Oh Boy
The domain name Cragslist.org (yes its a typo) sold on NameJet.com yesterday for $17,211.
5 bidders were in the auction at $1,000 +
The domain has an Alexa rank of 2.8 Million and Compete is showing Traffic of 300 for last month, but as high as 56,000 per month going back to June 2010.
Of course Craigslist is trademarked and is one of the best known sites on the web.
The typo is espeically troubling since Craigslist uses Craigslist.org as its main site and its ranked as the 36th busiest site on the web by Alexa.
Why people are willing to spend $17K on a typo of a trademark in this day and age, when the domain can be taken upon a WIPO filing is truly mind blowing.
On the other hand the .com version of the domain name, Cragslist.com has been registered since November 2000 and is not owned by Craigslist.com and has not been the subject of a UDRP.
Actually I could only find two UDRP cases ever filed by Craigslist, one against the domain, craiglist.com way back in 2007 and for craigslist.fr in 2008.
If the owner of the domain name can prove that “Crag” can be somebody’s name then there is no way they can take the domain name away from him/her, because the trademark Craigslist is based on the word Craig and Craig is a public name, so is the word Crag. Andrew is not a typo for Anderson, Andre or Ander
In fact when it comes to people’s name there is no Typo. That’s why if you tell someone your name he/she would tel you to spell it even if your name is Jesus, because people’s name are not regulated.
Emma
If the domain was Craig.org or Crag.org I would might with you, depending on use of the domain.
IMHO This domain is craigslist for the taking
I am sick of squatters who buy domains like this, and other domainers defending this type of behavior. It gives a bad name to all people trying to deal in legitimate generics.
I hope a UDRP comes and the buyer gets what they deserve.
Brad
What a waste of money. There are far better names dropping each day.
“people are willing to spend $17K on a typo of a trademark in this day and age, when the domain can be taken upon a WIPO filing”
maybe, they hope to make more than $17k between now and that day
There are always suckers born every second.
That’s what you are thinking. Do you think someone with $17k to spend is a stupid person? It takes a brain to make money. He may have already consulted a lawyer and was advised to go ahead with the purchase. the trademark Craigslist is different from from Facebook. While “face” and “book” are dictionary names, “Craig” is a dictionary but also people’s name and “list” is just a dictionary name. This like having a situation where Mariapizza claiming infringement by Mariopizza, or PapaJohnsPizza claiming infringement by Papajonspizza. This is very technical, it’s not as easy as you think
also, it’s not so sure that Craigslist really wants own all typo domains
Still adds no value to anyone, this domain has only one avenue of profit, which violates the rights of a legitimate company by abusing their earned popularity.
Whether they get away with it or not, it’s still a shady business practice that makes domain investors look like squatters.
Emma
“‘Do you think someone with $17k to spend is a stupid person?””
I have seen publicly traded company’s spend millions, actually hundreds of millions on buying a site just to wind up closing it down a few years later.
So don’t assume that just because someone has money they always making great decisions.
Last
Its one thing to have ALL the typo domains and there is another to get the 10 most likely typo’s
Emma
“Do you think someone with $17k to spend is a stupid person? It takes a brain to make money”
Please. It doesnt take brains to inherit money, have a trust fund, be lucky or win at craps.
Money is not the measure of an IQ.
Lots of rich people are stupid.
I’d guess 90%+ of domainers have trademarked names and they bring in more $$ than any of their generic names. Those that don’t think so are blind to reality.
Until ICANN or registrars tighten their reigns (or are forced to), everyone will continue cybersquatting
The risk/reward ratio is still far too in favor of squatting.
Emma is obviously clueless on this issue. But I find her innocence oddly refreshing.
I still can’t believe “legitimate” companies like namejet wouldn’t try and police themselves better. They certainly are doing a dis-service to our industry. It happens everyday, probably hundreds of times, godaddy, namejet, etc. etc. Just proves some don’t care how they make a buck.
Pathetic and sad really. Just gives more ammo to the trademark slugs so they can steal real generics.
“Lots of rich people are stupid.”
True, just look at what our Bankers and Politicians have been doing for the last 20 years.
I sometimes wonder if there are far more rich people who are stupid than there are reasonably intelligent people who are poor 😉
Strange old world 😉
@ Emma
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
Just proves there is no cure for stupidity
You can just see her “portfolio” – full of sloppy typos that get no traffic..
She wouldn’t know a UDRP if it hit her in the face
dcmike77 is correct.
look at the portfolios of the top domainers and you’ll see he’s right.
on the other hand, if you misdial a phone number, you get the wrong number. who’s fault is that? why should domains or ip addresses be different?
sometimes we have to exercise due care in what we do. we must pay attention to detail. typos can be costly in business. in certain professions they do matter. domains are no different. if you don’t type cxarefully there are consequences.
the internet is so rife with misspellings and typos, there is so much carelesness and sloppiness; it is no wonder this is offensive to some people.
if craigslist wants this domain they can surely take it via udrp.
as has been said so many times, browser makers (e.g. microsoft) and isp’s (via barefruit, etc.) are in on the typos too. they show ads or redirect to paid search. it’s cash on the table. if the domainer doesn’t take it, they will. someone, be they domainer, software company, or isp is going to show ads when you mistype a domain. that’s today’s commercial internet.
and don’t forget our friends in the “dns provider” business. they too show ads in the event of typos or misspeallings, not to mention non-existent domains.
it’s not emma who is naive here. wake up and smell the domains.
well said idio.
If domainers don’t capitalize on typos, the search engines or ISPs will.