Domain vulture eBaying Alexander McQueen-related domain for half a mil

A domain reseller is trying to pawn off alexandermcqueenfashions.com on ebay for a starting bid of $500,000. Why would anyone pay half a mil for that unwieldy 14-character albatross of a domain? "[F]or business, or for memories of one of the greatest fashion designer's of his generation!! An easy to remember domain name, with huge profit potential!!" To you, eBay Seller Name fashionista-queen(434), I have only this to say: goodluckwiththatdude.com. (thanks, Susannah)

• [JayConverse]

  I offered a buck. Who is this guy again?

• [Anonymous]

  This is the lottery ticket business model. They can be wrong 1000s of times, if they can make one sale. Though its not clear how much their domain registration overhead is compared to the probability someone wants their domain.

• [Anonymous]

  A ridiculously high price is an ebay marketing tactic. The idea is not that anyone will ever pay it, but rather to get visibility when viewers sort by descending price. Sometimes you can even get outside publicity.

• [technogeek]

  Cyber-squatting is largely an extortion racket. “We have a name that looks enough like yours that some customers may be confused. Buy it, or we’ll fill it with stuff that will offend them.” Or some equivalent.

  But companies are learning the lesson that blackmailers don’t stay bought, and are no longer as willing to play that game. Especially as the net community is becoming a bit more sophisticated about unauthorized/lookalike URIs… and the legal community likewise.

• [Anonymous]

  thanksforpostingXeniIreallyneedtocomeupwithsomegooddomainnamestoselltopeople.com

• [JohnCJ]

  This is why there are no domain names left. I wish I could brick his window.

• [Anonymous]

  It’s not a 14-character domain, it’s a 24-character one, and 28 if you include the dotcom.

• [bobhughes]

  god, my plebian-ass school-issued domain would have been a more valuable URL than this (not plebian enough to mention here)

• [bobhughes]

  “Especially as the net community is becoming a bit more sophisticated about unauthorized/lookalike URIs… and the legal community likewise.”

  i totally agree with this. soon enough there will enough well-accustomed people online and less new, naive people to prey on. And then the scammers wont be able to be lazy anymore, and the real horrors will begin… nation-wide brownout extortions, massively distributed dns hijacks, etc

• [Anonymous]

  Looks like he smartened up… A bit. He changed the listing to Buy It Now for only $10,000! Maybe the guy missed that this kind of business went under 10 years ago.

• [Gronk]

  At least shipping is free.

• [Revisorius]

  And the fact that the name expires on February 13, 2011 tells us the name was registered two days after McQueen’s death. High class!

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    Because domain pimps are usually noted for their grace and savoir faire.

    • [Brainspore]

      Calling domain resellers “pimps” is a little unfair. After all, real pimps occasionally provide sought-after services to their clients and customers.

• [kevinsky]

  Alexander McWho?

  So, who’s going to click the “Make an offer” button and punch in 5 bucks?

• [Maximillian]

  So how many hits will http://goodluckwiththatdude.com get now?

• [Maximillian]

  Oh, I missed that they’re also selling MichaelJacksonsEarth.com for $500k. Sweet deal!