.tv An open letter to all legacy premium owners

[dottvfan]

THEDOTTVNETWORK.TV (DTVN) is currently documenting a proposal to Verisign for a joint Legacy Premium .TV Auction.

In general terms the proposal is that:

1. A pool of approximately 100-150 LEGACY PREMIUM DOMAINS would be pre-selected and made available for auction.

2. Selected names would be:

• released by owners into an escrow account for auction by domain auctionhouse at reserves set by VeriSign;
• restricted from sale by domain owners until conclusion of the auction; and
• released by Verisign from the existing legacy premium fee structure, following sale.

3. On conclusion of the auction, domains could then be:

• transferred to buyers (if sold);
• returned to sellers (for payment of legacy renewal fees (when due)); or
• dropped.

4. Auction profits to be distributed as follows:

• auction house and DTVN auction fees (see below)
• owner/registry – balance of proceeds (proposed 50% split).

*************************************
The proposal is subject to:

• sufficient interest from legacy premium domain owners;
• suitable quantity and quality of domains being made available by domain owners;
• finalisation of registry/auctionhouse/domain owner agreement as to terms (which may vary from the above).

*************************************

As a premium legacy owner - why should I express interest?

• Where domains are sold to third parties owners will have the ability to realise funds and recover legacy renewal fees paid in situations where existing renewal fees have been rendered excessive due to recent changes in .tv pricing.
  
• Visibility of the auction, increased by the quality of the domains selected, should benefit the balance of the owner's portfolio.
  
• Owners will have options that otherwise wouldn't have if acting on own account

Why would Verisign agree to this?

Principle reasons for Verisign agreement are:

• receipt of advance fees for premium domains that would otherwise be recovered over time by payment of renewal fees
• recognition of the impact of changes on the domain pricing structure on existing legacy owners.
• promotion of TLD with high quality domain name auction.

What are DTVNs proposed fees?

If the auction terms as agreed with Verisign are acceptable to the domain owner and the domain owners name is selected for auction:

• an administration fee of $200 will be payable per domain for negotiating auction terms on behalf of legacy owners (including if reserve not met).
  
• 5% of proceeds of successful auction will be payable (only payable if reserve met).

Note: No fees will be payable until agreement is reached with Verisign as to terms and those terms as finalised are agreed by the domain owner. Expressions of interest only are sought at this stage.

How do I express interest?

Please PM expressions of interest and questions to DOTTVFAN by no later than 30 April 2010. Expressions of interest should include:

1. domain name;
2. legacy renewal fee payable
3. current expiry date.

Feedback is invited by PM. Please do not spam/troll the thread..
Please note that FAQs received by PM and answers to FAQs will be posted in this thread.
Please note that domain names and expressions of interest will be kept confidential.

Want to get involved? Can help? Please PM.

 

[RPK]

Good idea (except for the $200 fee). Where did I see this before, sounds familiar

 

[dottvfan]

Richard I must admit I saw your post and we were thinking along very similar lines.:red: - one of the reasons I invited 'others' to help me put the proposal together. People like yourself and Eq were exactly the people I have in mind. I have the legal and negotiating skills but likeminded people who can help to get the job done or have useful networks are always in demand. I always like to have at least one partner in crime.

Most comments so far have been about the $200 (now $100 in response to feedback) fee, particularly if the name doesn't sell.

The fee is designed to compensate for the work that goes into the proposal.

If the domain doesn't sell at auction the work has already been done and the work should be rewarded. There is still benefit to you in having a name 'not sell' - that benefit is the reality check as to what the name is worth.

Some people have said that they would be happier giving 10% of the proceeds of sale but no upfront fee. I am open to this. I thought 5% was a fair amount to encourage as many people as possible to get involved without being turned off by fees but instead I will give you the choice.

When you PM me please let me know whether you would rather pay $100 on selection and a 10% fee or $200 on selection and a 5% fee. Everyone can have the option.

 

[freedom30]

Richard I must admit I saw your post and we were thinking along very similar lines.:red: - one of the reasons I invited 'others' to help me put the proposal together. People like yourself and Eq were exactly the people I have in mind. I have the legal and negotiating skills but likeminded people who can help to get the job done or have useful networks are always in demand. I always like to have at least one partner in crime.

Most comments so far have been about the $200 (now $100 in response to feedback) fee, particularly if the name doesn't sell.

The fee is designed to compensate for the work that goes into the proposal.

If the domain doesn't sell at auction the work has already been done and the work should be rewarded. There is still benefit to you in having a name 'not sell' - that benefit is the reality check as to what the name is worth.

Some people have said that they would be happier giving 10% of the proceeds of sale but no upfront fee. I am open to this. I thought 5% was a fair amount to encourage as many people as possible to get involved without being turned off by fees but instead I will give you the choice.

When you PM me please let me know whether you would rather pay a $100 on selection or a 10% fee but only if your name sells. Everyone can have the option.

I am not a legacy holder, but I see the fee as pretty low even when it was set at $200, which is actually far lower than a contingency fee of 10 percent would get you for your efforts. Those who do not understand the work involved should at least appreciate the efforts undertaken for this type of situation.

Members such as yourself and dottvfan as well as others do justice to the forum with your clear headed thinking and desire for action. Thanks and kudos to you all.

 

[RPK]

10% for the proposal. But if there are 100 names and I assume some of these names will be great since people have been paying premium fees for them for a couple of years in most cases so if the names sell for $200k then there would be $20k given over for the proposal? Just want to be clear on this.

Now besides this 10% we would still need to give SEDO an additional 10% of the wining bid?

Also, who would be responsible for promoting the auction? Verisign? SEDO? Us? In any case I would give 5% of the auction sale with a minimum of $100 to have my name listed.

 

[freedom30]

10% for the proposal. But if there are 100 names and I assume some of these names will be great since people have been paying premium fees for them for a couple of years in most cases so if the names sell for $200k then there would be $20k given over for the proposal? Just want to be clear on this.

Now besides this 10% we would still need to give SEDO an additional 10% of the wining bid?

Also, who would be responsible for promoting the auction? Verisign? SEDO? Us? In any case I would give 5% of the auction sale with a minimum of $100 to have my name listed.

It is quite apparent that you, sir, have mastered the art of negotiation. Hats off to you with that one!

 

[RPK]

I am not a legacy holder, but I see the fee as pretty low even when it was set at $200, which is actually far lower than a contingency fee of 10 percent would get you for your efforts. Those who do not understand the work involved should at least appreciate the efforts undertaken for this type of situation.

Members such as yourself and dottvfan as well as others do justice to the forum with your clear headed thinking and desire for action. Thanks and kudos to you all.

I really do appreciate the efforts being put in, but it is better to hash out everything upfront then to have people complain later. I think it is a great idea and I personally don't have the time to make the effort that is why I am willing to give a commission on the sale.

The biggest hurdle is getting Verisign to agree to this.

The Second biggest hurdle is to then get Verisign not to do it themselves

The third biggest hurdle is to then negotiate the deal with SEDO.

I totally back this idea and think it would be great for the extension as well as to those whom invested in premiums till now.

 

[dottvfan]

10% for the proposal. But if there are 100 names and I assume some of these names will be great since people have been paying premium fees for them for a couple of years in most cases so if the names sell for $200k then there would be $20k given over for the proposal? Just want to be clear on this.

Now besides this 10% we would still need to give SEDO an additional 10% of the wining bid?

Also, who would be responsible for promoting the auction? Verisign? SEDO? Us? In any case I would give 5% of the auction sale with a minimum of $100 to have my name listed.

Correct, but don't get me wrong.

I am genuinely concerned for the premium owners, but I am only going to help those that help themselves.

For the fee, owners get my skill and my time (and possibly that of my partners, but no-one has yet put up their hand). These are not commodities bought for $100 outside of this forum.

I have 3 premium names but none at fees that worry me, so (unlike some) I have no vested interest in seeing an auction happen.

Despite this, if owners feel that:

1. their money is better put towards paying their premium renewal fees; or

2. their time better put to posting about class actions (or responding to posts telling them they have wasted their money, or made a bad investment, or invested in a vanity extension) on a forum, so be it.

All I am doing is making an offer to help and putting a price on my time and skill. It is up to you to decide whether that offer is of value to you.

 

[freedom30]

All I am doing is making an offer to help and putting a price on my time and skill. It is up to you to decide whether that offer is of value to you.

In essence, putting the proverbial ball in the court of the legacy owners...time to play or fold.

 

[RogueWriter]

I am more interested in getting the policy changed, so that I can develop my premium and hold until the timing is right for my specific niche, which will be several years down the road.

An auction such as this would, I feel, minimalize any possible input that the remaining pre march 18th owners would have towards getting premium fees removed. Fewer people that care = lower impact.

I am all for working with Sedo towards featuring an auction that .TV holders organize, and in fact I have initiated some contact with afternic to explore that possibility.

But, I don't think this is a good idea, imo.

No offense, everyone, I'm wrong a dozen times every day, just stating my opinion.

 

[dottvfan]

An auction such as this would, I feel, minimalize any possible input that the remaining pre march 18th owners would have towards getting premium fees removed. Fewer people that care = lower impact.

I think that a joint auction of domains that don't have this legacy problem is a great idea. It's also something that I would be interested in for some of my 'non-premium premiums' [where does Jeff get that TM sign from?]

But, sadly, I think that those who believe that a few domainers [in the least condescending way] complaining about legacy fees are going to get Verisign to unilaterally give up their contractual right to legacy fees across the board are dreaming.tv. But like you, I'm occasionally wrong!

 

[RogueWriter]

But, sadly, I think those that think a few domainers [in the least condescending way] complaining about legacy fees are going to get Verisign to unilaterally give up their contractual right to legacy fees across the board are dreaming.tv. But like you, I'm occasionally wrong!

I just wonder about any developed premiums out there, rather than just domainers.... there surely are individuals of influence out there that are ticked off that their competition is now only paying twenty bucks a year, whereas they are paying thousands.

 

[dottvfan]

I just wonder about any developed premiums out there, rather than just domainers.... there surely are individuals of influence out there that are ticked off that their competition is now only paying twenty bucks a year, whereas they are paying thousands.

If I buy a house from a property developer at $1000 believing that I am paying market but then the developer builds the same house on the vacant lot next door and sells it for $500, can I ask the property developer for a refund?

No, I paid too much.

But I have some choices.

I can continue to pay my mortgage.
I can cut my losses and sell it.
I can ask the developer to come back and make some improvements to help me sell it for more.
I can put my head in the sand.

Life is difficult because there are variables. Variables represent risk. If there were no risks, we would all be millionaires. But I think life would be a little bit less interesting.

---------- Post added at 11:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:43 PM ----------

Anyway, it's midnight - I have to go to bed. To all a good night

 

[RPK]

Actually another option is to put your name up for auction and you can decide to bid on it yourself. Perhaps it will end up costing you less than your annual renewal or at the very least it will cost you less overtime.

 

[Debt.tv]

Anyway, it's midnight - I have to go to bed. To all a good night

midnight to you....9:45AM here! GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!

 

[RogueWriter]

If I buy a house from a property developer at $1000 believing that I am paying market but then the developer builds the same house on the vacant lot next door and sells it for $500, can I ask the property developer for a refund?

No, I paid too much.

But I have some choices.

I can continue to pay my mortgage.
I can cut my losses and sell it.
I can ask the developer to come back and make some improvements to help me sell it for more.
I can put my head in the sand.

That's not really the same issue. This analogy is closer:

The property taxes on my house are 4,000 times higher than the property taxes on the exact same house sitting next door to me, so I appeal to the agency responsible to analyze the situation and lower my annual property tax to the appropriate level. Maybe the original house cost me more, because I used a different builder, but the taxes on the location should be uniform.

 

[dottvfan]

Just a quick note - this is not proceeding, due to lack of interest

 

[gr8trfoo]

Just a quick note - this is not proceeding, due to lack of interest

there's plenty of interest in correcting the legacy premium situation. i just dont think this particular proposal had any legs from the get go.

 

[DU]

Maybe the original house cost me more, because I used a different builder, but the taxes on the location should be uniform.

Welcome to Florida where this ISN'T the case. My taxes are twice what some people living in the same street pay... but they're getting closer.

All analogies ultimately fail as will all solutions. This is an INDIVIDUAL problem.

---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 PM ----------

I didn't realize this thread was just rebumped.... I guess I should shut up now.

 

[snoop]

I dont' see why Verisign would go for this. If the name gets dropped they'll get 100% of the revenue. If it doesn't they've got a great ongoing revenue stream. They definitely lose with the proposal above.