I haven’t been a big fan of numeric domain names, but I just acquired 5 – 4 number .com domain names, and I know they have been selling fairly well. I would like to sell them individually or in bulk if a buyer would prefer. Please submit offers for individual names (or in bulk) via comment or email.

I know the bare minimum wholesale values, so please refrain from lowball offers (ie under $2k for all), as I don’t need to sell them. I will keep offers private, and will update when/if I sell individually or in bulk. Names are registered at Moniker.

2750.com
3235.com
4022.com
6850.com
7150.com

Last month, a friend of mine emailed me a link to a website proporting to sell Christian Louboutin shoes. She wanted to know if there was a way to tell if the site was fraudulent since it looked a bit fishy, and the prices were almost too good to be true. The website did look pretty poorly constructed, but there are plenty of places that sell close-outs, so that wasn’t 100% convincing.

I did a Whois check on the name, and lo and behold, the domain name was registered a couple of weeks prior. A new domain registration, coupled with all of these other signals led me to believe it was a site selling counterfeit products.

If you are ever in doubt about whether a website is legit, check the Whois. You can see who owns and operates the website (if it’s not private), and you can see how long it’s been operating. If you use the DomainTools Whois tool, you can also see historic thumbnails as well. Since many large brands monitor their presence on the Internet, fraudulent websites are generally shut down quickly.

According to a news release today, prestigious law firm Winston & Strawn prevailed in a lawsuit on behalf of NBA basketball player Chris Bosh, who not only won the domain name ChrisBosh.com, but he also won a financial judgment of $120,000 (including legal fees and damages). The $120,000 judgment does not include the attorney’s fees that the domain owner needed to pay for his own representation, of course.

The court ruled that the plaintiff had used Bosh’s name to generate revenues for the domain owner, without the player’s consent or approval. The release also noted that the defendant also owns something like 800 other domain names of athletes and other famous professionals, some of whom may see this judgment and look to file suit to claim their domain name back as well as any potential damages.

This should serve as a warning to people who register the domain names of famous athletes, politicians, and celebrities. There certainly are legitimate uses for these types of domain names, but there are also ways that owners can put these domain names at risk, and also put their business at risk. When you buy or own a domain name like this, you should consider the risk vs. reward of ownership, and see this case as an example of a major risk.

I frequently see people discussing this issue in domain forums, and now you have an answer.

A lot of domain owners have received offers on their premium domain names. Strike that. ALL owners of premium domain names have received offers on their domain names before. It’s virtually impossible to be the first offer someone’s received if they own a great domain name. To get there attention, your email needs to stand out from everyone else’s solicitation.

As a domain buyer, your job is to make an offer that is compelling enough for them to respond. If you insult someone with a lowball offer, they will delete it. Even if you think your offer is a “good” introductory offer, step into their shoes for a minute and imagine you’ve owned that domain name for 10 years and received countless emails. How would you respond to the email? If you aren’t impressed, they won’t be either, and they probably will delete it.

If you ask the domain owner if the name is for sale without naming a price, they will probably delete it, too. They’ve owned the name for a long time for a reason, and that’s because they haven’t received a compelling enough offer to sell it.

The best way to get a conversation going with a domain owner is to make a good opening offer. At the very least, you will usually get a response, and at the best, the domain owner will accept your offer. I enjoy negotiations to a point, but I generally make a strong offer at the outset. Maybe I can go higher, but maybe I can’t. However, it’s generally good enough to get a response.

I’ve also found it helpful to include my phone number in my email correspondence. People want to know they are dealing with other real people, and if they can give you a call to talk, they will generally feel more comfortable. This has helped seal the deal on a couple of acquisitions in the last few weeks.

People are willing to sell their domain names, but you need to give them a reason. For many it’s financial, and you can’t negotiate with someone who immediately deletes your email upon opening it.