the fact that somebody might want them. That could be post-auction ie at the moment they drop and are deleted and become available for registration again.
When the previous holders realize their mistake they are not going to buy them back either. That seldom happens. And if they didn’t notice the domain has expired and stopped functioning it’s usually because the domain was not actively used in the first place.
The ultimate value of the domain is not related to the previous ownership, unless we are talking about a domain that used to be developed and was bought because it has residual traffic.
you are a stupid greedy idiot. world might be better without you konstantinos
That’s a juvenile analogy, Mr. Zournas, and you know it. You neither built the technology nor develop the infrastructure of the world wide web. You are merely taking advantage of a loophole in the system.
Here’s a more appropriate analogy. Imagine if birth names are traded similar to domains. Imagine if squatters buy these names by the thousands and sit on them, simply to sell them at a later date and earn an undeserved profit. Imagine parents being forced to pay exorbitant sums for the names of their children. This is exactly what is happening in the domain industry. Deserving people and companies are forced to pay squatters for the right to use domains that are just sitting gathering cobwebs.
Domainers are nothing more than speculators taking advantage of the unsuspecting public and a barely regulated domaining industry.
Some of the most successful domaineers in the world were early squatters. That’s all. There is hardly any skill or talent required to be a successful domaineer.
I look forward to the day when more extensions are released to the public. Perhaps then we will see the end of the reign of the parasitic domain squatters.
Before you lash out and respond in anger, consider this: most people outside the industry think exactly the way I do. So before you wail at a similar injustice in future, remember, the public will never sympathize with you squatters.
Of course domainers are speculators, just like stock traders or even real estate firms. At least the domainers are not going to sink the economy like the banks did. But I bet you hold them in higher esteem no matter how many people are evicted from their homes.
Nobody forces you to buy domains at premium prices, there are plenty of extensions already.
Everything you post reveals your ignorance. Suffice it to say, there are very few successful domainers, the vast majority are losing money. It does take skill and talent to be successful. But you are so full of prejudice that you can’t see that.
BTW domains can be resold even in .au. The TLD is less restricted than it used to be. Hint: perhaps there is a reason.
So what you’re saying is you’re squatting on 6000 domains and you’re upset because no ones paid you 1500.00+ for them??? I completely agree with Niko’s comment, way too much greed in the industry. You’re essentially holding something to ransom in the hope you can extort a higher value from someone for something that has no more value than the original purchase price…
I love the AUD domain system, no squatters, no buying a domain space just to take advantage of the fact you happen to find it before someone who could make good use of it did, and best of all you need to be a registered business in Australia.
Nuff said….
What upsets you is that domain naming (like housing) is a free market. You imagine that if a “domain squatter” didn’t register your chosen name, you would be first in line to get it. That is simply not true. Any name that has value has been thought of by thousands of people. Demand vs supply creates pricing. Domain investors actually keep domains available for serious users, rather than casual registrants – who either wouldn’t act on their dirt cheap investment, or would develop a valuable name in a manner that wastes a precious resource.
Well I’m glad I found your post Konstantinos!
I was just about to sign up to Godaddy auctions not really knowing much about it at all.
May I ask all you knowledgeable people who are reading this thread, which is the best way to go?
Just register with Afternic and no-one else, then get them to remove GoDaddy listings?
As experts what prices would you say these (of my domains) are worth?
androidrad.com
dingaway.com
goodfunthings.com
helpexclamationmark.com
hwiky.com (How Will I Know You)
iamonlyamachine.com
iansbadges.com
iansjewellery.com
inventivitus.com
jetfever.com
mopedmovies.com
sitfirst.com
thunck.com
vpanties.com
I also have these which I could throw in with the relevant .com names for free?
hwiky.co.uk
iansbadges.co.uk
ianjewellery.co.uk
mopedmovies.co.uk
sitfirst.co.uk
How do you determine what price it might be possible to get for a domain name?
I’m really poor at the moment which is the only reason that I’m considering selling these although the little research I’ve done
into it makes me think that what you guys do is rather cool 🙂
Sadly, your domains have no popular keywords, and little to no value.
If you keep dingaway and goodfunthings long enough, you MIGHT receive an offer someday.
Domain forums can give you more answers.
your as much of a scumbag as godaddy so stop bitching all of you domain sellers days are numbered, there should be a law/rule that if you dont use a domain for a legitimate site it get taken back after a year and you cant buy it for another year, that way if someone wants to open a genuine business they dont have to deal with scum like you and godaddy your strangling new businesses and corrupting what the www should be shame on you! either a name is gone (in use) or its not.
You Scott have too many bikes for sale scottsbikes.ie. If you are not using then then these should be taken away from you.
I would like one. Send it over when you have the time.
Then someone should take your domain name racealltracks.com. You are not using it.
You people are something. You have zero understanding of society of the past few thousand years.
So you guys are not answering the biggest question we need an answer to. Where is another good solid place to sell my domains if i remove them from sedo and afternic and the godaddy auctions? Ive had no bids?
haha thats not the same at all a bike is a tangible object not a name, i should buy all names an then when you have kids you have to buy the name you want off of me yeah? an racealltracks is in development it had to be bought before it was completed because of the godaddies of the world otherwise it could be left till completion . Zero understanding eh least we understand tax eh 🙂
Yes it is. It’s not the same in your mind only. People like to think that their things are more valuable or just different.
You can’t buy all names because there is infinite number of domain names available. And you have to pay renewal fees every year.
For bikes you don’t. I have paid a lot of money for all my domains. I didn’t get them for free as you might think.
I just paid $7100 for my company’s initials.
I don’t get your tax comment.
You still have to find a warehouse to keep the bikes. You either have to pay the rent and/or an annual tax. Holding thousands of bikes is clearly more expensive than holding thousands of domain names.
Ok Ruth.
And keeping 100 diamonds in my pocket is even less expensive.
Whatever.
oh yeah which bike would you like ill send it over with a bow around but obviously ill be leasing it to you! 🙂
apoligies for the name calling but its very annonying and you dont get it at all, “your business to make money requires people to make a real business one that actually does something honest and geniune to make money” you do nothing and make nothing, really godaddy in respect to there domain buying is a new business parasite.
Following your thoughts then you do nothing also and make nothing. Bike companies make the bikes. You just resell them.
You are pretty annoying too because I could have bought the bikes for almost half the price.
i dont buy or sell bikes, i dont own or work for scottsbikes either so im not sure what your on about, i did register the domain for them though.
Best of luck with your business
i love the way you bring up price “buying something for half price”
.com price approx 8 euro
price parasite resellers wish to sell at 500 euro and up to crazy figures like 50,000 euro
Al Capone wasnt even that cheeky 🙂
That is the renewal price not the acquisition price and even if it was maybe you want to buy a vintage Hurley Davidson for $50?
I guess you can’t!
I pay thousands of dollars every year in renewals and purchases. No I will not sell to you for $8.
I will not lose money just because you want me to!
That is how society works. If you don’t like then that is your problem.
entitlementmentality.com is available 😀
I see people asking here how much is their “whatever”.co.uk worth does the uk and all other european countries not prohibit the buying of domains without a business number or valid business reason yet, Ireland does you cant buy a .ie without a business number or say being a sole trader a valid claim to that name as in trading under it, put in writing to the irish domain registry board. I know .com is a free for all i didnt know the rest still were.
That doesn’t mean that someone can’t buy 1000 .ie domains and do nothing with them for ever.
You have things mixed up a bit…
if im to take your example of a Harley Davidson bike a vintage or any classic car which would be worth more money now in good condition than it was when it was bought its an asset that continues to grow in worth. If your domain is attached to a business and gets traffic daily well i would agree with you in the comparrison hole heartedly, but if this name goes to a holding page of godaddy or some other hoster and gets no traffic i’m afraid your logic is flawed. Its just a name bud just a name.
It’s just some scrap metal bud, just metal.
you can try to buy a 1000 .ie’s yes I never said you could’nt but you have to justify to the Irish registry board why you should be granted these names, and they decide whether you will get the domain. ie (if your company you will get iselldomains.ie or onlinedomain.ie but you wont get stocksnshares.ie or fashion.ie or basically anything that you cant justify because you cant buy .ie for re-sale.
Categories: Every application for a domain needs to be correctly categorised. There are 11 main categories which your application can be classified as. Each category requires different supporting information to be supplied in order to verify your application for a domain. If the supporting information you provide is not correct you will be asked to submit appropriate documents which can delay the application process.
Connection with Ireland: If you are not based within 32 counties of Ireland you must show that you have a connection to Ireland in order to register a .ie domain name. A connection with Ireland can be confirmed as any of the following points:
Being an Irish resident or citizen.
Being a company registered in Ireland, or with offices/branches in Ireland.
Having a Registered Business Name with the Companies Registration Office.
Providing evidence to show that they are either currently trading with or providing a service to Irish customers (such as invoices, high quality marketing material aimed at the Irish market, or a solicitor or accountant’s letter confirming their current or future trade with Ireland).
Providing evidence to show that they will be relocating to Ireland in the near future.
Holding a Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland or EU Community registered Trademark.
Once a connection has been proven any applicant will not need to prove it again for any future domains they wish to register.
First Come First Served: Domain registrations are subject to a first come first served policy. Once an application has been submitted it will remain on our system for 30 days pending the completed application and the submission of correct supporting information. During this period nobody else can apply for the same domain name and providing the applicant can show a claim to the domain name within the 30 day period the domain will be registered.
********* No secondary market: As part of the ongoing efforts to prevent cybersquatting on the .ie domain space it is strictly prohibited for a domain holder to advertise their domain name for sale. In addition if it is evident that a domain name has been sold that has not been proven to be in connection with the sale of a business , the domain name can be deleted with five working days notice. ***********
The rules above should be applied to every domain in my view, everybody is welcome to their own. 🙂
And in North Korea if you register NorthKoreaSucks.com they throw you to the dogs.
Just because Ireland does it doesn’t mean it is sane.
You can believe whatever you want but you still have to play by the rules.
You stick with .ie and we all others will stick with .com and all the other gTLDs and ccTLDs.
Of course some countries like Ireland restrict their TLD heavily. But it is a fallacy to assume that the restrictions automatically result in increased supply of good keywords.
First of all, the really good domains were registered long ago. In spite of the restrictions.
Then, you have to justify the need for a domain. Just because it is available doesn’t mean it will be granted to you.
If you want a generic (“discretionary”) domain: even more justifications and no guarantee you will have it.
And if the domain you want is already taken, the case could be made that you are not allowed to buy it from the current holder since domain sales are prohibited ?
You see, things are not that simple.
In similar countries (eg .ca) the restrictions are protectionist in nature: you are free to speculate on .ca as long as you are Canadian.
If the restrictions work so well, feel free to share your outstanding portfolio of for-business-only .ie domains with us if you would like.
I just think that if someone creates a REAL business puts time and sweat into it that they should have the right to that name LIKE THEY DO HERE and no jumped up ticket scalper is gonna tell me different, they brought out rules for that to ya know, so people couldnt go an buy 50 concert ticketS then stick them up on the internet for what ever price they like.
To Kate i don’t have a portfolio of domains because im not a web parasite, i believe in creating business not holding it back to line my own pockets like some greedy ticket scalper, i have 2 domains that i own and am developing sites for both and an app to support one. If i dont put those sites live for some unforseen reason within the year I paid for they’ll go back in the pool, they are not for resale. They are .com’s as I have never purchased a .ie for myself.
Concert tickets have nothing to do with domains.
I am using all my domains no matter what you may think. I attend to them 1 by 1 multiple times every year.
1 person can’t use 50 tickets.
So you are from Ireland but never registered a .ie domain ?
It speaks volume about how attractive .ie is.
Instead of bitching about .com domains that were taken long ago, why don’t you use your own TLD instead, since it’s so well run and regulated according to you. Or are you preaching water while drinking wine ?
oh dear lord does everything have to be explained: I havn’t bought an .ie yet because I can get them later and redirect so there’s no hurry i only have 2 domains “I DONT BUY AND SELL DOMAINS” i have bought plenty of .ie domains for other people’s business. Also I have never charged more than the domain cost me I do charge for the hosting though.
To Konstantino fair enough if your using the domains you have, thats a good way to make them valuable, I wish you the best with them, and your business.
In light of this new information if your building websites on your domains great for you, my point was is and always will be ” I dont agree with cybersquating” it slows business progress, I have an issue with patents slowing down progress aswell but thats a trickier one with alot of pros and cons.
Cybersquating is not its very like the tickets “its simple I got it first i’m never gonna use it but i’m gonna hold on to it to stop anyone else using it without paying my 10000 times its original value.
To Kate i’m not bitching im making a point and stating an opinion which im well entitled to and thanks to Konstantinos for allowing me to state my here.
If you think stating a point or opinion is bitching then thats all you’ve done.
Anti-Cybersquatting Piracy Act (ACPA)
Lanham Act S. 43(d)
15 U.S.C. S.1125(d)
All links from this page are optional.
Under the newly enacted section 43(d) of the Lanham Act, trademark holders now have a cause of action against anyone who, with a bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of another’s trademark, registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that is identical to, or confusingly similar to a distinctive mark, or dilutive of a famous mark, without regard to the goods or services of the parties. As with the UDRP, the legislation outlines indicators of bad faith and legitimate use defenses.
The following factors will be considered in determining whether a domain name has been registered in bad faith. The first four would count against a determination of bad faith while the remainder would weigh in favor of a bad faith determination.
If registrant has any trademark or other intellectual property rights in the name.
If this is the legal or nickname of the registrant.
The registrant’s prior use of the domain name in connection with the good faith offering of goods and services.
According to the legislative history the defendant will have the burden of introducing evidence of lawful use. Note that while the UDRP provides a defense if the domain name registrant has made demonstrable preparations to use the domain name in a bona fide offering of goods or services, the legislation only provides a defense if there is prior use – not simply preparation to use.
Lawful noncommercial or fair use of the mark in a web site under the domain name.
According to the legislative history fair use includes comparative advertising, comment, criticism, or parody – even where done for profit. However, simply establishing a web site with a fair use, if the actual intent is to sell, will not allow a cybersquatter to avoid a bad faith determination.
Intent to divert to a site that could harm the trademark owner’s goodwill – either for commercial gain or with intent to tarnish by creating likelihood of confusion as to source, sponsorship or affiliation, or endorsement of the site.
Offer to sell the domain name without having used, or having an intent to use, it in the bona fide offering of goods or services, or a prior pattern of such conduct.
Language in the legislative history specifically indicates that this section is not supposed to apply to a party who registers a name with the bona fide intent to launch a new product or company but then abandons that plan and sells the name to a trademark holder.
Intentional provision of misleading contact information in the domain name registration application or the history of such conduct.
Warehousing of multiple domain names known to be identical or confusingly similar to distinctive marks or dilutive of famous marks, without regard to the goods or services of the parties.
According to the legislative history, cybersquatters have been able to avoid liability by not being the one to initiate or offer to sell. Now, sitting on such marks is sufficient evidence of bad faith and an offer to sell is not required.
The extent to which a mark is distinctive or famous.
Under the legislative history, the more distinctive or famous a mark is, the more likely the Trademark owner will deserve relief.
The legislation specifically provides that bad faith intent shall not be found in any case in which the court determines that the person believed, and had reasonable grounds to believe, that the use of the domain name was a fair use or otherwise lawful. The legislation fails to address whether knowledge of the existence of an unrelated business using the same or similar mark will constitute bad faith.
In addition to traditional trademark remedies, plaintiffs may elect statutory damages ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 per domain name. The bill also establishes in rem jurisdiction which allows the trademark owner to file an action against the domain name itself in some cases. See the Jurisdiction module for additional information.
Another important aspect of the legislation is hidden in the legislative history. The way the bill is currently written, the factors for determining bad faith can be applied by the domain name registrar. Thus, in an effort to provide less expensive and timely legal remedies, the legislation allows the registrar to fill the shoes of a court in determining bad faith and exempts them from liability if they do so. If the registrar decides against the domain name holder, the domain name holder will have no recourse against the registrar. Why this provision is necessary given the existence of the UDRP is unclear. As is whether registrars will choose to engage in this balancing.
In a small effort to prevent reverse domain name hijacking, the bill makes a trademark owner who knowingly misrepresents a domain name to be infringing, liable to the domain name holder for damages and attorneys fees resulting from cancellation. A trademark holder who engages in reverse domain name hijacking is not, however, subject to civil penalties.
Three lawsuits were filed within two weeks of the enactment of the bill. New Zealand’s America’s Cup team won a temporary injunction preventing the owners of the domain from using it for a Web site. Harvard filed suit against the registrants of a variety of domain names incorporating the Harvard trademark including . The NFL filed suit against the registrants of .
In the first appellate application of the new legislation, the Second Circuit applied the ACPA to a case initially brought under the Federal Trademark Dilution Act. The court determined that the ACPA could be used prospectively to require transfer of a domain name that was registered in bad faith. Damages, however, will not be available for domain names registered prior to the enactment of the new legislation. In Sporty’s Farm v. Sportsman’s Market, the Second Circuit found bad faith in a situation where “[a] competitor X of Company Y has registered Y’s trademark as a domain name and then transferred that name to Subsidiary Z, which operates a business wholly unrelated to Y.”
If you wish, you can read the full text text of the bill. The legislation was initially drafted as a stand-alone bill, but was later incorporated into another piece of legislation in order to prevent a Presidential veto. Thus to access the legislative history you must look at the legislative history of the prior bill H.R. 3018 and not S.1908. The legislative history is available in the Congressional Record via the Thomas web site.
GREAT NEWS
This is not news.
And it is not what you think it is.
Sorry but you have no clue.
Cybersquatting is not the same as investing in domain names. Cybersquatting is when you infringe on trademarks or third party rights. I don’t sell domains that infringe on third party rights. The bill you mentioned doesn’t apply to us just because we happen to own something you want.
And I too have paid big money for the domain names that I own for my business.
You exhibit an entitlement/Robin Hood mentality because you don’t own great domains. Otherwise your reasoning would be different.
Here’s how your vision translates in the real world:
If you own a house, you should live in it permanently and you should not be allowed to rent it or sell it.
If the State thinks you are not worthy to own it, you stay in the ghetto.
When you pass away, it should be repossessed by the State and awarded to somebody else (not your heirs).
And if the State thinks you are not using it properly (or just doesn’t like you) then it should be able to take it away from you.
It’s a tried model, it’s called communism.
And if you think this is a stretch think about it:
Nobody has ever died of cold or hunger because they couldn’t get a domain.
Personally I don’t like people who dabble in stocks, because their money goes to the banks that make unethical investments, ruin Third World countries and drag us into debt.
I don’t like computer makers too, or fashion shops because their inventory comes from sweatshops far away. Biker sellers too.
I think everyone is a scumbag, but not me, because I’m special and more deserving than anybody else.
jasus you scalpers will die defending yar little patch wont ya, what with yar communism an all, anyway I have a real job to do so i’ll leave you in the hands of the on coming wave. Good luck now an dont forgot to have a nice day 🙂
The issue is much more simple. Domain names are a common good, like air, for example. Nobody in particular “creates” names or air. This is where it is dissimilar with, say, houses. Similar to names, there is a seemingly infinite supply of air. Following your logic, Konstantinos, one can grab all the good air on the planet (by virtue of thinking of it first) and resell it at exorbitant profit. Those who don’t pay are free to breath the “infinite supply” of lesser-quality air–think Kathmandu. (Parenthetically, this scenario was described in a 1929 novel “The Air Seller” by Alexander Belayev.) The fact that squatters invest their money into “facilities to hold the air” is irrelevant for their claims of rightful ownership.
You are wrong. You can’t live without air but you can live without air.com. Try to think domains like stocks now. People paid money to buy stocks. Just because you don’t have money it doesn’t mean that they should sell at $0,01 each.
Oh, and you don’t create land but people own it without using it. What about a new landrush?
“You can’t live without air but you can live without air.com.” — I did not say “without air.” I said, lesser-quality air. Yes, a business person can live without air.com, because a squatter usurped it for a spammy airline tickets redirect page. The businessman who actually works with air, say an environmental protection company, and we as consumers, have to live with a 4-a-i-r-online-web-now.com, i.e. lesser-quality domain name that obscures and complicates the path from the service provider to the consumer and vice versa. I am sure that, if someone were to crunch the numbers, this negative effect could be quantified in terms of tangible GDP losses.
“Try to think…” — I will pretend I didn’t notice the condescension.
“domains like stocks” — stocks represent value CREATED through enterprise activity resulting in goods or services utilized by people. Like I said, nobody “created” names.
“People paid money” — The fact that squatters invest their money into hoarding what they grab does not justify the grabbing.
“Just because you don’t have money” — said someone in Greece 😀
“doesn’t mean that they should sell at $0,01 each” — I never proposed selling at $0.01. I merely argued that the speculative purchase was not right in the first place.
“you don’t create land but people own it without using it. What about a new land rush?” — If you are referring to the land rush in the US, it was an atrocity against Native Americans who, by the way, did not believe in private ownership of the land. If you are referring to Europe, its land ownership stems from the feudal system of land tenure, where the lords who received land directly from the Crown gave portions of their land to lesser tenants in exchange for services. So, ownership in fact was based on creation/productive work. And if you mean Greece… Oh, boy. “If you calculated the total deeds that are registered,” said Dimitris Kaloudiotis, President of national land ownership authority, “the country would be twice as big as it is.” “They would throw a rock a certain distance and say: O.K., that’s mine.” Boundaries can be the “three olive trees near the well” or the spot “where you can hear a donkey on the path.” Until “What does the donkey say?” becomes a worldwide hit, I wouldn’t use Greece as a model of ownership.
Finally, your most profound argument, “You are wrong.” — I would have suggested that you buy youarewrong.com but there is another squatter already sitting on it, in the squatting position with his pants down, I presume. He probably thinks you are right. What a paradox.
You have too much free time. I will not reply to all this. My god, don’t you have anything else to do?
Just tell me this: Who decides who gets air.com? You do? Does the king decides? Do we run a contest? Or a vote?
I say I use the domains, you say I don’t. Someone sells bad quality air at air.com and then you want to take over and sell good quality.
This never ends.
You say I don’t need 10000 square feet to live in. I say I do.
Of course someone created domain names. Billions of them were created. Billions are still free. You are just angry someone was there first to take the best ones.
Is the margin you are mad at? If I sold all the domains I got for $100 for $200 would that be ok?
Because speculation is part of today’s society. Either accept this or I don’t know… Maybe stop visiting blogs like this one that makes you mad.
What a pitiful dribble. It is a public forum, Konstantinos. You touched upon an important topic in your original post and subsequent lengthy exchanges with the public (must have taken none of your precious time whatsoever, I reckon, right?). I made my contribution to the discussion. It contradicted your position. You snapped and covered your monitor in spit.
Now, you can have this blog all to yourself–here, squat on it too. =))
You are wrong again. (youarewrongagain.com is free) This is not a public forum. This is private. It’s mine and I let you call me names.
My original topic had almost nothing to do with what you and a couple of others say in the comments.
You try to stop capitalism in my private forum. Well I don’t think you will succeed.
You analyzed my every word and replied with 100 words for each word I write.
All this comes down to one simple thing.
You want to have something I have and YOU want to be the one that decides that YOU deserve it more than I do.
its simple buy a domain if there is not a legtitmate business running under that domain name within 2 years it goes back in the pool and the previous buyer cannot buy it back for a month, the squater can buy it back at that stage if he chooses for the normal .com rates.
This does leave only one way to really trade in names which is ok: to set up a company, trade and increase the value of the comepany / name, then it has some value more than the original 8 euro
People buy domains for all different reasons. Not just for a business.
Who decides if a business is legitimate or not?
Who buys it back? There could be 100 or 100000 people wanting that same domain name?
And there a millions of domain names registered every year. Will you be watching them all?
This is not how the world works! Unless someone wants to play god and decide everything!
This will never happen. Give it a rest.
Now companies will own a gTLD like .bike. They are allowed to make the decision that you don’t get a single domain name ever.
Or that renewals are $1000 per year. (that was already happening with .tv)
This is business. “Normal” does not exist.
Wrong “Barbie”: Mattel Lives up to its Doll’s Airhead Image – Cybersquatter No Nobel Prize Winner Either
The Barbi Twins
The Barbi Twins
Mattel recently went after domainer Konstantinos Zournas in order to seize the barbitwins.com domain name. See Mattel, Inc. v. Konstantinos Zournas, NAF Claim Number 1203398 (Aug. 8, 2008).
Mattel claimed that the “barbi” portion of “barbitwins.com” was confusingly similar to their registered BARBIE trademark. In their complaint, Mattel said that Mr. Zournas made no legitimate use of the domain name, and that it was merely a Pay-Per-Click page directing traffic to porn sites.
Mattel also claimed that Mr. Zournas registered and used barbitwins.com “with the intent to trade on the goodwill Complainant has earned in its BARBIE products, and to enhance the commercial value of his own services. Respondent has damaged the reputation, business and goodwill of Complainant.“
Unfortunately for Mattel, Mr. Zournas was not trying to capitalize on the BARBIE trademark — but the personal fame of a pair of actress/models known as The Barbi Twins. As Mr. Zournas correctly alleged in his response to the UDRP complaint:
The Barbi Twins are real people. Shane Barbi and Sia Barbi, also known as The Barbi Twins (born April 2, 1963 in San Diego, California), are identical twins and adult pin-up models. After their parents’ divorce, Shane and Sia legally took on their mother’s maiden name of Barbi. (source)
Accordingly, Mattel had no legitimate complaint against Mr. Zournas, and he got to keep the barbitwins.com domain name — for the time being.
The Proper Complainants in this Action
The Proper Complainants in this Action
Two things are striking about this case. First, did Mattel actually let Barbie, herself, make the decision to file this action? Had they never heard of The Barbi Twins? Someone on Mattel’s intellectual property management team must know how to use Google, no?
The second thing that strikes me about this case is that the arguments that Mr. Zournas used in his own defense in this case will prove fatal to his case if the real Barbi Twins bring an action against him. His site is not a “fan site,” (which might be fair use) but rather is a Pay-Per-Click site with ads keyed to adult entertainment links. That is not a legitimate use.
If the real Barbi Twins file a UDRP action against Mr. Zournas, the statements he offered in his defense in this action will be their best evidence of his bad faith registration. Perhaps Mr. Zournas won’t mind. I know that I would like to have the Barbi Twins beat me — in a UDRP action.
your a cybersquater you admitted it, end of!
Sure you can call me whatever makes you happy.
Now check out BarbiTwins.com, that I donated to the real Barbi Twins, and what they say about me:
“Our gratitude goes to our fan and friend Konstantinos Zournas who gave us the domain name BarbiTwins.com
XOXO Thank you!!!”
oh my god you gave them what was theirs, without a fight, which would only inevitably lead to financial loss on your part, your so generous !!! hope you at least got a ride out of it 🙂
Mattel, Inc. v. Konstantinos Zournas
Ok so my question is this. Where is the best way to either park domains and/or sell them?
@ mILAN
THERE IS NO BEST WAY TO PARK DOMAINS
DOMAINING IS ALSO AN HEROIC, AN EPIC WAR AGAINST GOOGLE: a war for LIBERTY.
Parking, displaying advertising, is the FIRST USE FOR GENERIC DOMAINS, but google has been making sabotage for THE LAST 10 years in all manners. They will not be able to take control of the entire wolrd economy and every single human being if generic domains will start to be kept and used by people and companies. To execute their plans each single company HAVE TO BE FORCED to use their systems. Premium generics give LIBERTY to companies and they can not permit that could happen.
Anyway, the war is not ended yet, althought the hopes are very fews, since there are not billion of people out there screaming all the day: “SEARCH ENGINES CAN NOT RUN GENERIC TLDs!!!”, like each FREE MAN would expect to listen and read EVERYTIME and EVERYWHERE.
“….like each FREE MAN would expect to listen and read EVERYTIME and EVERYWHERE.”
ALL THE TIME and EVERYWHERE, sorry (althought this is not the unique mistake I did).
ALL THE TIME AND EVERYWHERE, from BILLIONS of people, like each FREE MAN would expect TO LISTEN AND READ
…..
“SEARCH ENGINES CAN NOT RUN GENERIC TLDs!!!”
Ah, in case someone didn’t see it: GOOGLE CLAIM TO RUN 101 NEW GENERIC TLDs, I REPEAT G E N E R I C TLDs.
But no one stop working, his say by day job. No one scream and write all over the world, in any website, forum, blog, wherever: “SEARCH ENGINES CAN NOT RUN GENERIC TOP LEVEL DOMAINS!”
No one seems is asking for an ACT TO STOP this CRIME, I REPEAT C R I M E, AGAINST HUMANITY, AGAINST FREE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SO LIBERTY AT ALL.
P.S. Thank you Konstantinos for not doing censorhip. I will not post again. If people decided to do nothing, to not make his battles against search engines claiming to run GENERIC new TLDs, it means they are really something different from a Human Being.
If they accept to loose the Liberty forever and ever, ok. They are deciding this. No excuse here, for no one, since preventing search engines to run generic TLDs is THE MOTHER OF ALL THE BATTLES FOR LIBERTY. AND THE WAR IS NOW OR NEVER MORE.
Domaineers are those who engage in domaineering which, according to a Prof. William Lorenz, is the web-based marketing business of acquiring generic Internet domain names for the purpose of monetizing them through their use primarily as an advertising medium. In essence, the domain names function as virtual Internet billboards with generic domains being highly valued for their Pay Per Click ( PPC) revenue generating potential derived by attracting natural Internet traffic hits from organic search engine results. As with traditional advertising, domaineering is part art and part science. Often to be the most effective as advertising tools, keyword rich domain names and their corresponding landing pages must be engineered or optimized to produce maximum revenue which require domaineers to have considerable knowledge of search engine optimization ( SEO ) practices, marketing psychology and an understanding of the target market audience.
Domaineers generally utilize a firm offering domain parking services to provide the sponsored “feed” of a word or phrase searched for thus creating a mini-directory populated largely by advertisers paying to promote their products and services under a relevant generic keyword domain. Occasionally content is added to develop a functional mini-website.
…”Domaineers generally utilize a firm offering domain parking services to provide the sponsored “feed” …”
Of course they utilize a “central” firm, to make those virtual billboards works.
Even yellow pages editors utize sale agents.
Anyway the truth here is one only: google has been sabotating parking model business for 10 years with the complicity of parking platforms. The reasons of that are clear even for dumb: type-in is more powerful than google.
Money has been the search engine in real life for centuries and still is. It is normal and is even good, in some cases: if you spend money means you are credible for potential customers. All marketing professionals and entrepreneurs know this law.
Parking is the first legit use of GENERIC domains and google’s management, jointly with managements of parking platforms, have to be sued with a CLASS ACTION.
I repeat: that SABOTAGE, which is going on for 10 years, claims a CLASS ACTION, with COMPENSATIONS for registrants that trusted in those parking platforms.
“Domaineers are those who engage in domaineering which, according to a Prof. William Lorenz, is the web-based marketing business of acquiring generic Internet domain names for the purpose of monetizing them through their use primarily as an advertising medium.”
That is only a secondary scope, according TO ME, and not to mr.Lorenz, since I don’t know who the fuck is mr.Lorenz and I don’t care. The PRIMARY SCOPE of domaining is KEEP THE FREEDOM OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, and not leaving the board of one single company take control of all the humans and all their businesses worldwide.
THIS is THE SCOPE OF DOMAINING, mr.Gniree Naimod (even if I know many are only speculators with no interest for freedom in entrepreneurship, but this doesn’t matter: any free entrepreneur prefer giving some money to them today that be screwed forever by google.
Can someone tell me if this is permitted. If you go to godaddy and search for a domain – but when you are presented the price – you see that its too expensive – but available. You then go to another service like 1and1 – and you realize that the domain is NOT available. Because godaddy parked your domain based on your search. Is that legal. This is unfair for competition that they park domains just based on if someone searched for it.
The domain you searched for was probable registered by someone 5 or even 15 years ago.
Go Daddy did not “parked” the domain at the time you made the search.
The owner is selling the domain name at the price you see using Go Daddy as the broker.
Check whois for that domain so you can see who owns it and when it was registered.
Dont think so. Its one of those new .photography .online .restaurant domains. This happened yesterday.
1. First searched for it on godaddy. It was available
2. then went on 1and1 – it was AVAILABLE, upon buying it. 1and1 sent me a message saying it was unsuccessful.
3. Went back to godaddy – its still available
All of the above happened withing an hour. The whois sevices apparently dont catalogue those new TLDs yet.
These are all different.
.photography is in general availability. .online and .restaurant only accept pre-registrations.
There are also premium priced domains that have renewals at $50-400 per year.
What new gtld did you search for?
Check this whois for .photography: whois.donuts.co
.
The following is taken from Canadian Professor William Lorenz’s pioneering work on “Evolving Trends In Ecommerce Marketing”.
Some of the usual steps involved in how to do domaineering:
1) Open an account an at a domain registration company. Shop around for the best deals.
2) Open an account at a domain parking company of your choice. Tip: Consider opening several accounts because some domain parking companies do better with certain domain names than do others.
3) Think of a word or phrase to register as a domain name. The more generic the better and TLDs do matter.
4) Check the trademark registries to see that the word or phrase is not a registered trademark. Consider obtaining professional legal advice about this as it can be tricky.
5) Register your word or phrase as a domain only if you are certain it is not infringing on a trademark.
6) “Park” your domain at your domain parking company.
7) Where you registered your domain, switch your domain’s dns to those of the domain parking company.
8) Customize the landing page for your domain at the domain parking company if necessary.
9) You are now ready to start collecting PPC advertising revenue.
Trademarked domains mean nothing. I don’t understand why everyone is so hung up on this. Almost every awesome generic term has some sort of trademark on it, don’t let that deter you from purchasing the domain.
The only time you are actually infringing on a mark is when you use the name for a purpose to which the trademark has been applied to.
For example, you go to register a domain chase dot whatever. Oh No, there is a trademark on the word “Chase”. But hold on, chase is just a normal dictionary word. No one on earth can have rights to a dictionary word UNLESS you plan to use it for what it is actually trademarked for, in this case, “Chase” is trademarked for banking and finances. So, you could not use “Chase” for anything related financially. However, there’s a million other uses for the domain chase dot whatever that everyone is welcome to use.
So folks, get off the “OMG that word is trademarked!” bandwagon, and get registering!
I scanned though here, so I hope I haven’t missed the point! I have been trying to buy domains on GoDaddy austions with’buy now’ options. The RIDICULOUS thing I have noticed is that there are hundreds and hundreds of domains listed on 90 day auctions that will NEVER sell at the ‘Buy Now’ prices being asked – they are utterly ridiculous. This is not determined by the market because the market value is what people are offering – ZERO! Someone needs to educate sellers about this and Godaddy needs to run 3 day auctions – not 90 day marathons! There is no reason for 90 days! 7 days max I would suggest.
The point is that these are not real auction that the sellers started.
Go Daddy makes simple domain listings appear as being in this 90 day auction.
BTW market value is not zero. Check your facts!
this post is on G page 1 , for term “godaddy auctions”
Wow, what a solid blog and best content you have t here, Kantos, thank you for sharing and keeping this blog so respectful and honest. Hope you keep rolling bud.
BTW, the reason am here is godaddy auctions SUCKS!
I love how you people buy hundreds (in some cases) thousands of domains and sit on them thinking someone will buy that crap. Since nobody has ever had the balls to tell you the bare bones truth, I will. YOU WASTED YOUR MONEY! Now let the damn domains go so people with creative ideas can actually build websites. It’s absolutely ridiculous that you morons sit on thousands of domains just to try to rip off somebody who wants to make an actual website.
Now, I can understand if your sitting on business.com, houses.com, cheaphotels.com Those will actually serve a purpose and quite possibly draw interest from somebody who wants to buy it. But you fucking morons who sit on ayhgq.com, biga2day.com & 3waymonkey.com are assholes who need to kill yourself.
As a web developer and entrepreneur it pisses me off when I want to make a simple forum for my friends and can’t buy a creative domain cause one of you assholes has it on auctions selling for hundreds more than the piece of shit is worth.NEWSFLASH!
Do you know what people like me do? We sit on godaddy for hours and hours until we find an acceptable domain name. We WILL NEVER pay you morons for your garbage domains.
Now I have been in a situation where I was determined to get a short 5-6 letter .com domain for a business and had the money to spend. You know what I did? I typed the domain in my browser. If I didn’t see information right then and there on who owned it and how I can contact them, I tried another one. Going through auctions sucks because it takes days for the transfer and is a major pain in the ass. If I am going to spend real money on a domain somebody owns, it will be talking to them directly and negotiating. You want to sell your domains? Put your cellphone number and contact info right on the site and say its for sale. That’s how you’ll sell it. Otherwise, your wasting your time and everyone else’s. This advice only goes for real valuable domains. As far as your shitty 18 letter domains, or your crappy domains filled with dashes, digits, and misspelled/made up words, just get rid of them. Nobody will ever ever ever ever ever buy that stupid ass shit.
Period.
If the domains we have are so bad, why do you care?
If we are loosing money and nobody wants these domains, why do you care?
Maybe we can appoint you king and you tell us what domains to register and what domains not to register.
I don’t want your money. You are clearly need all the money you have to buy bullshit domains.
As I have said about 10 times above, the domains that go daddy lists as being in auction, ARE NOT IN AUCTION!!!
But I guess you don’t get that. Try contacting the owner direct using whois details.
Real transfers take 1-5 days. OK?
I don’t own that shit you describe and if I did I wouldn’t take your advice on what to do with them.
You clearly don’t know what you are talking about.
Web developer… Give me a break. Typing domains into the browser… lol
Have you heard of domains that are not resolving because they have no nameservers? Web servers that are down?
Hosting that has not been paid?
Great post!
Spot on Thommy Kane. It’s nice to see those leeches get pissed off for a change.
Yes, bravo Thommy, guy that works for the biggest leech of all: Apple!
Nice to see extortionists getting the shaft for a change….
I was wondering how Bhanged.net got on godaddy auctios. I looked at a couple other names I own and they are listed there too. I didnt submit them but I did sign up and add names at afternic a month ago. Time to dig a little deeper. Should I delete afternic submissions. I went with then cause I searched info at DomainTools.com and suggestions are shown, they went to afternic when i clicked a name. I am a member of godaddy auctions for the record.
Thank you for sharing this info. I see my 55 names all have a buy it now price, with minimum offer set at the minimum which is $250, thankfully. I switched one name to have no buy it now price, see what goodaddy auctions has to say, see how long it takes to switch.
My one name http://www.Bhanged.net has the proper listing price price of $1500 but it says offer $975 or more. How they came up with 975$ when my minimum offer is $250
You would think they have the lowest offer up on the board, get a bite maybe. My name with no BIN price is still listed for $420, no change yet.
Since everyone else is throwing in a recent reg or something for free exposure. I have a question about a domain name I just reg’d
its called http://www.DnPotential.com
Is it worth spending money on developing or should I flip it for a profit? It is a minisite atm
DnPotential.com: No flip potential.
I want to Sell my Google News approved Domain. Please suggest me
I’m glad godaddy is fucking over domain hoarders like it fucks over people wanting those domains for legitimate reasons. 🙂
I wanted to apologies for my previous comment once I checked what prices you are selling your domains at.
I’m just so annoyed at people who buy very niche/unusual names that most people have no interest in and then ask $4,000+ for them.
Your’s on the other hand seem much more value for money.
where is a good place to sell my domain name? and how can I find what it is really worth? I have had it 8 years. my site comes up 1st 6 in listings.
Excellent information in your article and replies. I’m into whole domaineering thing, however, I have been known to flip a domain here or there.
About domaineering: In the parlance of Internet vocabulary or computer jargon, “domaineering” is a now relatively well established web marketing term.
According to published sources on Internet marketing and trademark law, domaineering is defined as a niche web-based marketing business of acquiring and monetizing Internet domain names by purposely focusing on their use specifically as an advertising medium. In essence, the domain names function as virtual Internet billboards with generic domain names being highly valued for their revenue generating potential derived from attracting Internet traffic hits. Revenue is earned as potential customers view pay per click ( PPC ) ads or the Internet traffic attracted may be redirected to another website. Hence, the domain name itself is the revenue generating asset conveying information beyond just functioning as a typical web address. As the value here is intrinsically in the domain name as an information carrying vehicle and not in a website’s products or services, these domains are developed for advertising, ( i.e, “parked” ), and not into “conventional” websites. It is a mistake to characterize a parked domain as “undeveloped” when in fact many are among the most highly specialized and monetized domains being as they are used solely for the purpose of advertising.
As with traditional advertising, domaineering is considered part art and part science. Often to be the most effective as an advertising tool, the domain names and their corresponding landing pages must be “engineered” or optimized to produce maximum revenue which may require considerable skill and keen knowledge of search engine optimization ( SEO ) practices, marketing psychology and an understanding of the target market audience, including demographics and buying habits. Domaineering generally utilizes a firm offering domain parking services to provide the sponsored “ad feed” of a word or phrase searched for thus creating a mini-directory populated largely by advertisers paying to promote their products and services under a relevant generic keyword domain. Occasionally content is added to develop a functional mini-website. In a way, domaineers are eating a part of the search engines lunch as the advertising fees that would normally go 100% to the search engines are shared with them.
Ethical domaineers contend that their product, i.e., “domain advertising”, is a bonafide offering of goods or services in and of itself which provides rights to and legitimate interests in the generic keyword domains they use. This serves as a rebuttal or defense in addressing occasional spurious accusations of cybersquatting on registered trademarks. Domaineers and others who advertise online using generic keyword domains believe domaineering provides a useful, legal and legitimate Internet marketing service while opponents of domaineering criticize the practice as increasing the ubiquitous commercialization of the world wide web. Those same opponents of domaineering suggest that a better use would be for one firm to develop a website for it’s products using a relevant generic keyword domain pointed at or as it’s URL oddly enough for the same commercial purposes they cite the domaineer using it for…that being advertising. Should, however, one firm gain control over an industry relevant generic keyword domain in this way to exclusively market it’s own products under that could be viewed as a significant barrier to entry by denying potential or actual competitors the same advantage to penetrate a market, maintain or increase market share. Domaineers instead can offer their generic keyword domains to several or more firms to advertise under thus promoting healthy competition and making markets more perfect than they otherwise might be to benefit consumers.
Domaineering aka “domain advertising” is practiced by both large organizations which may have registered hundreds or even thousands of domains, ( example: toothpaste.com ), to individual entrepreneurial minded domaineers who may only own one or a few. The identification and defining of domaineering as a distinct Internet advertising practice is attributed to Canadian Professor William Lorenz’s pioneering work in ecommerce evolution.
“Domaineering” is sometimes mistakenly confused with the similar sounding word “domaining” when the two have distinctly different meanings. Domaining, in computer terminology or Internet slang, is best defined as primarily speculating on Internet domain names as intellectual property investments for resale. Domaining may, but does not require, the use of domain parking services. In domaining, generating advertising revenue from domain parking, ( if done at all ), is considered something of a bonus while awaiting a sale of the domain. In short, domaining is the speculation on domains for capital gains by those commonly referred to as “domainers”.
Does GoDaddy bid against others in their own auctions? Ten minutes before an auction ended I typed in my highest bid without entering it, I deleted it with the thought GoDaddy could somehow see it…but amazingly and I kid you not the domain sold for exactly the amount i had previously typed in and deleted. Are they bidding against us to drive up the bid? Is that legal?
No one can see a bid that you just typed on your browser unless it is a specific app that does that and I don’t think Go Daddy has that.