Reddit user calls someone a squatter for listing a domain name for sale for $3,495

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It never ceases to amaze me when people call a domain name owner a squatter just because they own a domain name. Here’s the title of the post on reddit.com/r/Domains:

‘Telepathy.com’ is squatting on a domain I’d like. Any advice on how to try to deal with them, without getting ripped off or over-paying? (it’s the domain of a dead company I once worked for — I’d like it for fun, not profit) (Source – reddit.com/r/Domains)

It’s like getting mad at someone when you drive down the street, find the “perfect” house, and then realize – someone else owns the house, but they’re not living there, it’s investment property. Could you imagine calling the owner a squatter because they bought investment property? Yes, it’s 2017 and people have been buying digital real estate for more than 20 years now and they’re not all squatters. Last week Lola.com sold for $550,000 and yesterday NOM.com sold for $86,500 (Source DNJournal) and that’s just two of hundreds of domains that sold over the last week.

Given how many domain names sell in the five and six-figure range asking how to not get “ripped off” when a domain name is listed at $3,495 seems a little silly. Now “squatting” is a real thing, there are Cybersquatters and if you have a trademark and someone’s sitting on it, squatting on your name, there are legal processes to get it called a UDRP.

It’s always frustrating to see people call legitimate investors squatters. In April of this year, serial entrepreneur Jason Calacanis sold 20.com for $1.75M. Was he a squatter? Heck it only costs $10 to register a .COM domain name…should he have sold it to someone for $10 since he wasn’t using it? Crickets. Yeah, it’s a double standard. People can see well known entrepreneurs and investors sell domain names and consider them investors, but anyone else who owns a domain name as an investment…they’re a squatter?

To me this really shows just how early we still are in the world of domain names. As we evolve, I just hope people start to learn the real difference between a squatter and an investor, because the two really couldn’t be more different.

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton