Greedy Celeb Enduser.. help

[telking]

Ok Here's the deal.. I have a .com of a well known celeb/artist. Lets call them mr. X. I got a call several weeks ago from the celeb asking me to continue to run the site. I was very pleased he liked my work! Mr.X says he wants to buy the name rights while I continue to run it. Anxiously awaiting an offer, I get lowballed. Mid $XXX. I bet he makes that in 5 minutes..

Sadness.

I feel Im between a rock and a hard place, as I don't know what to do, since it he is the ultimate end user.. I feel I can only get what he is willing to pay to avoid problems. GRRRRR!~!~!!!!!!!!

I am still running the site which takes lots of work..
any tips?

 

[banners]

make sure you save all correspondence incase something happens later.

Something is also shady about him wanting to buy the RIGHTS or whatever & have you keep running it. If he buys the rights in theory he can yank the name at any time as I see it.

Perhaps you would need a contract or something. I mean does he plan on paying you to keep running it or whatever?

While I would not recommend trying to squeeze for too much $$. For example lets say you have BradPitt.com He could probably easily yank this name from you.

Sadly lawyers are so expensive.

I think that this would cost more in legal fees than it is worth.

 

[telking]

make sure you save all correspondence incase something happens later.

Something is also shady about him wanting to buy the RIGHTS or whatever & have you keep running it. If he buys the rights in theory he can yank the name at any time as I see it.

Perhaps you would need a contract or something. I mean does he plan on paying you to keep running it or whatever?

While I would not recommend trying to squeeze for too much $$. For example lets say you have BradPitt.com He could probably easily yank this name from you.

Sadly lawyers are so expensive.

I think that this would cost more in legal fees than it is worth.

Yeah if it wasnt a name issue I would totally keep it.. kind of stuck. Im going to see if I can work out a contract. Thanks. Was kind of weird talking to someone you just watched on national tv the night before lol

 

[mosilager]

As I see it, you have two options:

1) Run with the money while you can, after all, if the case was taken to court, you'd probably lose since he owns the celebrity right to that domain name....

2) Work out a contract, sell the domain to them, and work for him/her and get paid....

hope it works out for you. Let us know the name of the domain when everything is settled!. :tu:

 

[Michelle]

Maybe I am the only one here thats sees you are trying to take advantage of the use of a stars name ???

Not sure what he/she motives are but all I can see is You trying to milk money from a stars name????

If you are making money for nothing out of someone else why are you crying

You called this thread -greedy-celeb-enduser-help.
I would say greedy domainer

 

[telking]

Maybe I am the only one here thats sees you are trying to take advantage of the use of a stars name ???

Not sure what he/she motives are but all I can see is You trying to milk money from a stars name????

If you are making money for nothing out of someone else why are you crying

You called this thread -greedy-celeb-enduser-help.
I would say greedy domainer

Greedy DOmainer.. lol thats rich..
Sorry but a $600 payday for the time and money spent on the domain, hosting, and portal are a drop in the hat. I know sweatshops that make more..
F-it. im going to park it on sedo. he can sue me.

 

[notlikeyou]

Maybe I am the only one here thats sees you are trying to take advantage of the use of a stars name ???

Not sure what he/she motives are but all I can see is You trying to milk money from a stars name????

If you are making money for nothing out of someone else why are you crying

You called this thread -greedy-celeb-enduser-help.
I would say greedy domainer

I would agree with Mellowmasher.

But since you are to this point I wouold work out a contract with Mr X, where you will sell him the name for the offered price & continue to run the site for him for a monthly fee. But I would not attempt to get greedy as at a moments notice I'm sure any litigation would be found in his favor.

best of luck with the outcome

 

[Rich]

Yeah I would ask him to clarify rights, weather it's just the name or rights to all income. I would go ahead and take the XXX deal and ask for a small monthly fee be paid for hosting and time spent on project. And tread lightly while playing with fire, good luck

 

[Michelle]

Greedy DOmainer.. lol thats rich..
Sorry but a $600 payday for the time and money spent on the domain, hosting, and portal are a drop in the hat. I know sweatshops that make more..
F-it. im going to park it on sedo. he can sue me.

Sorry no offence meant but yes... you appear just a greedy domainer

 

[Tippy]

Are you sure its really the star calling you, how do you know, could be some joe trying to get the name cheap and then unplug your site.

I own an adult stars .com, Im hopping she calls me up

 

[Michelle]

Greedy DOmainer.. lol thats rich..
Sorry but a $600 payday for the time and money spent on the domain, hosting, and portal are a drop in the hat. I know sweatshops that make more..
F-it. im going to park it on sedo. he can sue me.

OMG $600 for a name thats NOT YOURS ... YOU ARE TRADING ON.. YOU ARE WILLING FOR HIM TO SUE YOU Sorry but unbelievable

 

[jdenwar]

Greedy DOmainer.. lol thats rich..
Sorry but a $600 payday for the time and money spent on the domain, hosting, and portal are a drop in the hat. I know sweatshops that make more..
F-it. im going to park it on sedo. he can sue me.

LOL... $600

go on for sweatshops ......

He can just sue you and take your domain for free.......

Something is better than nothing...

Good Luck!

 

[paviod]

It already seems as if you are using the domain in "Bad Faith" as WIPO would define it. And if this celebrity decides to move forward and bring you to WIPO, it seems as if he would win and you could be fined up to $250k + lose the domain. Check to see if he has a trademark against his name at the time of filing but either way you've already admitted to using the domain in reference to the celebrity so you would def lose. Take the money and run.

 

[klrsmith]

This is a tough one...

On one hand, they probably didn't become famous overnight - if they were dim enough not to reg their own name.com then having it sold to them for say $1499 should seem like a steal, and that price is $1 cheaper than it will cost them to file a lengthy, boring UDRP... yeah you would most likely lose the name but if they get nasty about it, you could point that domain to a porn site while the UDRP is in process...

On the other hand... ah nevermind, I'd go for the $1499...you know the hollyweird types... they've probably got at least $1499 worth of loose change in their couch.

 

[Ross]

Are you sure its really the star calling you, how do you know, could be some joe trying to get the name cheap and then unplug your site.

I own an adult stars .com, Im hopping she calls me up

This was my thought while reading through the thread. Don't do anything with a contract ect. without verifying that the star is the one contacting you. More often than not a star will not make these types of calls. That is the job of the agent or lawyer. Sorry to say but it seems like a scam IMO.

 

[JagG]

Greedy DOmainer.. lol thats rich..
F-it. im going to park it on sedo. he can sue me.

Good Luck

 

[telking]

Good Luck

Got a call back. Just told them i'd like $1200 for my efforts. Was no problem at all.

 

[JagG]

Well done...Just do a contract or something just to cover your own ass :hehe:

 

[BitcoinDK]

Maybe I am the only one here thats sees you are trying to take advantage of the use of a stars name ???

Not sure what he/she motives are but all I can see is You trying to milk money from a stars name????

If you are making money for nothing out of someone else why are you crying

You called this thread -greedy-celeb-enduser-help.
I would say greedy domainer

I would agree with Mellowmasher.

But since you are to this point I wouold work out a contract with Mr X, where you will sell him the name for the offered price & continue to run the site for him for a monthly fee. But I would not attempt to get greedy as at a moments notice I'm sure any litigation would be found in his favor.

best of luck with the outcome

I agree totally with Mellowmasher and Notlikeyou.

YOU take adventage of another persons name and then cry about HIM when HE offers you money even though HE DONT NEED TO offer you squat (he just could take the domain name from you if he wanted).

AND YOU cry about a greedy celeb!??? DO not take this personally but lol what is the matter with you.

I really do not like when domainers violates TM's, it gives all of us a bad reputition.

Good Luck

Got a call back. Just told them i'd like $1200 for my efforts. Was no problem at all.

And he even agreed to pay you that for it, you should kiss his ass instead of talking bad of him.

I don't even want to wish you good luck. I hope this is a scam, like the scam you try to do to this celeb. Break a leg or what ever they say in the entertainment business.

 

[bmugford]

I am not defending the poster's attitude.

I agree with what you are saying in general, that it is wrong to use a famous person's name then call then greedy.

But, being able to take the domain in a dispute is no slam dunk. It comes down to usage. Since the domain is not listed here there is no way to tell the actual use of it.

Look at the case of SkipKendall.com (golfer) if you want to see a dispute that a well known person lost.

If you are just running a fan site with no monetization, it can be very hard to prove "bad faith".

Brad

YOU take adventage of another persons name and then cry about HIM when HE offers you money even though HE DONT NEED TO offer you squat (he just could take the domain name from you if he wanted).

AND YOU cry about a greedy celeb!??? DO not take this personally but lol what is the matter with you.

I really do not like when domainers violates TM's, it gives all of us a bad reputition.

 

[wussadotcom]

LOL... $600

go on for sweatshops ......

He can just sue you and take your domain for free.......

Something is better than nothing...

Good Luck!

Not free. Lawyers cost money. OP is playing with fire imho. If he can convince the celeb to pay a bit more by explaining about all the hardship and effort he went through then maybe he can get around the lawyer fess.
$1.2K is ok.

 

[Jasonn]

Are you sure its really the star calling you, how do you know, could be some joe trying to get the name cheap and then unplug your site.

I own an adult stars .com, Im hopping she calls me up

I had a porn star call me up because i had picked up a domain her buddy had in the past. she was asking what studios i work for, etc. She said that we should work together on something but since i have no adult connections, it seemed pointless. too bad she didn't live closer, i would have went along with it.

as for the original post. you say the star is greedy which is fine. whenever i get a wealthy end user lowballing me, i think the same thing. however the only reason this name has value is because what the star has done. and while you might have made a fan site to make some money, he probably thought you did it soley because you were a fan and not interested in compensation.

 

[xfactor]

I have to support telking here. First. exactly when does a "star" name get an auto TM? when they are in a high school play? college drama? independant film? local bar band? point i am trying to make ANYONE who has aspirations on becoming a celebrity should take $7 and register their said name. Companies do it al the time well before they are a house known name company. and if either one doesnt register the.com they ,in my opinion, is thier misdoings and they are or should be required to purchase the domain at a reasonable value. Greedy? hmm who in domains or in the world isn't somewhat? or are people just domaining for the fun of it? on celebs also where do you draw the line? their kids get an auto free pass? their cousins? friends? etc?on and on. i own elizabethmontana.com, joes daughter. is she a star?nope,is joe yea so whats the verdict their? in my opinion i was crafty and swift enought to stake a claim to a potential future star. Last time i checked i thought free enterprise was alive a well.if i bunt and make it to first don't call me out because you screwed up and threw an offspeed pitch. Personally i manage over 500 webpages, 95% stars,some domain named. I don't see anything wrong with it. I am providing them with free publicity. As long as i am not posting terrible things,false accusations,and unproven gossip, i am providingthem with more exposure and the majority i don't think even care. If they do thy should have to pay a fair and decent price. You have to remmber most stars drop $5k in an hour to get thier eyebrows trimmed.As far as monetizing, hmm adsense dribbles me a few pennies each day,yahooy, i dont consider that monetization. Don't set yourself up so high on the totem pole to judge others. I am sure each and every one of your domains you all are trying to take advantage of some type of monetization...bluecouches.com..unless you invented blue couches or sell them then you are monetizing couches(not the best example but am sure you catch my drift). Also, in my opinion if TMs are so OMG the why do registrars continue to register them and resell them? to me domaining is about finding the best name,term ,word and getting their first. if i am wrong then maybe i am wrong but just how i see it

 

[Ross]

A stars name essentially becomes a "brand". More often than not those names are not their actual names but their "stage" names. This solidifies it being a brand more than anything. PERFECT example "Hannah Montana", not a real person but in fact is a made up person that reflects on a real life actress/singer.

I have to support telking here. First. exactly when does a "star" name get an auto TM? when they are in a high school play? college drama? independant film? local bar band? point i am trying to make ANYONE who has aspirations on becoming a celebrity should take $7 and register their said name. Companies do it al the time well before they are a house known name company. and if either one doesnt register the.com they ,in my opinion, is thier misdoings and they are or should be required to purchase the domain at a reasonable value. Greedy? hmm who in domains or in the world isn't somewhat? or are people just domaining for the fun of it? on celebs also where do you draw the line? their kids get an auto free pass? their cousins? friends? etc?on and on. i own elizabethmontana.com, joes daughter. is she a star?nope,is joe yea so whats the verdict their? in my opinion i was crafty and swift enought to stake a claim to a potential future star. Last time i checked i thought free enterprise was alive a well.if i bunt and make it to first don't call me out because you screwed up and threw an offspeed pitch. Personally i manage over 500 webpages, 95% stars,some domain named. I don't see anything wrong with it. I am providing them with free publicity. As long as i am not posting terrible things,false accusations,and unproven gossip, i am providingthem with more exposure and the majority i don't think even care. If they do thy should have to pay a fair and decent price. You have to remmber most stars drop $5k in an hour to get thier eyebrows trimmed.As far as monetizing, hmm adsense dribbles me a few pennies each day,yahooy, i dont consider that monetization. Don't set yourself up so high on the totem pole to judge others. I am sure each and every one of your domains you all are trying to take advantage of some type of monetization...bluecouches.com..unless you invented blue couches or sell them then you are monetizing couches(not the best example but am sure you catch my drift). Also, in my opinion if TMs are so OMG the why do registrars continue to register them and resell them? to me domaining is about finding the best name,term ,word and getting their first. if i am wrong then maybe i am wrong but just how i see it

 

[notlikeyou]

I have to support telking here. First. exactly when does a "star" name get an auto TM? when they are in a high school play? college drama? independant film? local bar band? point i am trying to make ANYONE who has aspirations on becoming a celebrity should take $7 and register their said name

If what you say is true then why do actors/stars/bands/ who file suits against others that have registered their name continually win the domain?

Companies do it al the time well before they are a house known name company. and if either one doesnt register the.com they ,in my opinion, is thier misdoings and they are or should be required to purchase the domain at a reasonable value.

A reasonable value would be $7, as that is what it costs to register a domain.

Greedy? hmm who in domains or in the world isn't somewhat? or are people just domaining for the fun of it? on celebs also where do you draw the line? their kids get an auto free pass? their cousins? friends? etc?on and on.

It's not a requirement for a star to register their own name, it's not that common that people outside the domaining realm think, oh gosh I might have a hit single someday so I should run out & register my name so someone won't get it before me & slap some adsense to make money off my hard work

i own elizabethmontana.com, joes daughter. is she a star?nope,is joe yea so whats the verdict their? in my opinion i was crafty and swift enought to stake a claim to a potential future star.

For the purpose of extorting cash from her when or if she does become the next huge star?

Last time i checked i thought free enterprise was alive a well.

Free enterprise is alive & well it's more of a question whether you want to make money via your own hard work or by treading on the backs of others. If it's on the backs of other fully expect that one day said star made want that domain & can rightfully file a claim & take it from you.

if i bunt and make it to first don't call me out because you screwed up and threw an offspeed pitch.

I only throw heaters

Personally i manage over 500 webpages, 95% stars,some domain named. I don't see anything wrong with it. I am providing them with free publicity. As long as i am not posting terrible things,false accusations,and unproven gossip, i am providingthem with more exposure and the majority i don't think even care. If they do thy should have to pay a fair and decent price.

I don't think they asked you to be their press agent. And yes some don't care.

You have to remmber most stars drop $5k in an hour to get thier eyebrows trimmed.As far as monetizing, hmm adsense dribbles me a few pennies each day,yahooy, i dont consider that monetization.

Just because they make more money does not give anyone the right to unfairly use their career to profit. If you make a penny, even one penny it's monetization.

Don't set yourself up so high on the totem pole to judge others.

I don't judge anyone, the courts do that for us. I DO have an opinion (as well as you) which I like to voice from time to time.

I am sure each and every one of your domains you all are trying to take advantage of some type of monetization

But again on the merits of another person

Also, in my opinion if TMs are so OMG the why do registrars continue to register them and resell them? to me domaining is about finding the best name,term ,word and getting their first. if i am wrong then maybe i am wrong but just how i see it

Registrars are not meant to police the actions of individuals, plus they are in a business to make money, with the sheer volume of registrations that happen on a daily basis it would be near impossible to monitor everyone. Who's to say that you are a true fan of the star & do want to develop a "Fan Site" which would not involve monetization.