The domain aftermarket has a big problem - Domain Name Wire | Domain Name News
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Domain aftermarkets need to clean up their inventory. Let me start this rant with some good news. This month, I sold a domain name for $6,500 that I found through Domain Academy’s Afternic advanced search tool. I bought the domain for less than $100. Now for the bad news: I spent a lot of time […]

Here’s my take:

The domain aftermarket has a big problem… it exists. This market shouldn’t ever be allowed to exist in the first place. ICANN should’ve blocked this bullshit a long time ago and forced registrars to just let domains expire and free the space. Also add a few provisions about unused domain names and about selling them.

  • smpl@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    1·
    6 months ago

    Does anyone know of a list of TLDs that don’t allow reselling? I’d prefer to buy/lease one of those and let domain sharks play their own games.

  • tekeous@usenet.lolEnglish
    1·
    6 months ago

    And while we’re at it, so-called “premium” domains are a load of bullshit. My last name .net(which is not a common last name, by the way) is $2795 for the first month, because somebody with a solid gold dildo up their ass decided it should be so.

  • Godort@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    6 months ago

    Domain squatting is incredibly scummy, but I have no idea how it would be possible to have any other system.

    My understanding is that domains do expire unless you pay the fee to renew for another year.

    Regarding unused domain names, how would anyone know if a particular name is being unused? Domain names are used for more things than browsable websites. You’d have to have a system that could determine if traffic is going to those names, which seems bad from a privacy standpoint and also pretty easy to script around.

    • Justin@lemmy.jlh.nameEnglish
      0·
      6 months ago

      I’m not an economics major, but maybe something like a blind auction every year, and if you owned the domain last year, you also have the option of matching the highest bidder to keep the domain.

      The biggest flaw with a system like that is that it would still discourage trying to buy an already owned domain, since you could pay for it, but not actually get it if the owner exercises their matching right. But it would definitely discourage domain squatting since the more other people want your domain, the more you have to pay to keep it.

      • Godort@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        This would turn the Internet into a hell scape if only because corporations could throw huge amounts of money around.

        There would be incentive for the Pizza Huts and the Walmarts of the world to just assume control of the websites for any local competitors.