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Dan.com Buyers Not Updating Whois

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I received an auto-renewal reminder email from GoDaddy this morning. When I looked at the domain name that will be auto-renewed next week, I realized it was for a domain name I previously sold via Dan.com. The first thing I noticed was the account number in the top of the email was different than my account number, so the domain name is definitely not in my account.

When a domain name owner sells a domain name via Dan.com, he is given two options to get the domain name to Dan. The seller can either start an account change to the Dan holding account at GoDaddy or unlock the domain name and provide the transfer authorization code for Dan to transfer it to Metaregistrar.

Letting Go is Hard

I maintain a fairly small portfolio of domain names – fewer than 2,000 in total. Part of the reason for this is to keep my overhead costs low. Even with a relatively small domain name portfolio, it doesn’t make sense to carry domain names that I don’t think have a good chance of ever selling. Deciding what to let go is difficult.

For the most part, I don’t let many domain names expire. If something about a domain name caught my eye and I bought it, that luster usually continues to exist. I usually let a couple of handfuls of domain names expire each year because there’s almost no chance of them selling. For instance, earlier this year I let a domain name with the word “Famer” in it expire because I bought it thinking the word was Farmer – whoops.

Follow Up on 2022 Sales Leads Before EOY

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Throughout the year, I’ve had quite a few deals that did not come to fruition. Several simply didn’t get over the finish line for one reason or another, and quite a few died when the payment was due. With just a few weeks remaining in the year, now may be a good time to follow up if you want to try and close deals before the end of the year.

Of the remaining weeks in December, this is probably going to be the best week to get deals done. People are still focused on business before the end of the year, but there isn’t always as much urgency as the following two weeks. People may be more responsive to emails this week than they will be for the next two.

2022 Master of Domains Announced by Escrow.com

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With the year drawing to a close, Escrow.com released its 2022 Master of Domains list. This list is comprised of the top 10 highest-grossing domain name brokers of the prior year (2021). Typically, the list is revealed at NamesCon Global in January, but that conference was moved to the Spring. The sales volume is based on deals closed via Escrow.com.

For the fourth consecutive year, the top grossing domain broker of the year is Andrew Rosener of Media Options.

The list has become an annual tradition, with some of the best domain name brokers being honored. Typically, the award ceremony is held at NamesCon, but the conference won’t be held until the Spring.

Tox.com UDRP Ends in RDNH Finding

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A company called Tox Pressotechnik GmbH & Co. KG from Germany filed a UDRP against the valuable Tox.com domain name. The UDRP was filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (case number D2022-3270). The three member panel published its decision today – a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH). In this case, the domain registrant was represented by Cylaw Solutions and the complainant was represented by Otten, Roth, Dobler & Partner GmbH.

Before filing the UDRP, the complainant apparently offered to buy Tox.com for $24,000 USD. The domain registrant reportedly sent a number of comparable three letter .com domain name sales with sale prices ranging from $140,000 to $1.5 million USD. In its decision, this panel once again backed a company’s right to invest in domain names. Here’s an excerpt from the discussion about rights or legitimate interests in the domain name:

Continuing to Get Uniregistry Inquiry Spam

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It’s been a long while since I actively used Uniregistry to sell my domain names. Despite this, I continue to receive spam emails sent via an old purchase inquiry thread. In fact, the domain name that was subject of the email has since been sold twice – first by me and then by the company that initially acquired the domain name.