news Sellers Can't Sell Coronavirus Domain Names on Dan.com

[EJS]

In a pair of tweets this morning, Dan.com announced that sellers can no longer list or sell coronavirus related domain names on its platform. The company is also actively removing related domain names. CEO Reza Sardeha commented to me about the decision:

https://domaininvesting.com/dan-com-prohibits-coronavirus-domain-names/

 

[Dohmain]

Hypocritical of Dan.com, NameCheap, and posters on here to not also think that the same principle should be applied to all kinds of domains related to disease, illnesses, and various scams. Same goes for gambling for example, and racist terms.

I wonder if any posters ITT have any dubious domains like that?

For example FolioTeam called this "Good news" above but has hashdrugs.com in his/her portfolio. A narcotics-related domain is hardly ethical. Shouldn't they be banned from being sold as well?

Good move by saying no to money from exploiting this epidemic.

And you've sold a domain called SlutCity.com. Shouldn't misogynistic slurs be banned from trading as well? Pornography also often furthers the sexual exploitation of women.

These moves are just PR. The companies don't actually care.
Same goes for most of the posters.

 

[eyedomainous]

"Starting from today, we will be removing all Corona Virus related domains from http://DAN.COM .
We're seeing astronomical high prices being asked for these domains and find that unethical and unacceptable. We strongly encourage DAN sellers that own a Corona Virus oriented domain to donate the domain to a charity, government agency or non-profit organization that's involved in battling the virus and misinformation about it."​

While I support the decision by DAN, and others, as a good, timely, industry PR move. It also must be said that many charities are hampered, and complain, that the astronomical high prices the domain market puts on short, 3 and 4 letter, domains essentially eliminates them from the top acronym markets.

But nobody is suggesting 'DAN' donate their domain to the Disability Advocacy Network, or a non-profit battling a illness like Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy... because we believe in the 'free market' when it comes to year-round epidemics like diabetes and disabilities. Not so much, when the spotlight is on a flash-in-the-pan emergent epidemic like COVID. Human nature, perhaps.

Personally, I don't own, and would not buy, any COVID or Coronavirus related domains... partly because of my ethics and partly because I don't see a long-term market... so I am not impacted by the decision(s).
The 'DAN' v COVID irony hit me... as a 'free market' supporter... when it comes to domain names.

 

[karmaco]

I don’t care one way or the other because I did not register covid or corona names. To me, it looks like putting on a holier than thou front and total hypocrisy for any registrar/platform that does this while being ok about listing, registering and selling countless other harmful, disgusting, illegal, disturbed names. We have all seen them.

 

[equity78]

Another thing is there is a lot of virtue signaling going on, Cadillac is running commercials telling me they have my back, I can't go outside so I can't buy a Cadillac, I yell at the tv screen donate $1million to a food bank, stop virtue signaling.

 

[Bernard Wright]

Honest question:

If someone were to want to create a website to provide a service that would help inform the public about the virus, or similar ...like help source PPEs for hospitals... how are the site developers supposed to acquire the name if the seller has no means to sell it?

Are we not just assuming a zero sum game where the domainer is exploiting a crisis and all other parties (including those who would visit the site once it were developed) stand only to lose from the transaction?

 

[bulkdomainz]

I didn't register corona names during when it first started but I did later.

Day before yesterday, I had an offer of £150 for *pariah corona name.ccltd* which I counter-offered with a much higher amount and invited the bidder to negotiate. (2 prior offers on 'pariah names', £100 and £400.)

Bidder angry. The word 'profiteer' and 'disgusting' were introduced instead of a counter-offer. I was told I was an enemy of the state. I advised the first two were not good words to use in business negotiations. He gave me a nice lecture on what I should do with the domain. I thanked him for his advice.

Later in the day, I popped into DAN only to find my 'pariah names' all gone. So I was thinking....... all sorts. Let's leave that for now!

WHY was DAN making an announcement on Twitter instead of sending email to their customers that they would be removing all 'pariah names'? (I am only hearing about that tweet now). They also did not send any emails to say they had deleted certain names, like you get when you delete names from your folio.

Not emailing your customers about your planned actions and final action (like other marketplaces do when they remove a name) mean that visitors arrive at a 'DOMAIN DELETED' landing page.

Shame on you @DAN.COM for treating your customers in this awful and arrogant manner.

Maybe the way you did it is the new definition of great customer service.

I gave myself the pleasure of removing some 170 names from them to another marketplace that treats customers better. I still have 19 DOT app names with Dan. Maybe one of these days, I will log in to find them all deleted.

When is anybody gonna accuse the big boys that own the main 'pariah name' dot com for having a selling price for it.

Eni à lè mú là n l'èdí mó! Shiooor!

WTF!

 

[Save Breach]

Why do we even care, cause its no more than a publicity stunt?
Epik still got you covered tho...

 

[jamie white]

Hypocritical of Dan.com, NameCheap, and posters on here to not also think that the same principle should be applied to all kinds of domains related to disease, illnesses, and various scams. Same goes for gambling for example, and racist terms.

I wonder if any posters ITT have any dubious domains like that?

For example FolioTeam called this "Good news" above but has hashdrugs.com in his/her portfolio. A narcotics-related domain is hardly ethical. Shouldn't they be banned from being sold as well?



And you've sold a domain called SlutCity.com. Shouldn't misogynistic slurs be banned from trading as well? Pornography also often furthers the sexual exploitation of women.

These moves are just PR. The companies don't actually care.
Same goes for most of the posters.

This^^^^ is truth. All of a sudden i see domains saying they agree. I think most agree because someone else beat them to that idea. Your all lying your asses off if you sit there and tell me that you wouldn't sell a domain related to Corona Virus or any other virus for 10K. I would sell the hell out of it. And @Dohmain is 100% right. You got all these Drug and sex related domains based on products that has been destroying peoples lives for a whole lot longer than any other product/Virus related domain. Stop It......

 

[Samer]

Grandstanding at its finest.

Samer

 

[Bernard Wright]

I really hope someone will explain why this move is a good thing. If anything, I see it as a negative one.

The argument can be made that domain investing is purely rent seeking. Ask yourself, what value do domain investors provide? Some of us have asked that question, and have come up with answers.

Now ask yourself, do those answers hold up with respect to strong Corona names? I think the answer, to some, might be "yes".

So, assuming it is a "yes", then I see DAN's move as a statement to the broader public that the answer is actually "No, domain investors do not provide value". And that being the case, it's a bit odd, since their business is to facilitate domain transactions.

How are Corona domains not adding value to the market? Maybe someone was going to sell CoronaFacts.com for $1,000 but the buyer couldn't buy it through DAN, so he had to settle for CoronaFacts101.com ...and now nobody wins. The website is very informative. The public would have been able to remember CoronaFacts.com but with the 101 after it, they forget the domain, or they think it sounds cheap, and a value is lost.

And to make things worse, all the URL type-ins now go to some CPC lander instead of the informative website that could have saved lives.

Someone tell me why I'm wrong. I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[NickB]

Another thing is there is a lot of virtue signaling going on, Cadillac is running commercials telling me they have my back, I can't go outside so I can't buy a Cadillac, I yell at the tv screen donate $1million to a food bank, stop virtue signaling.

here in the UK I have been getting lot's of emails (same for everyone who provided an email address to these companies) from CEO's explaining what they doing to help their customers, some from Supermarkets are on point and needed due to food delivery concerns. The ones from fashion retailers though gave me pause for thought....didn't realise there was a name for it until now....

 

[lovely4ever]

Soon when any medical company or lab discovered the final cure medicine for corona virus , unfortunately they are going to sell the medicine against money ( profit ) and make billions , nothing will be free , nothing will be charitable , nothing about humanity , and nobody will accuse them for being immoral or against ethics etc ,, like they accuse corana damainers !
So finally seems all about business and profit !


.

 

[Kingslayer]

Good decicion, many industries and companies have been criticized/shamed from trying to profit from this global pandemic, domain investors should be no different and i hope all other domain marketplaces (Sedo/GoDaddy/Fippa etc) follows suit.

 

[hawkeye]

This was even was noted on the NBCNews Blog -
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...-stimulus-n1169196/ncrd1169386#liveBlogHeader

 

[lock]

We have had this discussion years ago about what should be banned and the conclusion was where would you start and stop it should be up to the owner to take any backlash not marketplaces.

 

[equity78]

Ok, what value do domain investors provide when it comes to registering coronavirus related names? The public does not need CoronaFacts.com the beer company might come a calling for this name via UDRP if it's ever parked and shows ads for their product, but either way CDC.gov WHO.int Coronavirus.com cover what the public "NEEDS" There is not a need for 1,000 different sites giving different and conflicting information.

And we can try to backdoor all these, (oh what if the domainer does good) but no one listing on DAN was looking to make a charitable act.

Whether DAN should have done that? That's their call, it can be a slippery slope.

 

[Bernard Wright]

they are going to do what they are going to do, same as I am.

Some companies are saying we don't want this business, you can go to our competition and give it to them.

For many years Afternic had a morality clause, (not sure if it still exists) But there was no porn or gambling allowed for example, Sedo got that business.

Free market at work.

High five to that. I think we're pretty much on the same page, actually. I'm all for free market capitalism. I don't like people asserting their will on others in the marketplace, limiting others' freedoms to act ...act in a way that might have a beneficial outcome. That's all.

Bowing out. My respect the time and level-headed discussion.

 

[NickB]

1) that may be different for domain and for each domain investor

2) since when is that a criterium to list a domain on a resellers platform?

3) they argue that most names have ridiculous prices
- they could have forced those names to "Make Offer" only instead of banning

4) they are benefitting as a company by that move which was announced publically
- who is now the beneficiary of the corona virus?

Point 3 is interesting......so if the prices had been reasonable or at make offer they would of let it slide? Probably so........

Just looks like they have jumped on the bandwagon.....

 

[Reddstagg]

Good morning to all.

I can honestly say that I can see the argument from both sides of the coin. I was angry before when people started registering these domains and chose not to register any myself.

We, as humans are on this planet to live, survive and provide for our families in any way that we can. However we can. We live in a society that judges each other. It is a dog eat dog world.

We live day to day where most of us need money for whatever reason. I don't really know you and you don't really know me.

Now I have calmed down a little I can see that there are too many parameters at play to just say that the names are for good or bad.

If we start down this path where will it end. Who will be judge, jury and executioner for the domain investing industry.

I chose not to register any specifically related names as initially I took the moral high ground. Then after being in Spain between the 8th to 15th March I saw a great country crumble in less than a week. Thousands of people dying and billions of euro lost almost overnight.

I am home now, but my attitude has changed. There is a saying which strikes a chord with me...'Fiat justitia et pereat mundos'. Basically, it means let justice prevail though the world perishes.

What struck me most was how the world continued around me although I was seemingly living through hell on earth.

If you were particularly religious you could say...'Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:'

I now know more than ever that I have to do whatever is necessary to provide for my loved ones. I will still use my morality as a guide but I will not be as quick to judge others.

People were probably more afraid than they have ever been and they made decisions that they might not ordinarily make but it is not our place to judge.

Now, get out of my glass house and pass me that stone for casting.


I have registered the following and wish to forward it to an appropriate authority for the purposes of good and don't know how to do so and I'd be grateful if someone could tell me.

www. Stayingathome.works

Thank you all and continue to be safe.

Regards,

Reddstagg

 

[Dohmain]

Good news.

Another great example here.

The poster has sold domains in the past like these:

Vodka.vin
Slots.vin
Jackpot.vin
Lottery.vin
MARIJUANASHOOT.COM​

According to the WHO: 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol, this represent 5.3 % of all global deaths.

It's very interesting to see multiple posters saying that banning the sales of pandemic-related domains is good, while they are profiting off things that already kill millions of people every year.

Also: "The North American Foundation for Gambling Addiction Help reports that approximately 2.6% of the U.S. population has some type of gambling issue. That adds up to nearly 10 million people in the United States who struggle with a gambling habit."

 

[frank-germany]

why is there a fuss about domain names that aren't worth anything:

GoDaddy the owner of coronavirus.com ( as far as I understood .. )
values his domain name only at about $3K USD

so "greed" maybe not the right term

and even the more trustworthy estibot tool,
-though they claim its a great extension and highly searched for-
show a similar price tag

- so it must be true
and we all can calm down...

 

[Corey]

I think you should ask them how much they want for the name. Definitely not $3,000.

Anyway, it was just plain evil not to notify customers, and allow visitors to arrive at a 'Domain deleted' page.

I agree!

 

[BrandPlease]

evil is a rather strong word to use for a company that felt a moral obligation do the right thing, in this case. If the names are so popular what need Dan? Just list it on you own page and take the hundreds of incoming offers? Thats what seems to be implied, or am I missing something? P.S. I'm no fan of Dan in general - so not a "picking sides" thing.

 

[bulkdomainz]

(at your comment on my using the word 'evil')

I don't know how many corona-related names were on Dan but if the number warranted them broadcasting on Twitter, the proper thing to do was to let their customers know. They were telling the world how 'moral' they were, but forgot customer service. They didn't owe their customers a direct notification before deletion or/and after deletion?

When you deliberately point your customers' potential customers to a dead end, without warning, that qualifies as evil. It shows their intention was sabotage.

I can just see how launching an offense against a thousand 'worthless corona domains' stops the plague, the wars, the famines, the murders, the rapes, the human trafficking and all the other immoral things in the world. It surely will also stop climate change.

God help us if a test kit seller/ manufacturer wanted to buy a 'covid19testkits' domain so they can sell their kits. The anti-corona gang will take to Twitter to broadcast their position that selling/buying the domain from a domainer for purposes other than corona-info or selling the kits at a profit constitutes an immoral act. (This paragraph is not directed at DAN, just at anyone who makes it their business to intimidate registrants of corona domains)

Organisations are inventing covid-19 products, test kits, protective equipment, ventilators, vaccines, cures etc. Some are seeing a spike in the sales of their products.
That's all fine and moral; only domainers are not allowed to make one cent. Registrars and the 'big boys' are exempted, of course!

I stated in my post I had 3 OFFERS. There was some traffic. I don't have a problem landing my own corona names, I just chose to use a platform.

evil is a rather strong word to use for a company that felt a moral obligation do the right thing, in this case. If the names are so popular what need Dan? Just list it on you own page and take the hundreds of incoming offers? Thats what seems to be implied, or am I missing something? P.S. I'm no fan of Dan in general - so not a "picking sides" thing.