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Things I Learned About Namecheap Auctions

Elliot Silver
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12

A couple of weeks ago, Namecheap announced its Namecheap Market, a platform for buying and selling domain names. There are buy it now listings as well as domain name auctions on the platform. I bid on a few auctions, and I won my first auction over the weekend. As a result of winning the auction, I learned a few things that I want to share as an auction buyer.

Most importantly, not all auctions are expiry auctions. I was under the impression that auctions on Namecheap were for expired domain names that are registered at Namecheap. This assumption was wrong. It appears that domain registrants can send their Namecheap-registered domain names to auction on the platform. This adds a couple of elements to consider, including the seller’s control of the domain names and the expiration date of the domain names won in auction.

After winning an auction, I had a bit of difficulty seeing where and how to pay for the auction. My unpaid auction page was blank and there was nothing in my shopping cart. I decided to visit the domain name directly to see if that led me to the payment page, and it had a purchase link I could use. This brought me to the checkout screen, and I was able to pay for the auction. The total price was $49.

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Tips.com UDRP: Complaint Denied

Elliot Silver
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A UDRP was recently filed against the valuable Tips.com domain name at the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). The decision was just published, and the three member panel ruled in favor of the domain registrant who will retain the domain name. The registrant was represented by attorney Zak Muscovitch.

A quick glance at the UDRP might make an investor think this would be a slam dunk case for the domain registrant, but I don’t think that was the case. In fact, this is a prime example of the importance of hiring a good attorney for a UDRP defense.

When I was in college, it was a requirement for all members of fraternities to get alcohol training. Our college required us to all become “TIPS trained,” and the complainant reportedly has trademark rights to the TIPS term related to alcohol. In the complaint, the complainant cited this trademark and noted that the domain name reportedly had alcohol-related pay per click links on the landing page:

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Try to Outbound in the “Offseason”

Elliot Silver
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5

I don’t do much outbound marketing to sell domain names these days. In the past, I spent a fair amount of time reaching out to prospective buyers, and the timing of emails is important. I don’t have the data to share what day or time of day is best to send emails, but I do think it is important to send outbound sales pitch emails during the “offseason” or “shoulder season.”

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Why I Bought a Blatant Trademark Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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22

Over the weekend while reviewing a Dropping.pro list of domain names coming up for auction that day, I saw a domain name that stood out to me. It’s the unique name of a popular beer in the .com extension. The domain name had been registered for many years before expiring and dropping. I am pretty certain the beer name is a trademark of the brewery.

I backordered the domain name and prevailed. I am now the registrant of this trademark domain name.

You’re probably asking yourself why I bought the domain name and what I am going to do with the domain name. I will share a story and explain.

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Place.com Acquired for $3 Million

Elliot Silver
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4

 

On Wednesday, GeekWire reported on the $100 million funding round of a real estate startup called Place. The company is now valued at $1 Billion, and it wisely uses Place.com for its website. Most interestingly to domain investors, the article shared that Place.com was acquired for $3 million. Jeff Eckhaus spotted the sale price and shared it on Twitter:

Here’s an excerpt from the article discussing the purchase price for the Place.com domain name:

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Details About New Dashboard from Afternic

Elliot Silver
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7

In October, Afternic made a significant upgrade to the user control panel in a beta platform that became available to all sellers. The objective was to integrate some of GoDaddy’s look and feel as well as provide functionality upgrades for Afternic customers. I’ve been toggling back and forth between the beta and classic version, and I think the new platform offers a cleaner look and saves me time making pricing updates.

This afternoon, Afternic unveiled a new dashboard to all customers with added features and enhanced functionality. I have spent a bit of time using the new dashboard, and I think it is a solid upgrade from the classic platform.

I asked a representative from GoDaddy to share what updates were made and are now available, and here’s what I was told:

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