5 ms·

I recently had a communique with a domain squatter who held myname.com, wanted $100k for it. I actually asked if he was on drugs. According to the wayback mach

I recently had a communique with a domain squatter who held myname.com, wanted $100k for it. I actually asked if he was on drugs. According to the wayback machine that domain has been parked since 2002. 15 years of annual renewals, never been sold apparently, never actually held a website (or seemingly any services) yet somehow that equals $100k. Domain parkers should be booted from the Internet. It's the most useless, scummy form of business.

ChuckMcM 9y ago
If you are friends with a registrar 15 years of renewals is less than $150. So $100,000 against $150? I expect that if you offered them $10,000 for it they would take it, but they want to 'set the bar' high so that you'll not waste their time offering them a few hundred dollars for it. And to put that in context, if you said "Invest this $150 and 15 years from now it will be worth $10,000!" you would jump on that right? Even if it were only worth $1,500 it would be 10x on your money in 15 years.
- anigbrowl 9y ago
  There is nothing good about the way f doing business that you describe. Like the GP, I have neither the time nor the desire to negotiate with people like that; I'll just ignore them and do something else, and they'll never get anything. I'm not altogether against domain squatting - it is a scummy practice but I don't blame people for taking advantage of the opportunity. But this business model of huge asking prices and 'make me an offer' ? Fuck that. I'm in favor of a Georgist approach to domain names, use it or lose it, either by fiat or a tax on speculative investments. This way of doing business is shitty and has to go.
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    If I use it, but you want it, then it seems reasonable for me to want to be compensated for that loss. The utility value can be much greater than the cost - like if I had livery for that domain, commercially that could make replacing it a multiple £10k cost.
    - FussyZeus 9y ago
      Except the whole reason it's outrageous is that the domain is not being used other than to market the domain as a for-sale product.
- IncRnd 9y ago
  To start with $150 and 15 years later have $10,000, the principal would need to double 5 times to achieve 64 times return. How could you possibly convince a registrar of that?
  - ChuckMcM 9y ago
    The $150 arises from renewing a domain for $9.99 every year for 15 years. Many people have registered hundreds of domains on the assumption that at some point, someone will want to 'own' them and will be willing to pay for that. When I was VP of Ops & Eng at Blekko I would get an email probably a few times a month from someone or another trying to sell me some domain they were squatting on. This sort of 'investment' is a thing is all I'm saying. The registrar just gets their annual fee, they don't have to be convinced of anything.
  - jpttsn 9y ago
    Maybe by replicating this scheme, investing in multiple domains, hoping one of them will succeed enough to make up for the added cost.

ChuckMcM 9y ago

If you are friends with a registrar 15 years of renewals is less than $150. So $100,000 against $150? I expect that if you offered them $10,000 for it they would take it, but they want to 'set the bar' high so that you'll not waste their time offering them a few hundred dollars for it. And to put that in context, if you said "Invest this $150 and 15 years from now it will be worth $10,000!" you would jump on that right? Even if it were only worth $1,500 it would be 10x on your money in 15 years.

anigbrowl 9y ago
There is nothing good about the way f doing business that you describe. Like the GP, I have neither the time nor the desire to negotiate with people like that; I'll just ignore them and do something else, and they'll never get anything. I'm not altogether against domain squatting - it is a scummy practice but I don't blame people for taking advantage of the opportunity. But this business model of huge asking prices and 'make me an offer' ? Fuck that. I'm in favor of a Georgist approach to domain names, use it or lose it, either by fiat or a tax on speculative investments. This way of doing business is shitty and has to go.
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  If I use it, but you want it, then it seems reasonable for me to want to be compensated for that loss. The utility value can be much greater than the cost - like if I had livery for that domain, commercially that could make replacing it a multiple £10k cost.
  - FussyZeus 9y ago
    Except the whole reason it's outrageous is that the domain is not being used other than to market the domain as a for-sale product.
IncRnd 9y ago
To start with $150 and 15 years later have $10,000, the principal would need to double 5 times to achieve 64 times return. How could you possibly convince a registrar of that?
- ChuckMcM 9y ago
  The $150 arises from renewing a domain for $9.99 every year for 15 years. Many people have registered hundreds of domains on the assumption that at some point, someone will want to 'own' them and will be willing to pay for that. When I was VP of Ops & Eng at Blekko I would get an email probably a few times a month from someone or another trying to sell me some domain they were squatting on. This sort of 'investment' is a thing is all I'm saying. The registrar just gets their annual fee, they don't have to be convinced of anything.
- jpttsn 9y ago
  Maybe by replicating this scheme, investing in multiple domains, hoping one of them will succeed enough to make up for the added cost.