DOMAIN NAMES DON'T FETCH PRICE.Byline: Jason Z. Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. Staff Writer Sterling Clark is hoping her ticket to a music career leads through the White House. The 15-year-old wants to finance her college education with the proceeds of the sale of an especially presidential Internet domain name An organization's unique name on the Internet. The chosen name combined with a top level domain (TLD), such as .com or .org, also called a "domain extension," makes up the Internet domain name. For example, computerlanguage.com is the domain name for the publisher of this Encyclopedia. . Just $150,000 will buy www.president-of-the-usa.com from Clark; another $30,000 gets www.president-usa.net. Clark stumbled across the domain names while working her part-time part-time adj. For or during less than the customary or standard time: a part-time job. part job at Force Five Entertainment, a Studio City production company. She quickly registered for ownership of the sites and almost as quickly put them up for sale on eBay (eBay, Inc., San Jose, CA, www.ebay.com) The major auction service on the Web. eBay popularized the concept of buying and selling online, and both individuals and commercial enterprises list items for sale. .com, the online auction Web site. ``I don't feel I'm asking a steep price because it's not like I'm going to spend it on junk junk Classic Chinese sailing vessel of ancient unknown origin, still in wide use. High-sterned, with a projecting bow, the junk carries up to five masts on which are set square sails consisting of panels of linen or matting flattened by bamboo strips. ,'' said Clark, who hopes the proceeds will pay for music classes at USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. . If nothing else, Sterling is getting a real-world education in business. With the auction set to expire expire /ex·pire/ (ek-spi´er) 1. to exhale. 2. to die. ex·pire v. 1. To breathe one's last breath; die. 2. To exhale. just after 5 p.m. Saturday, there were no bids as of Thursday for the names, which at least one industry expert said isn't too surprising. Jeff Tinsley, chief executive of Chatsworth-based domain name broker Great Domains, said Sterling is asking too much for her domain names. He should know; his company has more than 87,000 domain names available, and recently sold drugs.com for more than $800,000. Great Domains has a valuation guideline guideline Medtalk A series of recommendations by a body of experts in a particular discipline. See Cancer screening guidelines, Cardiac profile guidelines, Gatekeeper guidelines, Harvard guidelines, Transfusion guidelines. posted on its Web site that gives domain-name owners an indication of the value of the name they own. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Great Domains model, Sterling's domain name is worth between $1,000 and $40,000. Not enough for four years at USC, but certainly a good start. Tinsley said hyphens in the name and a length of more than just a few characters diminishes the value of a domain name. ``She shouldn't feel discouraged dis·cour·age tr.v. dis·cour·aged, dis·cour·ag·ing, dis·cour·ag·es 1. To deprive of confidence, hope, or spirit. 2. To hamper by discouraging; deter. 3. at all. The auction model for a domain name just doesn't work. Unless it's something special or you do a lot of media work, it doesn't happen,'' Tinsley said. Sterling has tried to market the sites. She's contacted representatives of the current resident of the White House, as well as officials with the national Democratic, Republican and Reform parties. So far, all she's gotten back is a form e-mail thanking her for her correspondence. Still, Sterling is confident. Although she hasn't received any bids, she said she did receive an e-mail from someone she wouldn't identify who offered $30,000 for the domain name if it doesn't sell on eBay. That's still a pretty good return on a $70 investment. ``I was really surprised they weren't taken because that's a really valuable name,'' Sterling said. ``I totally freaked, because I thought they'd be taken, but they weren't.'' HOW TO NAME YOUR BABY ?6 So you've come up with the next $64,000 Web name, and you want to register it? Get in line. Actually, go online. It costs $70 to register a domain name through Network Solutions, the primary domain name registration company, and the registration is good for two years. Other Web sites offer the service, with some costing more than $70 and a few charging less. Domain name owners can re-register the name for $35 after the initial two-year period. Web sites such as NetworkSolutions.com and whois.net allow users to search the database of existing names to find out if the name they wish to register is available. Both sites also allow users to register the names, as well as other site maintenance services. - Jason Cohen CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Sterling Clark is hoping to auction two Internet domain names she registered. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer Box: How to name your baby (see text) |
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