.tv 03.18.2010: .TV GoldRush / LandRush: Good News, Bad News, Updates.

[MrRhee]

GoldRush / LandRush
Did you buy premium .TVs for reg-fee upfront from another registrar besides ENOM?
Good News & Bad News...




NOTE:
I hope .TV investors can use this thread to post updates and news as it trickles in from various registrar sources. I respectfully would like to ask the USUAL SUSPECTS:yell::o:tri::td: and the naysayers to refrain from polluting this thread with so those involved can communicate effectively. Those of us who invested money yesterday would greatly appreciate being able to share in real-time the future of our investments.


If this thread gets polluted with the same BS as usual, I won't be posting more updates here, as I don't have time to waste and I grow weary of the trolling and disrespect from within the industry. If that happens, you can email me at: // DNTV // at // B R A N D L A B // .com // and I will tell you where I'll be blogging my updates (free from any trolls).

Let's get down to business...

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There's no way to sum up the last 48 hours and no way to accurately predict the next 48 hours either. So I won't even waste your time right now trying to do that...

For those that bought .TV premium names for reg-fee upfront from any registrar that was NOT enom... there could be some Good News on the horizon, but some Bad News as well... depending on your P.O.V.


First, for the purposes of this discussion, I want to separate the two "rushes" from yesterday, the day-long rush aka GoldRush, and the midnight rush offered by Enom aka LandRush.


Please keep in mind, Verisign could change their minds at any time, or be persuaded to do so. What I'm posting is based on sources at various registrars. I've been communicating via email and phone for the last 48+ hours, and have not slept yet.

The excitement & drama level was beyond comparison and I could write a book based on everything that happened this week.

GoldRush:
Yesterday 3/18, there was a point in time during the day where people were able to register .TV domains that were once considered "premiums" with no upfront premium attached, w/ standard renewals. This was not possible via ENOM as they were dark most of the day but it was available at nearly every other registrar including GoDaddy, Dynadot, Name.com and countless others.

Based on my own hand registrations, my GoDaddy regs showed up in whois instantly and immediately resolved to my dedicated landing page for each domain. I received the email receipts and money was deducted from my credit cards. These names appeared to be mine, they were mine and as far as I'm concerned... they are mine. And as of today, they are still in whois and still resolve to my server.

Now, as far as I know, the entire premium list of 55K+ domains wasn't available during the GoldRush. I had multiple servers collecting as much near-real-time data as possible (not registering domains but tracking drops/availability, registrations and grabbing screenshots, etc.) Imagine that scene from The Matrix with 10+ monitors tracking data... if a name was available, I would've seen it on my screen or in the archive.

Throughout the GoldRush I was in contact with many domainers who were actively registering domains without problems. I was also communicating constantly with registrars getting their input and getting a greenlight to keep on registering and moving forward as it seemed these names were making their way into my account, with auth codes, the ability to lock/unlock, make server changes, resolving and most importantly I was charged for them.

I bulk checked the list of names by hand (- the filler, crap, etc) from A-Z and many that were made available were regged the 2nd time through. In fact, many were regged while in my shopping cart... I know this happened to many of you out there.

Then, sometime in the late evening... (I'll try to establish a timeline later using everyone's data/input.)... none of the available names were available. It appeared that the registry was locked down. Then ENOM sent out emails announcing the LandRush at midnight...

LandRush:
I will fill in the details later, but the short story is that there were MAJOR problems, issues, etc with CC processing at ENOM itself, the ability to buy premiums and standard upfront ELSEWHERE.... then all premiums went to $900 or much higher temporarily at other registrars, etc..

more info about LandRush when I have time...

------

Here's the Good News: GoldRush domains have a high chance of being kept for prices paid. Verisign could always change their minds but many registrars are confident that those are ours because those domains were not listed as premiums on their LandRush premium lists handed out by VRSN/ENOM for the midnight LandRush.

Here's the Bad News: LandRush domains purchased outside of ENOM for non-premium (upfront) will most likely, imo, not remain ours for the low price. Each registrar will try to negotiate with you to drop and get refund, or pay a higher upfront if you wish to keep it. There is a silver lining to this... the pricing for the LandRush domains were VERY attractive... very. If you picked up a great premium for only $20 dollars during LandRush, the registrar may offer you a price equal to or less than ENOM's list. If you would've paid premium pricing anyway, then you should be happy to pay it now knowing you beat everyone else to that valuable name during the LandRush feeding frenzy.

i.e.
There was a $1000+ Premium at ENOM, that was formerly $20,000+ per year.
I tried to buy it at ENOM, had it in my cart, checked out, money deducted, received receipt that said:
Domain not available for registration. Price 0.00
Money was deducted from my account and frozen for 30 minutes. WTH?
I know this name was highly coveted by many in my direct circle, we were all wondering who would catch it at ENOM.

But, at the same time as I was checking out at ENOM, on another monitor, I also ran my list at another registrar, the name showed up as available for under $25, and I bought it quickly. I was charged for it. It instantly resolved at to my website. The registrar called me early and told me that they must charge me for the premium pricing... they are willing to negotiate... and they will offer me the name at equal = less than ENOM's price, not much less, but less. I have a few days to decide or get a refund, then the name will go back to the pool, But for now, it is tentatively my name, I have the email receipts, my cc was charged, the domain is in whois as mine and the domain still resolves. Others have suggested I fight for it at $20. But I want to pick my battles carefully. If the registrar is charged by VRSN at the wholesale premium rate, I do not want to burn the registrar because it is not their fault, imo. Based on my research, all signs point to VRSN as the one to blame... should VRSN simply honor all the GoldRush & LandRush regs outside of ENOM? I believe they should because if they don't, it will tarnish their relaunch even further and people will lose faith in .TV and VRSN's mismanagement, and may affect the SEDO .TV auction too.

I'll be in contact with all the registrars today and will try to push through at VRSN to discuss my POV.

If anyone else has any experiences to share, please do so. Please do not use this thread to communicate your hatred for the TLD or your advice regiarding investment into it.

For all people involved in the GoldRush/LandRush, please check your domains at the registrar and post an update. You do not need to post the actual domain names (as I don't think it would be wise yet), but let us know if the name is still in your account, is it in the whois at the registrar, is it in the whois at DomainTools? Please also check the whois at domaintools so they grab an archive in case you need it later. Did you also receive receipts? Does the domain resolve to your website? Has the registrar asked you to give them back? GoldRush or LandRush?

For us, no registrar has asked for my GoldRush names back YET, but the LandRush ones require further negotiation.

Please share what you can ASAP as I am collecting info on all affected parties and how each registrar is handling the situation.

make no mistake... this event was one of the most exciting and dramatic experiences a domainer lives for. Their will be bumps in the road, and everyone that partook got some kind of deal somewhere... even if you bought it directly via ENOM as their prices were amazingly low...

(please excuse all typos as I have not slept and I've got another 48 hours to go...)
(I will edit as I receive more info...)

If you wish to share info anonymously, email it to me, do NOT PM me... email address above...


.

 

[Ammudamus]

Joel,
Thanks for all the updates. My personal understanding was that folks were able to register names at Dynadot and Name.com with ease (premiums for reg fees) during the Goldrush period. Receipts and funds have been taken out of accounts with nameservers resolving. I would be curious to see what Verisign does to handle this with the potential reputational risk of taking all the names out of various registrars or even asking to fork up more capital. I think it will be quite messy and also put a sour taste in the mouth of folks that spent the time to take advantage of an "opportunity." In addition, do they want to give up the revenue stream they collected on all these registrations versus raising the prices only for them to go back on the shelf? It would bode well for them to keep the situation as is. Nothing is perfect, but in the long haul, this will serve to be beneficial for both parties. It's not like Verisign was selling all the premium names at these inflated prices anyways. Just my two cents for what it's worth.

Best,
A

 

[donnied79]

All the domains I bought during the GoldRush are still in my account and I can manage the Nameservers correctly.
I received a phone call when I was sleeping (in Italy it was 6:00 am) and they left a very unclear message on the answering machine talking about premium fees (I couldn't really understand). Had no more contacts from that number.
No domains bought during the LandRush.

 

[MillersCrossing]

Situation as follows for me.

Really pissed that the CC processing didnt work.

Really pissed that I lost the names that were available that I wanted to buy. Crime.Tv and Chocolate.TV

Really pissed that $2100 of my money has effectively been loaned to ENOM at 0% interest!

Really happy that I managed to reg at least 9 category killers at reg fee yesterday.

As of two minutes ago.

Checked enom whois and it shows "Unknown" in the whois for my names.
Checked GD where i regged it and shows whois under my name.
Checked Name.Com, to see if a different registrar would show the Whois under my name and it does.
All names have been redirected to a parked page successfully within two minutes of regging the names yesterday

 

[donnied79]

BTW just thinking.
At this link you find the list with the NEW premium domains (you have to click on the top right on download premium TV list)
eNomCentral - domain name, web site hosting, email, registration
That list is NEW and prices are accurate and reflects what Enom.tv shows if you search for a domain.
In that list I can't find ANY of the domains I regged yesterday.
So I assume that I will keep my domains because they were not Premium anymore when I registered them.
If they were they should be on the list. Does it sound reasonable?

 

[mwzd]

I bought three domains during the goldrush [how i hate these buzz words] which are in my name.com account and resolving correctly to my nameservers.

I bought 7 domains during the post 9pm pst landrush [was charged for 9, including two failed registrations].

Two show my whois and resolve to my servers, 5 were taken out from my name.com account and I got an email asking me to pay the difference between the reg price (std reg fee) and the premium fee.

 

[Debt.tv]

email sent!

 

[Jeff]

I would be curious to see what Verisign does to handle this with the potential reputational risk of taking all the names out of various registrars or even asking to fork up more capital. I think it will be quite messy and also put a sour taste in the mouth of folks that spent the time to take advantage of an "opportunity."

^ Agree. :yell: :imho:

Two show my whois and resolve to my servers, 5 were taken out from my name.com account and I got an email asking me to pay the difference between the reg price (std reg fee) and the premium fee.

Thanks Samit ... I have someone inquiring of me on this "pay the difference" situation; as best convenient and as you can share, could you please elaborate as the case may be, with price / figures if possible. :gl:
Kind regards,
Jeff

 

[MattheP]

I bought three domains during the goldrush [how i hate these buzz words] which are in my name.com account and resolving correctly to my nameservers.

Same here.

About landrush, I bought a name or two via dynadot but for premium prices and everything is fine.

 

[DU]

Seven.

My WHOIS
My DNS
My Receipt

Heard nothing more. I don't know when I did it. I have already pushed at least one to another account.....

Never heard of having a receipt... taking it out for spin.... looking at it... telling all my friends... spending hours doing it... pushing one and being told "we want it back". This was a lot of fun but hours of work and effort. It's one thing cancelling orders on a price mistake... another asking for it back after I've got expense into. VRSN should honor this where the mess was theirs. Lets hope so

 

[twomoon]

Registered some names during the GOLD RUSH and 2 names during Land Rush - at Dynadot
All domains showing my data in whois and just checked that they were verified by Sedo! They are all in my account now.

 

[eyedomainous]

Thanks for your efforts and report, MrRhee.

 

[Vito]

This was a lot of fun but hours of work and effort. It's one thing cancelling orders on a price mistake... another asking for it back after I've got expense into. VRSN should honor this where the mess was theirs. Lets hope so

Great Point DefaultUser,
I agree.
The time alone cuts into whatever perceived value .tv's we have aquired.


Very Nice thread MrRhee.
Thanks for taking your time out to clear things up for us.
Repped.

GoldRush
I regged 8 .tv's @ Dynadot.com
I have all receipts.
Just checked all 8 on Whois, and they all come up as mine.
Just checked all 8 in MySedo, and they are all in my account.
Fingers Crossed.

LandRush
Debit Card was charged @ Dynadot for a cart full.
Immediately after they took my payment,
they sent me an email saying none of those .tv's were available
but I have a credit there now...lol

 

[equity78]

I'm writing to inform you that during the .TV premium domain release on 3/18/2010 and 3/19/2010, there was a glitch in our pricing system which displayed recently released premium .TV domains at the regular .TV price. Some or all of the .TV domains you registered have a premium price charged to us (Name.com) by the registry.

We realize you may not have been aware that you were registering premium domains. We are also aware there may have been confusion about which recently released names were being charged at the regular price and which domains should have been charged at a premium price. Unfortunately, because we have been charged the premium price for the domains listed below by the registry, we will not be able to honor the regular .TV price you paid at checkout.

As a temporary measure we have moved the domains listed below from your account to a temporary holding account. Please be assured that our intention is to work with you to determine which of these domains you would like to keep, once you've had a chance to review the correct premium pricing that should have been charged. You will then be able to decide which domains you would like to pay the premium price for. Domains that you do not wish to keep will be removed from your account and the charges associated with them refunded to your account.

You will receive an email from us in the next twelve (12) hours with the correct pricing for the domains listed below.


fashions.tv


We realize this is an inconvenience and we apologize for any issues this may have caused. My direct contact information is listed below in my email signature and I would be happy to speak directly to you to answer any questions you may have or address any concerns.

Sincerely,


Paul Carter
Director of Operations
Name.com
[email protected]
303.523.5941

Follow us on Twitter: Name.com (namedotcom) on Twitter

 

[Dr. Mindwrecker]

Wow Ray what a great name hope you get to keep it...

 

[namewaiter]

why do i feel like this is going to get ugly ... hope you all get to keep your acquired names at the price you paid!

 

[twomoon]

I'm writing to inform you that during the .TV premium domain release on 3/18/2010 and 3/19/2010, there was a glitch in our pricing system which displayed recently released premium .TV domains at the regular .TV price. Some or all of the .TV domains you registered have a premium price charged to us (Name.com) by the registry.

We realize you may not have been aware that you were registering premium domains. We are also aware there may have been confusion about which recently released names were being charged at the regular price and which domains should have been charged at a premium price. Unfortunately, because we have been charged the premium price for the domains listed below by the registry, we will not be able to honor the regular .TV price you paid at checkout.

As a temporary measure we have moved the domains listed below from your account to a temporary holding account. Please be assured that our intention is to work with you to determine which of these domains you would like to keep, once you've had a chance to review the correct premium pricing that should have been charged. You will then be able to decide which domains you would like to pay the premium price for. Domains that you do not wish to keep will be removed from your account and the charges associated with them refunded to your account.

You will receive an email from us in the next twelve (12) hours with the correct pricing for the domains listed below.


fashions.tv


We realize this is an inconvenience and we apologize for any issues this may have caused. My direct contact information is listed below in my email signature and I would be happy to speak directly to you to answer any questions you may have or address any concerns.

Sincerely,


Paul Carter
Director of Operations
Name.com
[email protected]
303.523.5941

Follow us on Twitter: Name.com (namedotcom) on Twitter

Was it Gold or LandRush registration?

 

[equity78]

Landrush

 

[Vito]

fashions.tv

Good Luck Equity,
That's a Killer Name.

 

[Len]

Is this just something that happened with Name.com or were other registrars affected? I'm not talking about those who thought they had reg'd and ended up with a credit, I'm talking about anyone having reg'd yesterday and are now getting the email saying that it was a mistake.

 

[donnied79]

We realize you may not have been aware that you were registering premium domains. We are also aware there may have been confusion about which recently released names were being charged at the regular price and which domains should have been charged at a premium price.

This should definitively that what we registered during the GoldRush had to be at regular price.
Also because yesterday (GoldRush) I checked Chocolate.tv and it was not available. Then it was relased in the LandRush.
So everything was planned and there was no glitch in the GoldRush.

 

[equity78]

Len during Landrush ENOM and Dynadot had premium pricing it was Name who did not. So if it was reg fee at Dynadot you are cool. It was just a name no longer classified as a premium .tv. Again IMO

 

[Len]

Len during Landrush ENOM and Dynadot had premium pricing it was Name who did not. So if it was reg fee at Dynadot you are cool. It was just a name no longer classified as a premium .tv. Again IMO

Thanks Ray, hope you sort out the problem with fashions.tv

 

[twomoon]

Maybe it sounds stupid, but is there an option just to call the Enom by phone and to ask what's going on?
Maybe anybody of you have anybody at Enom who could say something?
Unfortunately can't do it by myself, because of low communication skills in this language.

 

[equity78]

To be honest I was not going to reg any, I did not check one name all day yesterday. Was covering everything more for giving people info and everything.tv. We had chat for 12 hours and I looked when the landrush started. I put in Strawberry and Snowboards both available at Dynadot cool checkout Strawberry purchased snoowboards not available $21.99 credit.

Samit in chat says you bought fashionshows today fashions.tv avail
Cool thank you
I go to Dynadot it $390
Go to Name.com it $23
Regged at Name.
Now they say oh we had a glitch. And I understand they cannot just give the name because they got charged premium fee.

IMO its NAME.com who screwed everything up not Verisign.