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Why A Domain Broker Won’t Sell Your Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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29

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.

Ammar Kubba: Newest Spokesman for .XXX Domain Registry

Elliot Silver
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15

MovemberAfter seeing the perfectly manicured adult film star-esque mustache currently being rocked by Ammar Kubba in support of Movember, the ICM Registry has hired Kubba to be its newest .XXX domain name spokesman / spokesmodel.

Kubba will be working alongside Ron Jeremy, as the two primary male .XXX spokesmen. Said Kubba, “I take my work very seriously, much like my mustache. It’s an honor to team up with Ron Jeremy, someone whom I have admired for a very, very long time.” Kubba continued to tell a story about the first time he learned about Ron Jeremy, but unfortunately, I can’t publish it on this blog.

Charitably, all earnings from Kubba’s spokesman position will be donated to the Movember foundation, which is helping to “raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.” To date, Kubba has helped to raise over $2,300 for the organization. To donate to this great cause, visit  http://mobro.co/Kubba

Ironically, the first event Kubba and Jeremy will be appearing at is a prostate cancer screening event sponsored by .XXX. (Kubba and Jeremy will not be doing the screenings).

Important Disclaimers: No animals were harmed by Ammar Kubba in creating the mustache. Neither Ammar Kubba nor the ICM Registry approved the contents of this article. Ron Jeremy may or may not be a spokesman for .XXX. The entirety of this article was fabricated, except for the mustache part.

500,000 Visits This Year

Elliot Silver
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19

500,000

Happy Friday! I want to take a minute to say thanks for visiting. I checked in with my Google Analytics account and saw that there have been over 500,000 visits to this blog in the past year from almost 300,000 unique visitors… very cool!

It’s been fun sharing what I am doing while learning new things from your comments and submissions. Thank you for visiting my blog and for helping to make it a resource for others who want to learn about the domain industry.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Politico: DCCC Won’t Give Jack Abramoff Its JackAbramoff.com Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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Political news publication,  Politico, is reporting that Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist and person who was involved in a major political scandal, has unsuccessfully tried to get the JackAbramoff.com domain name from its owners. Making this more of an interesting situation is the current owner of the domain name.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has owned JackAbramoff.com since at least February of 2008. The domain name was registered to someone from Louisville, Kentucky back in 2006, although I don’t know if that person had a relationship with the DCCC or Abramoff.

At the present time, JackAbramoff.com forwards to a page within the DCCC website, which does not paint Mr. Abramoff in a good light. The landing page has a file visitors can play with a voicemail from Mr. Abramoff asking about the domain name and how he can get it “amicably.” Based on the landing page, it seems doubtful an amicable solution will be possible.

Mr. Abramoff may file a UDRP for the domain name, and he could also file litigation to get possession of the domain name. I am not a lawyer, and I won’t speculate about his chances for success on either front, especially because I’ve been surprised when reading some UDRP decisions in similar scenarios.

One thing I will say is that we often hear about this type of thing occurring in elections at all levels throughout the US – from small local elections to national elections. I guess I shouldn’t ever be surprised when I hear about a local politician owning the name of another candidate when the DCCC owns the exact match domain name of a well known and controversial member of the GOP.

Tebowing.com: Trend Domaining

Elliot Silver
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15

I’m not a big fan of buying domain names based on trends. From my perspective, it doesn’t usually pay off and it can cost a lot of money to buy domain names based on trends, since new trends take off every single day… and that doesn’t take trademark issues into consideration, which can have added risks and costs.

That being said, it seems that one “trend” domain name is paying off. If you aren’t aware, Tim Tebow is the new starting quarterback for the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Tebow starred at University of Florida, and he wasn’t projected to be a great NFL quarterback due to his throwing style.

Tebow is widely known as a religious man, and when he was shown in a bowing position, presumably praying, the term “Tebowing” was born. In similar fashion to the planking craze, people started Tebowing everywhere. They took and posted pictures of themselves Tebowing, and the Tebowing craze took off. As you can imagine, a person in Denver registered Tebowing.com in late October, and the quickly launched website features pictures of people Tebowing around the world.

This evening during the Broncos game vs. the New York Jets, the NFL Network showed a montage of photos of people Tebowing. On the top of the graphic, there was a notice that the photos were courtesy of Tebowing.com.

I suppose trend domaining does pay off.

Tim Tebow

Want to Sell Domain Names Quickly?

Elliot Silver
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20

Want to sell your domain names quickly? Someone in the domain business needs to hire this guy. 🙂  He is going places for sure, and I respect the fact that he seems to have mastered the art of the cold call sales pitch.

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