Buying .COMS of a celebrity name?

[Grilled]

Hello,

Can anybody share their thoughts or experiences on purchasing a celebrities name such as an actor, athlete, or politician. Besides trademarked names, such as Taylor Swift, who if yall haven't heard is suing a domainer for the registration of iTaughtTaylorSwift.com.

Perhaps, this domain can be sold back to the celebrity, or because its personal maybe they would be better receptive to buying their domain back in exchange for memorabilia or something charity related.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

 

[Grilled]

What's it going to take to get a reply on my posts? I posted 90+ domains a few hours ago in the domain appraisal section which has plenty of views, and now this, which has zero views. I am new to this site, unfamiliar of the response time, but either my posts are not very interesting or I am just way too impatient.

Would releasing the name of these celebrity domains help?

One is a popular UFC fighters, and others are MLB managers.

 

[iowadawg]

I would not touch a celebrity name .com.
And for sure, I would not be squatting just to try and sell it to the celebrity.
Enough said.
Just because you posted in appraisals does not mean someone is going to appraise them.
Probably junk domains if no appraisals.

 

[Grilled]

Thank you for your being my first response!

My thoughts in selling a celebrities name stems from this particular celebrity having his own name in a domain as a longer form, for instance, [His Nickame + First + Last Name.com] His First +Last Name.com was taken at the time of the time he has registered his name. His name gets 50k+ monthly searches on G, and his offical website has been up less than 6 months.

Hopefully they aren't junk, but they are EMD based, so they run the risk of penguin and panda if not optimized properly.

 

[UltraNames.com]

Just dont, please.

 

[Domainace]

The reason some people don't get responses to their posts is because they clearly haven't taken any time at all to read existing posts in the forum before asking questions that have already been answered 100 times.

Like this one.

There's a wealth of information here, and a search function that you can use to look up specific interests. The celebrity domain question must get asked at least once a month, then answered. Then the OP often argues with those who have taken their time to answer, who then get upset and swear never again to answer another obvious question.

That's why it's so difficult to get an answer in these sorts of posts. If the OP can't be bothered to read a bit here on the subject before posting, why should others be bothered to answer?

And don't forget to click the thank you button for people who take the time to answer. Even if you don't like the answer.

Welcome to Namepros:D

P.S. Don't register celebrity domains.

 

[tomcarl]

Registering celebrity names is being a squatter, not a domainer. This practice doesn't help anyone in the industry.

 

[Grilled]

I understand the principle, but when a popular celebrity name expires it is bound to be registered by somebody who may squat or have ill intentions. My thought process is to register it for the celebrity, then offer it to the celebrity for some charitable gain, not necessarily monetary, but nothing for my personal gain besides being able to have that domain trade in my portfolio. win/win PR move?

 

[tomcarl]

I can understand the idea but the ethics involved are still 'iffy'.

That's kind of like watching someone drop wallet, not say anything right way, only so you can pick it up and call them later about it hoping to get a reward.

You say you're protecting the name from people who have ill intentions, but that can be done by emailing the celebrity and letting them know "Hey, _____.com, is about to expire, just thought I would let you know so you have the opportunity to acquire it." -- You could also get a 'reward' that way.

I myself have acquired a dropped name that is very similar to a brand but also worked in other industries, that is when I offered the name, but never an outright/obvious trademark unless I was handing it over 100% free. If that's what you plan on doing then it may be appreciated.

Either case can be argued. But the more honest thing to do would be to contact them before you register it.

 

[lock]

Nothing wrong with fan sites selling celebrity movies or albums with amazon google and youtube, Since the celebrity themselves did nothing to do the same to date your only supporting them. However I would stay away from publishing rumors or anything negative. Make attempt at getting an endorsement from celebrity to run their fan site rather than trying to off load it to them.

 

[Grilled]

It was a spur of the moment thing, and quite ironic how it happened. I was watching the UFC fights last weekend while going over expired domains when I noticed the Headline fighter's name had became available. He put on a heck of a fight, and just because I'm a fan I'd give it to him, but part there's a part of me that thinks of this as an opportunity to do something good for a community I care about, specifically the veteran community since I am a vet myself. Possibly a visit to his local VA hospital, a training session with wounded warriors or a session with a unity about to deploy, or something as little as autographs for them.

But as you pointed out, is it best just to give it to him and hope for something in return because of the ethics involved, or because of the leverage do you try and "ethically" quid pro quo to a good cause.

 

[Domainace]

My thought process is to register it for the celebrity, then offer it to the celebrity for some charitable gain, not necessarily monetary, but nothing for my personal gain besides being able to have that domain trade in my portfolio. win/win PR move?

From your first post, it seems that you are hoping for something of value for the name (cash, memorabilia, or a charitable donation) but will settle for nothing if pushed.

Every day of their lives, celebrities are approached by people who want something from them. Many of those people start off their pitch by saying they have something to offer the celebrity.

I wouldn't expect them to be grateful. For every grateful celebrity you manage to give a name to, there will be at least 2 who will have their lawyers contact you. The rest will ignore you, as most celebrities don't spend a lot of time worrying about their domain names.

I have given away domains myself. But don't expect to be appreciated for it.

 

[Grilled]

Great idea, Lock! I only fear my immediate web development skills aren't as good as his current domain, [NickName+First+Last] that was created fall of last year. I'm assuming his sponsors have something to do with that based off of their advertisements on his site.

 

[Grilled]

Great input domainace. You raised some very valid points I hadn't considered. I left cash as on option in the event the celebrity would rather just pay cash than donate their time. When you gave your domains away in the past, did you first offer them for free or did you ask for anything in return? and did anyone ever show appreciation in any form when you gave them the domain on good faith?

 

[lock]

I bought a name made contact with no reply in meantime found that they had law suits with each another over right of ownership of their celeb brand so warning signs have just deterred me.

 

[Grilled]

Was the celebrity name trademarked?

 

[Domainace]

They don't need a trademark to claim rights to their name. A trademark is conferred by usage. The trademark application is just additional insurance in case of a claim.

I got a couple thank you's. But people who have never paid more than reg fee for a name generally don't feel the gift of a domain name is anything special.

 

[Grilled]

Duly noted. I'll be sure to update this post with the results of this domain experiment.

 

[Domainace]

Good luck.

 

[Grilled]

And don't forget to click the thank you button for people who take the time to answer. Even if you don't like the answer.

Are "Thank yous" valued more at this site than "likes"?