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Make Sure The Seller Can Legally Sell You a Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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9

After a few weeks of back and forth negotiations with the Whois contact on a great domain name, I came to terms and agreed to buy the name in a five figure deal. The price was more than I initially wanted to spend, but I felt it was still going to be a very good deal with enough upside to take the risk. All was going well, but he needed to wait to pull the trigger until his wife’s website could be moved to an alternate domain name.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and I hadn’t heard anything back regarding the domain name. I called the domain owner, and apparently there was some “family  discord” about selling the domain name and relocating the website. The wife, who owns the website, was not happy at all that the husband, who has ownership of the domain name, had agreed to sell the domain name.

Luckily for me, this happened before the deal actually transpired. Had I bought the domain name and the woman had an issue after the deal, I could have been in a legal murky area. Although the domain name was registered to the husband, the wife may have had some say over the domain sale, and that could have been problematic, especially since it seems that she owns the actual business.

When you’re buying a domain name, it’s important to ensure that the domain name registrant has the authority to sell a particular domain name. You can do research to see if he/she owns the company or is a domain manager. If the later, you better check with company management before you execute your deal. Yes, it may actually kill your deal, but it will certainly save you trouble if the deal wasn’t legit.

I am still hoping the husband can convince his wife to sell the domain name, but I am glad it didn’t get tangled in personal issues.

Domain Name Coupon Codes & Discounts

Elliot Silver
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3

Buying cheap domain names is something we all want. Why pay the price listed on various domain registrar websites when you can use a promotional code or coupon code to get a special discount price for your new domain names.

Here are some tips to get discount or promo codes from top registrars, including GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Register.com, Name.com, Dynadot, Enom, Moniker, Fabulous, NameCheap, 1 & 1, and other leading domain name registrars:

  • Search Google for “domain name coupons,” “domain name discounts,” or other similar term
  • Be more specific and search Google for “Godaddy coupon” or “Network Solutions promo code”
  • Sign up for domain registrar newsletters to receive special offers
  • See previous emails from domain registrar to take advantage of offers
  • Visit the domain registrar website and see if they have a tab for special offers
  • See if partner sites like Paypal or hosting companies have coupon codes
  • Find coupons on auction sites like Ebay

Read a more comprehensive article I wrote about domain name coupons.

Share a Secret or Tip To Help Others

Elliot Silver
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28

I want to try something a bit different today and see if others will follow suit with comments. The domain business isn’t as secretive as it once was, but there are plenty of things that some people still won’t share. I try to be as helpful as possible by sharing insights into my business and how I am making money (or not) in the domain business.

That being said, I wonder if you would be willing to open up and share something that you haven’t shared before. It can be a secret or a tip, but it should be something you think others might find beneficial.

Here’s a “secret” tip to start this off… hopefully it helps you. I use Freshdrop every day to scour the lists of domain names. This may be a surprise, but the most important category I follow is the GADV, which is the # of advertisers on Google for the keyword phrase.

In my opinion, the more companies advertising on a certain keyword, the better the exact match domain name will be. Of course, the name has to make sense, so it involves a sanity/gut check before placing a backorder or buying the domain name.

What are you willing to share to help others?

Server Migration Today

Elliot Silver
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5

I am in the process of having this blog moved to its own server. I am expecting the migration to be finalized at some point today. I am hopeful that no comments or blog posts will be lost, but I cannot guarantee that it will be a seamless transition.

I use Automattic’s Vaultpress for frequent site backups, so I should not lose anything, but you never know.  Just wanted to give you a head’s up in case you notice anything funky over the next several hours.

“India’s Sex Forum” Launched on Masala.XXX

Elliot Silver
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5

In the coming days, I expect to see quite a few notices like this one I received today (I won’t be posting any/many). A new website billed as “India’s sex forum” was launched on the domain name, Masala.XXX. According to a few sources, “masala” means spice in Indian, so I suppose this is an appropriate place for the adult forum.

Interestingly, Masala.com is popular website about Bollywood, and the site is essentially news about India’s movie industry and celebrities. The site has an Alexa ranking in the 5,000s in India and in the 30,000s overall.

As more of these sites go online, it will be interesting to see how owners of the .com domain names react to their .XXX counterparts.

Press release follows:

(Delhi, India) MASALA.XXX is the first website designed for India on the adult domain extension .XXX. MASALA.XXX, a free infotainment forum that offers adult visitors a safe environment to openly discuss sex, went live today.

“At MASALA.XXX, we believe that sex is a beautiful thing, not a dirty secret,” said the website spokesperson. “MASALA.XXX will not only entertain adult visitors, but also provide them with helpful information about sex.”

Upon launch, the site features discussions on multiple topics including: sex advice, sex scandals, safe sex, women’s issues, and homosexuality. New topics and discussions will be introduced by site members and moderators.

The privacy of site members and participants is of serious concern to MASALA.XXX, therefore names and email addresses are kept in the strictest confidence. To offer visitors more security, MASALA.XXX features daily virus scans provided through an agreement between ICM Registry, the operator of .XXX, and McAfee.

The website was allocated as part of the ICM Registry Founders Program, an innovative strategy by the new registry to get quality sites immediately developed on .XXX.

“We are thrilled to be the first .XXX website live for India,” said the spokesperson. “MASALA.XXX is proud to be the first site to showcase .XXX as a diverse top level domain that can be used for adult infotainment in addition to pornography.”

MASALA.XXX’s sister site, DESI.XXX will be launching next week.

Sunday Updates

Elliot Silver
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7

Hope you’re having a nice weekend. Here are some updates and notes that may be of interest to you.

  • There was a neat article about Go Daddy founder, Bob Parsons, on Investor’s Business Daily yesterday. Much of the article covered topics I already knew, but it’s an interesting look at Parsons and his company. Check it out if you get a chance.
  • I am in the process of migrating my blog to its own server sometime in the next few days. I put in the ticket request to have the migration done ASAP, but it may not happen for a couple of days. I don’t expect any downtime, but things happen so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some downtime.
  • I sold DelrayBeachRealEstate.com and BoyntonBeachRealEstate.com to an end user in south Florida last week. I still own PompanoBeachRealEstate.com and would like to sell it. If you have an interest in buying it, get in touch.
  • Despite the stock market’s roller coaster ride last week, Demand Media stock performed pretty well. The stock hit an all time low of $7.65 very recently, but it has since climbed to a Friday close of $9.15/share. I don’t own any DMD stock, but it’s been an interesting company to watch.
  • As the election season heats up, especially the presidential election, it seems that people try to cash in by speculating in domain names. In my opinion, this is a serious waste of money, as it’s unlikely any new registrations are going to be worth anything. Even if you do manage to buy a meaningful name, will you really want to be associated with it when news outlets pick up on it and call you a cybersquatter while commenters call you slime and scum? Not such a nice thing for people to find when they Google your name. Save your money and stay away from any potential legal troubles.
  • Later this week, my wife, two of our friends and I are throwing an ice cream sundae party for everyone at the Ronald McDonald House. I’m super excited to do this. If you have the time and/or funds to help an organization like RMH, please do so. It feels really good to help others.
  • Congratulations to Mike and Krissy St. John on the birth of their son, Silas. Both mom and baby are doing well.
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