Home Blog

Set a December Reminder for Domain Name Follow-Ups

Yesterday, I was discussing an acquisition target with GoDaddy DBS Broker Jordan Cavanaugh. The company told Jordan it wasn’t interested in selling the domain name as it planned to use it. From what I can see, the domain name has been owned by the same company for many years and hasn’t been built. I suggested a follow-up in December to try and close a deal.

I think early to mid December can be a good time to follow-up with domain name owners when I am trying to buy a domain name. It can also be a good time to follow-up with prospective buyers who previously inquired about one of my domain names.

ICA Vegas 2027 Super Early Bird Tickets Available Now

0

The ICA Meeting in Las Vegas is an event I do my best to attend each year. I always enjoy attending to catch up with friends and colleagues who visit from around the world. It’s a good way for me to get motivated as the year starts. There are panels and keynotes, but the networking is the primary reason I attend each year.

The 2027 meeting will take place at the Park MGM from January 25-27. Full event details are available on the ICA.Vegas event website. What grabbed my attention today is the ICA is polling its members about activities for the 2027 meeting.

2026 Pan-Mass Challenge

Last year, I rode my 12th Pan-Mass Challenge to raise funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Seven of those years were with attorney John Berryhill. With help from colleagues, friends, and family, we have raised more than $200,000 to further the cancer fighting mission of Dana-Farber.

Truth be told, I was not planning to ride this year. I have a longstanding commitment with some friends during PMC weekend, and my family is traveling quite a bit this Summer so I wouldn’t get the miles in on my bicycle. When the January signup window passed without signing up, I regretted it but figured I would be back again next year.

I Prefer Escalating LTO vs. Rentals

Atom.com recently introduced domain name rentals. The idea is that a company might rent a domain name to start using a domain name with a lower upfront financial commitment. I have that option disabled because of the low risk/reward profile.

I have been in a fairly long negotiation for a one word .com domain name I own. I have been going back and forth with various purchase options with the prospective buyer, who uses a non .com domain. A few months ago, we both agreed that a lease to own deal would make the most sense for his startup. Finding terms that work for both of us has been the challenge.

I proposed an escalating lease to own deal. It would be something along the lines of this:

WebHosting.com Acquired by WordPress Parent Automattic

The valuable WebHosting.com domain name has changed hands. The new owner of WebHosting.com is Automattic, the company that owns and operates WordPress. I suspect WebHosting.com will become a web hosting platform appealing to operators of WordPress-based websites. For the time being, Automattic has a “coming soon” lander on WebHosting.com.

Slop.com Domain Name Sold via Above.com

A DomainIQ alert yesterday notified me that the Slop.com domain name had changed registrars. The one word .com domain name was transferred from Above.com to Cloudflare. The nameservers were also changed. I suspected the domain name changed hands, but it wasn’t possible to know with certainty based on the info I had.

Nathan Parker, General Manager of the Marketplace and Brokerage at Above.com, confirmed that Slop.com was sold in a deal he brokered. “I am really excited to see what comes of Slop.com. Love a name that makes you do a double take,” he told me. Unfortunately, the sale price of the domain name was unable to be shared.