When selling domain names, I believe most people either rely on end users contacting them or rely on selling to other domain investors. I think there is a market for a domain brokerage that is paid to contact potential buyers of domain names on behalf of domain owners.

The brokerage would collect stats and information about a domain name and present it to potential buyers. This is similar to my post in July, but instead of running an auction, the company would set a BIN price for a particular name or group of names that would be of interest to a company.

Currently, I believe most domain brokers work the opposite way. They receive information about a domain name and blast an email out to a random group of domain buyers. If a more personalized email was sent, the potential buyer could be enticed to make a purchase. It’s the heart of direct marketing (where I have my Master’s Degree), and it would be a great win/win/win for all parties.

I’ve been seeing quite a few articles about politicians buying the domain names of their opponents, but I haven’t seen something as blatant as what the lady in the aforementioned article has been doing. The lady apparently believes that she can buy the domain names of realtors, doctors and other professionals in the hopes of selling to them for a profit. I think this is a case of ignorance more than anything else, but it certainly isn’t right. This is straight-up cybersquatting.

As domain investing becomes more mainstream, educating new investors is going to be important. I believe it is the job of the registrars’ to educate their buyers. Companies like Godaddy have gone mainstream, but I believe they are failing to educate their consumers. You wouldn’t leave out seatbelts in a Ferrari, so registrars should educate their buyers on the laws of cybersquatting and the penalties they could bring. As I said in this post, consumers should have “to check off a box acknowledging that they are aware of the Lanham Act and its penalties before every registration.”

Someone needs to give this “domain reseller” a clue.