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When Whois Contacts Fail, I Use GoDaddy DBS

One of the things I enjoy most about domain investing is the negotiations. Most don’t work out, but I enjoy the thought and effort that goes into a negotiation. It stimulates my brain in a way most other aspects of this business do not. This goes for both buying and selling my domain names.

On occasion, I will use GoDaddy’s Domain Broker Service (DBS) to try and buy a domain name. If I am not hearing back from a domain registrant and don’t want to continue to press, I might connect with a DBS broker to attempt to get a price. In these cases, I am probably not making a substantial enough offer to elicit a reply, so the broker won’t usually be able to help.

Experimenting with Spaceship SellerHub

I’ve been impressed by the growth of Spaceship and its recently launched SellerHub. The sister company to Namecheap has shown a great willingness to engage with its customers, and the platform quickly implements suggestions and feedback. I like working with businesses that value and prioritize customer feedback. The low 5% sales commission is a nice sweetener as well.

About two weeks ago, I added a swath of domain names to Spaceship’s SellerHub as a test. At the moment, I am only listing domain names on the platform without using its landing pages.

Afternic Allows Early LTO Payoff / Payout

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A few years back, I glanced at my phone and saw more than ten consecutive emails from Dan.com. For a moment I was baffled by this, but I quickly realized the domain name buyer who had been on a lease to own plan (LTO) decided to pay the balance early, triggering a flood of confirmation emails. This happened several times, and it was always exciting.

Harvey posted a question about early payoffs for LTO deals managed by Afternic:

WSJ Reports on $1.5 BILLION PE Acquisition of Namecheap

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Richard Kirkendall is one of the hardest working executives in the domain name space as the Founder and CEO of Namecheap. He has built Namecheap into one of the largest domain name registrars, and he recently launched a sister registrar platform, Spaceship.

This morning, the Wall Street Journal reported some massive news as it relates to Namecheap. A private equity company is reportedly close to acquiring a majority stake in the company. Here’s an excerpt from the article with the gist of the deal.

Domain Summit Asia 2025 Coming in November

Fresh off a successful Domain Summit conference in London earlier this month, conference organizers announced a new event coming to Hong Kong later on this year. Domain Summit Asia 2025 will be held November 17-18 in Hong Kong. The event will be co-hosted by Jack Dai of DN.com.

Unlike many domain investment conferences, this event is invite-only. People who are interested in attending will need to register for the event and have their registration approved by conference organizers. Registering interest in attending can be done via Luma.com.

Peter Askew Sells DudeRanch.com

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I can’t say I ever had the desire to take a vacation on a dude ranch, but Peter Askew’s development of DudeRanch.com made that an appealing thought. Over the years, Peter shared photos and stories about his development of the brand he built, and I found myself researching a dude ranch vacation with my family.

Nearly a month ago, Peter mentioned that he was considering the sale of the domain name and business. Yesterday, Peter followed-up indicating the business was sold for an undisclosed amount. The deal was closed via the Quiet Light brokerage:

Recent Posts

When Whois Contacts Fail, I Use GoDaddy DBS

4
One of the things I enjoy most about domain investing is the negotiations. Most don't work out, but I enjoy the thought and effort...

Experimenting with Spaceship SellerHub

6
I've been impressed by the growth of Spaceship and its recently launched SellerHub. The sister company to Namecheap has shown a great willingness to...

Afternic Allows Early LTO Payoff / Payout

2
A few years back, I glanced at my phone and saw more than ten consecutive emails from Dan.com. For a moment I was baffled...

WSJ Reports on $1.5 BILLION PE Acquisition of Namecheap

9
Richard Kirkendall is one of the hardest working executives in the domain name space as the Founder and CEO of Namecheap. He has built...

Domain Summit Asia 2025 Coming in November

1
Fresh off a successful Domain Summit conference in London earlier this month, conference organizers announced a new event coming to Hong Kong later on...