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10 End of Year Checklist Tips

Elliot Silver
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12

2011 is coming to a close, and while there are a lot of distractions, I think there are some important pieces of business to tend to before you close out the year.  Here are some of the things I am trying to accomplish before the new year. If you have anything to add, please do so.

  • Renew your .com and .net domain names. Prices are increasing in 2012 no matter which registrar you use, so if there are domain names you know you’ll want to renew, now is the time to do it.
  • Buy your office supplies, office products, computers, office furniture, and other needs so you can take the write offs in 2011.
  • Visit aftermarket brokerages like Sedo and Afternic to update your domain sales list. Make sure the list is accurate, add new domain names, and remove sold domain names. Update your pricing to reflect current market conditions.
  • Visit your parking company websites to ensure that your domain names are well targeted. Check the DNS of your domain names, especially names you won at auction, to be sure you properly changed the DNS and they are all resolving as they should.
  • Schedule a call with your tax accountant ASAP to see if there are any things you can do in 2011 to maximize your tax deductions and write offs before it’s too late.
  • Update your record books. Finalize your records now to include all purchases, sales, expenses, and other important information. It’s much easier to do the update when everything is fresh in your mind rather than in a few months from now when you start doing your taxes.
  • Review your goals for 2011 that you set at the end of 2010 to see how you did. Think about things you’ve learned in 2011 to come up with a game plan for 2012.
  • Put together a budget / P&L estimate for 2012.
  • Update your footers to 2012 and make sure the forms, capatcha codes, and outgoing website links on your developed websites are all functioning properly.
  • Pay in advance for subscriptions like e-fax, newsletter subscription, email provider, and other monthly renewals.

The Blackstone Group Acquires BX.com

Elliot Silver
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1

In April and again in June, BX.COM Incorporated published two  separate press releases  announcing that its domain name, BX.com, originally registered in 1994, was for sale. The asking price for the domain name was not disclosed, but interested parties were encouraged to make an offer via email.

I just learned that the buyer for BX.com was The Blackstone Group, “an alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services.” The Blackstone Group, with a reported market cap of just over $17 billion, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BX, so this acquisition makes sense.

With asking prices for 2 letter .com domain names ranging from low 6 figures to 7 figures (depending on the combination of letters), this was a fairly expensive acquisition for the company. Mike Berkens previously reported that the former domain owner had received a $272,000 bid for BX.com in June, although it’s unknown if Blackstone was that bidder or what the final sales price was.

Judging by Whois records from as early as June 29, 2011, the domain name appears to have been acquired by DNStination, most likely on behalf of Blackstone. The domain name is now registered directly to The Blackstone Group.

BX.com does not appear to be a customer-facing website. Instead, it is home to the “Blackstone Remote Access Portal,” where authorized users can log in to the site. Perhaps they are using it for email.

Thanks to  George Kirikos  for the tip.

MicroStrategy: Nice Domain Strategy

Elliot Silver
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8

I happened to come across a domain name owned by a company called MicroStrategy, Inc. On the home page, there was a note about the company, and below that, there was a message that said, “Please contact [email]@microstrategy.com for domain availability inquires.” With a note like that, I assumed the company owned additional domain names, and I was correct.

I grabbed the sentence from the home page and searched for it in Google using quotes around the term to get the exact match results. There were quite a few great domain names / websites listed. Among the company’s domain names I found:

  • Hope.com
  • Mike.com
  • William.com
  • Glory.com
  • iDream.com
  • Frank.com
I then did a Google site search of DomainTools and found even more great domain names that appear to be owned by the company:
  • Alert.com
  • Speaker.com
  • Emma.com
  • Voice.com
  • Strategy.com
  • Wisdom.com

On the landing page, MicroStrategy is described as “a global leader in Business Intelligence.” The company also seems to be quite a leader when it comes to its domain strategy.

Deals.org Sells on NameJet for $32,901

Elliot Silver
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10

Deals.org sold this afternoon on NameJet for $32,901. There were 250 people who placed bids in the auction, and there was  a total of 308 bids placed.

The domain name was a privately owned domain name, and it skyrocketed from around $10,000 to the closing sales price during the final minutes. I think it was a pretty solid sales price considering the commercial “deals” term combined with the generally non-commercial .org extension.

Do you think it was a good deal for the buyer or seller?

Domain Gear on Zazzle

Elliot Silver
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1

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.

Melissa Rivers Sex Tape Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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7

TMZ reported on a sex tape offer made to Melissa Rivers, who is currently dating Vivid Entertainment CEO Steven Hirsch. According to TMZ, YouPorn.com would like to pay for a sex tape starring Rivers (daughter of Joan Rivers) and Hirsch, whose company is one of the leading adult companies.

A domain speculator seems to have beaten YouPorn to the news, registering MelissaRivers.XXX back on December 7. The domain name does not currently resolve. Sitting unregistered is MelissaRiversSexTape.com, although I would imagine someone will grab it as the news spreads.

I highly doubt Ms. Rivers would be willing to create a sex tape, so it’s a bit amusing that someone thought to register MelissaRivers.XXX for around $100. It’s also amusing that YouPorn made the offer since Hirsch’s company usually makes the big offers for celebrity sex tapes.

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