advice Total beginner - Advice please

[Squidman]

Ok, on a whim I just bought:

kendricklamar.us
charleskoch.us
larryellison.us
zuckerberg.us
randpaul.us
marcorubio.us

I know .US are not popular but this cost less than $5 for the lot.
My questions: is it legal to own person name domains like these? Any chance of getting sued instead of paid if I approach the PR of these people? If these are OK to own what do you think they could be worth? Under no illusion that I will strike it rich but tiny outlay - so worth the gamble. Thanks.

 

[wayne wooldridge]

These people are rich enough to own the .com version of these, if they wished. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for their offer and I certainly wouldn't waist time in trying to contact them IMO

 

[Nem0]

Welcome!

Now I will be blunt...

Your domains that you bought are crap.
I can just about 100% guarantee that 99.9% of your other names are no good. Nearly every new domainer buys garbage at first. And if they are new and rich, then they bought good domains but they overpaid for them. My advice to you:

Dont buy anything for 6 months.

Just read for 6 months.

Just research for 6 months.

Your wallet will thank you in 6 months.

 

[Squidman]

Welcome!

Now I will be blunt...

Your domains that you bought are crap.
I can just about 100% guarantee that 99.9% of your other names are no good. Nearly every new domainer buys garbage at first. And if they are new and rich, then they bought good domains but they overpaid for them. My advice to you:

Dont buy anything for 6 months.

Just read for 6 months.

Just research for 6 months.

Your wallet will thank you in 6 months.

Relax, like I said, I paid less than $5 total for all of those. I have no other names. A lot of assumption there. Can you or someone else answer the actual question? Is it legal to own and approach celebrities, politicians with domains like these? Can they sue?

 

[wayne wooldridge]

I would assume that registering a celebrities name for anything other than a non profit fan-site would surely be a good way to get a udrp. By trying to profit off of a celebrities name, you are using it in bad faith, and risk a lot more than its worth.

You should delete them, or build fan sites maybe(if that's your thing).

You're first mistake was outlined in your op intro:
" OK, on a whim I bought:"
We all probably started out doing this!

By the way, welcome to namepros!

 

[Squidman]

Thanks. don't know about a fan site for Charles Koch! It is easy to have a whim for 88c a domain name. I will just sit on them and do nothing.

 

[ecalc]

Is it legal to own and approach celebrities, politicians with domains like these?

Under certain conditions it's illegal. The American law known as The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d), establishes a cause of action for registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name confusingly similar to, or dilutive of, a trademark or personal name. 15 U.S.C. § 8131 - Cyberpiracy protections for individuals is also instructive.

Can they sue?

Yes, with a vengeance.

If these are OK to own what do you think they could be worth?

They're worth their weight in gold. Unfortunately they don't weigh anything. If you need more free legal advice, try the Namepros Legal section where real lawyers lurk. Or call William Wolf "Bill" Handel at KFI radio on Saturdays between 6 and 11 a.m PST.

 

[Kate]

When a name is still unregistered in 2016 it's usually for a reason.
.us is not exactly a popular TLD.
Look at what sells, then you'll understand what to buy.
Sure, those people 'could' pay you. Will they ? They could as well sue you and file for monetary damages. Nobody wants to pay ransom to a 'domain squatter'. In UDRP parlance your multiple registrations would usually qualify as a 'pattern of bad faith'.
As said above, if you are in the mood for developing fan sites/parody sites go for it. Just don't expect to make money easily on those regs. They can potentially cause you trouble.
PS: read more about UDRP.
To cut to the chase, there are better domains to invest in.

 

[VaibhavA]

Hello,

Welcome to namepros.

Bro start looking at namebio.com for daily sales. You will get a good idea bt whats selling.

Happy domaining.

 

[baseballworld]

Just read the forums and do some research on your names and what to buy and what not to. That way you don't feel like your being burned at the stake here.

 

[frank-germany]

even a good .us name maybe a bad .us name

 

[xaster]

Like a number of people have said, the domains that you have bought are poor.

But, take this as a lesson learnt. Do your research and learn about the domain industry and what sells. Maybe check out some Domain Sherpa videos.

Also, reach out to experienced domainers and ask questions. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me on Skype: oydomains

Thanks

David

 

[Jiov Gialo]

Why are you guys being mean? He bought good domains. I would've bought those myself. I haven't bought any domains myself, but am planning on getting the following:

FreePinkWatches.com
FireSafeHouses.com
FreeRedCrackpots.com
FreeWhistleKites.com
Puppies4Sale.com

Don't listen to these guys Squidman! You can do it! They just wanna keep us down so that they can keep making profit and confusing us noobies so that we don't take their end users away. Their greed will be their downfall lol

 

[Ang]

To all newbies, this forum is full of information to help you on your domaining journey, please don't choose to ignore it.

You have the option to learn from others mistakes and regrets, harness the opportunity.

We are not trying to "burn you at the stake" we are providing opinions and advice which is what you were seeking when you chose to post.

Although the opinions are not what you want to hear their validity does not change. Take the criticism, learn from it, research, evaluate and grow from it.

 

[Jv1999]

Why are you guys being mean? He bought good domains. I would've bought those myself. I haven't bought any domains myself, but am planning on getting the following:

FreePinkWatches.com
FireSafeHouses.com
FreeRedCrackpots.com
FreeWhistleKites.com
Puppies4Sale.com

Don't listen to these guys Squidman! You can do it! They just wanna keep us down so that they can keep making profit and confusing us noobies so that we don't take their end users away. Their greed will be their downfall lol

In any other industry, I'd probably agree with you. But #1, those domains really aren't great, and tbh some of them look TM.

With domaining, people are nice in general on NP... but also they help because it helps them. With domaining, as the industry grows and more domainers join the frontlines, the higher the domain prices get. So it helps everyone when noobs get educated.

lol I just realized that you have first and last names in your domain. I'm not too sure if that's TM, but it's getting close to it. For example, reg'ing Smith.com is fine because it's generic... but if you reg AbdalinaSmith.com and you're not her, I'm not so sure it's so generic anymore...

Also, .us sucks. Some PRIME keywords are sellable, like Shop.us or whatever, but just stay away from .us and stay @ .com until you get better at domaining then move on to other extensions where you see trends or you find an educated lead that tells you a niche is profitable in that extension.

GOodl uck u 2

 

[wayne wooldridge]

Why are you guys being mean? He bought good domains. I would've bought those myself. I haven't bought any domains myself, but am planning on getting the following:

FreePinkWatches.com
FireSafeHouses.com
FreeRedCrackpots.com
FreeWhistleKites.com
Puppies4Sale.com

Don't listen to these guys Squidman! You can do it! They just wanna keep us down so that they can keep making profit and confusing us noobies so that we don't take their end users away. Their greed will be their downfall lol

I'm almost sure this guy is not serious

 

[Pierre Barnard]

^^Agreed

 

[Kate]

Don't listen to these guys Squidman! You can do it! They just wanna keep us down so that they can keep making profit and confusing us noobies so that we don't take their end users away. Their greed will be their downfall lol

With this kind of mindset you are not going to sell domains. But you will lose as much money as your wallet can afford...

I'm almost sure this guy is not serious

I think he is, judging by his registrations...

 

[Squidman]

No worries, appreciate the advice. It was a cheap lesson to learn ($0) as refunded when I deleted these in under 72 hours.

 

[serryjw]

Why are you guys being mean? He bought good domains. I would've bought those myself. I haven't bought any domains myself, but am planning on getting the following:

FreePinkWatches.com
FireSafeHouses.com
FreeRedCrackpots.com
FreeWhistleKites.com
Puppies4Sale.com

Don't listen to these guys Squidman! You can do it! They just wanna keep us down so that they can keep making profit and confusing us noobies so that we don't take their end users away. Their greed will be their downfall lol

----------------------
WHY??

 

[Nem0]

Why are you guys being mean? He bought good domains. I would've bought those myself. I haven't bought any domains myself, but am planning on getting the following:

FreePinkWatches.com
FireSafeHouses.com
FreeRedCrackpots.com
FreeWhistleKites.com
Puppies4Sale.com

Don't listen to these guys Squidman! You can do it! They just wanna keep us down so that they can keep making profit and confusing us noobies so that we don't take their end users away. Their greed will be their downfall lol

Come on now. 5 bucks says this is squidman using another name.

 

[langhellomedia]

Ok, on a whim I just bought:

kendricklamar.us
charleskoch.us
larryellison.us
zuckerberg.us
randpaul.us
marcorubio.us

I know .US are not popular but this cost less than $5 for the lot.
My questions: is it legal to own person name domains like these? Any chance of getting sued instead of paid if I approach the PR of these people? If these are OK to own what do you think they could be worth? Under no illusion that I will strike it rich but tiny outlay - so worth the gamble. Thanks.

Agreed

 

[JudgeMind]

I have compiled some useful info for beginner and novice domain investors on DNbucket.com, hope you take something from it!

 

[ksusha64]

Welcome to NP!

 

[Corey]

g'day and welcome to NamePros

Cheers
Corey