The childrensroom.co.uk thread on Affiliates4U

One of my last tasks of every day is to see what previously registered .co.uk domain names have not been renewed and are about to be made available for anyone to register again. And if I see any that are of interest I will do my best to register them as soon as they are released by Nominet.

Unfortunately for me, I’m not alone in doing this. An industry has grown up around these so-called “drops” and competition to register the best domain names being released can be extremely fierce. Within a split second of being made available they are registered.

I tend to register names that I may wish to develop at a later date, but do also register names that I know have a value, but which don’t particularly interest me. I’m hoping that one day someone somewhere will also recognise that value and buy the domain name from me.

There is an interesting thread on the affiliate marking forum, affiliates4u, at the moment concerning childrensroom.co.uk.

It was caught by a dropcatcher called Lee Owen on the 22nd of September when it was made available again by Nominet. I’ve bought domain names from Lee in the past and regular drop in to read his Squillions blog to see what he is getting up to now that he has moved to Romania. In my dealings with him he’s been on the ball and professional and I would not think twice about working with him again.

One of Lee’s pet hates is that few businesses appreciate the value of domain names. That isn’t really surprising because the truth is that the majority of businesses still don’t even appreciate the potential offered by the internet. And just because a business has a website does not exclude it from that myopic group.

Along with others in the domain name industry, Lee will often register a domain name in the hope of selling it to a business or individual who might benefit most from it. And that’s what happened with childrensroom.co.uk. Lee registered it and then offered it to Children’s Rooms, an internet based business who sell children’s bedding and bedroom accessories. Children’s Rooms already have childrens-rooms.co.uk and childrensrooms.co.uk and owning childrensroom.co.uk too would certainly prevent a competitor muscling in on their territory.

Lee sees this as a service to businesses. He sees it as looking out for a company’s interests by registering a name that may be of value to it and in return expects a little gratitude and of course recompense. In the case of childrensroom.co.uk he would like £500, but knowing what Lee and money are like, let’s just say I’m sure he is open to offers. The problem is Childrens Rooms only offered £100, and when Lee declined the offer they walked away. Leaving Lee to offer it for sale on the open market, a move that was construed – rightly or wrongly, and in this case probably wrongly – as an attempt to get more money out of Childrens Rooms.

The problem is no matter how Lee justifies what he does to himself, most of the people he approaches – and particularly those with no true understanding of the worldwide web, domain names and the like beyond replying to customer enquiries by email – will see him as a chancer. At best he will come across as a loveable rogue, at worst a two bit crook holding a domain name to ransom.

Those who do buy the domain name offered will no doubt do so begrudgingly, but I’d hazard a guess that the majority of approaches fall on deaf ears. Lee will see this as further proof that businesses just don’t appreciate the value of domains or what he is doing for them, but on the other side of the fence will be someone who isn’t willing to pay the ransom demand.

I don’t like telling others how to run their businesses, but to me this is a clear case of having to think outside the box if you are going to be successful.

What is required is a complete change of mindset on both sides of the equation. Lee needs to start working WITH businesses. I know he thinks he is doing that already, but when those businesses think he is working AGAINST their interests – by holding them to ransom – something has to give.

The fact is most people are not going to wake up to the opportunities and threats posed to their businesses by the worldwide web any time soon. And Lee is banging his head against a brick wall if he thinks he can change this by registering domain names for said businesses and then offering to sell the names to them. He needs to change the way he does business – for no better reason that it’s much easier to do that than to change every one of the businesses he approaches.

As I suggested on the forum thread, a better model for Lee might be to invest the £5 reg fee in the likes of childrensroom.co.uk, contact the individual / company who would benefit most from it and say that it had been caught and registered in their name with his compliments.

He could then go on to explain the importance of domain names to businesses – something he is obviously very passionate about – and then outline and offer his services on a paid basis should the individual / company respond positively to the act of kindness and the strength of his pitch.

And I think the strength of the pitch is key here because Lee needs to come across as totally professional and with a reputation beyond repute (something that I think is impossible to achieve as things stand – as the childrensroom.co.uk thread on affiliates4u clearly demonstrates).

There’s no doubting he knows what he’s doing and that he has both knowledge and skills to offer, but he doesn’t always portray that in the best of lights. If he could crystalise his thoughts and turn them into a winning pitch, he has the potential to be very successful indeed (particularly with a little more focus).

Yes he would have to give away the odd name and it is a long term strategy, but it may prove far more lucrative in the long run than trying to make a quick buck and the regular fire sales he has at the moment.

If I was Lee I’d keep catching domain names both for development and to sell on. But I’d stop looking to the past and those Crazy Frog days, take a big step back and a big deep breathe, and start building a sustainable future for myself.

And I’d begin by starting all over again with childrensroom.co.uk.