Using Whois for More Than Buying a Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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0

A few months back, a friend of mine posted an interesting request on her Facebook page. She asked if anyone had the contact information for three different artists, as she was thinking about commissioning a piece of art for the cover of her music album.

I did a bit of historical domain research, and lo and behold, I found what appeared to be a personal (AOL) email address from when one artist had first registered her domain name around 2001. My friend was then able to get in touch with this artist to make a request rather than having to go through other channels to get in touch with her.

Many people don’t consider the privacy issues when using their email address to initially register a domain name. Also, many people don’t really have the need to remain private until they “hit it big” and can change their contact information later.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you contact people using archived Whois records. The first thing is that it’s quite likely that an older email address, especially if it’s free, will no longer be used years later.   More importantly, however, is the likelihood that the person you are attempting to contact will not appreciate being contacted, so be wise about when you use this and to whom. If you have something to offer them, there’s a better chance you’ll get an answer.

Keep Your Whois Records Updated

Elliot Silver
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10

I made a $2,500 offer for a domain name the other day via email, and immediately after hitting send, the email was returned to me as undeliverable.   I did a bit of research, and I found that the domain name used for that email address (but not the domain name I want to buy) had expired and was available for anyone to register.

Technically, I could now register the expired domain name, set up an email forwarder for the Whois email on record, hit “forgot password” at the domain registrar, and use the password reset to take over that company’s domain account. I could then transfer the domain name I want to buy (and all other names in the account) to my domain account.

Domain registrars seem to send an annoying amount of “Annual Whois Update” emails, but it’s important to keep your Whois records accurate and updated. Not only is it useful so you can receive email inquiries (like my $2,500 opening offer) but you can also make sure your domain names aren’t transferred without your authorization.

Taking over the company’s domain account (and/or domain names) would amount to theft (illegal), and I certainly would never do this, but it’s something you need to think about with your own domain names because there are a lot of people who wouldn’t even think twice about doing this and quickly selling the domain names. Now I just need to do a bit more research to get in touch with this company so I can buy its domain name!

Let Me Try & Help You Sell a Newly Registered Domain Name to an End User

Elliot Silver
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128

A while back, someone emailed me to ask if I could be his mentor. I passed because that seemed like a lot of pressure and I didn’t feel qualified to be a mentor. A lot of people seem to have questions about selling domain names to end users, and while I would never say that I am an expert at it, I have had some success.

With that said, I want to try something unique. I want to work with someone who wants to learn how to sell a domain name to an end user. I will communicate with this person via email, and based on the person’s background and experience he (or she) and I will discuss some available domain names and determine one or two of the best and that person will register the domain names with the hopes of reselling one or both for $500 or less, which I have found to be a fair number.

I will then work with the person to help find potential buyers and craft an email that will hopefully lead to a successful sale. I obviously can’t promise that it will lead to a sale, but hopefully the person I work with will get a good understanding of how I evaluate domain names to buy for resale. The more diverse a person’s “real world” experience is, the better, since this could help with buying great niche domain names.

If this is something that is of interest to you, please post a comment in this article, and when I return from my trip on June 7th, I will create a list of people who are interested and use a random number generator to select the winner. I will also be happy to share the results with everyone – or better yet – the winner will write a guest post about the experience. I am headed out of town tomorrow, so comments may be slow to be approved but I will eventually see and approve them.

Disclaimer: The person will be responsible for buying the domain names and will keep 100% of the proceeds if the domain name sells. He/she will be responsible for completing the sale (payment and domain transfer). The person will be responsible for any issues or problems that come up related to the domain name(s). There is obviously no charge for my services for this opportunity. I will only act as an adviser on this project and can’t be held liable for anything associated with this.

Hire a Domain Consultant

Elliot Silver
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28

Hiring a domain consultant can be a very smart idea for a business looking to acquire the right domain name(s). A domain consultant can help a business save money by getting the best possible price for domain names, especially when negotiating with larger portfolio holders with whom the consultant has done business with before. Domain negotiations are unique, and most professional domain consultants have the experience to get deals done privately and at the right price – both on the buy and sell side.

Many domain investors own domain names that are aren’t critical to their business, and selling them can bring liquidity without hurting the company’s portfolio. Knowing where to sell the domain names (auction, private sale, broker…etc) is important, as is setting the right price. Domain consultants can advise the domain owner about where the best place to sell a particular domain name is based on a variety of factors. Consultants know the market, know many of the buyers in the domain industry, and know how to open doors and close deals.

Underperforming domain names are also a problem for domain owners. A domain consultant may know where the best place is to park specific types of domain names, and the consultant may be able to help you better optimize your landing page. Some domain consultants can also help build you custom landing pages for your parked domain names as well. You may also be able to get a better revenue share with a parking company based on the consultant’s experience.

There are several domain consultants who may be able to help with domain name consulting. Here are a few people that I know (this is not an endorsement):

When looking to hire a domain consultant, I recommend asking the following questions and evaluating the answers based on your own needs:

  • What is your experience with something similar to this project?
  • Have you worked with XYZ company before?
  • Have you sold similar domain names and at what prices (price may be confidential)?
  • Can you provide 2-3 letters of reference?
  • Do you charge hourly, by job, on retainer, what is your fee?

Interesting New Domain Blog with Generic Domain Owner Interviews

Elliot Silver
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6

I check Domaining.com daily to see what some of my friends and colleagues are writing about, and it seems like every couple of weeks a new domain blog pops up. Although the space seems to be getting crowded since we’re in such a small industry, I do think it’s good to see different perspectives on various topics.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a new blog appear on Domaining.com (SullysBlog.com), and I’ve visited it several times recently because of the unique content. Mike Sullivan has been interviewing owners/operators of generic domain names including SexToys.com, HeadSet.com and Lobster.com, and I think it’s fun to read their stories.

One thing I learned early on is that there needs to be something unique about your blog that you can offer readers that they may not be able to get elsewhere.   I think its great to read these interviews with people who rely on generic domain names for their business rather than branded domain names.

I wasn’t asked or compensated to write this, and I’ve never met or done business with the blog’s author before. I hope he keeps up his interview series.

Use The Most Popular Baby Name List to Buy Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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6

Mike Berkens informed us that the list of the most popular 1,000 male and 1,000 female baby names in 2009 in the US was recently released. Not too surprisingly, all 2,000 of the names in .com were registered. It was surprising to learn that Berkens’ company owns over 100 of them. Actually, on second thought, it’s not so surprising considering his stellar portfolio.

So with these 2,000 .com domain names registered, you might wonder how you can utilize this list. I have a few ideas that might help you keep an eye on some good names.

1) Using DomainTools, monitor some of the secondary domain names that might be of interest in the future. As some of the less popular .com names expire in a couple of years, you’ll know about it ASAP and can back order or buy them.

2) Buy alternate extensions like .net or .org.   I know a couple of people who own their .org domain names and they love using them on cards and resumes. One is an actress and it’s great for producers to remember her name and see her credits.

3) Buy names like FranksBlog.com or StevesWebsite.com. I’d imagine these would be considered generic / defensible, and they have value. In fact, someone messaged me about the typo name I own – ElliottsBlog.com, although I have no interest in selling that name.

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