Moving In and Cleaning House
We finally got the last of our furnishings in and set this afternoon… well.. They actually forgot to send a separate container for the theater and yoga room furniture which should get here at the end of the month. All in all it’s been a great move.. but very taxing.
I was resting at this spot off the deck in my bedroom as an email whistled in from an old colleague.. Back when I had no domain names, I saw this guy on whois. He knew what he was doing. Every time I pulled a whois record there he was with great generic domain-names. This gent’s portfolio has since been eclipsed by the growth of new drop-name portfolios (others grew their portfolios while he quietly pruned his set selling names).
This gent happened to be on island and asked if I wanted to meet for drinks at the Ritz, so we did tonight.
It was great to hear his story.. and we had a great deal in-common. Then our paths separated. He got distracted by the real-estate business and did very well but he gave up a great deal of opportunity in the domain biz over the last few years. Having drinks at the hotel he confided that his real-world real estate business had recently taken a lot of energy and he wasn’t exactly sure how many names he now had left, or how many he had failed to renew.
I couldn’t believe that in 2007 somebody with as good a domain portfolio as this guy, wouldn’t have a better grasp on their names, which registrars they are at or when their names expire. This portfolio would have been one of my heroes back in 2002.
How are you managing your names? Are your renewals paid in advance? Are your names consolidated with a single registrar? Do you have a master list of all your names in a carriage return delimited text (notebook) file? Do you have a buddy who can manage your flock if you get into trouble (sick/financially)?
These are important questions.
Listening to this chap’s story I was struck by the fact that he probably had less equity in his real estate portfolio than his name portfolio, but the names were almost ignored while the real estate was protected at any cost.
This post is to implore those of you who have worked so hard to "pay your renewals" pay them in advance. Pay them "far" in advance and keep track of which names are where, because time flies.
You spent a lot of time and money to get where you are. Be respectful of your effort by paying-up to protect the asset you’ve built.
I didn’t even talk to this chap about names we both let-go that we didn’t mean to let go.. Or names which we thought we would let go to buy later. Nothing really drops anymore. Domains are getting held back by registrars for resale or for their own traffic ends. If you think you’ll ever want it - please renew it now.
G’Day from DownUnder Frank!
Nice view from your bedroom window mate! Its a hard life but someone has to to do it, right!
Great post about renewing your domain names, I think it cannot be spoken about enough.
It seems obvious that you would make sure that all of your domains are being tracked for the where & when details of registration. Its a no brainer really, but yet people let their domains slip away every day.
Back on July 25th this year I posted a very similar story with a slightly different twist. The post is entitled - The Domain Name and The Parrot That Got Away.
I wrote this post within about 1 hour of out pet Rainbow Lorikeet Parrot escaping.
It story has a happy ending but what a harrowing thirty minutes or so it was. LOL
Here is the direct link to the story, if you think it is worthy of being referred to then that would be great.
http://www.ozdomainer.com/51/the-domain-name-the-parrot-that-got-away/#more-51
Kind regards
Ed Keay-Smith
OzDomainer
As for reminding people about renewals and being organized,…
sometimes the most simple and obvious things need to be repeated, even ad nauseum. (interesting word that is.)
Nice view, mcgoo.
Frank,
People should also be cautioned to diversify. At the heart of one of the major Reseller-Registrar fiascos, that recently was in the press, are about 850,000 names that became political footballs.
About 250,000 of those names or people are now preparing a class-action lawsuit against the Registry, Registrar(s), ICANN and the ICANN Directors who facilitated the fiasco.
Even organized people lost their names and
their businesses because of Drop Sharks, etc.
Contrary to what ICANN and the Press showcased it was largely the Registrar(s) manipulations that ran the Reseller (turned Registrar) in circles. The customers got the short-end of the stick. With over 250,000 of them the attorneys have now stepped in to attempt to quantify the damages.
What is amazing is that some new Registrars have stepped in to profit from the people’s plight. The Registrar(s) that helped to create the fiasco [by holding names and not allowing the Reseller to move them to their new Registrar credentials] has now since sold off the names. In some cases, they have sold them to their “Resellers” who then become extortion agents for the Registrar. They park the names and demand outrageous sums to return the names.
In summary, just good record-keeping may not help. Also, paying well in advance may not help. The failing Registrar/Reseller can pocket all those fees and the consumer is left with nothing. ICANN of course does NOTHING!!!! The Registry takes the position, ICANN has our hands tied. It is all a big run-around.
The new DNS technology fixes this problem. The actual Registry storage moves to the physical devices owned by the domain owner. Your names are then not vulnerable to being stolen by Drop Sharks.
***FS*** Agree.. perhaps the best solution is your own registrar (if you’re big enough or manage valuable enough names).. Conversely you can go to a major registrar with a proven track record and negotiate a premium registration rate (for the registrar) in exchange for better ‘terms of service’.
Frank, Congrats on the new house. The view and furnishings look very soothing. Does this mean that the picture of you by the pool is now out of date?
***FS*** It is.. new pool shot coming.
Frank,
A couple of hard-hitting, non-domaining questions for you…
1) Don’t you miss your friends and family? Sure, it seems that an idyllic life on an exotic (tax-reduced) island appears to be the perfect lifestyle, but for me it would be a lonely existence without regular contact with the people that make my life.
***FS*** My wife and kids are my immediate best friends.. but I do miss my best guy-friends. They come here frequently tho and we do meet in other cities.. several weeks a year.
2) The move obviously was a big event. But did you really have to sweat the small stuff? Wasn’t there some kind of concierge company that would have taken care of all your minutiae so you could just waft in and settle back with a cocktail? After all, isn’t that what money gives one - freedom from dirt, dullness and drudgery.
***FS*** Y’know.. there’s just no getting around unpacking your own underwear and nick-knacks… If you start insulating yourself from the real world and hiring people to do everything in your life, soon you forget who you are and it brings a new and different kind of weirdness, a bit of an unhealthy vibe. Hope I’m articulating that right. We did have movers here unpacking and positioning furnishings for several days tho. There was a lotta stuff.
Dear Frank,
I admire your vision and thank you for the great insight you provide me through your blog.
i wish you many years of health,happiness and prosperity in your new home…and on another note…as much as everyone hates moving…i can truly say i owe all i have to show for to MovingCompanies.com. i bought it for $2500 in 2001.
i can only try to explain how much i live and love domains and all that surrounds they’re given potential.
Michael.
Congrats on the new house. GREAT spot.
Someday you’ll probably buy the Ritz and the whole island too!
You can name each room and meeting suite after one of your domains. I can see the announcement: Traffic at the Ritz Cayman’s- hear Frank Schilling’s keynote in the rumcakes room then network in muffinrecipes lounge.
My friend, the pleasure was all mine. I’ll be in touch, once I get this portfolio straightened out. You are a genuinely good man and even a better dad Frank. Glad to see you got home in one piece
Hi Frank,
Great post, I really enjoy reading your blog! These are questions all domain owners should be thinking about. We’re currently preparing a whitepaper that addresses many of these questions and more. The document will be sent to our customer base and made available on our site. We feel that our job as a registrar is to not only provide a service which addresses these issues but to also to act as an educator. If your readers are interested in learning more we welcome all questions.
All the best
Jason Lavigne
Rebel.com
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