Michael Berkens Archive

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• WordPress buys Thesis.com in bad faith but wins UDRP on technicality, or was it?
• Domain Name investor rights are buoyed by a recent UDRP ruling — find out why.
• Fake website Bloomberg.market taken down by Rightside registry — bad precedent?
• Nat Cohen’s Telepathy teaches a reverse domain name hijacker a lesson in court and walks away with a settlement.
• Reader question: What are the Sherpas oldest domain names?
• Reader question: How should a newbie appraise and price 400 domain names for listing on buy-it-now marketplaces?
• Reader question: Which is better two word .co or .xyz or two word with a hyphen in .com?
• And much more!

Michael Cyger July 23, 2015 7

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• Berkens sold Moon.Rocks for $8k — a real investor-to-end user sale! We hear the details.a
• Autism.Rocks sells with an initial offer of $100k – something seems fishy.
• Sedo.com charges the seller of Autism.Rocks 15% when it should have been 3%.
• Is the recent spate of new gTLD sales a trend or outliers? The Sherpas sound off.
• Why is ICANN trying to remove privacy protection on whois records for ecommerce companies?
• Reader question: is it rude to ask a domain name investor how much they earn?
• Reader question: How to start a domain name leasing business?
• Reader question: Are selling brandables bad faith when you know there’s a company that can benefit from it?
• And much more!

Michael Cyger June 25, 2015 13

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• How to invest $10K if beginning investing today: ten $1K domains or one $10K domain?
• After negotiating, seller goes unresponsive. What are your options now?
• When is a bird in the hand worth ($10K offer today) two in the bush ($50K in years), and how do you get the courage to reject a good offer?
• General Motors goes .Green. Is it more work, or a wise PR move?
• RandPaul.com sells for $100,980. “Ransom check” or smart political marketing move?
• And much more!

Michael Cyger May 14, 2015 18

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• A massive search volume word but in .MOBI – worth the hand registration?
• How to find the elusive registrant with either bad or fake information
• IDN.com or IDN.IDN, do they have any value today?
• Shameless.Sucks shows up at INTA with condoms and an insulting billboard
• Which new gTLDs the Sherpas WON’T be renewing in the upcoming year
• How today’s new gTLD launch of .Video compares to the established ccTLD .TV
• And much more!

Michael Cyger May 7, 2015 20

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• Negotiating a hand-registered domain name
• What to do when a hot purchase inquiry has gone cold?
• Is there value in two-word .NET domain names with high search volume?
• Are exact match domain names out of favor and will they ever rise in value again?
• Making brandable domains out of exact match keywords
• How should new domain name investors start-out in investing today?
• NeverLikedItAnyway.com – worthy of winning Verisign’s Internet Contest?
• What GoDaddy’s $28.1MM purchase of Marchex’s portfolio means to you as an investor
• And much more!

Michael Cyger April 23, 2015 26

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• GoDaddy gets scammed by a social engineer and hands over domain
• Page Howe goes to Washington to promote .LA domains for Los Angeles
• The first new gTLD renewal rates are starting to come in from Donuts
• ICANN slashes their revenue projections for this year and next year’s budget
• Google Domains is ranked above all other registrars — is it anti-competitive?
• Is GoDaddy’s IPO something domain investors should invest in?
• Reader question: What’s the highest renewal rate the Sherpas have seen
• And much more!

Michael Cyger March 25, 2015 21

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• The domain industry sentiment summarized in DomainNameWire.com’s annual survey
• Domain name theft is on the rise – here’s what you can do to stop it today
• .Sucks releases premium pricing of up to $2,499 for trademark holders – is it extortion?
• Dissenting panelist in UDRP case is completely off-base – what to do about it?
• Reader question: How to find renewal pricing on premium gTLDs?
• And much more!

Michael Cyger March 12, 2015 34

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• Verisign sues .XYZ and Negari for false advertising
• Verisign also ramps up their marketing of .COM
• The .Blog auction was settled for an estimated $20 million
• .Shabaka preliminary renewals coming in a 55%
• NamesCon.Vegas ridiculously low registration cost of $199 (for 2 days)
• Reader question: are new gTLDs still worth investing in?
• And much more!

Michael Cyger February 26, 2015 29

In this DomainSherpa Discussion:
• Who won the Superbowl commercials: GoDaddy or up-start Wix?
• Rick Schwartz proves he’s still Domain King with his Porno.com sale for $8,888,888
• 360.com overshadows Schwartz with it’s $17 million sales price
• Credit.Club, worth $200,000, sells for $10.99 – wow!
• Fadi Chehade, CEO of ICANN, calls you a “hogger” of domains
• Verisign is giving away $100,000 CASH – we tell you how to get some
• And much more!

Michael Cyger February 5, 2015 33