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Private Seller Names on NameJet Should be Registered at Newfold Entities

A NamePros post about NameJet caught my eye this morning because I have dealt with the same situation multiple times. In the NamePros post, the thread starter detailed a month-long, unsuccessful effort to get possession of a domain name he won at auction. Presumably, NameJet collected his payment already, so he is out his funds and the domain name.

I try my best to avoid “Public” domain name auctions at NameJet. The domain names in these auctions are privately owned by domain investors or others who wish to sell their domain names rather than expired domain names. NameJet started out as an auction platform for expiry auctions, but it opened up for private sellers several years ago.

Impress Them With Your Domain Names

As he often does, Peter Askew shared a nugget of wisdom about domain name development I can appreciate:

Besides operating this website and Embrace.com, I have pretty much resigned from web development projects. Peter’s comment still resonated to me because I share his sentiment when buying domain names in the aftermarket. When I tell someone I own a particular domain name – be it at a social gathering or professional event – I want the other person to be impressed. I want them to think to themselves – or ask me – how the heck did he get that domain name?!

Track Down a Domain Owner Who Uses Whois Privacy

Whois privacy shields a domain registrant’s contact information from public view. When private Whois is enabled on a domain name, it can be more challenging – if not impossible – to track down a domain name registrant to buy the domain name. There is no way to see who registered a domain name that has private Whois records short of litigation or a UDRP filing.

That being said, there are several ways I have had success tracking down domain registrants who utilize Whois privacy proxy services. Here are some of the tactics that can be used to learn who owns a domain name that is privately registered:

Keep Your Minimum Offer Realistic

I typically use the DAN.com buy it now landing page with a Make Offer option. I’ve heard and experienced that these landing pages induce far more offers than buy now deals, but I am okay with considering offers on my domain names. The one suggestion I have is to ensure your minimum offer amount is a realistic number you would consider accepting.

The default minimum offer on my account is set at $500. This number was chosen by me, and it is the highest I can set it because I have one or two names for sale with BIN prices of $500, and the highest default minimum I can set cannot be higher than the lowest BIN price. This means that if I do not modify the minimum offer for an individual domain name, $500 will be the minimum offer set as a default. With DAN, I can modify the minimum offer on a per name basis.

Domain Brokers Need to Have a Website

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There are many people who call themselves domain brokers. It’s an easy business to get into, and the self-regulated nature of the business makes it pretty easy for someone to say “I am a domain broker,” without much pushback from anyone. Of course, there is a big difference between good domain brokers with experience and others who don’t have experience, but that’s a different topic.

I recently received an inquiry email from someone claiming to be a domain broker working on behalf of a buyer. Their email address used a custom domain name, and since I had never heard of the person before, I visited the domain name. I was not impressed. I didn’t respond to the email, and it was deleted.

Domain Name Pricing is an Art

I took a Financial Accounting course my first semester of sophomore year in college. I don’t remember much from the class except for one thing the professor told us that I will paraphrase: “accounting is more of an art than a science.” I think the same thing can be said about the pricing of domain names on the aftermarket.

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