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What to Do If Someone Backs Out of a Domain Deal

Elliot Silver
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10

If you’ve been investing in domain names long enough, it’s likely that you’ve experienced one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a domain investor. You’ve agreed to buy a domain name and the owner decides to back out for some reason.

For some it’s just frustrating, but for others there are bigger issues. Perhaps you started building out the domain name before you were in possession of it, or maybe you contacted potential buyers hoping to quickly flip it. Whatever the case, it’s a disappointment to say the least.

You may have options of you have an agreement in place, even if you don’t have an “official” contract with the seller.

My first recommendation is to be in touch with the seller and let him know you are not satisfied with the situation, especially if there isn’t an error/mistake behind the deal breaking down. Discuss options for buying other domain names or work out some sort of agreeable financial settlement for your inconvenience.

If this can’t be worked out, let him know you plan to seek legal council to remedy the situation if necessary. I like to keep lawyers out these types of situations, but let the seller know that is an option and perhaps just that threat will get him to sell, especially if he was reluctant to sell due to a higher offer.

Let the person know you plan to blog/write about the situation on a domain forum. If the seller is wrong and doesn’t have a good excuse (ie he received a higher offer or just doesn’t want to sell anymore), others should be warned about this for the future. If you opt for this route, make sure you state the facts accurately because what is written can not be taken back.

If you’ve exhausted all efforts on your own, you should be in touch with a lawyer who has domain name and IP experience (see this list of  domain name lawyers). A lawyer may be expensive, but if this is a key acquisition, you’ll want to know your legal recourse to complete the sale.

Afternic Records Nearly $400k in Domain Sales

Elliot Silver
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9

Despite the fact that the last week of the year is typically a very slow week for domain sales, Afternic scored nearly $400,000 in domain sales, which only includes their public sales that were $2,000 and higher.

Leading the way was the sale of WEHR.com for $73,700. The former owner of Wehr.com was Mdnh, Inc., which is a subsidiary of the publicly traded Marchex. The current page at WEHR.com announces that the World Energy Holdings and Research website will be coming soon.

Here is a list of some of the public Afternic domain sales from the past week.

wehr.com $73,700.00
onlinebanks.com $30,000.00
BusinessPlanet.com $22,500.00
aone.com $10,000.00
surveyreport.com $7,200.00
gamesonline.org $6,988.00
calgarycanada.com $6,500.00
filetaxreturn.com $6,400.00
drtea.com $6,160.00
nyack.com $6,000.00
propertymanagementservices.com $5,188.00
leadking.com $5,000.00
merla.com $5,000.00
plazaonline.com $4,388.00
kluane.com $4,300.00
thedreamcatcher.com $4,300.00
telecell.com $4,188.00
optex.net $4,188.00
uploads.org $3,988.00
preferredprovider.com $3,810.00
publici.com $3,700.00
webtome.com $3,688.00
officekit.com $3,588.00
homeservice.net $3,500.00
autoinsurances.net $3,400.00
mercurycommunications.com $3,300.00
typesafe.com $3,288.00
airad.com $3,188.00
ibunker.com $3,188.00
sweettempered.com $3,188.00
neuralinterface.com $3,110.00
glowstudios.com $3,088.00
coloni.com $3,000.00
dlogic.com $2,988.00
exclusivehawaii.com $2,988.00
magicgifts.com $2,890.00
starofasia.com $2,800.00
dreamcommerce.com $2,788.00
unionassurance.com $2,788.00
mygocon.com $2,750.00
drivechain.com $2,700.00
vevie.com $2,691.00
telelive.com $2,655.00
bookbank.net $2,612.00
getpersonalized.com $2,600.00
influentialthinking.com $2,588.00
spiritentertainment.com $2,588.00
netprice.org $2,588.00
theprogram.org $2,588.00
webhostingserver.com $2,500.00
zorgeloos.com $2,500.00
groceryshoppers.com $2,488.00
fotolibro.net $2,488.00
stopit.net $2,488.00
gifthint.com $2,475.00
equalweight.com $2,400.00
studioprints.com $2,397.00
heyladies.com $2,388.00
myword.net $2,388.00
nakamura.net $2,300.00
fashionjewelrywholesale.com $2,288.00
tigercool.com $2,277.00
yourpaintings.com $2,239.00
airwireless.com $2,200.00
hostgeneral.com $2,188.00
learnbeyond.com $2,154.00
onlinespot.com $2,088.00
theuniversalgroup.com $2,088.00
carforsale.net $2,088.00
notme.net $2,088.00
otava.net $2,088.00
thinkaboutit.net $2,088.00
independenthotel.com $2,077.00
kosherwholesale.com $2,012.00
22u.com $2,000.00
ahcv.com $2,000.00
flowingstreams.com $2,000.00
javateak.com $2,000.00
nyhair.com $2,000.00
preferredcontractor.com $2,000.00
salestechnologies.com $2,000.00
tekstream.com $2,000.00
westkingdom.com $2,000.00

3 Domain Industry Predictions for 2011

Elliot Silver
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25

With the year coming to a close, I thought it would be a good time to make some predictions for the upcoming year.

– There will be a significant number of .CO drops around renewal time. I’ve seen a lot of really bad .CO domain names for sale (people emailing me telling me they need to sell urgently), and I am sure people will drop many of these bad purchases. Good keyword .CO domain names will increase in value by the end of 2011, spurred on by SMB adoption. I believe there will be at least 5 6-figure .CO domain sales.

– Monte Cahn will be back in the domain space in some way, although it probably won’t be for a large or well known company. Monte is one of the smartest guys in the industry, and I am sure his expertise is in high demand. I can imagine him starting up another company.

– There will be at least 10 publicly reported 7-figure domain sales during the course of the year. From my perspective, there are many people looking for liquidity, and there are also many people who have been getting liquid for the last year. Some of the people and companies who have significant cash reserves will look to reinvest, and high value, descriptive domain names will be a good option.

What predictions would you like to make for 2011?

What Are Your Development Projects?

Elliot Silver
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83

Some articles I write about are related to web development projects I am working on or have completed. I am lucky to be able to receive reader feedback and comments, which have helped me with my web development projects.

If it wasn’t for this blog, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to seek feedback from a wide range of domain investors, SEO experts, developers, and other experts who read my blog and post helpful comments.

In the comment section of a very popular blog post I wrote (over 300 comments so far), Louise asked if I could write a post where people could post their current domain development projects, and I think this is a great idea.

It would be interesting to know what projects people who read my blog are working on, and perhaps they can get some advice in the comment section and/or generate some ideas.

Some projects I am working on include:

  • DogWalker.com
  • DogGroomers.com
  • Bahamas.CO
  • SlipperyElm.com
  • AthensVacations.com
  • JerusalemVacations.com
  • TropicalBirds.com
  • Lowell.com
  • Dreidel.com
  • … many more

What are some of your current domain development projects?

Domaining.com Newsletter Now Requires Membership

Elliot Silver
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25

I just received an email from Francois Carrillo, owner of the popular Domaining.com domain news aggregator, announcing that the Domaining.com daily newsletter will no longer be available for free to everyone. The email is below:

“From now only members having minimum a “Trader” membership could receive the daily Domaining.com newsletter.
A lot of our members already meet this requirement, it’s time for you to upgrade your membership.
And this way can participate in the 24H “no reserve” daily auctions website we are about to launch. It should be crazy!“

I intend to sign up for the $10 lifetime “Trader” membership because I value the morning newsletter. I am not sure if there are other ways to achieve “Trader” membership status, but it’s not expensive for the value I receive.

I don’t love this idea from a business perspective because I believe that many people will not pay for this service and the newsletter readership may suffer. As a result, when I advertise articles and/or domain names for sale, the newsletter may reach less people than when it was free, decreasing my marketing cost effectiveness.

As discussed many times before, Carrillo has every right to make any business decision necessary to keep his business viable. However, I think it would be far more effective to actively promote a free newsletter to domain investors and simply make up for any lost revenue on sponsored advertisements, which will be more valuable if there are more readers.

2011 Will Be a Big Year for Mike Berkens & WorldWide Media, Inc.

Elliot Silver
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7

WWMII was checking out Facebook yesterday, and I saw that Mike Berkens had updated his website information on his profile. Now listed on Berkens’ profile is  WWMI.com, the recently launched corporate website for Berkens’ WorldWide Media, Inc.

I had a chance to speak with Mike, and it looks like his company is gearing up for a big year. “WWMI will be part of a new company that will be announced early in January that will specialize in helping those seeking new extensions into making their extension successful.”

With the introduction of gTLD domain names expected in the next couple of years, Berkens will be in a great position to offer his professional advice in this area.

Berkens was able to offer some additional insight into his company’s gTLD consulting business.

“Generally  the new gTLD consulting will be a big story next year as hundreds of millions maybe billions of dollar will pour into the domain channel to obtain, market and sell domains ending in hundreds of different extensions,” said Berkens. “Up to now domains have all been about left of the dot, that is all the keywords that precede the extension.  After the new gTLD process is approved there will be huge money pouring into developing out extensions, brands and concepts all to the right of the dot.” The truly exciting part is much of this activity will come from those that haven’t invested heavily into the domain channel before.  This will credit a lot of new interest in the domain industry in general.”

Corporate domain consulting and domain sales will also play a prominent role in Berkens’ business in 2011. His experience and expertise will certainly be beneficial to clients looking to acquire high value domain names or sell them.  WWMI will “broker third party owned domains and advise companies on domain acquisition and sale strategies,” said Berkens.

WWMI owns close to 80,000 domain names, has sold over ten millions of dollars worth of domain names, and has one of the most popular domain name media outlets in  TheDomains.com. With the launch of WWMI.com, Berkens is positioning his company for some big moves in 2011 and beyond.

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