Domain Gear on Zazzle

Elliot Silver
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At a Traffic conference in New York several years ago, Trafficz gave out I “heart” Domains t-shirts. That was probably the only domain related giveaway I’ve ever really kept, with the exception of various flash drives and pens.

A few days ago, someone emailed me a link to some domain-related goods on Zazzle and I want to share some of them with you in case you want to broadcast that you’re a domain investor. I don’t think I know the creators of these items/designs, and I have not bought any of them (these aren’t affiliate links either).

If you’ve seen any other domain investor related  paraphernalia, feel free to post the link to it in the comment section.

Guest Post: Saga of a Stolen Domain Name and How it Was Recovered

Elliot Silver
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This is a guest post written by Name.com Community Evangelist, Jared Ewy. This article discusses the theft of DavidWalsh.name and how it was recovered.

At Name.com we like to take care of the customer.  We know buying something online can sometimes feel like a lonely endeavor that ends with money dropping into the tinny nethers of the ‘net. Our goal is to make sure your experience is the exact opposite, filled with real, handmade help that leaves you knowing you’re not alone. When you buy something from us, or if you simply have a question about one of our products, we’ll take care of you. Many of the questions we get are simple enough to be handled in 140 characters or less. Sometimes they get fairly complex, and sometimes they lead to downright dramatic international capers. The latter would be the case of the missing domain DavidWalsh.name.

It seems impossible by now that someone wouldn’t know that David Walsh’s domain was stolen (check out our dramatization here).

From the time Mr. Walsh first Tweeted @namedotcom about his missing web address, to the time it was retrieved, the entire ordeal has been a primer on the power of social media. David Walsh shared with us this situation:  his domain had been stolen and he was wondering if we could help him get it back.  A few tweets later we had enough information to find the alleged thief in Ukraine. Meanwhile Walsh and his thousands of Twitter followers started trending the hashtag #FreeDavidWalshDotName. It was big and getting bigger.

We hadn’t planned on contacting the alleged thief, but it turns out he was more accessible than a certain other company’s customer service!  Even more amazing, the alleged thief (he says his friend stole it using his account) used his actual phone number on the Name.com account that briefly held the stolen domain. After giving up on traditional means, Name.com Domain Operations Manager Scott McBreen decided to put some pressure on the suspected domain wrangler. With The Ukraine on speed dial, Scott was able to get the purported scofflaw to transfer the domain back to Name.com, where we were able to give it back to Mr. Walsh.

It was exciting and stressful. The domain had originally been held by GoDaddy before it was stolen and briefly registered with us, and then whisked off to 1and1. It seems the thief would have kept moving the domain around while sending cryptic ransom notes to Mr. Walsh if it hadn’t been for the heroics of our domain operations manager, Scott.

We’re happy to have helped get the domain back.  Customer service defines us as a company…  it’s what we do here.  In our spare time we’re obsessed with Twitter and Facebook. If you leave a comment, we’ll get back to you.  With a situation like Mr. Walsh’s we felt a little like the  Blues Brothers  and on a divine mission to make the situation right (and if you don’t get that reference then stop what you’re doing and educate yourself with the Aykroyd/Belushi classic.)

In the end everything worked out. David Walsh got his domain back, Scott has been enshrined on Twitter as a legend, and we have this opportunity to remind you that most all Ukrainians are good people. In light of all this we’re celebrating with the promo code “DAVIDWALSH”. Use it to get $7.25 COM/NET transfers in and $6.99 .NAME transfers. All of your transfers to Name.com include a year of registration.

If you’re looking for a domain registrar with world-class customer service and people who strive to simplify hosting, web sites and SEO, then you’ve found your place. If you need any more info just hit us on Twitter @namedotcom for Facebook.com/namedotcom.

Thanks to Domain Forum Moderators

Elliot Silver
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‘Tis the season to give thanks, and I think there is a group of people within our industry that especially deserve kudos and thanks. Forum moderation is one of those jobs that doesn’t usually pay well (if anything), can be stressful, and can cause friction for the moderators.

While forum moderators aren’t always the most appreciated people when they are doing their job, they perform a necessary function that keeps the domain forums running smoothly. Without them, I think many of the forums would be full of spammers and scammers, and it would make doing business much more difficult.

Thank you to those who moderate the domain forums in which most of us conduct business. While we may not always agree with decisions that are made, the job that forum moderators do is critical to the management and effectiveness of forums. Thanks for your commitment and time.

Andrew Hazen’s Prime Visibility Acquired for $36 Million in Cash

Elliot Silver
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I’ve met Andrew Hazen at a couple of domain investor events in New York City, and we’ve had a few conversations via email. Although investing in domain names is not his primary occupation, he understands the business and advises his clients on the benefits of domain names.

This morning, I learned that Andrew has reached an agreement to sell Prime Visibility, the full service digital marketing company he founded in 1998, for $36 million in cash. The acquiring company is blinkx plc, a California company that is publicly traded in the UK. The deal closed and was funded last week.

Andrew’s story reads like a business person’s fairy tale: “When I founded Prime Visibility in 1998 I never imagined in my wildest dreams that the company would make the Inc List of Fastest Growing Companies in America not once but twice and then for the company to be acquired in 2007 by private investors and then again in 2011 by a public company.”

Andrew plans to leave Prime Visibility this week, and his immediate plans for the future have not been decided yet.

Congratulations to Andrew, and I wish him all the best.

Check Out Who Owns Presidential Candidate Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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I thought it would be interesting to see who owns the .com domain names of presidential candidates, so I did some research and the information is below. In addition, I thought it would also be interesting to use DomainTools to see who owned those domain names five years prior.

The real “fun” comes in when the nominees are chosen and years of speculation by, ahem, domain “investors” may or may not pay off. There have been thousands of “lottery ticket” domain names purchased for that rush. Someone apparently thinks there’s a chance for a Huntsman/Palin ticket and bought HuntsmanPalin.com. Good luck on that one.

Republican Candidates

MittRomney.com
– Now: Domains by Proxy (Used by Romney campaign)
– 2006: Romney Committee

HermanCain.com
– Now: Domains by Proxy (Used by Cain campaign)
– 2006: Company called ” T.H.E.” from Nebraska

RonPaul.com
– Now: Whois Privacy Services Pty Ltd (Ron Paul “Fan Site”)
– 2006: Pop Art LLC

NewtGingrich.com
– Now: POBox.org
– 2006: Gingrich Communications

RickPerry.com
– Now: Whois Privacy Services Pty Ltd
– 2006: CampaignWeb

MicheleBachmann.com
– Now: Michele Bachmann
– 2006: Business Architecture, Inc.

Democratic Candidates

BarackObama.com
– Now: Obama for America
– 2006: Obama 2010, Inc.

HillaryClinton.com (kidding)
– Now: Friends of Hillary
– 2006: Friends of Hillary

Why A Domain Broker Won’t Sell Your Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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I’m often either asked to broker domain names (which I don’t do) or asked why a domain broker isn’t willing to put the effort into selling someone’s domain names. There are several reasons why a domain broker may not sell particular domain name(s), and I want to give you three possible reasons.

1) Your names aren’t very good. Let’s face it. We don’t all own spectacular domain names. Even the most successful domain investors own some domain names that probably aren’t worth much. It wouldn’t make sense for a domain broker to try and sell a domain name when he or she doesn’t think anyone would want to buy it.

2) The domain name isn’t valuable enough. I enjoy making domain sales of all sizes. It’s exciting to sell a $2,000 domain name the same way it’s exciting to sell a $20,000 domain name. For a domain broker with a fair amount of inventory, it doesn’t make sense to try and sell a $2,000 domain name, on which he may only make $200 – $400 in commission if it sells, when he has other valuable domain names he can sell. Would you spend effort to earn $400 when you can expend the same effort to potentially earn $10,000 or more? Personally, I’d rater have a broker be honest with me and not take on one of my names than lock my name up when he has no intention of marketing it.

3) Your asking price is way too high. I see this quite a bit. Someone offering a whopping 40% commission as enticement to try and sell their domain name for them. The problem is that if their asking price is too high, 40% commission on no sale equals $0. If the bottom line price is way over the market value, and the owner isn’t willing to show flexibility, there’s little reason to try and sell the domain name.

If a domain broker won’t work with you, here are some suggestions on how to sell domain names on your own.

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