My most recent five figure domain sale started as an acquisition on DNForum, around this time in 2005. The domain was part of a fire sale by the late investor, Igal Lichtman, whose "Mrs. Jello LLC" sales threads were legendary. I spent $1,000 buying two LLL .net domains, and a two word .com. Igal's words […]

As an Escrow.com customer for the past 15 years, I've been using its services exclusively for the acquisition and sale of domain names. Exactly a year ago, Escrow.com launched its Domain Concierge service, soon after NamesCon 2016. I've just completed my first transaction using the Escrow.com Domain Concierge, and this is a quick review of […...

Many incoming inquiries seem to arrive from a company's IT guy, and they are outright the least qualified to negotiate with. An IT professional, whether middle manager or lower, is not able to make decisions that involve marketing functions and associated budgeting. While technically a domain name is a digital asset managed by the IT […]...

These days, inquiries that seek to profit from the good name of a previously existing company's domain are on the rise. Here's how it works. Speculators, with an apparent need for anonymity and trust, find and register domains that once belonged to large, real life corporations. For example, companies that were formed in the 90's […]...

A recent domain inquiry arrived from a party that operates their own clothes boutique, from an upscale area no less. The introduction included the disclaimer that they did not possess great financial resources for the domain. Nevertheless, it was a direct, polite inquiry that arrived via the Uniregistry Market, and I ran the obligatory background [...

Recently, I had to confirm whether a particular, UK-based registrar is ICANN-accredited. Transferring domains to non-accredited domain registrars is important to know; one must be aware of which ICANN-accredited registrar they resell for. The registrar identified itself as a reseller of OpenSRS/Tucows. But I had to confirm it, so I contacted Tucows...

The ongoing account verification process at Escrow.com generated some arguments about its efficiency, recently. As an Escrow.com user since 2002, I was initially reluctant about taking that extra step; then, I realized that I'd rather sleep better at night, if I transacted with well-verified buyers. A current transaction triggered an account verifi...

When dealing with domain name inquiries, there is a certain threshold that once crossed, blurs the line that separates real and surreal. The "poor student" claim is rather basic, as compared to an inquiry for a generic, single word domain that I received recently. While I've changed the wording to protect the not so innocent […]...

Late last year, I was not sure if I'd be attending NamesCon 2017, but I'm glad I did. As we grow older, family obligations that were a cinch back in the day, become more complex to resolve; we put in more effort to take care of issues that arise, and it takes more time to […]

Plenty of domain inquiries that arrive at the Uniregistry Market come from sketchy accounts. Some use proxies, incomplete or made-up names, or other bogus contact information. Those, are easy to ignore quickly, without spending as much as a second on them. Then, there are the student inquiries, that sometimes create believable profiles, or real stu...

When I started this blog on Acro.net in February 2008, it was meant to be a personal repository of "rants and raves" with a domaining twist. In the almost 9 years since, I leveraged my thought output according to my ability to produce content as I went through life, personally and professionally. The difference between […]

Technology start-ups tend to follow trends, as they are often peers to other companies. The addition of geographic proximity, such as companies in the California valley or the Austin tech sector, further increases the chance of corporate mimicking. Overall, it's good to adopt innovative processes from the competition, or from related companies. One...

When Richard Lau launched NamesCon in late 2013, it arrived at the right time. The January 2014 domain conference proved to be a catalyst for the domain industry, and while perfection was not immediately attained, it has been consistently improving its numbers ever since. Before NamesCon 2014, I attended Targeted TRAFFIC every other year, to [̷...

It's been almost a full year since the last NamesCon conference took place, and if you thought that it was a huge event, just wait until NamesCon 2017 kicks off in two weeks. Las Vegas is the stomping grounds of the biggest domain conference of the year; and what a year this has been! In […]

At Uniregistry Market, an ongoing joke is about brokers asking the other party – typically, the buyer – whether they are on vacation. While that statement intends to gauge a response due to its mild but effective non-PC manner, there times that the statement is true. During a recent domain acquisition at Sedo, I submitted […]

Happy New Year. We're getting closer to NamesCon 2017; during the domain conference, Uniregistry will be announcing its Uniregistry Market app, and lots of new features for its existing web and app platforms. It seems that DNS, the Domain Name Sales platform that served me and hundreds of domainers well since 2012, will be phased […]

Two years ago I wrote about how domain registrars fall in three categories: the good, the bad and the ugly. With the expansion of the Internet name space and the proliferation of new gTLDs, the importance of domain registrars as safe-keepers of domain assets has increased multifold. It's time to revisit that old post and […]

I've been using Fabulous as one of my trusted domain registrars, thanks to the great work and persona of Mike Robertson, who worked there until a few years ago. Over the course of several years, I've retained Fabulous thanks to their strong domain management back-end, two factor authentication support and overall ability to maintain a […]...

Domain sales platforms, such as the Uniregistry Market that I use, offer sellers and buyers the ability to communicate directly. Whether that is done via a broker, or in person, the experience of dealing with a potential buyer can vary tremendously. The only constant is you, the seller. Every domain buyer approaches a communication system […]

This weekend marks the 14th anniversary of my first encounter with domain escrow services provider, Escrow.com. The sale was that of the domain Quintet.net, a hand registration that I sold for low $xxx; before that, using PayPal or wire/check/CC payments were the primary methods. Its buyer, German composer Georg Hajdu, still uses the domain as [...

As an active domain investor, I maximize my domain portfolio's potential by offering it on select domain auction venues. In recent months, a small, hand-curated group of domains has been auctioned at NameJet, a venue that I've been using since 2007. What's interesting about these auctions, is that they performed extremely well despite a previous [&...

The recent rebranding of Snapchat to Snap, and the assorted "upgrade" of the corporate domain to Snap.com, generated positive commentary in the domain community. Going from Snapchat.com to Snap.com might seem like an upgrade at first. But in my opinion, it's a brand downgrade. Old school domain investors follow a specific paradigm: dictionary word ...

For the past 14 years, I've been using Escrow.com to safely transact in domain name investing. Acquiring and selling domains requires a trusted medium, and I've raved about the services of Escrow.com. While Escrow.com is a sponsor of many domain industry publications, including one of my own, I remain unbiased and accurate in my assessments […...

I grew up at a time and era when riding a bike exemplified the ultimate freedom. In those childhood years, not every kid had a bicycle, and we often borrowedAs  someone else's for a few laps around the neighborhood square. Being able to roam on a self-powered vehicle exposed to the elements of nature, combines […]

As a long-term holder of domain assets I'm not in a particular rush to sell my domains to the first offer that arrives. Offers come and go, and for the most part domains appreciate in value with time. Even when a reasonable offer is made, it should be the right offer for a particular domain […]

The Olympics in Rio are over, and the spectacular athletic extravaganza delivered most of its promised glory, at a cost of a few billion dollars. These days, the spirit of the Olympic ideal is adjusted to suit 21st century ethics. Considering how in the early days Olympians would be stripped of their medals for receiving […]

This September, THE Domain Conference (TDC) welcomes domain investors from the US and from around the world, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is the second year that TDC operates, from September 10th to 14th – a bit earlier than last year. After the final curtains were drawn on TRAFFIC, co-founder Howard Neu renewed his commitment […]

Domain inquiries arrive in all types of colorful examples of how people approach domain ownership. Having been an active domain investor for more than 15 years, I can honestly write a book about the myriads of inquiries that often lack common sense. It's not that a particular offer arrives with a price that is unreasonable. […]

More than twenty years ago I worked for a Greek ISP as a customer support technician. Those were the early days of the Internet, and the average customer had just upgraded their modems to 14.4 kbps speeds. As a customer service rep, my job was to listen to the customer, understand their problem, and offer […]

During last year's summer, I had to drag along an aged laptop to the beach house, just to keep up to the release of previously reserved domains. When typing on an old VAIO was not possible, I used my Samsung Galaxy S3, another aged relic, to log into my Uniregistry account. It took a lot […]

Late last month I pointed out how Network Solutions acquired a group of drop-catching registrars owned by eNom. The list of ICANN-accredited registrars were used by SnapNames to allocate resources to, in order to catch domains. Today, July 12th, SnapNames utilized Network Solutions as the official registrar for domains caught on my behalf. SnapName...

Domain Name Sales has announced that they are merging their team with Uniregistry Market, forming Uniregistry.com Brokerage. The restructuring might seem internal, but it's yet another indication that Frank Schilling‘s foundation is placing its full support behind the new Uniregistry Market brand that launched not too long ago. By default, I ...

When negotiating on a domain sale, one of the most challenging moments is when the interested party declares the domain as being beyond their budget. Depending on the domain's valuation, you might have the ability to offer the asset at a discount. However, it's best not to do that right away, or even at all, […]

Network Solutions might be the original domain registrar, but these days they maintain a different relationship with domain investors. Keeping one's domains at one registrar versus another, is a matter of personal choice. NetSol is owned by Web.com along with Register.com. I don't register domains at Network Solutions, and that's because there are ...

I've recently listed and sold a small group of quality domain names on NameJet, utilizing their public auction venue. I'm very happy with the results, and for having the ability to follow the ongoing auction live, through the NameJet system. It can be entertaining as well. ???? The way it works: An agreement is signed […]

I've been a member of NameJet since 2007, having spent a pretty dollar acquiring premium domains in the secondary market. My primary focus has been that of aged, .com domains that are dictionary words, two word composites and brandables. I don't discount .net and .org domains, they hold their reselling potential well. Domains that I […]...

A startup I worked for many moons ago, thrived on the firecracker personality of its CEO, a Kiwi expatriate. The guy was highly demanding, but was also a good listener that could tell BS and well-documented arguments apart. It wasn't random that despite several rounds of layoffs, I remained with the company until its final […]

Unique products are often touted as overpriced, expensive, outlandish – and every other epithet available to describe a high monetary value in a negative manner. And yet, it's the uniqueness of such products that defines their value and price. There are very few things more unique than domain names, and as far as digital assets […]...

This past week has been outstanding, both for the number of sales and the results of domain acquisitions I achieved. While no personal records were set, it's still a representation of a healthy year almost halfway already. Domaining is far from dead, as long as one's domain portfolio is diversified. Domain sales have been strong, […]...

As a domain investor with an aged portfolio of both generic and two word compound domains, I receive a fair share of inquiries that are lowballs. These blatant attempts at getting a domain for an unrealistically low price are ignored, but still quite annoying. A type of domain inquiry similar to the "poor student" variety, […]

For more than 25 years I was raised, educated and trained to use the metric system, that French invention that uses meters, kilograms and the centigrade scale. For the past 20 years or so, I've adapted – for the most part – to the imperial system here in the US. I still feel more comfortable […]

When receiving a domain inquiry, there are three important elements to help you identify your potential buyer: Their name The email Their IP / locale Assuming that the inquiry maker does not attempt to mask who they are – in which case, you'd have to extract that information – by using the details above you […]

When it comes down to securing your domain names, one method is not enough. Domain theft is rampant, and the current structure of the reclaiming process puts the onus on the victim. In other words, it's best not to have to deal with a domain theft incident to begin with. Two factor authentication is the […]

Twenty years ago, I "enjoyed" querying the web portal of Network Solutions for the availability of domain names that popped in my head, and watch them getting registered two weeks later. Those were the days of "data trading" to key players in the domain market. The practice continued until the end of the monopoly by […]...

During the past two years, the introduction of numerous gTLDs rejuvenated the domain industry and the domain aftermarket. Domain sales have sustained a high volume and average sales price, indicating a healthy secondary market for domain names. Naturally, the value of .com, .net and .org domains – the original triad – has continued to r...

To convert a domain inquiry into a sale, there are certain key elements that must be taken care of. It's not just a matter of pricing the domain right, and in accordance to market conditions. Many inquiries lead nowhere, at least temporarily, simply because the buyer is unwilling to make such an acquisition, being unfamiliar […]

In the 80's I collected corporate annual reports on offer via the Fortune 500 and Businessweek publications. I simply ticked off every checkbox on those coupons, and a few weeks later, glossy booklets arrived at my doorstep. My postman must have hated me, as the collective weight of those reports I'd get for free, week […]

Having closed on yet another five figure domain sale, I'm confident with discussing an incoming inquiry strategy, and how to win it. The "two-spear attack" is an attempt to get a domain, facilitated by the same party by submitting two offers of varied size. It can most definitely be extended to accommodate additional offers from […]...

The practice of making offers for domain names, under the guise of being someone else, isn't new. Domain investing presents opportunities that can be exceptionally rewarding. There is competition in the market, and there are only so many good names available. In the mid 2000's, many LLL .com domains were sold to investors willing to […]...

Domain inquiries often quote the cost of a domain as a reason that the sale cannot go forward. While direct sales in a single transaction is what I'm personally after, there are times to consider a "lease to own" option. There are a couple of ways to leverage the particulars of such a domain sale: […]