Anyone knows AcquireThisName.com?

[dreamer2008]

Has anyone ever bought a domain through AcquireThisName.com?

I'm considering buying an already registered domain name for a project of mine. The current owner has a landing page up with the words "Domain For Sale" (same landingpage as cabaretekiteboard2002.com - this is not the actual domain). The domain is sold through AcquireThisName.com (bidding page).

First I submitted a (low) bid, and received the following response:

Hello,
We have received your email regarding the domain *******.com.
The owner of the domain has listed the sales price of $ x,xxx for this domain.
If your next offer is reasonable for this domain, an AcquireThisName.com (ATN) representative will contact the owner on your behalf. Upon hearing from the domain owner, we will notify you.
Please note: Owners of valuable domains will often receive several offers per week. You offer should be great enough to motivate the domain owner to reply.
Best regards,
Trevor
AcquireThisName.com​

I then submitted a new offer, about half the asking price and received the following response about 48 hours later:

I am following up in regards to your offer on the domain *******.com.
The seller of this domain has extended the auction window for this domain till June 1, 2008.
If you would like to participate in bidding for this domain name, the minimum bid is $ xxx
To participate, please reply with your maximium offer and an AcquireThisName.com agent will work with the seller to negotiate the lowest price on your behalf. We will keep you updated on the status of the domain during the auction period.
Please have your offer in before May 31, 2008 midnight PST to participate in the auction.
If you wish to no longer receive notices for this domain, please reply with the subject line "unsubscribe."

Kind Regards,
Elida
AcquireThisName.com​

I thought this was a really strange response.

- If I'm negotiating one-to-one with the owner, why is it suddenly an auction?

- Is there any other participants in the auction?

- "an AcquireThisName.com agent will work with the seller to negotiate the lowest price on your behalf"... Really?? The owner's agent will try to negotiate the lowest price for me? Hard to believe.

I've googled AcquireThisName and there's very few results. Anyone ever heard about this company before? Anyone participated in one of their auctions before? Are they trustworthy?

Wondering if they're a working as a middleman between some bigger domain reseller like SEDO or TDNAM.

Any info would be appreciated.

 

[mlangham]

hmmm, lemme guess

This is the first time i am seeing a lot of first time posters in the same thread. lol :bingo:

even as a noob on this site, my experience might dictate that your observation above is due to this being a hot topic?

and that all th first time posters are finding but a couple of results via google, and yours--- guess what! is one of them?

(whew, i'm glad this wasn't my first post. but know as well i'll be suffering wrath for being but only a two-time poster)

 

[mlangham]

Oh..cool..another first time poster thread.

Breeding like rabbits at the moment.

geesh, am i missing something? to paraphrase from an old Firesign Theatre album:
Are there nothing but lemmings on this bus?

Why is it that so many folk are using the "first time poster thread" phrase as some sort of mantra?

Does one acquire special powers by doing so-- or a cool "I used that phrase 15 times!" badge--- for use in this forum?

Did I miss an FAQ on this site's rulez for posting for the first time in an obscure thread first, so that no posts or threads are done by what appears to be a first-time poster?

I'd use the word elitist if not for fear of it being related to upper class, which is also described as first class, shortened to first, thereby making it a first post. So I will NOT make any elitist assertions whatsoever.

Proud to now be at the time of this typing, a 3rd time poster,

Michael

 

[Midnight]

geesh, am i missing something? to paraphrase from an old Firesign Theatre album:
Are there nothing but lemmings on this bus?

Why is it that so many folk are using the "first time poster thread" phrase as some sort of mantra?

Seriously. You'd think that the "veterans" on this forum would be glad that one of their threads is actually turning up as a top Google hit for a frequently-searched term relating to the domain name trade. Oh well.

 

[PaulS]

----- from NewBe -----

Here comes another NewBe in this thread.

I just bid on one of the domains through AcquireThisName and will keep you up-to-date of the communication (assuming this is interesting for the visitors of this thread, maybe even for some of the veterans

The domain is a long non-english word and was picked-up after the owner (a one person business) was too late with renewal due to the fact that her administrator's email address was not valid anymore.

 

[DomainTalker]

Don't worry about all those comments about 'first-time posters', guys...


...There are some long-time posters that say some bloody silly things - and, some newbies that make a great contribution right off the bat...

...It ain't how many posts someone's made that counts....Only what is said in a post...

Welcome to NamePros, people...

.

 

[PaulS]

---- from NewBe -----

So I did an offer on a domain with a length of 12 characters and got a reply the same day from AcquireThis Name.com.

The answer was essentially the same as the one that Dreamer2008 mentioned in the beginning of this tread (except that it didn't have the last paragraph that an offer has to be interesting for an owner)

They came with an asking price (from the 'owner') that was 9 times higher then my (already high) bid.

As the domain is only useful in a small country and in there only for a small number of people, the owner will never get an amount like that.

I explained the situation and asked them to re-contact the owner.

I will keep you posted

 

[Midnight]

They came with an asking price (from the 'owner') that was 9 times higher then my (already high) bid.

That's an interesting observation. When I contacted them about the domain I wanted, my initial offer was slightly under $200--and they responded with an asking price of $1,800. In other words, about 9-10 times my offer. Just like the counter-offer you received. It makes you wonder if they follow a precise predefined formula in these "negotiations".

For what it's worth, I eventually agreed to purchase the domain for $500 (as I stated in an earlier post).

 

[OnlineDomainCom]

No they don't.
I offered $150. Their counter offer was 60k.

 

[corvettejrw]

Another NOOB!!

So, just like everyone else I had my offer accepted by acquirethisname.com and I am leery of the "Wire us money" part of the transaction.

Since this is $1000, I would like to have some assurance that the deal is legitimate. (I also noticed the misspellings on their agreement page)

HAS ANYONE ACTUALLY BOUGHT A DOMAIN FROM THEM? (complete transaction)
How did it go? Were you able to transfer the domain to another registrar instead of enom?

Thanks!
Jordan

 

[Michael]

Here's what I found out:

- Acquire This Name, Inc. is a Nevada corporation that was incorporated sometime between May and June of 2008
Corporate address:
15801 NE 24TH ST.
BELLEVUE, WA 98008

- The company's initial capital is $1.00

- Here's where it gets interesting, the company lists its secretary and director as Sarah Akhtar Cooper and its president, treasurer and director as Michael Blend.
- Keep in mind that all this information is readily available by quick searches. I haven't invaded the privacy of either person.


Sarah Akhtar Cooper
- On her LinkedIn page, Sarah Akhtar Cooper is listed as, get this, SVP Legal and Business Affairs Demand Media and General Counsel eNom
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/5/a8b/895
- Here's her icannwiki page: http://icannwiki.org/Sarah_Akhtar
- Here's her site: http://www.sarahakhtar.tv/
- Here's her wedding announcement confirming it's the same person: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/fashion/weddings/17AKHTAR.html
- More info on Sarah: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/WIKILEAKS.INFO_censored_by_eNom_and_Demand_Media

Michael Blend
- On his LinkedIn page, Michael Blend is listed as, EVP for Demand Media
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/4/157
- Here's a Vator page with his info: http://www.vator.tv/user/show/MichaelBlend
- An icannwiki page listing Blend: http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cach...nom&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a

- So it appears that acquirethisname.com is just a front company for eNom
- I called a couple of other Internet registrars and the customer service reps were unable to visit acquirethisname.com leading me to believe that either they've been blocked by eNom and/or their own company has blocked this site. Either way, something is obviously up.
- According to icann, reselling is legal and it's technically another company
- I wouldn't be surprised if Elida works directly for eNom

Wow, great post, thanks for looking into it.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

And this is why I love new people :hearts: (Seriously, I do - not sarcasm.)

I keep coming across acquirethis (And I keep hearing more and more complaints about the elusive nature of their communications...) and it is "nice" to know the man and woman "behind the curtain" on this one.

And FTR, a nice (And very recent) WIPO UDRP that they lost...
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2008/d2008-1162.html

-Allan :gl:

Here's what I found out:

- Acquire This Name, Inc. is a Nevada corporation that was incorporated sometime between May and June of 2008
Corporate address:
15801 NE 24TH ST.
BELLEVUE, WA 98008

- The company's initial capital is $1.00

- Here's where it gets interesting, the company lists its secretary and director as Sarah Akhtar Cooper and its president, treasurer and director as Michael Blend.
- Keep in mind that all this information is readily available by quick searches. I haven't invaded the privacy of either person.


Sarah Akhtar Cooper
- On her LinkedIn page, Sarah Akhtar Cooper is listed as, get this, SVP Legal and Business Affairs Demand Media and General Counsel eNom
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/5/a8b/895
- Here's her icannwiki page: http://icannwiki.org/Sarah_Akhtar
- Here's her site: http://www.sarahakhtar.tv/
- Here's her wedding announcement confirming it's the same person: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/fashion/weddings/17AKHTAR.html
- More info on Sarah: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/WIKILEAKS.INFO_censored_by_eNom_and_Demand_Media

Michael Blend
- On his LinkedIn page, Michael Blend is listed as, EVP for Demand Media
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/4/157
- Here's a Vator page with his info: http://www.vator.tv/user/show/MichaelBlend
- An icannwiki page listing Blend: http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cach...nom&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a

- So it appears that acquirethisname.com is just a front company for eNom
- I called a couple of other Internet registrars and the customer service reps were unable to visit acquirethisname.com leading me to believe that either they've been blocked by eNom and/or their own company has blocked this site. Either way, something is obviously up.
- According to icann, reselling is legal and it's technically another company
- I wouldn't be surprised if Elida works directly for eNom

 

[Aular]

Thanks for the previous posters' information regarding Acquirethisname.com. First time poster, too, looking for info on why a domain I used to own is now owned by Acquirethisname.com.

I did a little digging as well. They're registered with the Better Business Bureau in the Pacific Northwest. If you're unhappy with the service, you can visit the BBB webpage and file a consumer complaint with them. The BBB works between you and the Company to resolve the complaint.

The BBB website for Acquirethisname.org is:
http://alaskaoregonwesternwashington.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=114&bbb=1296&firm=64002064

Good luck. They're listed as "Satisfactory" with the BBB, but with this technically legal but morally questionable business practice, I'm surprised they've retained a satisfactory rating.

 

[OnlineDomainCom]

BBB is crap.

 

[Midnight]

HAS ANYONE ACTUALLY BOUGHT A DOMAIN FROM THEM? (complete transaction)
How did it go? Were you able to transfer the domain to another registrar instead of enom?

As posted earlier in this thread, I successfully bought a domain name from them a couple of months ago. They transferred the domain to my eNom account within a few days after I wired my payment to them, and I then immediately moved the domain to my preferred registrar. No problems at all, quite thankfully.

 

[Roustam]

Hi everyone,

Newbie here too. Sorry about that, but this thread is very easily googled.


I am currently having an issue with "ACQUIRE THIS NAME" too. I was the owner of a domain name that was linked to an actual website and its content. I have unwillingly let the domain name expire ; they bought it.
Fair enough... until I saw they were putting it on sell, making themselves obvious cybersquatters.


+ I tried and get in touch with their sales team ; I was willing to pay a "fair" price for this name.
- I offered 30$, they asked 1000$.
- I offered 45$ they asked 3000$...

+ I wrote to [email protected] ; to let them know about this trademark infrigement.
- No answer yet

+ I wrote to [email protected] ; to let them know about ACQUIRE THIS NAME practice of trademark infrigement.
- No answer yet

+ I have also raised a complaint with the BBB.
- Someone said the BBB was "crap", I'll let you know how it goes with me.


If none of the above works out and they still want to sell this name at the outrageous price of 3000$, I am seriously considering raising a UDRP with the WIPO, since this will "only" cost me around 1000$.

I am also considering going to court, however as this option seems more expensive, this should be my second option, after the UDRP.


This practice is a shame.

 

[Dave_Z]

until I saw they were putting it on sell, making themselves obvious cybersquatters.

Unless you can demonstrate trademark rights for the term in that domain that
is for sale by eNom or AcquireThisName, it's not "obviously" cybersquatting as
some like to believe. But if you do, then try sending a C&D first before filing a
UDRP or suit to try to get their attention.

I realize some people find this shameful, and they can believe whatever they
like. But it's not always that way, especially if they don't have any enforceable
claims.

Anyway, good luck with your issue. And nope, not with eNom or ATN.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

If none of the above works out and they still want to sell this name at the outrageous price of 3000$, I am seriously considering raising a UDRP with the WIPO, since this will "only" cost me around 1000$.

$1,500 filing fee + postage to WIPO (Switzerland), the registrant, the registrar (Ok, not that much, but all these little things add up!), printing costs and your time!

The $2,000 number is now a sweet spot for folks that may fear a UDRP, because anyone who objectively does cost/benefit will typically pay the $2,000 rather than rolling the dice at WIPO/NAF.

-Allan :gl:

 

[OnlineDomainCom]

That is, if you can file for yourself...

 

[Roustam]

Unless you can demonstrate trademark rights for the term in that domain that is for sale by eNom or AcquireThisName, it's not "obviously" cybersquatting as some like to believe. But if you do, then try sending a C&D first before filing a UDRP or suit to try to get their attention.

Thanks for the advice. I have thought about this, so I am keeping proofs of my previous and initial use of the domain in question.

Also, I have found through Google again a similar story that ended up with a mail from Demand Domains (owner of eNom - AcquireThisName ?) saying "no we're no pirates, sorry, please get your domain name back". So hopefully I'll find a way to work this out with them.

Anyway, good luck with your issue. And nope, not with eNom or ATN.

Thanks.
I'll keep you updated here.

 

[Roustam]

Hi everyone,

Im coming back here with great news : after months of struggle, I finally got my domain name back !

How ?

-1-
Using every possible way, I let everyone involved in this matter know that the name in question was solely linked to my content. I raised a complaint through the Better Business Bureau, and was seriously considering going to the WIPO.

-2-
I don't know if one particular email made its way to the right person, or if they all just got fed up with me - anyhow, a few days later, I got a message from the registrar legal dep. telling me that (with my words) :

- "we have a number of customers who do not wish to disclose their details and use our whois privacy service" (...yeah right)

- "By the way, your domain name (xxxx.xx) is in now entering in RedemptionPeriod and will be dropped in about a month".

So that was it - Nobody wanted to recognized its guilt, but as a matter of fact, the case was actually "dropped".


-3-
Since then, I had closely monitored the activity on the name - just to make sure nothing went funny. And I had put a backorder on several name-catching services. One of them finally got the name for me a few days ago ; and the name being very specific, I did win the auction.


At least this craziness has come to an end.
Hope the story will help - Nothing is ever lost !


Cheers

 

[Cronus]

Thanks for the update, Roustam. And congratulations on your win! Obviously I don't know all the details (or even the domain name) in your particular case, but I give you the benefit of the doubt after reading about Enom's reprehensible behavior in the davisandhenderson.com case pointed to by IAmAllanShore in WIPO D2008-1162 . After Enom blew off the trademark holder repeatedly and even tried to charge them $160,000 for the domain, it is gratifying to watch Enom squirm in their filings as they desperately try (and fail) to avoid a finding of bad faith. Last time I asked, AcquireThisName (already proven to be a front for Enom) wanted $50,000 for one of my non-generic trademarks in .com. So I know how this company feels. Out of curiousity, I did a search for other Demand Domains (yet another Enom front in their shell-game corporate structure) UDRP decisions. Here are the results:

• D2008-1162 - Enom loses davisandhenderson.com and is tagged with a bad faith finding.
• D2008-0176 - Enom loses portaventurathemepark.com and wwwportaventura.com, but avoids a finding of bad faith by surrendering immediately and making a unilateral offer to transfer the domain to the complaintant. Unlike in 2008-1162, the panel in this case agrees to simply order the transfer without considering whether there was bad faith.
• D2007-1789 - Enom loses again, this time with chivas-regal.com. Like usual, Enom begs for the panel to order a transfer without finding bad faith. Yet the panel considers Enom's (Demand Domains Inc.) actions so egregious that they find bad faith anyway.
• D2007-1382 - Enom loses axaonline.net (registered to EnomX, Inc., which is apparently another of their front companies). As in many other cases, Enom immediately surrenders, offers to transfer the domain, and begs for no bad faith finding. The panel finds bad faith anyway and orders the domain transfer.
• D2007-0917 - Enom agrees to give infonavit.org to the trademark holder for free to avoid a bad faith finding..
• D2007-0019 - Enom loses the domain peekundkloppenburg.com. They don't even bother to respond to this one. It is held at the registrar Fushi Tarazu, which is another "eNom owned/operated subsidiary".

So it seems that Enom/Demand Domains/AcquireThisName have been involved in many UDRP disputes, always lose, and are regularly found guilty of bad faith registration. In every case they weren't found to have registered in bad faith, it was only because they surrendered immediately and convinced the panel that there was no need to consider whether bad faith registration was involved. It is possible that I missed some with my quick search (in particular I didn't look for the names of all of Enoms known shell companies), but this is a pretty dismal record.

 

[garyclemens]

Elida

Elida does work for Enom. When Registerfly melted Elida helped me get my domains into an Enom account. After one had expired and i tried to purchase thru Registerthisdomaine- the same Elida contacted me. At the rate their going they will be the next registerfly debacle!

 

[Cronus]

I'm happy to report that my situation with enom/acquirethisname has been resolved. I posted to this thread last June about how they were squatting on a non-generic-term domain which violates my trademarks. I tried offering them $800, which I thought was more than fair. But they responded with a figure above $50,000. I tried sending them infringement notes myself, but they brushed those aside and refused to transfer the domain.

Finally, I paid a lawyer $1,000 to write and mail them a C&D letter. They caved immediately and transferred the domain to me. Enom doesn't care much about the law or what is wrong or right. So you can argue that with them until you are blue in the face. To get their attention, you have to retain a lawyer and thereby demonstrate that you have the will and means to protect your rights by suing them. At least that was my experience. Roustam, above, apparently was so persistent ("months of struggle") that he convinced them to give up his domain without legal assistance.

 

[dosadi]

I just got hit by aquirethisname.com

Hello everyone!

My domain is not worth $40, but I offered these jerkwads $80. Now that I've read all of this thread though, they're way not interested in such a small amount.

All I really have invested in this domain is a gif image, a few lines of html, and 100 print ads that I can have reprinted for cheap, or just use magic marker to scribble "com" over the "net" since I already own the .com version of the same domain.

My question:

Why hasn't anyone done a class-action lawsuit on eNom and AcquireThisDomain?

There are people in this thread talking about paying thousands of dollars to them for jacking you up; why not invest that money in starting a class-action suit?

I'm certainly no lawyer so I don't know whether a law firm could make money on this, but I bet there are attorneys who are willing to try. eNom has to have serious assets. I'd love to see not only these jokers shut down but make everyone think twice before pulling this extortion scheme.

So if anyone hears of a class-action lawsuit, let me know. Not that my name would be worth much, since I had zer0 traffic to the site, but just because I'll do it out of principle. And I will never, ever, ever use eNom for anything or pay them anything ever ever ever ever.

peace & love,
(but war & hatred on eNom and on whoever complains about first-time posters,)
Nicole

(you can get my email address by going to nicole-sherburne.com and using the email link with javascript turned on, or hit me at myspace.com/nicolesherburne)

 

[Dave_Z]

Why hasn't anyone done a class-action lawsuit on eNom and AcquireThisDomain?

Well, has anyone been harmed or damaged in any way by what they're doing?