Sending an unsolicited email to 25,000 people is NOT ok.

I got an email over the weekend promoting a couple domains for sale over at Flippa.

It was a nicely formatted HTML email that referred to a similar domain name I own.

Then, at the bottom, the email explained why I was a recipient:

Why Am I Being Contacted?

We’ve identified 25,000+ website and domain owners with a connection to DJs, music, Retro, and Funk. Everybody from active DJs, musicians, and dance clubs to folks who make turntables or design apps. Since you’re listed as the registrant of discjockeyleads.com, …

Yikes! Basically the email admits that the sender harvested 25,000 whois records to spam regarding a couple domains for sale.

I have no problem with people sending occasional, targeted, and personalized emails to end users to offer a domain for sale. But bulk mailing to hundreds (or 25,000!) people gives the domain industry a bad name.

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1. How Much Email Marketing is Too Much Email Marketing?
2. Y Combinator Companies Pick Go Daddy for Domains, Google for Email

Guy mistakenly thinks I’m associated with expired domain spam.

DomainTools has an occasional feature on its blog about people mistakenly thinking the company is associated with other web sites. Someone searches for a company, finds the whois record on DomainTools’ site, and thinks DomainTools is the company they were searching for. So it sends a support email to Domain Tools asking for support from that company.

I had my own little case of mistaken identity a few weeks ago.

My cell phone rang and I picked it up with my standard “This is Andrew”. The conversation went something like this:

Caller: Hi Andrew, how are you doing?

Me: Fine.

Caller: I’m not interested in your marketing opinions research.

Me: Huh?

Caller: The marketing opinions stuff you keep emailing me about.

Me: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Caller: Suuuuure, you don’t.

Me: No, really. Who is this?

Caller: I’m the guy you keep spamming about this domain name. Sometimes I like to track down spammers and call them to harass them like they harass me.

Me: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Caller: You are Andrew Allemann, right?

Me: Yes, that’s me. But I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Caller: Someone is sending spam emails from you trying to get me to buy the domain MarketingOpinions.com. So if it’s no you, someone has hacked in to your email.

[At this point I become genuinely concerned, and start looking through my sent box to make sure I haven't been hacked.]

Me: Well, which email address is it being sent from?

Caller: something@jbupholstry.com.

[Now I'm really confused. How has he tied this email address to me? Or was someone just putting my name in the message?]

Me: That’s not my email address.

Caller: Well listen, I like to call up spammers, but you genuinely sound like you don’t know what’s going on.

Me: Can you send me a copy of the email so I can look in to it?

The guy sends me the email. Here it is:

From: Alex
Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:03:23 -0700 (MST)
Subject: ***SPAM*** marketingopinions.com

Preferred Domain Availability Notification:

marketingopinions.com will be listed for auction in a few days. This domain might be useful for you, since you own a domain similar to this domain.

To confirm interest in owning this domain, fill out the simple form here: marketingopinions.com

Sincerely,Alexander
5016 Spedale Ct. #265
Spring Hill, TN 37174

If you do not want more of these messages, please click the link above and follow instructions at the bottom of the page

I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty… you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. J. D. Salinger

Yeah, my name is nowhere on the email or the email address. How on earth was I being associated with this expired domain spamming operation?

I tried Googling the mailing address in the email. First result is this post on Domain Name Wire.

I had a bit of a chuckle. This guy who called me thinks he is some big cybersleuth who can track down spammers. Instead, he Googled the email he got, found my post but didn’t read it, looked me up in whois, and called to harass me.

All in a day’s work as a blogger…

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Jackpot! Moniker sells Jackpot.com for a big payout.

A British Virgin Islands company has purchased the domain name Jackpot.com for $500,000.

The sale was brokered by Moniker. The domain name has been listed in multiple Moniker live auctions, but the sale occurred after the most recent live auction at DOMAINfest.

The updated whois record for the domain shows Palek International Ltd as the new owner. The company appears to have been set up just for this web site. However, using DomainTools’ reverse IP tool, I found that the new IP address for Jackpot.com hosts just one other site: lottery.net.

Lottery.net is registered to Parthenon Investments, with a technical contact at Take That Ltd.

Take That Ltd owns a number of online gambling portals including Lottery.co.uk and Gamble.co.uk.

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