Kevin Ohashi - Entrepreneur I Love Learning New Things.

Jobs domain pro merges one of his companies with Recruiter.com.

Jason Davis has struck another large domain name deal by merging his RecruitingBlogs.com with Recruiter.com.

Although technically a merger, Recruiter.com’s domain name was its main contribution to the puzzle. Recruiter.com owner Ashley Saddul will join the merged entity as CTO and founder.

I first talked to Davis after he sold CEOjobs.com to Harry Joiner last year. I ran a profile about him the next day, and he talked about some of his domains including WirelessJobs.com and StartupJobs.com.

Davis and Joiner connected again later last year for an interesting domain transaction.

Among Recruiter.com’s plans are:

-Growing RecruitingBlogs.com
-Delivery of HR.net to be a major publication for HR executives (Davis owns HR.net)
-Delivery of RecruitFest, a recruiting conference in partnership with Monster Worldwide

A press release about the deal is here.

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Related posts:

1. DNW Interview: Jason Davis, the Jobs Domain Master
2. A Creative Three-Way Domain Name Deal
3. CEOJobs.com Purchase was No-Brainer for Headhunter

$15B company loses UDRP case.

Juniper Networks has lost a domain name arbitration case to get the domain juniper.tv. Despite having a market cap of nearly $15 billion, the arbitrator noted that it’s entirely plausible that the registrant of the domain name hadn’t heard of the company because it’s a business-to-business company.

Also working against Juniper Networks is that juniper is a generic term. The registrant had registered other seemingly generic .tv domain names such as atmosphere.tv, lightbulb.tv, and regions.tv. (Of course the latter one is also the name of a bank, and the parked page at the domain currently shows banking ads.) The arbitration panelist wrote:

Here, the parking website formerly associated with the Domain Name was not focused on the Complainant’s or competing products, although both could be found through the layers of advertising links. The fact that ad server software would logically associate the Complainant (as well as other commercial enterprises) with the word “juniper” does not prove that the Respondent likely had the Complainant’s mark in contemplation when he registered the Domain Name, which is what would be required to establish bad faith in the registration and use of the Domain Name.

It would be easier to infer such an illicit intention if the Complainant’s mark were not comprised of dictionary words

Incidentally, Juniper Networks does not own Juniper.com, and instead uses Juniper.net as its main web address.

© DomainNameWire.com 2010.

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1. ScotiaBank Loses Case for Caribana Festival Domain Name
2. Dow Jones Loses Marketwatch.net Domain Name Case
3. Dough! Mrs. Fields Loses 1800cookies.com Case

Here’s why NameMedia sells more of its own domains than clients’ domains.

Every once in a while I feel like going on a rant. So here goes.

There’s been a lot of talk on both my blog and others about NameMedia, which operates BuyDomains and AfternicDLS.

NameMedia owns its own portfolio of domains which it sells through its platform. It also allows other domain owners (i.e., you) to sell domains via its AfternicDLS system, which then syndicates through its sales network.

Here’s the issue people raise: when NameMedia used to report its weekly sales, most of the domains that sold were NameMedia’s own domains. Why was there not a proportionate number of customer domains selling?

I’ll tell you why. Because NameMedia has a disproportionate amount of reasonably priced and categorized domains for sale on its premium distribution network.

Priced (reasonably) and categorized

When you list with Afternic you have a choice of listing a price or as “make offer”. If you list an actual price your domain is much more likely to sell to an end user.

You can also categorize your domain. Domains that are categorized are 2.8 times more likely to sell than uncategorized listings.

So if you haven’t priced your domains and categorized them, you won’t sell nearly as many as NameMedia does. And if you don’t price your domains within the end-user sweet spot of under $5k (more like $1k-$2k), it will be even harder to sell.

Promotion Levels

You have three choices when it comes to selling your domains with NameMedia through AfternicDLS.

The first is Basic Distribution. This means your domains are just listed on Afternic.

I suspect that most people who complain about lack of success with AfternicDLS choose basic distribution and don’t price their domains.

There’s absolutely no way you can sell the same percentage of your domains on AfternicDLS as NameMedia does if this is how you’re listing your domains.

The second level is Expanded Distribution, which syndicates your listings to 20 partners. This is definitely a step up from basic listings, and all things being equal your domain on Expanded is three times as likely to sell as on Basic.

But the magic is in the third listing level, Premium Distribution. These domains also show up when people search for domains at Network Solutions and Register.com. More importantly, customers are able to buy the domains directly at those registrars and instantly get the domain in their account.

Domains listed in Premium Distribution have 18x the sales velocity of domains in Basic Distribution.

So let’s assume you have actually priced all of your domains reasonably and categorized them well. Let’s also assume your domains are comparable to NameMedia’s own portfolio and you have as many domains at the company owns. But you list them on Basic. NameMedia is still going to outsell you 18-to-1.

You’re really comparing apples to oranges if you gripe about that.

Now there’s only one advantage NameMedia has to you if you actually use the Premium level and all other factors are kept constant: NameMedia’s own domains are syndicated through the GoDaddy registration path. That is not currently an option for its customers (although you can do that directly with GoDaddy).

But isn’t there a salesperson conflict of interest?

This is a fair question. Wouldn’t NameMedia’s phone sales reps have an incentive to sell the company’s own domains rather than yours?

The answer is yes, only if you don’t price your domains correctly and list them at the Premium level.

Sales reps make the same commission selling one of your names as one of NameMedia’s. But let’s put yourself in a sales rep’s shoes.

Phone rings. Person is interested in two domains, one of which is a customer domain and one is the company’s own domain. I can quote the buyer a price on the NameMedia domain and sell it to them instantly, which is a big advantage for me as a salesperson. If the AfternicDLS customer has priced the domain, I can quote the price and sell it instantly only if it is priced and listed at Premium level.

Now the customer starts to bargain. Both domains are priced at $3,000 and the seller wants to spend $2,000. For the NameMedia domain I can run down the hall to my sales manager and see if he will let it go for $2,000.

I can’t do that with the client’s domain. Or can I? Actually, yes. If the client put a floor price on his listing, I can negotiate directly with the buyer without even contacting the seller.

So, in a nut shell, here’s how to get a NameMedia sales rep to sell your domain on part with its own:

-Price it reasonably
-Add a floor price
-Choose Premium Distribution so they can sell and transfer the domain immediately to the buyer

The bottom line

Have you ever purchased a product at Amazon.com that was sold by a third party? It’s interesting. Amazon actually lists its competitors and their prices next to the product. You can either buy it from Amazon or buy it from a partner and Amazon takes a commission. They don’t discriminate; if a third party seller offers it for less they’ll actually list the competitor above Amazon.com in the purchase options.

It’s the same thing here. If you compare apples to apples, NameMedia will sell the same proportion of your domains as it does its own.

I’ll leave you with one thought: if NameMedia sells so few client domains, why does it spend so much money courting domainers to sell on its system? Surely it should just cut domainers out of the picture and concentrate on selling its own domains. That would save a lot of hassles.

Hmm. I hope the tides never change so much that NameMedia considers doing that. That would be a big loss for domainers.

© DomainNameWire.com 2010.

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Related posts:

1. In Battle Over Retail Distribution, NameMedia Leaving Sedo in the Dust
2. NameMedia (BuyDomains, ActiveAudience) buys Afternic Domain Name Marketplace
3. 10 Reasons You’re Not Selling More Domains

If an auction occurs, expect to put your money where your mouth is.

We might never see an auction for Sex.com. But if we do, expect to put up a significant deposit if you wish to bid.

Court documents show that the bankruptcy sales procedure for Sex.com will include three phases.

In the first phase domain broker Sedo will do a worldwide outreach and prequalification of interested parties. The second phase is a negotiation period with qualified parties. The third phase will include further negotiation and, if necessary, a private auction.

This “private sale period” is 90 days long. If it doesn’t result in a sale at a minimum specified price, Sedo will hold a public auction within 30 days of the end of the private sale period.

If a public auction is held, each bidder will need to meet a number of financial requirements and must make a $1 million deposit.

Sedo and the debtors aren’t disclosing what the minimum sales price must be for obvious reasons. That information, along with Sedo’s sales commission, is redacted from court documents.

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about buying the domain (and I know many of my readers have been looking for coins between the couch cushions to come up with some spare cash to buy the domain), you should probably get in touch with Sedo during the private sales period rather than waiting for a public auction.

© DomainNameWire.com 2010.

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1. .Org Domain Hit 7 Million Registrations
2. Gregory Ricks Sells 199.com on 4.cn, 500.com is Next
3. NBC Tries to Wriggle Out Of $1 Million Women.com Sale

Richard Kirkendall and Richard Lau photographed by Kamila Sekiewicz at DOMAINfest 2010

As DNN has learned the buyers of the DomainName.com registrar and customer base sold by DomainConsultant, are non other than Richard Lau of DomainManager.com and Richard Kirkendall of NameCheap.com. The two, also known as “The Richards” partnered up on the purchase and are planning to transform the company into a new brand.

Richard Kirkendall told DNN about the purchase: “We’re excited about the acquisition of DomainName.com and plan to launch a premium registrar geared towards domainers and business. It will operate as separate brand from Namecheap. With all the features: dns, whois privacy, webhosting, SSL at extremely competitive pricing.”

According to information provided by the company NameCheap now has 1,5 million names under management for their clients. DomainManager provides free DNS for over 53,000 domains according to Zone File records.

(c) 2010 DomainNameNews.com

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Survey seeks opinions on new top level domain names.

World Trademark Review is currently running a survey to understand attitudes and plans around the launch of new top level domain names.

The survey is targeted to three groups: In-house trademark lawyers, private practice trademark lawyers, and marketing, web, and communications professionals. Each group receives slightly different questions on the survey.

For example, in-house trademark lawyers are asked about trademark protection and Uniform Rapid Suspension. Private practice lawyers are asked if new TLDs provide them with a good business opportunity for their practice. Marketing professionals are asked how their company might use a new TLD and which departments within the company have expressed an interest in them.

World Trademark Review claims the survey “will collect opinions from the widest respondent base ever consulted on gTLD strategy. Through canvassing the marketing community in addition to the legal profession, the study will ensure that the views of all interested parties are considered and therefore present a unique viewpoint on new gTLDs.”

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1. Support for New TLDs Still Limited Amongst Domain Industry
2. Sharing Domain Parking Stats is Easy with DNW Certified Stats
3. Trademark Holders Shouldn’t Rush to Get New TLDs

Trademark owners go after their names on .co.

A dozen companies have filed 13 .co domain name arbitration disputes since the relaunch of .co as a a generic domain name.

The most recent UDRP filing was for Dreamhost.co by the owner of the large web host DreamHost.com. This is a somewhat surprising case given that surely a web host was aware of the release of .co domains.

Other companies have also filed cases. AOL wants aolmail.co and L.A. Fitness is going after lafitness.co. Other companies filing complaints include:

Akbank Turk A.S.
Linode, LLC
Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG
Barry’s Ticket Service, Inc.
Dormeuil Freres
Tilda Limited
Rautaruukki Oyj
Spa Esprit Group Franchise Pte Ltd

.Co domains are subject to a UDRP procedure similar to .com, except that only World Intellectual Property Organization currently hears the cases.

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Related posts:

1. Verizon Gets Back Into UDRP Game
2. Sharing Domain Parking Stats is Easy with DNW Certified Stats
3. 7,000 Domains Won Through UDRP Have Expired

Patent could potentially target Google and Microsoft.

A U.S. patent directed at cost-per-action advertising on search engines as well as cash-back search is headed to the auction block.

Sunnyvale, California based AnchorFree Inc. has enlisted ICAP Ocean Tomo to auction off U.S. patent number 7,647,305 (pdf) at its November 11 intellectual property auction in Napa, California.

The patent covers two main things. First, it covers charging search ad customers based on a CPA model rather than cost-per-click. Google has already toyed around with this sort of idea, charging customers based on an action (such as a sale or lead) rather than per click.

Second, the patent covers giving a portion of advertising fees back to the searcher. This is similar to Microsoft’s CashBack search, which rewarded searchers with a percentage of Microsoft’s affiliate fees when customers made a purchase. Microsoft has shut down the service, but many similar services exist.

Can’t wait for the auction? The patent has a buy-it-now price of $2 million.

© DomainNameWire.com 2010.

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Related posts:

1. Will Cost Per Action Replace Cost Per Click?
2. Yahoo Awarded Patent for Human-Enhanced Search Engine
3. Google Awarded Patent for Local Search Integrated with Whois

Sedo reported their sales for last week. Highlights include the already reported angels.com sale at 200,000 USD, progress.nl as the top ccTLDs sale at 20,000 EUR (appx. $25,250 USD), and hostel.info leading the other category at 7,900 EUR (appx. $9,950 USD).

See all of the reported sales after the jump.

Domain nameDatePriceCurrencyTranslation .COMs angels.com2010-08-29200,000USD raygen.com2010-08-3016,500USD payrollcard.com2010-08-2312,000USD elga.com2010-08-2510,000EUR 8o.com2010-08-2310,000GBP 카지노.com2010-08-2510,000USD justpay.com2010-08-239,000USD fullbridge.com2010-08-257,000USD spanishvilla.com2010-08-246,998USD criticschoicemovies.com2010-08-266,500USD asbestoscancermesothelioma.com2010-08-236,478USD telefoonboek.com2010-08-246,150EURTelephone Book in Dutch cardblanche.com2010-08-245,000USD u247.com2010-08-245,000EUR tupiso.com2010-08-255,000EURYour Apartment in Spanish vanitybag.com2010-08-235,000USD rightaction.com2010-08-275,000USD ichauffeur.com2010-08-275,000USD hotelpricer.com2010-08-254,700USD bulkammo.com2010-08-244,000USD alamos-autos.com2010-08-234,000USD corelegal.com2010-08-304,000USD xtq.com2010-08-253,700USD lhdr.com2010-08-243,600USD dynamic-systems.com2010-08-263,600USD nutripro.com2010-08-303,600USD elitim.com2010-08-253,500EUR n-energy.com2010-08-263,350EUR sendtotv.com2010-08-273,300USD art4life.com2010-08-233,000USD ablar.com2010-08-243,000USDSlang for hablar
(to talk) in Spanish tabeebak.com2010-08-273,000USD gantuan.com2010-08-273,000USD iboutiques.com2010-08-242,900USD bring24.com2010-08-262,600GBP suitup.com2010-08-252,513USD i-chips.com2010-08-252,500USD ibella.com2010-08-252,300EUR glassworld.com2010-08-242,250USD cotoo.com2010-08-242,200USD thetailor.com2010-08-252,200USD e4n6.com2010-08-242,000USD kilifi.com2010-08-242,000EUR textilservice.com2010-08-242,000EUR worldkidsclub.com2010-08-242,000USD libertysafes.com2010-08-302,000USD suzytakesthestage.com2010-08-272,000USD nevro.com2010-08-262,000EUR dealblaster.com2010-08-242,000USD beautyfriends.com2010-08-302,000USD rapidcontact.com2010-08-251,988USD spaki.com2010-08-241,800EUR mccd.com2010-08-271,800EUR nywt.com2010-08-241,800USD traveljet.com2010-08-271,800USD brooklyncolleges.com2010-08-241,799USD thebrander.com2010-08-261,750USD bluerevue.com2010-08-261,750USD k121.com2010-08-261,700USD bestprosthetics.com2010-08-261,700USD gardenvideos.com2010-08-251,673USD warpaint.com2010-08-261,659USD bargainb.com2010-08-241,600USD ecodwell.com2010-08-271,599USD eurosoulmates.com2010-08-241,575USD tractorattachments.com2010-08-251,575USD grønn-energi.com2010-08-251,500USDGreen Energy in Danish due-south.com2010-08-241,500EUR donottrack.com2010-08-241,500USD almig.com2010-08-231,500EUR soosk.com2010-08-241,500GBP inveny.com2010-08-231,500USD timesharesecrets.com2010-08-261,500USD gestionambiental.com2010-08-241,500EUR f3s.com2010-08-251,500USD igram.com2010-08-271,500USD thecantina.com2010-08-301,500USD crdf.com2010-08-261,500USD christiandegree.com2010-08-271,475USD boatlist.com2010-08-241,400USD citrat.com2010-08-241,400USD fonme.com2010-08-251,350USD brandboom.com2010-08-291,350USD movieinsiders.com2010-08-301,350USD tube-galore.com2010-08-301,300USD 2denmark.com2010-08-271,300USD mtwapa.com2010-08-241,250EUR apostasfutebol.com2010-08-301,250EURFootball wagers in Portuguese epor.com2010-08-231,200USD jobsearchup.com2010-08-231,200EUR christianrealty.com2010-08-251,200USD overbet.com2010-08-271,200EUR playgoal.com2010-08-241,199USD travelrest.com2010-08-251,125USD unitedlowlands.com2010-08-241,120EUR zear.com2010-08-301,052USD megustaxd.com2010-08-261,000USD"I like" in Spanish net-bets.com2010-08-241,000USD electromotivediesel.com2010-08-301,000USD baneservice.com2010-08-251,000USD onegg.com2010-08-231,000USD hot-art.com2010-08-241,000USD dolphin-media.com2010-08-241,000USD nomadia.com2010-08-301,000EUR bsdtools.com2010-08-301,000USD kredit-fuer-selbstaendige.com2010-08-271,000EURCredit for the self-employed in German dvour.com2010-08-251,000USD willisauto.com2010-08-25999USD dsltarifrechner.com2010-08-25999USDDSL rate calculator in German starred.com2010-08-27999USD american-football.com2010-08-26995USD recipepro.com2010-08-30995USD brüllkäfer.com2010-08-27975EURScreaming beetle in German mobileboutique.com2010-08-26945USD solmov.com2010-08-26940USD me100.com2010-08-30900EUR teethwhiteningtrays.com2010-08-25900USD diajet.com2010-08-27900EUR dollydagger.com2010-08-24888GBP marketresearchreports.com2010-08-24850USD lidating.com2010-08-24850USD dishstuff.com2010-08-27850USD coloriageaimprimer.com2010-08-26840EURcolouring pages to print in French spectate.com2010-08-27801USD rogersplace.com2010-08-24800USD findaresort.com2010-08-23800USD dentalcaresource.com2010-08-26800USD negocioenlinea.com2010-08-27799USDOn line business in Spanish samplestuff.com2010-08-27799USD medical-hemp.com2010-08-27788USD paintballguide.com2010-08-27750USD howardcc.com2010-08-26750USD twlf.com2010-08-25750USD livedesigngroup.com2010-08-30750USD dakil.com2010-08-26750USD hyperbaricchambers.com2010-08-26738USD suxus.com2010-08-24700USD blueboxsolutions.com2010-08-24700USD hdrsoftware.com2010-08-24700USD lisingles.com2010-08-24700USD lingli.com2010-08-24700USD 8939.com2010-08-24700USD 8438.com2010-08-25700USD CC TLDS progress.nl2010-08-2320,000EUR kredit-ohne-schufa.de2010-08-3012,500EURCredit without a credit check in German stream-tv.de2010-08-2712,000EUR www-wetter.de2010-08-308,800EURWeather in German babyshop.dk2010-08-256,700EUR summerjobs.ca2010-08-246,600USD scoop.it2010-08-306,000USD phones.de2010-08-305,100EUR hypnoseschule.de2010-08-305,000EURHypnosis school in German cta.de2010-08-304,400EUR secret.at2010-08-234,000EUR rugby.kr2010-08-303,800USD sciencedaily.fr2010-08-253,000EUR gartenmoebel.co.uk2010-08-303,000EURGarden Furniture in German onlineprintservice.de2010-08-273,000EUR le-jardin-potager.fr2010-08-303,000EURKitchen Garden in French feuerlöscher.ch2010-08-262,500EURFire Extinguishers in German secret.be2010-08-242,420EUR amateurvideos.de2010-08-252,050EUR reisen.si2010-08-252,025EURTravel in German trias-verlag.de2010-08-272,000EURTrias Publishing House in German hochzeitskarten.eu2010-08-252,000EURWedding invitations in German ptm.eu2010-08-302,000EUR saunamanesse.ch2010-08-271,900EUR joy-club.de2010-08-241,890EUR youtoo.de2010-08-231,800EUR secret.se2010-08-271,700EUR knickmeier.de2010-08-241,650EUR smartphoto.de2010-08-271,600EUR handtasche.eu2010-08-261,500EURHandbag in German botanic.it2010-08-301,500EUR beautyfriends.de2010-08-241,500EUR russisch.ch2010-08-271,500EURRussian in German futa.de2010-08-241,400EUR casinogamesonline.co.uk2010-08-251,325GBP bed-and-breakfast.be2010-08-271,300EUR schnell-kochen.de2010-08-301,250EURCooking in a snap in German jobbörse-frankfurt.de2010-08-231,200EURJob Market in German kot.it2010-08-231,200EUR bewerbungs-vorlagen.de2010-08-251,199EURJob Applications in German coopers.de2010-08-271,011EUR sofortrente.eu2010-08-251,000EURInstant Pension in German swipe.it2010-08-261,000EUR verabredungen.de2010-08-261,000EURAppointments in German counter.us2010-08-241,000USD leanlogistics.us2010-08-271,000USD mein-chef.ch2010-08-301,000EURMy boss in German eventcrew.de2010-08-26981EUR männer.tv2010-08-26950EURMen in German fitnessbilliger.de2010-08-27950EURFitness on the Cheap in German kueschall.de2010-08-25900EUR interrailer.de2010-08-27900EUR 123dabei.de2010-08-30856EUR123 Participate in German optimaitalia.it2010-08-24850EUR array.de2010-08-23850EUR fiz-conferencelab.de2010-08-25850EUR liposuction.de2010-08-26844EUR taxweb.de2010-08-27800EUR audiforum.pl2010-08-25800EUR taschenguides.de2010-08-27800EURPocket Travel Guides in German ladyboy.de2010-08-30800EUR tada.tv2010-08-27800USD klick.es2010-08-25750EUR gelbras.co.uk2010-08-27750GBP jobs-in.co.uk2010-08-24750USD lasertonercartridges.co.uk2010-08-26750GBP enfemenino.tv2010-08-27750USDFeminine in Spanish rocx.eu2010-08-24750EUR haceka.de2010-08-24700EUR OTHER TLDS hostel.info2010-08-307,900EUR kitchenremodeling.org2010-08-303,500USD platformbeds.net2010-08-273,500USD onlinemastersdegrees.net2010-08-262,700USD remortgagedeals.org2010-08-252,500GBP texasapps.net2010-08-232,250USD taxhavens.org2010-08-262,150EUR buyphentermine.org2010-08-252,000USD liquidus.net2010-08-261,820USD roulette.biz2010-08-251,551USD kidsacademy.org2010-08-241,500USD aggregator.net2010-08-271,500USD skiholidays.info2010-08-271,400USD sparked.org2010-08-301,200USD smartdating.net2010-08-251,199USD gesellschaftsrecht.mobi2010-08-231,190EURCompany Law in German goodluck.net2010-08-271,110USD vaska.net2010-08-301,100USD football365.mobi2010-08-241,000USD leanlogistics.org2010-08-271,000USD domene.net2010-08-291,000USD casinoaction.net2010-08-301,000USD offshorebank.info2010-08-30999EUR streamtime.net2010-08-24988USD sportsbars.net2010-08-30938USD roupa.net2010-08-25900EUR epipla.net2010-08-24899USD languagetranslators.net2010-08-30899USD wacs.org2010-08-25880USD zinsen.biz2010-08-24850EURInterest (finance) in German myquestion.net2010-08-24800EUR mydir.org2010-08-25800EUR myprice.org2010-08-26800EUR flx.net2010-08-26800USD emprestimopessoal.org2010-08-26777USDPersonal Loan in Portuguese luxuryhotels.biz2010-08-25750USD languagetranslators.org2010-08-30749USD pokerodds.net2010-08-27720USD

(c) 2010 DomainNameNews.com

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Group forms to object to .jobs expansion.

A group calling itself The .JOBS Charter Compliance Coalition is asking ICANN’s board to reconsider its decision to open up the .jobs top level domain name to non-company name registrations. The coalition’s members include major employment web sites such as Monster and CareerBuilder, along with a number of associations.

In a letter (pdf) to the Committee of the Board on Reconsideration, the group argues that:

-The .jobs phased allocation program violates the .jobs charter
-The members of the coalition will be harmed by the by the expansion of the .JOBS space beyond employers without any of the customary and usual protections against abusive and infringing registrations
-Other people will also be harmed by the expansion
-The board’s decision should be stayed pending the outcome of reconsideration
-ICANN’s staff-prepared comment summary was flawed

A number of job boards have been vocal opponents of the plan. Much of the opposition suggests that the purpose and charter of .jobs (an sTLD) has been violated. But I suspect we’ll see more of this sort of backlash as new top level domains are introduced in the coming years.

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Related posts:

1. .Jobs Expansion Approved, .Travel to Release 1 and 2 Character Domains
2. Battle Over .Jobs is Growing
3. The .Jobs Backlash Has Begun

DomainConsultant.com reports that domain sold during auction today.

DomainConsultant.com, which organized an auction today for DomainName.com, is reporting that the name has sold.

Due to non-disclosure requests on both sides, we unfortunately cannot publish buyer or final selling price. We can tell you that, as predicted, DomainName.com name, site and registrar were sold today in a private auction.

We can also tell you new owner will prosper and thrive, we have no doubt whatsoever.

It’s unfortunate that a non-disclosure will keep the price from being public, but if multiple parties participated in the auction then word might eventually leak out. The domain included an accredited domain name registrar and about 8,000 existing registrations. The reserve was originally listed at $1 million.

DomainConsultant.com says it will hold another sales event in a couple weeks and is seeking domain submissions.

© DomainNameWire.com 2010.

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Related posts:

1. DomainName.com To Be Auctioned Tuesday
2. Sharing Domain Parking Stats is Easy with DNW Certified Stats
3. Porn.com Sells for $9.5M Cash

According to a post on DomainConsultant’s site, the registrar DomainName.com and related assets have been sold today. The buyer and final selling price have not been disclosed. At the same time the company announced an upcoming auction with an 8% commission and is now accepting domain submissions via email to mike (at) domainconsultant.com.

Disclaimer: Adam Strong, Managing Editor of DNN, also is a consultant with DomainConsultant.com.

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NBC wants lawsuit over domain name dismissed.

NBC Universal has filed a motion to dismiss (pdf) a lawsuit filed by DONE! Ventures over DONE!’s failed purchase of Women.com. DONE! claims it had an agreement to buy women.com and women.net from NBC, and that NBC later backed out of the deal that was brokered by Sedo.

NBC’s first line of defense is that it hadn’t reached an agreement with DONE! because communications only referred to Women.com, not .net — so key terms hadn’t been agreed to:

The Complaint makes clear on its face that no binding contract was formed because there was no meeting of the minds on a material term: the property for sale. Plaintiff alleges that it made a $1 million offer for two domain names: women.com and women.net. Yet, the correspondence from the NBC Defendants’ broker, which Plaintiff attaches to the Complaint and specifically incorporates by reference, states that the NBC Defendants would accept $1 million for women.com alone. Thus, the parties never agreed on what could be purchased for the $1 million price.

Its second line of defense is that Sedo told DONE! it would need to complete a bill of sale with NBC before completing the transaction. NBC argues that no bill of sale was completed, so there was no breach of contract:

Further, the parties’ correspondence states that the NBC Defendants required specified information about the Plaintiff and the completion of a bill of sale before a deal could be consummated. As Plaintiff admits in the Complaint, no bill of sale was ever drafted or signed. Therefore, even if the parties had reached a meeting of the minds about what property was for sale and at what price, which they did not, at most, there was an unenforceable agreement to agree. Plaintiffs breach of contract claim thus fails as a matter of law.

If the court doesn’t buy either of these arguments, NBC wants it to move the case from California to New York.

So here’s the (literally) million dollar question: if DONE! would accept just the .com domain for $1 million, would NBC go through with it?

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Related posts:

1. NBC Universal and DONE! Fight Over What to Do With Women.com
2. DONE! Ventures Sues NBC Universal Over Failed Women.com Deal at Sedo
3. Ad.com Sale Falls Through, Lawsuit Filed

Domain marketplace release new search system.

Sedo has released new searching tools that make it much easier to sift through the site’s 7 million domain names for sale.

The new search allows you to add and change search criteria and get updated results on the fly. Limit the number of words in domains, price range, and even parking traffic (if the domain is parked at Sedo). You can also preview a listing by clicking on the domain rather than loading an entirely new page. DomainsBot technology is integrated to show synonyms and domains similar to the keywords you provide.

As you search you’re able to add domains to a watchlist for later review. You can also create RSS feeds for your saved searches.

The need for improved search features had developed as the number of domains at Sedo has grown. These new search features will hopefully boost sales as quality domains will be easier to find.

Given browser constraints and the speed of real time updates, you might have a better experience viewing the search tool in Google Chrome instead of Firefox or Internet Explorer.

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Broker sells Angels.com domain name.

Sedo has sold the domain name Angels.com for $200,000 according to the company’s updated sales feed. The domain name is currently pending transfer.

Earlier this month I pointed out that the domain being listed for auction presented another chance for Major League Baseball to pick up the domain name. Major League Baseball tried to get the domain name through a UDRP filing earlier but failed. At the time the seller wanted $300,000 for the domain.

At $200,000, I’d be shocked if MLB didn’t buy this domain. Angels.com is one of just 7 team names that the league doesn’t own. It passed on a chance to buy Athletics.com at the DOMAINfest auction, but don’t be surprised if they come to a deal on that later. The league forwards the domains to its MLB.com web site.

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Related posts:

1. MLB Has Another Chance to Get Angels.com
2. Los Angeles Angels Lose Fight for Angels.com Domain Name
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Case over generic domain name denied.

A National Arbitration Forum panelist has rejected a company’s claim to the domain name MyHealth.com.

My Health, Inc registered its mark for “My Health” in 2009. But the registrant of the domain name acquired it prior to that (in 2007) for $150,000. Making matters worse, when My Health, Inc filed its complaint it thought that the respondent had owned the domain name since way back in 1995. Regardless of which date you choose, the complaint must fail because there was no way for the registrant to register it with the non-existent (at the time) trademark holder in mind.

Another interesting aspect to this case is that the panelist brings up the issue of reverse domain name hijacking even though the respondent didn’t request it — but then declines to find RDNH because it wasn’t requested:

It appears from the facts of this case that Complainant established its business and trademark rights while aware that the disputed domain name was already registered by another entity. Indeed, it appears that Complainant brought this arbitration proceeding only after negotiations to purchase or join with Respondent failed. Lastly, as noted above, Complainant has alleged bad-faith registration notwithstanding the fact that it did not even exist (or own any trademark rights) at the time of Respondent’s registration.

Paragraph 15(e) of the Rules provides inter alia that the Panel may find that the Complainant brought an arbitration proceeding “in an attempt at Reverse Domain Name Hijacking or . . . primarily to harass the domain-name holder.” … However, the Respondent has not alleged Reverse Domain Hijacking and the Panel declines to make this determination where the parties have not raised the issue or been given the opportunity to brief the Panel on their respective positions.

A panelist does not need a party to raise the issue of RDNH in order to rule on it. But the fact that he brings it up in his decision shows his opinion on the matter.

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1. National Arbitration Forum FAIL
2. MIA.com Saved in Arbitration, But Who’s This Lazy Panelist?
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An official look at Go Daddy’s revenue numbers.

I still remember a conversation just before the Super Bowl in 2005. I was eating lunch with a bunch of techies and the topic of Super Bowl commercials came up. Someone asked “who is this Go Daddy company, anyway?”

Flash forward to 2010. If you ask someone on the street where they would go to register a domain name, they’ll likely say “Go Daddy”. About half of all newly-registered domains are registered at the company.

Go Daddy continues to grow like gangbusters. I’ve reported some of the company’s numbers on Domain Name Wire before, but yesterday I had a chance to get an official historical look at the company’s growth from Ryan Corder, Senior Director of Finance for the company.

Sources: The Go Daddy Group, SEC Filings

The company’s growth since the opening up of registrar accreditation has been staggering. In 2001 the company grossed $4.3 million in GAAP revenue; last year it hit $610 million. I had previously reported revenue of $750 million for 2009, but this was actually sales. (As a growing company, GAAP revenue lags sales because sales are recognized over a period of time.) For 2010 the company forecasts between $940-$950 million in sales.

Perhaps more important as a privately-held company is Go Daddy’s cash flow. The company forecasts an operating cash flow of $140-$150 million for 2010.

Go Daddy’s employee base has grown with the revenue, bringing much needed jobs to Arizona and Iowa. In 2003 the company employed 323 people; it now keeps 2,700 (and growing) on the payroll.

No wonder Bob Parsons is always smiling.

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[Update] The registrar has been sold.

DomainConsultant.com, mostly known for their Domain Madness auctions so far have a special item that is being auctioned today – an entire domain registrar business. The business is an ICANN accredited company that has about 8,000 domains under management and uses “DomainName.com” as their brand. You can find a breakdown of their existing registrations, for which they currently charge $29.95(!) per year, below. The customer base also includes 200 hosting accounts with an annual revenue of $200 each.

While the Buy It Now price of $3,000,000 USD expired yesterday, bidders are welcome to bring forward their bids by visiting DomainConsultant or send an email to Mike Fiol at mike (at) domainconsultant.com.

The auction started at 9am EDT today and will end at 3pm EDT.

Disclaimer: Adam Strong, Managing Editor of DNN, also is a consultant with DomainConsultant.com.

TLDAmount of Registrations Total8,019 .com5,971 .net990 .org537 .biz171 .info163 .us170 .ws17

(c) 2010 DomainNameNews.com

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Swimmer’s foundation goes after domain name owner.

The non-profit Michael Phelps Foundation, established by the Olympic swimmer, has sued to get the domain name MichaelPhelpsFoundation.com.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Maine, names Domains by Proxy, Inc., a domain whois proxy service, and Does 1-10 as defendants. It is typical for a proxy service to be named in a lawsuit and it is typically dropped once the proxy service transfers the domain back to its real owner.

The domain name was registered in 2008, just two days after Phelps won his record setting eighth gold medal in a single Olympics. Phelps had not yet started his foundation.

The domain was originally registered by a Minnesota man before the whois proxy service was used. The author of the web site at MichaelPhelpsFoundation.com claims that he had good intentions in registering the domain name:

To be quite clear, MPF was created as a “foundation” or a home “base” where fans, like yourself, can come to share, chat, research, debate, contribute, and connect with one another on the past, present and future surrounding, who some are considering to be the greatest hero in history, Michael Phelps.

It wasn’t until after MPF was created that we heard that Michael Phelps was, in fact, going to establish a new swimming foundation.

A blog on the web site has two entries from 2008.

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Case dropped pending settlement.

A lawsuit filed against the original registrant of CamRoulette.com has been settled.

Craig Snyder (not related to the Oversee.net employee) originally registered CamRoulette.com and sold it for $1,200. But another person, Fraser Brown, said he had already agreed to purchase the domain name from Snyder for $700 before Snyder sold it to the other party for $1,200.

It likely wouldn’t have bothered anyone if it weren’t for the domain quickly being resold for $151,000 shortly thereafter. Brown sued, claiming damages for the difference between his $700 offer and the $151,000 sales price.

The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, and the case may be reopened within 30 days should the settlement fall through.

It’s not surprising to see an agreement reached. It appeared that Brown had identified another (wealthier) Craig Snyder as the culprit instead of the actual Snyder (who says he’s broke). There probably wasn’t much to gain by moving forward with the suit.

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1. Domain Owner Wins Expenses in Lawsuit