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Search Portfolio via Nameservers to Ensure Accuracy

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In my GoDaddy control panel, I have the ability to search for domain names based on their current nameservers. One thing I do from time to time – and should do more often – is look through the nameservers to ensure nothing stands out as incorrect.

The other day, I was looking for domain names parked on specific nameservers so I could make an update. When I clicked the nameserver search button at GoDaddy, I noticed quite a few nameservers I did not recognize as being set by me. In addition, some were very old nameservers I haven’t used in a long time (like Moniker DNS).

After a few seconds, I realized the unrecognized nameservers were connected to domain names I won at auction at domain registrars I don’t use. Instead of managing the domain names there for any time, I had immediately transferred them to my GoDaddy account. For whatever reason, I neglected to update the nameservers. This was an own-goal for me, but I am glad I caught the error and updated the domain names. The domain names set to Moniker nameservers are two personal domain names I previously used for forwarding but now keep just because.

Searching for domain names by nameserver is something I plan to do every so often. I don’t have enough names that this will ever become a major issue, but it’s such a simple search that I might as well do it every so often just to be sure nothing slipped through the cracks.

I have to assume other registrars have similar search functionality, so this could apply to people who use other domain registrars.

Founders: This is a Good Week to Lock in an Upgrade

The last week of the year is usually pretty slow for domain investors. Decision makers are traveling and people are not focused on domain name acquisitions if they are in the office. This is great because my family always heads south the last week of the year. Because it is slow for many investors, it may be a great time for startup founders and CEOs to lock in a deal on a domain name upgrade.

When I receive an offer or inquiry during the final week of the year, it usually gets my full attention. I may not be working from the comfort of my home office, but I am not balancing 20 other negotiations either. I imagine other investors also have a lull in negotiations and can be available to focus on one important deal.

Why Public Upgraded to Public.com from HelloPublic.com

Public.com is an exceptional domain name that had been owned by Anything.com up for many years. At some point between 2018 and 2019, the domain name appears to have been sold for an undisclosed amount of money. The buyer, as it turns out, is a company called Public. That company got its start on the two word, off-brand HelloPublic.com domain name.

Why did Public decide to acquire its brand match Public.com domain name? One might guess it was for enhanced marketability and/or to convey trust with customers and clients. We needn’t guess the reasons any longer. In a response to Greg Isenberg’s tweet about the benefits of acquiring a premium .com domain name, Jannick Malling, Co-founder & Co-CEO of Public, shared his rationale for acquiring Public.com:

Finally Got DogSitter.com

I have owned DogWalker.com for quite some time. I previously operated a website on DogWalker.com to help dog owners find local dog walkers. Dog walkers paid an annual fee for a listing, and visitors to the website could search for a dog walker in their city, neighborhood or zip code. I later expanded and operated similar websites on DogPark.com, DogGroomers.com, and CatSitter.com. I focused less on those websites, and they didn’t do as well as the original.

For quite some time, I tried to buy DogSitter.com. I thought it paired up better with DogWalker.com than the other domain names and websites. Many dog walkers are also dog sitters, but not many are dog groomers or cat sitters. Having DogSitter.com would make a more logical cross-sell for me.

DogSitter.com had been long owned by Frank Schilling. While his mid five figure asking price wasn’t crazy for a dog sitting service to pay, it was too high for me. With my directory model, it would take a few years to earn that much back if things went as well as DogWalker.com. Over the years, i communicated with Frank and Uni brokers about the domain but never really got close enough to make a strong offer.

I wound down DogWalker.com in early 2021, so DogSitter.com was less appealing to me – particularly at mid five figures. In 2021, I sold DogGroomers.com. At the beginning of 2022, I sold CatSitter.com to someone else.

As you know, GoDaddy acquired Frank Schilling’s domain name portfolio. A couple of weeks ago, GoDaddy listed some inventory from its NameFind portfolio via GoDaddy Auctions. A few domain names caught my attention. One of those domain names was DogSitter.com. The auction concluded yesterday, and I prevailed. Ironically, I most likely would have paid this amount several years ago, but I did not get that chance. For now, it will go into my portfolio and be listed for sale.

Escrow.com Shares 2023 Domain Name Trends

Escrow.com may be the largest platform for third party domain name domain name sales transactions. This morning, the company unveiled a short report (pdf file) featuring domain name sales trends from the past year. The data shared is based on the 8,500+ domain transactions worth “[M]ore than US$300M” transacted via the escrow service provider for the year. There are still 10 days remaining in 2023, so it is incomplete.

Interestingly, it looks like this is going to be a down year for domain name sales on Escrow.com. According to a report shared by Domain Name Wire in September of 2022, there were $256 million worth of domain name sales transactions in the first half of 2022. The figure shared in today’s report is ‘more than $300 million USD,’ for this entire year, so it could theoretically be any number above $300m. I would imagine that $300m figure is relatively close to the actual figure though. I asked for a bit of clarity to understand how 2023 compares to 2022.

Andrew Rosener on Tim Ferriss Show Podcast

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Andrew Rosener was the guest on the most recent Tim Ferriss Show podcast. The podcast is more than two and a half hours, and it is worth a listen in its entirety.

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