Oversee Buys Moniker.com!

[Ron Jackson]

http://www.dnjournal.com/lowdown.htm

 

[thebutler]

Whats up with that?

I guess the Moniker folks got an offer they couldn't refuse.

I've been switching all my domains over to Moniker. I'm obvious now wondering what the long term changes might be. Anyone have some feedback on Domainsponsor.com and what their customer service is like.

 

[Mike]

I did the exact same thing over the past year, everything that expired was moved to Moniker. One can only hope that Moniker doesn't loose it's understanding of the community and turns into "just another registrar"...

Would be nice if Monte would drop by and give us his point of view and future outlook, after all, he's a well respected NP member... :tu:

M.

 

[gingeman]

Moniker and oversee.net (snapnames) takeover

To SnapNames Customers:

We’re contacting you with an update about Oversee.net, the parent company of SnapNames. Moniker and its TrafficClub program, well-known service providers in the domain name industry, have been acquired by Oversee.net.

This will not directly affect your participation at SnapNames. However, the combination of services and capabilities by Oversee, SnapNames and Moniker bring all customers a menu of services that support needs throughout the life cycle of a domain name, including procurement, monetization and sales. Watch for more information in the coming weeks about new services available to you. (....)

Sincerely,

Sudhir Bhagwan
CEO

Interesting news!

Just got this in my inbox, how do you think this will affect moniker, and snapnames?

 

[DotWeekly]

I'm sure they paid more for Moniker then they did for SnapNames! I guess this is a good thing, as Moniker's customer service really sucked! Monte did say, there was some Big News coming in 08. I think the largest gain for Oversee in all this, is the tie in with the TRAFFIC auctions and the other auctions.... I don't know if there was a contract with that whole deal or not? It could be the second time Oversee misses out on a great auction system in place. :hehe:

 

[Sameh]

Okie great .. Now we know where 50% of the domains in the next T.R.A.F.F.I.C auction will be coming from

 

[Mark]

Thanks Duke :tu: Was it still in fact held by Kanoodle to date ?

http://www.namepros.com/industry-news/225540-kanoodle-buys-moniker-com.html?highlight=kanoodle

Only 16 months apart ... :o

I do have to say - the Whole Kanoodle thing bothered me to be honest about it. I have always Trusted Monte and appreciated the effort he has put forth for this industry - But Kanoodle .... Nah. Bad experiences there in the earlier days

 

[fleshas]

I got this mail too.. really interesting

 

[mcahn]

we are very excited about the future and the upcoming products and services that we will offer as a combined company. Yes our support of TRAFFIC continues and actually gets enhanced with the combined Snap and Moniker technologies and process. I am remain on board for years and our customer base benefits in multiple ways from monetization, to domain sales, to registrar services, to total domain asset management!

 

[fleshas]

http://oversee.net/news_details.php?id=348

Moniker Joins Oversee.net

Industry leaders create a full-service domain powerhouse providing total solutions for domain professionals

Los Angeles, CA and Pompano Beach, FL (January 3, 2008) - Oversee.net, a leading technology-driven online marketing solutions company, and Moniker®, one of the fastest-growing providers of domain name registration, domain asset management, and monetization services, announced today that Oversee has acquired Moniker. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

One of the more innovative ICANN-accredited registrars, Moniker offers products and services beyond basic registration, including name creation, registration, acquisition, portfolio management, theft protection, appraisal and escrow services, traffic monetization, live and online domain auctions and aftermarket sales. The company is well regarded by registrants and domain name industry professionals as the most secure and customer-focused registrar in the industry.

Moniker operations will remain in Pompano Beach, Florida and will continue to be led by Monte Cahn, President of Moniker. Cahn has agreed to a multi-year commitment with Oversee by continuing to run Moniker, in addition to other senior executive responsibilities within Oversee.

Oversee acquired domain name auction leader SnapNames® last June, and the company believes the addition of Moniker will give Oversee a complete array of services to cement its leadership position in the domain name secondary market. Oversee will leverage the two divisions' capabilities by adding Moniker's live auction and back-office services to SnapNames Live™ to offer the industry's most comprehensive live and silent auction services.

The first demonstration of the integration will be at DOMAINfest Global later this month, where SnapNames Live will lead and conduct the auction, with Moniker providing valuation and escrow services. More integrated services are planned, including:

* Deepening Moniker's continuing commitment to its auction partners through the use of the SnapNames Live technology in Moniker-managed auctions
* The addition of DomainSponsor as an available option in Moniker's TrafficClub monetization service
* Availability of Moniker's registrar services for SnapNames and DomainSponsor customers
* Inclusion of traffic and monetization history as data for domain name auctions
* A complete set of Domain Asset Management services that offer domain owners all the tools necessary to profitably manage their domains

Commenting on the transaction, Moniker CEO Cahn said, "Oversee's advanced technology platform and strong financial resources give us the capability to focus on further expanding our market opportunity. This is a dynamic industry, and our collaboration with SnapNames puts Oversee well ahead of any competitor. This is a tremendous opportunity for Oversee and Moniker."

"We are delighted that Monte Cahn and his team of experienced professionals are becoming part of the Oversee family," said Lawrence Ng, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Oversee. "Our primary objective, as a company, is to continue adding and developing capabilities that offer customers a greater breadth of products and services. Moniker is widely respected by industry players and has a reputation for knowledge, security, and professionalism."


About Oversee.net
Founded in 2000, Oversee.net is a technology-driven online marketing solutions company with two primary divisions--Oversee Domain Services and Oversee Marketing Services. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Portland, Oregon and San Mateo, California, the Company has over 200 employees. Some of Oversee's key brands include SnapNames®, the operator of the largest available source of expired and deleting domain names; DomainSponsor™, a global leader in domain monetization, and Low.com™, a top consumer financial services portal. Oversee has been growing profitably since inception.

Oversee was named to the Inc. 500 and ranked third in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 of Los Angeles and 18th in the nation. Oversee was also named "Internet and New Media Company of the Year" by the Technology Council of Southern California and its CEO and Co-Founder, Lawrence Ng, was named a winner of the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Greater Los Angeles program in the technology category. To learn more, please visit http://www.oversee.net.

About Moniker.com
Moniker, with headquarters in Pompano Beach, Florida, is the leading provider of Domain Asset Management™, a complete set of business services that provide companies a single-point-of-access to help manage and maximize the value of their domains. With more than a decade of experience, Moniker is a top 10 domain registrar, holds the industry's highest customer retention rate and pioneered the industry's first domain appraisal formula. It is considered the industry's premier marketplace to buy and sell premium domain names. For more information, visit http://www.moniker.com.

About SnapNames.com
Founded in 2000, SnapNames operates the largest auction of expired and deleting domain names. Partnering with the world's largest and best-known registrars and service providers, SnapNames uses its innovative, patent-pending technology to give its customers exclusive first access to the world's largest inventory of high-traffic, brandable and investment-grade domain names every day. SnapNames is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and was ranked #5 in the 2007 Fastest Growing Private 100 companies in Oregon. SnapNames is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oversee.net. For more information, visit www.snapnames.com.

 

[mcahn]

great things to come

we are very excited about the future and the upcoming products and services that we will offer as a combined company. Yes our support of TRAFFIC continues and actually gets enhanced with the combined Snap and Moniker technologies and process. I am remain on board for years and our customer base benefits in multiple ways from monetization, to domain sales, to registrar services, to total domain asset management!

 

[FreshAvails.com]

Congrats Monte! You sould take this opportunity of enhanced publicity and exposure to offer some great discount codes for Domain Registration and expand and grow your custoemr base! Enjoy and good luck!

 

[mcahn]

Moniker stays independent and our service and support actually is increasing. there will be some great programs as a result of the combined organizations...news coming.

 

[gramma]

i wonder if this will delay the publishing of the auction lists today that both are suppose to have.

I think it's a great move for both teams.

 

[DotWeekly]

Moniker stays independent and our service and support actually is increasing. there will be some great programs as a result of the combined organizations...news coming.

Any changes to your API?

 

[cpamtm]

Ds

I have approx. 350 out of 425 domains parked with DomainSponsor (OverSee.net) and believe this recent combination will only make DS stronger in the future. I believe Oversee.net has excellent customer service overall. The balance of domains in my portfolio are parked with Fab (gambling) or are developed as mini-sites. It will be interesting to see how this plays out...

 

[NameClerk]

Perhaps names registered at Moniker will now be eligable for the SnapNames Seller Program without having to transfer them to another registrar?

That would be a nice change.

-Bill

 

[TT]

With this news I am left with that sinking feeling in my gut. I have dealt with other OVERSEE companies in previous years and have moved on for obvious reasons. And after being persuaded by Chris (my account rep at Moniker) to bring over all my domains to moniker a few months ago, I thought ok I will give em a try and I deposited 2,000.00 into my moniker account and bought and transferred a few into moniker. (I have my bulk @ NC )

at this time I have 286 domains at moniker and 1200.00 currently in my account and with this news I am not a happy camper... I do not like OVERSEE for a variety of reasons, I guess only time will tell however I am tempted to pull all into NC

How many times have we all read threads about shill bidding and other complaints about SNAP and now here they are in possession of all our domains and personal and financial information. It wasnt that long ago when I believe SNAP was hacked and all critical info was being sold and used by these hackers.

http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/74156-snapnames-aargh.html

**The above is my personal opinion**

 

[GoPC]

I'm a little concerned as well... Mostly in the realm of Auctions.

TRAFFIC has worked hard to become the most successful live auction series in the Country. One might argue that the whole effort may have been to attract a buyer such as oversee that may consider TRAFFIC to be in competition with SNAP. Which it is to some degree, with SNAP now providing private auction services.

My issue is that competition is GOOD for the industry... Consolidation is NOT always so good. In the realm of domain auctions, I really REALLY don't like the idea of the two most prominent auction services under one roof. I can't really put my finger on why, but it just doesn't feel good to me.

Maybe is the potential for LACK of transparency. Maybe it's the potential for these services to be working in tandem to present an opposing marketplace which will artificially inflate prices and result in destabilizing this industry. Maybe it's because it really looks on the surface like the players with all the control are continuing to find ways to manipulate the market space to eliminate the private players by filtering the opportunities to the common man.

At any angle, this seems to be good news for the whales and sharks but bad news for the fish.

JMHO and nothing more.

GoPC

 

[MyNet-Tony]

I am definitely concerned as I am in the process of moving over my portfolio to Moniker as my names come up for renewal. Enom started going down hill after they were acquired, eventually leading to me finally deciding to move to Moniker. Hopefully the pricing and staff stay intact or get better.