The $1,000,000 Domain Name

[Corey]

The owner of imitalian.net is asking a mere $1,000,000 USD for their domain.
https://www.tdnam.com/trpItemListing.aspx?miid=1562516&ci=2188

Talk about optimism. Judging by what I know of the market the actual value on that domain would be somewhere in the order of $500. Classic how the "High Value" listings are topped by "hcsaquariums.com" and "gorkenstein.com". Innovative usage of the word "value". :D
https://www.tdnam.com/trpSearchResults.aspx?sc=254&hn=1&ci=4510

[azmanar]

hehehehe. funny how the same game is applied to US$6.99 domains.

Some people buy jackets labeled HERO from regular stores for about US$100. While some with deep pockets buy exactly the same thing labeled ARMANI for US$1,200. Both labels were produced from the same factory somewhere in Asia.

The guy is baiting those high-rollers. Wait a while and see who caught the vanity bait. Reduce it maybe by 50% to 80% after bargaining. And still makes, a lot more.

[Corey]

I once scored well on a domain name. I bought "Odey.com" a long time ago (for $10) for an online community idea which we ended up abandoning. Then just before I was about to let it expire some asset management guy from the UK emailed me an offer for $500 for it. I accepted and we had the deal done within 72 hours. Technically speaking that as probably the most lucrative deal I've ever done on a percentage basis, that's a 4900% profit in one year. :yes

I also managed to sell notask.com (motto "no task too big, no task too small." paid $10) for $250 USD at around the same time. Several of my expired domains seem to have gotten picked up as well. Last year I let these two expire for example:
http://truckstoppoets.com
http://www.hallucinati.com

Anyhow it's amazing how domain names snake their way around the net. Someone should do one episode of a podcast on quirky domain name stories. There's some doozies out there. As for the imitalian.net guy I wish him luck. If he can find someone to pay him even $500 he's way ahead of the game. It's not even a .com address. Hee. He's just so incredibly proud to be Italian that he can't fathom how any of his fellow countrymen wouldn't see announcing their nationality as a $1,000,000 opportunity. As far as he's concerned advertisers, shoppers, and vendors alike are fairly drooling cash waiting in anticipation of who will win the great race (http://www.imitalian.com/ http://www.imitalian.org). Man I *love* the internet. :yes

I'd like to interview the imitalian.net guy on a podcast. That would rule. I should start a podcast where I pick out random internet anomalies/stories which no one else has picked up on and then interview the parties involved with a special interest on enquiring about the technical minutae of highly unlikely events. For example it would be fun to interview the imitalian.net guy exclusively about what he plans to do with the million dollars. Trust me, it would be funny, I know how to work stuff like that. I do plan to set up a dedicated podcast area in my new studio, so... :D

[azmanar]

I once offered a guy to buy his domain for 250, he wouldnt sell. I upped him for 500, he rejected. Then upped again for US$1,000, he refused.

He already had a dot com am what I was trying to buy was his dot net. He even had a dot org, already.

Finally, I asked him to offer his price. He said, he wanted to maintain the domains to secure his company branding. End of story.

So my client opted for his country domain. There was no dot info at that time.

[Corey]

Yeah, a lot of people buy up every possible variation on their name and product names. I'm not convinced it helps. It depends on the product/service. In sectors where sabotage translates easily to damage then I can certainly see it, but for a strong brand there's enough trademark/copyright protection to handle whatever comes. For example if you open a site at Coca-Cola "dot whatever" it's very easy for Coke to shut you down if they don't like you. So I'm not sure it's worthwhile for them to buy up "coke.tt" (fabricated to make a point) for example. There's a sweet spot and then diminishing returns kick in and the costs outweigh the benefits.

Obviously that doesn't apply for someone who simply bought the .org and .net to match their .com, that's a pretty sane plan for most folks. What I'm talking about is the people who are starting to get into hyphenated and mispelled domains. Don't laugh, I've seen it. Back in my days as a freelancer almost every single client I had displayed some level of domain paranoia. I remember one guy who had some half-baked idea and bought up like 80 different variations on his domain, "just to be safe". Long story short, he never even got the original domain of the ground and spent several years fretting back and forth over the management of the domains, all of which were completely valueless to begin with... :wow

"Classic compulsive behavior" as Barney said to Marge in the casino episode of The Simpsons just before chug-a-lugging a cupful of coins. :D

[AGRO]

Long story shortened.....

I hired a landscape company to do my backyard. After $7600 and a backyard that was not what I wanted and 6 months of having to call and ask when are you going to finish this month job, I was mad. I felt that I was taken for a ride. I contacted him for a portion refund. no luck. I got the city involved. no luck. As we left from the city hearing he flipped me off and was laughing. Well that was it for me. My rage limit was peaking. Not being a violent man at all I used my head.

We were going to trade for the backyard, a complete site for my backyard but his wife had a friend who wanted to do it so that did not pan out. I checked to see if his domain was taken, it was. So I checked out if his company name was trade marked. It was not. So, back to my short story........I bought the name of his company trade marked. Waited for a year for it to become official. Then went to go see a lawyer. This landscaper has been in business for 20+ years, building this name of his company. In the end I got back my $7600 for my back yard, and a little more. When my lawyer went to his lawyer office to complete the deal, my lawyer(with my instructions) waited until everything was signed and was just about to turn around and head out the door, said " Mr.Soandso, all you had to do was talk to Eric and be professional about the situation, and then you would not of done his back yard for free". Who is laughing now???

[Corey]

Not being a violent man at all I used my head.
Nice. I'm with you 100% on that one. :)

I'm no fan of revenge but I have to make a complete exception in this case because that was *seriously* slick Eric, remind me to never muss your yard. Seriously. That was nothing short of brilliant. Probably the best revenge story I've ever heard actually. Can you imagine all the red-faced grumbling and cursing he did on the day he found out you trademarked his name? HEE! Too dang funny... And he has only himself to be angry with. Classic, classic, Aesopian type stuff. In fact it would make a great fable, i.e. "The Coder and the Landscaper". :D

Too bad your lawyer didn't flip his lawyer the bird on the way out of the office. :yes

[azmanar]

Long story shortened.....
Then went to go see a lawyer. This landscaper has been in business for 20+ years, building this name of his company. In the end I got back my $7600 for my back yard, and a little more. When my lawyer went to his lawyer office to complete the deal, my lawyer(with my instructions) waited until everything was signed and was just about to turn around and head out the door, said " Mr.Soandso, all you had to do was talk to Eric and be professional about the situation, and then you would not of done his back yard for free". Who is laughing now???

This story is a good one. You taught that guy a lesson.

[AGRO]

Too bad your lawyer didn't flip his lawyer the bird on the way out of the office. :yes

I asked but he would not do it. Code of ethics he said. As a professional I understand that, but no harm asking. :D

[Corey]

Hee har. :D