It’s Super Bowl day! And while much of the nation is consumed by thoughts of Tom Brady and Eli Manning, I’ve still got Ed Swasher on my mind.
Who’s Ed Swasher?
We’ve never met. I’m not even sure I’m spelling his name correctly. All I know is that he lives in Canada, and about three weeks before I tried to buy the domain name for a website for the NASCAR book I’d written, “One Helluva Ride,” some guy named Ed Swasher bought it with the sole intention of selling it to me.
“Squatting,” I think it’s called.
Not being a skilled negotiator, I hired a “domain-name buying service” for $59 to handle the transaction.
First, the service produced as estimate of the value of the name, www.onehellluvaride.com (which I’m purposely misspelling out of spite). The estimate: $75-$250.
Next, the service asked me to make an opening bid. I did: $75.
A few days later, the service informed me of Mr. Swasher’s opening offer: $1,595.
I almost croaked.
My counter-offer: “Tell Mr. Swasher I hope he chokes on the name.”
There’s a fine line between initiative and extortion. I salute Mr. Swasher’s initiative for having the smarts to scoop up the book’s name before I had the sense to. (The title had been advertised on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com for months, and I foolishly left it “unprotected.”) Good for you, Ed!
But $1,595? For something that probably cost you $10?!
I tell this story for two reasons: To explain why the book’s website is the somewhat cumbersome www.onehelluvaridebook.com (it cost me $9.99, as opposed to $1,595); AND to warn everyone who plans to write a book or even thinks there’s the slightest chance to BUY your title’s domain name immediately before the Ed Swashers of the world do!
It’s easy. I got mine with a few keystrokes at GoDaddy.com. (The company apparently is an associate sponsor of Dale Earnhardt Jr. this season, but that’s not why I chose it. My brother recommended GoDaddy. And he was right: It’s awesome—especially with technical support!)
I promise the next blog post will be about NASCAR rather than my ongoing book angst. I just wanted to wag a cyber-finger at Ed Swasher and spare others my foolish mistakes. RESERVE your domain name NOW!
So, enjoy the Super Bowl. I plan to. And onto Speedweeks!
All the best,
Liz
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2 comments:
Gee Liz, You can't imagine how heartbroken I am to hear a fellow Canadian shoved your domain name up your fanny. If you bring the hate, we'll bring it right back in spades.
For some reason it seems that the internet brings out the worst in mankind's behavior. Perhaps it's the anonymity and the fact that it's a great equalizer, i.e., everyone can be anyone they want to be, perhaps in some narcissistic fantasy they think they're god like by controlling URLs. What puny and unfulfilled lives these people must lead to have the time to focus on acts that benefit no one, not even themselves. I will attempt to promote your book on all the call-in racing shows that I can contact.
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