I Don’t Fully Understand the Chinese Domain Market

Elliot Silver
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70

When I bought SHS.com, I did so under the assumption that I could profitably sell the domain name to a company or startup that uses that acronym. I figured that if I fail to draw interest from an end user buyer, I could find another investor who would be interested in buying  the domain name for a longer hold. In the meantime, my brother used the domain name for his website.

I understand why short numeric and letter domain names have value.

Short numeric (2, 3, 4, and even 5 number) domain names are easy to remember, and they are especially popular for websites in China. Numeric domain names are generally legally “safe” to own. I don’t recall seeing a numeric domain name lost in a UDRP, and I can’t recall any cybersquatting lawsuits related to numeric domain names (correct me if I am wrong, please). They are in limited supply, and there has been demand for 4 numbers and under .com domain names for as long as I can recall.

Short letter .com domain names also make sense, although there can be more legal risk associated with owning them. The legal risk aside, I see many companies and organizations using 2, 3, and 4 letter .com domain names for their businesses. Short letter domain names are easy to remember, can be good for marketing, and are great for shortening what could be a longer domain name if the full company name was used.

For these short numeric and letter domain names, I understand

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Registering a Domain Name Before a Startup is NOT Cybersquatting!

Elliot Silver
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20

If a startup uses a “hack” or some other creatively spelled domain name because the correct spelling is previously registered, the owner of the correctly spelled domain name is NOT a cybersquatter! I don’t care how popular a startup becomes, if the domain owner had his domain name first, it is NOT cybersquatting! The only way it may become cybersquatting is if the domain owner later monetizes the domain name in a manner that infringes on the marks of the startup (as long as it is not descriptive).

I understand that some startups and companies cannot afford to spend a lot of money for a domain name. It is perfectly acceptable to be creative when it comes to branding. However, they can not and should not expect to build a brand on a confusing domain name and be able to get the previously registered exact match domain name for anything less than fair market value. Using the legal system or UDRP system to try and “steal” a domain name is reverse domain name hijacking.

I also understand that some people do not

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Buying Domain Names With a Partner

Elliot Silver
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6

Buying a domain name with a partner or group of partners can have advantages such as lower acquisition cost and reduced risk, but there are also some unique issues that can present themselves. Many of these issues can be mitigated by discussing them before buying a domain name with a partner, and I thought I would share some of them for your consideration.

I think it is important to use a contract when buying or selling a domain name, but a general purchase agreement covers the sale and probably not the partnership. I think it is important for partners to have some sort of partnership agreement in place when they buy a domain name together.

Some of the issues that can come up include:

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Domain Investing is Not a Way to “Get Rich Quickly”

Elliot Silver
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23

I hate to burst anyone’s bubble who thinks otherwise, but I don’t think there is any “get rich quick” strategy for domain investing, and also don’t think there are any fail proof ways to make money from domain names. There is significant risk in domain investing, and it is not unlike other types of investing (real estate, commodities, stocks…etc).

There are quite a few people who make a living with their domain investments. Many of these people make a very good living. I wouldn’t even venture a guess about how many people make their full time living investing in domain names.

One of the things that most of the people who make a living from domain investments have in common is that they have been in this business for many years. This longevity gives them considerable knowledge about operating a successful domain investment business. In my opinion, the most important aspects of managing a domain investment business are:

  • Knowing the resale market
  • Knowing how to stay informed of market changes and domain name ownership changes
  • Knowing how to get in touch with domain owners and prospective buyers
  • Knowing how to negotiate
  • Knowing when the time is right to sell a domain name
  • Knowing when the time is right to buy a domain name
  • Knowing where to buy domain names
  • Knowing who to ask questions of and knowing the right questions to ask
  • Knowing how to monetize domain names
  • Knowing how to mitigate legal risk

I don’t think there is any way to become an expert at all of these aspects of the business without actually being immersed in the business for a long time. It is easy to spend a lot of money buying domain names, but it is not nearly as easy to sell those domain names profitably.

Plenty of people made money by selling one domain name or a handful of domain names.  However, one great domain name sale does not make a business.  There have also been plenty of people with grandiose dreams of making silly amounts of money, and they have left with those dreams unrealized.

Like any other types of investing, there are people who have done well and there are people who have lost their investments.

Larry Fischer Seeking Beta Testers for SiteChat

Elliot Silver
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5

I want to share a request that Larry Fischer posted on Facebook for his new website, SiteChat.com, which is currently undergoing beta testing. Larry is looking for people who are interested in trying out the SiteChat service, which allows people to chat on a website, even if it does not have chat capabilities.

Here’s what Larry had to say about SiteChat  and the beta test via his public Facebook page:

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Enom Spear Phishing Email Received

Elliot Silver
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9

Andrew Allemann wrote about a phishing email he received purporting to by from Dynadot, and I received a very similar email purporting to be from Enom. The email was caught by Gmail in the spam/junk filter, so it looks like some mail providers have been catching on to these phishing attempt.

By my own observations, it seems that domain registrar phishing attempts are on the rise. This particular attack looks like it is more along the lines of a spear phishing attempt since it mentioned a specific domain name that is owned by my company rather than being randomly sent.

When a hacker is able to obtain account login information due to a successful phishing attempt, they can easily steal domain names from the account. While most seasoned domain investors would not fall prey to this, I would imagine there are people who own just a few domain names that might.

The best thing to do to secure domain registrar accounts, in my opinion, is to have two factor authentication enabled. Many registrars offer it, and it’s very important to set up.

I have published the email below so you can see what it looks like:

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