Brooklyn Nets vs. Nets.com, what’s the score with this Domain Name?
The Brooklyn Nets are taking it downtown, into the paint, an ollie-oop, the set-up, he shoots, he scores, the Nets have made another shot! They also recently shot down a sale offer by Nets.com for the domain name rights. The NBA team is not the only business entity to shoot down the domain name. It has been listed unsuccessfully in multiple auctions, with no sales resulting.
With that said, it should come as no surprise that the Nets owner and team organization passed on the requested $5 million for the domain! Not to mention it was listed for auction on eBay for a starting bid of $10,000, half the price Jane Hill claims she paid for it in 1996, after trolling for it. The auction closed with a topping bid of $156,600 after 31 bids from 10 bidders, which did not meet the seller reserve. In 2012, Forbes listed Nets.com to have a value of at least $250,000, has it really increased in worth to $5m in the last 2 years or is this just bad business on behalf of the current registrant?
Personally, I’m going with the latter. The deceitful antics and maliciousness of the current owners shows a side of the story Jane Hill keeps trying to deny. They are targeting a single buyer, for an unrealistic amount of money, while claiming not to be attempting to extort anyone. The Brooklyn Nets owner has been personally addressed in some of the antics of the owner and her employees, and has no interest in acquiring the name, standing behind the branded BrooklynNets.com website.
The site has been redirected to other NBA team websites like the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks, you may see Mark Cuban sticking his tongue out, or you may have even found these words on the landing page in 2012, “Looking for the New Jersey Nets? Looking for the Brooklyn Nets? They’re not here … but they SHOULD be!” Perhaps you were privy to the Russian message aimed directly at the Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov, with so much controversy and maliciousness being carried on through the site, it’s no wonder they refused the transfer of ownership option.
The antics over the last several years were stated by Hill to just “stir up attention,” the attention it received from its most targeted buyer was a resounding rejection at the buzzer, the shut-out of the season, a whopping 5m – 0 loss for the New Mexico owner, who still retains the domain. The team spokesperson for the Brooklyn Nets, Barry Baum stated the attempts by Ms. Hill were “shameful” in the eyes of the team.
“Perhaps you are a tech start-up with a need for a fantastic domain name to get you off the ground? Are you one of the major players on the planet in the routing and/or networking equipment business? Maybe you are the proprietor of the world’s preeminent manufacturer of tennis court nets? Fishnets? Volleyball nets? Or, maybe you just happen to have a basketball team of the same name?”
What do you think? Will the other shoe drop in the same fashion? Can they ever hope to see $5m for the domain? I’d be wary of doing business with this individual or their company, if this is the example of professionalism I found to base my opinions on!
Sources:
http://www.domaininvesting.com/nets-com-domain-name-owners-want-5m/
http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/nets-com-sale-ebay-brooklyn-nets-domain-nba-110514
http://domaingang.com/domain-news/surprise-nets-com-fails-sell-ebay-auction/
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nets-com-Premium-Domain-Name-/221596556863