I've been considering developing a new app but want to ensure it would be beneficial for other entrepreneurs and startup devs before I built it.
The service would notify you when your desired domain name becomes available, goes to auction, or changes in price, and offers detailed guidance on how to acquire it with friendly chat support.
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1. Lease the domain with a small cash outlay per month
2. Prove your business model
3. Make money
4. Make a balloon payment for an agreed-upon purchase price (prior to the contract signing) at the end of, say, 3 years term.
This gives the buyer a way to walk away if the business doesn't work out, but lock up the domain from others buying it out from under you in case your business is getting traction.
@ez77: It's a factor to consider, not the end-all, be-all deciding factor.
I was going to purchase a five letter domain name for $2,000 a couple of years ago. It was way under priced for a standard english word dot com domain name. Turns out he moved it from place place, and when I asked the seller why he had a terrible answer. I think it might have been a stolen name but I couldn't prove it. In the end, the lack of clarity was enough to convince me not to buy it.
That's all this article is supposed to do: help people figure out domain names and, in this case, figure out if there might be trouble associated with a premium domain name.
This is a great point, and likely you'll win a UDRP because the registrant will ignore the request (if they're guilty). However, filing a UDRP costs about $1,300.
Entrepreneurs should always register the domain name BEFORE you register for your company.
3D domain names are hot with domain investors so I would suspect this was not an example of domain name front running, especially if it was a week later.
mcurving got most of this correct. Most large registrars will auto renew the domain on behalf of their customers as a "service." this gives you time to notice no email coming in and your domain/website not working. Most will allow you to renew for the regular renewal fee while others will up charge for the renewal. Then, if it doesn't get renewed, the registrar will auction the domain name if of high worth (links coming in, traffic, etc.). It then goes to the highest bidder. If no one bids, it gets deleted. Note: some registrars do not auction (very few).
I plan to update the article on DomainSherpa (http://doms.to/vra) soon with this information.
@ohashi: It's not a big problem anymore as you npointed out. However, the way domain name tasting was reduced (i.e. The financial penalty that was put in place) does not eliminate the practice entirely. It is not illegal as stated by ICANN. That was the point of my article, and how people should protect themselves.
It's not a big problem anymore, but as I point out in the article a) it can happen a small percentage of the time and b) many registrars ARE in conflict of interest with their customers.
This is a commonplace-type issue with all public documents. For example, every time I am granted a trademark (which are publicly published upon grant), I receive a letter on official-looking stationary sayingnincan protect my trademark for $3,000. It's a complete racket by a company with an official sounding name but unaffiliated with the USPTO.
What do you mean by "querying the top level .com servers directly"? How are you doing that?
Yes, any ISP would likely have a substantial delay in collecting, filtering and selling this type of data, which is why I think DNFR is most likely happening at registrars. I'm just presenting the facts that there are "middlemen" in the process that people should know about. Thanks for helping me clarify.
The service would notify you when your desired domain name becomes available, goes to auction, or changes in price, and offers detailed guidance on how to acquire it with friendly chat support.
Would that service interest you?
If so (or not), could you spare 3 minutes to provide your feedback?
The link is above.
Thank you in advance! I really appreciate your time.
Feel free to ask questions here.