Beware Of Domain Broker Andy Kelly??

[Arpit131]

Konstantinos wrote this article on Online Domain:

Please beware of domain “broker” Andy Kelly, CEO of UpMarketDNs.com. He presents himself as a broker of several domain names that he has no authority to do so.

He contacted me about a 1-word .com and the conversation didn’t go well. (see below)

On his website he claims to be the broker of several premium domain names including many 2-letter .coms like:

xt.com
zi.com
zc.com
yt.com
bu.com
ke.com
fe.com
wt.com

For example yt.com is owned by Google, Inc. and certainly they are not selling the domain name and even if they did thy wouldn’t use Andy Kelly as their broker.
He also claims to be the broker of NewYork.net that is owned by NameFind LLC that is a Go Daddy company. Go Daddy brokers all their names internally using Afternic. The list of domains Andy Kelly claims to broker is endless.

Source

I never had a first hand experience with the broker and hence, it would be wrong to comment on this.
However, if any of you have had a first hand experience with the broker, kindly share your experience. Yt.com does not resolve to YouTube.com and that makes me wonder. However, the whois shows that the owner is still Google.

So, what do you have to say?

 

[N-A]

From the source?

@UpMarketDns.com

 

[Arpit131]

The source is mentioned in the source link.

 

[BrandYourself]

Guys, We did represent these domains not now. My site was hacked and I have been unable to update the inventory. I will do so this week. Why would I claim to represent domains I don't hardly good for business. Anyone that knows me knows I am a decent and fair trader. Been in this business many years with many sales under my belt. This blog post represents just one side of the story only.

 

[GoKaizen]

I doubt Google would sell yt.com so this is odd.

Konts is an a@#hole that does not link to sources. After @Kate and I shared these links about Centralnic. He believes he got the info out of thin air.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/centralnic-sunsetting-several-sld-extensions.943329/

Michele Nylon broke the story first.

http://www.internetnews.me/2016/04/29/centralnic-sunsetting-several-sld-extensions/

Sibername shared the letter.

http://www.sibername.com/blog/qc-com-will-sunsetted-along-ar-gb-hu-kr-no-se-uy-com/

Rosener's comment... I'm still waiting on a better explanation on why Spearfishing was shuttered if it was profitable.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/an...ing-justification-for-premium-domains.930258/

 

[Alessandro Couteau]

I doubt Google would sell yt.com so this is odd.

Konts is an a@#hole that does not link to sources. After @Kate and I shared these links about Centralnic. He believes he got the info out of thin air.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/centralnic-sunsetting-several-sld-extensions.943329/

Michele Nylon broke the story first.

http://www.internetnews.me/2016/04/29/centralnic-sunsetting-several-sld-extensions/

Sibername shared the letter.

http://www.sibername.com/blog/qc-com-will-sunsetted-along-ar-gb-hu-kr-no-se-uy-com/

Rosener's comment... I'm still waiting on a better explanation on why Spearfishing was shuttered if it was profitable.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/an...ing-justification-for-premium-domains.930258/

It's not really odd ... Lol. Bank of America sold FF.com for a little less then $10M ...

And I know a gigantic company who has their LL.com for sale right now. Not saying names here though

 

[GoKaizen]

Google is an internet company and knows how valuable 2 letter .coms are. BofA caused a financial meltdown, then got a bailout.

 

[Alessandro Couteau]

Hahaha oh man. You'll have to forgive me. Google understands the importance of 2 Letter.com domains ... If you work for them or you know them contact me. Please. I have waited years just to get one on the phone for one domain in the LL.com region that makes sense, technology wise ...

 

[Alexander Green]

Only interacted with Andy a few times via email, never actually done business tho so I can't comment on that. I see he commented here I would wager he was co-brokering it at some point and didn't update his newsletter/inventory along with the comment he has stated that his site was compromised whether true or not it seemed he had a lot of listed names that needed to be removed/updated. Not like this isn't normal though I see people still listing domains sold some even by myself/others or the actual owners privately months ago but nobody gave them a memo since theyre too busy counting the $.

Note: Co-Brokering happens a lot and can cause a lot of confusion. Brokers dealing with other brokers to get a name sold and split commission. Nothing wrong with this its a valid tactic but pointless if you are trying to sell to the same people the original broker was or even by accident it's owner. Mix that in with old information and everything looks sketchy as f***.

Always recheck your inventory, check whois and question the owners/brokers who wish to do business with you make sure it's all up to date and accurate.

It is correct Andy/UpMarketDNS has been a known entity in the industry at least if you're a broker any personal opinions aside this seems like a misunderstanding that didn't need to go as far as it did but oh well. Konstantinos is also well known too and from his point of view and the way the email conversation went I can understand him believing he is doing a service to warn others of his experience.

Be professional. Be polite and always check your sh*t.

Extra stuff but not that important to post.

Concerning YT.com (I wont talk too much due to NDA) I had talks back when its Japanese Owner whom I'm sure you can Google about who also spends time now in Canada and was the owner for many years (there was a brief time we were helping him specifically I remember the countless emails we had forwarded to us and offers the domain would get mostly 500k-1.5M any given day).
My group initiated contact with Google which was an obvious potential. This wasn't hard Google acquires all the time it's just... delicate when you know the right emails and numbers and actually can get replies its about the right amount of $. The numbers being told for the sale are weird I see some people being sure it must of been $10M+ but I assure you nope. This was well within the low-mid 7 figures. The seller got what he wanted and so did Google. End of story.

As stated though large companies/corporations do actually sell (though they sometimes need a little helping hand in the process even their legal team) and are often more than happy to liquidate their domain portfolio. It doesn't always have to be in the millions as low 5 and 6 figure sales are common. The concern is often them being scared they're not being short changed, being 100% sure they wont need this domain property in the future and that the buyer is not a competitor in any field they operate their business in.

 

[BrandYourself]

Very fair post, I hasten to add that I was tempted to make a blog myself about his abusive comments - via email - that I responded to foolishly. He is an idiot. A nasty and vindictive piece of work. He offered $2k - yes $2k - for a premium domain and because he couldn't buy it for this price he decided to do a hatchet job. Lesson learned for me. Keep my Irish temper under control when dealing with idiots.

Bottom line is I shouldn't have responded to his abuse with abuse. There are very much two sides to this story but the difference is he put it out there on domaining.com and I didn't.

Only interacted with Andy a few times via email, never actually done business tho so I can't comment on that. I see he commented here I would wager he was co-brokering it at some point and didn't update his newsletter/inventory along with the comment he has stated that his site was compromised whether true or not it seemed he had a lot of listed names that needed to be removed/updated. Not like this isn't normal though I see people still listing domains sold some even by myself/others or the actual owners privately months ago but nobody gave them a memo since theyre too busy counting the $.

Note: Co-Brokering happens a lot and can cause a lot of confusion. Brokers dealing with other brokers to get a name sold and split commission. Nothing wrong with this its a valid tactic but pointless if you are trying to sell to the same people the original broker was or even by accident it's owner. Mix that in with old information and everything looks sketchy as f***.

Always recheck your inventory, check whois and question the owners/brokers who wish to do business with you make sure it's all up to date and accurate.

It is correct Andy/UpMarketDNS has been a known entity in the industry at least if you're a broker any personal opinions aside this seems like a misunderstanding that didn't need to go as far as it did but oh well. Konstantinos is also well known too and from his point of view and the way the email conversation went I can understand him believing he is doing a service to warn others of his experience.

Be professional. Be polite and always check your sh*t.

Extra stuff but not that important to post.

Concerning YT.com (I wont talk too much due to NDA) I had talks back when its Japanese Owner whom I'm sure you can Google about who also spends time now in Canada and was the owner for many years (there was a brief time we were helping him specifically I remember the countless emails we had forwarded to us and offers the domain would get mostly 500k-1.5M any given day).
My group initiated contact with Google which was an obvious potential. This wasn't hard Google acquires all the time it's just... delicate when you know the right emails and numbers and actually can get replies its about the right amount of $. The numbers being told for the sale are weird I see some people being sure it must of been $10M+ but I assure you nope. This was well within the low-mid 7 figures. The seller got what he wanted and so did Google. End of story.

As stated though large companies/corporations do actually sell (though they sometimes need a little helping hand in the process even their legal team) and are often more than happy to liquidate their domain portfolio. It doesn't always have to be in the millions as low 5 and 6 figure sales are common. The concern is often them being scared they're not being short changed, being 100% sure they wont need this domain property in the future and that the buyer is not a competitor in any field they operate their business in.

 

[GoKaizen]

Upmarketdns is down

 

[BrandYourself]

yeh I got hacked again argh
Still business as usual until I get the new site launched