childrensroom.co.uk

[rob.co.uk]

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Elaine; the reality is you really do need that domain and it's worth considerably more than £100 and unless you have trademarked the term (unlikely as it's generic) the owner does have you over a barrel. My advice would be to buy it ASAP, it will only appreciate in value.

I would buy it for any figure upto £750 +vat , anything over that you might as well DRS it and win.

I believe as its a caught name targeted to a rights holder and would win at a DRS.

Just my 10p...

[Elaine]

the owner does have you over a barrel

yep - I think that's what they were hoping :sneaky

- never responded well though to being held over a barrel


See someone called D Cross purchased childrensrooms.org.uk yesterday - interesting to see what he/she does with it!

[Ditzy]

It's not for me to comment on how much Childrens Rooms can afford to pay for this domain or how much it is worth although it seems that the value isn't in how useful it would be to Childrens Rooms rather how damaging it could be used by someone else.

I can, however, comment on my own business which would suffer a financial blow from coughing up £500 for a domain which is too flakey for me to use myself but would be damaging in the wrong hands.

But hey perhaps I'm just being over sensitive ... Fridays can be a bit slow ... lets open this up as a competition :

1. Spend the morning rooting round the forum making a note of merchant domain names and register as many similar names as you can think of.

2. Spend the afternoon emailing the original owners of the domain names and see how much they will pay you for them.

3. Advertise any domain names that you have left on the forum over the weekend and see how much you can shift them for.

The one who makes the most money can by a round of doughnuts for us all on Monday.

Frankly if this is the kind of thing it takes to make it in the business world, or even the world in general, I'd rather be a nobody!

[KieronD]

That's not down to me though Kieron, it's a matter for the domain holder. I just advertise them. Whether anything is resolved or not, again not down to me. It's not my domain.

Utter rubbish. If I were a domain name broker I STILL wouldn't touch this with a barge pole. You are the one actively promoting it on this forum and others, not the owner. If I were offered this domain to sell on behalf of the owner I wouldn't hesitate to tell him what I thought of his so called "principles" and would then proceed to tell him to stick his domain where the sun don't shine.

[John Jupp]

We are discussing one of many top level domains and Elaine as holder of childrens-rooms and childrensrooms was offered the domain first when it became publicly available. That was a polite thing to do.

When a price was not agreed, the product was made available publicly. Again perfectly acceptable and perfectly legal.

Advertising a domain for a % based on the sale price is like any other affiliate deal. It's a commission. I'm not getting into a morality debate about the product advertised by me.

The domain is held by a Nominet Tag Holder. This person sells loads of domains and carries a portfolio of between 600 and 1,000 domains in any week. I broker between five and twenty domain sales a month for this one holder alone, additional domain sales from others.

There is nothing wrong with the offering for sale of this domain in the manner it has been offered. If anything, offering it to a business which has an interest by way of similar domain tags is a way to ensure the strengthening of the Brand. If any person was really concerned about ensuring they had all the domains which may impact on their business they would either acquire them first OR they would contact a Nominet Tag Holder (hint) to acquire it on their behalf. That's the nature of domain selling. Nothing sinister.

[kevforth]

Morning All,

first things an apology to Lee, an email was forwarded to Childrens Rooms that should then have been forwarded onto him this was missed (I have forwarded this to Lee this morning).

As stated we where offered the domain and declined the offer and therefore there is no problem selling the domain. Our concern is that it appears to have been singled out for sale on this forum therefore taking advantage of the fact that we use and post on the forum. If I am wrong and all domains of a similar length and structure are given their own thread then I apologise.

If this is not the case then it just seems a little wrong and may harm the forum as people may not feel free to discuss their domains and use them as examples etc if someone could then specifically start a thread selling a similar domain.

Anyhoo its Friday have fun

[John Jupp]

Many thanks for replying to this thread. Yes all are given their own thread.

If your business changes its mind re the domain then please feel free to contact Lee in due course. Many thanks once again for this post.

[Ditzy]

Elaine as holder of childrens-rooms and childrensrooms was offered the domain first when it became publicly available. That was a polite thing to do.

...

There is nothing wrong with the offering for sale of this domain in the manner it has been offered. If anything, offering it to a business which has an interest by way of similar domain tags is a way to ensure the strengthening of the Brand. If any person was really concerned about ensuring they had all the domains which may impact on their business they would either acquire them first OR they would contact a Nominet Tag Holder (hint) to acquire it on their behalf. That's the nature of domain selling. Nothing sinister.

My point is ... if Lee actively registered the domain name with the intention of trying to sell it to Childrens Rooms then polite is not the word I would use.

I'm sure you are aware of just how many alternative and similar names you would have to register to cover every possible combination of a domain name and as a small business I personally don't have the funds to do this ... it's not a realistic option.

If Lee randomly registered Childrensroom.co.uk prior to knowing about Childrens Rooms then perhaps there wasn't any thing sinister in it ... this seems a bit of a coincidence doesn't it? The person who randomly registered a domain name similar to a merchant just happens to visit the same forum!

[John Jupp]

Hi

Not at all.

When a domain comes up on the register as available for a certain date one of the first things you do is type in the name to see what search results are like for that generic search term. This then gives an indication of value.

If the return seems worth it you buy it and hold it. Many domain tag holders do this when domains drop. Especially the .com's.

When a domain drops it's a rush between all the tag holders who earmarked the domain and it gets bid on. Some times nobody else has expressed an interest in the domain in which case you get it for the nominal public fee. Some times you pay more to register the available domain if more than one has expressed an interest.

It's not a case here of going ah, this firm owns such and such domain what can I tag?

[KieronD]

When a price was not agreed, the product was made available publicly. Again perfectly acceptable and perfectly legal.

Like I said before I'm not debating whether this is legal or not. However I am debating the fact that it is "acceptable" or ethical. I don't think it is. To me it appears as though you and Lee are trying to cash in on the fact that Elaine owns a similar domain and has done for a number of years now. As Elaine says, she feels she is being held "over a barrell". That should be enough for you to stop hawking this domain. Also as Elaine spotted yesterday, some dodgepot registered childrensrooms.org.uk. Coincidence? Or do you think they were reading this thread too?

Advertising a domain for a % based on the sale price is like any other affiliate deal. It's a commission. I'm not getting into a morality debate about the product advertised by me.

Well I don't know how you operate but there are certain affiliate programmes and products that I won't promote as I don't agree with their ethics, policies, terms and conditions or because there are certain sectors I just don't feel comfortable promoting. You are the affiliate/broker and you can decide exactly who you want to work or partner with. To try and hide behind the fact that it's just a "commission" to you speaks volumes.

There is nothing wrong with the offering for sale of this domain in the manner it has been offered. If anything, offering it to a business which has an interest by way of similar domain tags is a way to ensure the strengthening of the Brand. If any person was really concerned about ensuring they had all the domains which may impact on their business they would either acquire them first OR they would contact a Nominet Tag Holder (hint) to acquire it on their behalf. That's the nature of domain selling. Nothing sinister.

"Strengthening the brand" - are you having a laugh? That's a cybersquatters excuse if ever I heard it. I think I'll go and regsister some mis-spellings of say Dixons, Mothercare, Currys and some other high street brands, then offer them the domains for sale and tell them I'm doing them a favour by "strengthening their brand". Yeah right!! And yes in a perfect world we would register all variants, hypens and mis-spellings of all our domains but who's that perfect? And if we did then the bottom feeders, sorry "domain name traders" would go out of business. And we wouldn't want that would we?

[Elaine]

Will I be offering more than £100 for this domain, or any other similar domain - no I won't

Will I be paying anyone commission who uses this domain, or any similar domain - no I won't

If this domain, or any similar domain, starts causing us problems/loss of business etc will I take legal advice - yes I will.

Will I be steering clear of doing business with or working with John Jupp in the future - yes I will

[Ditzy]

While I have the ability to rant on to infinity and beyond about anything I feel strongly about ... and hubby can testify to this ... I really must get some work done to pay for the registration of all the domains vaguely similar to the ones I own.

[rob.co.uk]

My point is ... if Lee actively registered the domain name with the intention of trying to sell it to Childrens Rooms then polite is not the word I would use.

It is not 'polite' if that is the case however 'direct marketing' of such names can be seen as abusive in the Nominet policy - very fine lines.

If Lee randomly registered Childrensroom.co.uk prior to knowing about Childrens Rooms then perhaps there wasn't any thing sinister in it ... this seems a bit of a coincidence doesn't it? The person who randomly registered a domain name similar to a merchant just happens to visit the same forum!

In complaints point of registration stuff is more .com / net / org etc, .uk is more focused towards ongoing use.

Also as Elaine spotted yesterday, some dodgepot registered childrensrooms.org.uk. Coincidence? Or do you think they were reading this thread too?

This is a great example of why it could be seen as cybersquatting - visiting the childrensroom.org.uk name shows the following PPC advert as per a google feed:


Featured companies

now viewing results for child rooms
Children's Rooms ™
Turn Your Kid's Room Into A Dream. Bedroom & Bathroom Theme Available.
Children's Rooms - Kids Character Bedding, Curtains, Wall Stickers and Bedroom Accessories


Is the term a TM btw, as per the advert?

You are the affiliate/broker and you can decide exactly who you want to work or partner with.

Would certainly agree with that, money is not everything at the end of the day.

And if we did then the bottom feeders, sorry "domain name traders" would go out of business. And we wouldn't want that would we?

And this is exactly why I take an interest in such threads. Domain traders are *not* all like this, the vast majority trade legit generic terms rather than try and profit off other peoples work.

Much like any industry there are cowboys about, and just like I would not have certain people tarmacing my drive I would not want certain people registering/buying/selling domains.

Stuff like this does damage to an area of work that already has a poor rep - and believe me when I say domainers dont like it either.

If this domain, or any similar domain, starts causing us problems/loss of business etc will I take legal advice - yes I will.

If you are running the PPC campaign as above then it probably will be costing you cash on the .org.uk .

I know Lee has posted a blog post about this, but going by Squillions Blog Blog Archive Merchant Madness where he says he saw .com address for an affiliate advertised , noticed the .co.uk was unregged so had it for a fiver - not ideal when claiming this one was completely unrelated

[John Jupp]

Squillions Blog Blog Archive Domaining - The Service

Yes it is an interesting post.

Elaine, I have already privately apologised to you. Perhaps unread or ignored.

I get given a list of domains to advertise. I advertised it. Sorry it's caused offence. I advertise domains because it's a reputable business. Some times causes ruffled feathers, obviously this is one such time.

[Jeewhizz]

Is the term a TM btw, as per the advert?

You don't need a Trademark to have 'TM', only to have '(R)' iirc. There is no TM available. Laura Ashley have an expired trademark from earlier this year, which proves that it is possible to get a trademark for the term, one which I'd encourage Elaine to get.

And this is exactly why I take an interest in such threads. Domain traders are *not* all like this, the vast majority trade legit generic terms rather than try and profit off other peoples work.

Much like any industry there are cowboys about, and just like I would not have certain people tarmacing my drive I would not want certain people registering/buying/selling domains.

Stuff like this does damage to an area of work that already has a poor rep - and believe me when I say domainers dont like it either.

I'm with Rob on this one. Posts like this hurt domainers like us who trade in legitimate generic domains, rather than hoping to register a domain that's similar to a company name, on the off-chance they'll buy it. I'm not saying that this was Lee's intentions, and as a Nominet Member, it shouldn't be, but it doesn't portray a good light on the industry.

Jee