Staples, Inc has purchased the call to action domain name MakeMoreHappen.com on or about 2/4/2014 for an undisclosed amount (I tried). The domain name was under the generic “DnSinations Inc and Matt Serlin” whois data until recently. Prior to that, the domain was under privacy protection prior and registered with eNom which took place on 1/2/2014. That very well could have been related to the “sale”. A 12/10/2013 whois record shows the domain registered at eNom and a Krack Media Web Design who appears to have owned the domain for sometime prior to that.
Staples used MarkMonitor for the purchase of the domain name. (a secret buyer/consultant)
McGarry Bowen did one of the ads.
Staples also did a recent PR for Back To School with Make More Happen and also include “Make Roar Happen”. They have teamed-up with Katy Perry on “Make Roar Happen”
Staples registered the domain name MakeRoarHappen.com on 5/14/2014
Staples The Office Supply Store LLC filed for a trademark for “Make More Happen” on 6/14/2013
I reached out to Eric Lammers from Krack Media to help us all learn how MarkMonitor and “DnStination Inc.” went about the purchase of the domain he had owned MakeMoreHappen.com:
Hi Jamie,
I have no problem disclosing the details. We were contacted through a consultant, and Staples was their anonymous client at the time. I’ve emailed the consultant to be sure there isn’t a problem with us giving you the full details.
I knew what the following email from Eric was going to contain, because clearly MarkMonitor didn’t want Eric to expose their buying techniques. Although Eric did not sign an NDA, he sided with MarkMonitor and disclosed that:
Sorry Jamie, they requested the entire transaction remain private. I’d like to honor that request. Thank you for contacting us though.
I will continue to try and get these sellers to grow some balls and to share these stories! I do not care if they wish not to disclose the exact price paid, but it still will be nice to hear the tactics used. Starting offers, email address used, names and all the other dirty little details that can greatly help all of domain sellers maximize sales.
To note, Mike Mann from DomainMarket.com also sold the domain name MakeSomeNoise.com for $40,000 as reported by DomainInvesting.com and the buyer was revealed by the DomainGang.com as This Is Global.
Great find and absolutely point on JZ . BEWARE the meme hoffenhaiser freshman in college need the name for a term paper BS. in this case SELLER beware.
The best and only way to live with yourself as a domain investor is to
a) remember why you invested in this specific asset
B) know the sales history of similar names
C) learn as much as possible about your buyer and their motives
D) refuse to liquidate your asset for less than its true value
Thanks for sharing and for the reminder that many buyers lie and or misrepresent their needs or ability to pay.
I see a pattern here and reason for celebration. Maybe the tagline hashtag mentality is over. Maybe they figured out those strings leak traffic to the dotCOM.
i.e. #MakeSome Noise vs. MakeSomeNoise.com
Of course owning both is ideal
Another point for domainers to use as a sales tool is when a company puts out a hashtag anyone can say anything about that brand good or bad and the world will see it all on Twitter or in a Google search under the hashtag. But with domain they have total control.
Great points Owen! It does seem the companies are waking up to their call to actions as domains, but it simply makes sense for them to own the domains, use them and have control over them!
We are still in the early stage of the Internet. Using call-to-action phrase .com may become a trend. Companies may see its value as a marketing tool.