Edit: Rob Monster has so nicely pointed out he only bought the REGISTRAR portion of DNI and has nothing to do with the emails. They are completely separate. I was confused because they share the same name. They were once the same but are now split into multiple divisions. I apologize. The article below has been modified to reflect this.
It has gotten absolutely ridiculous. It started as a few emails, then grew to 5-10 a day and today was the final straw when they called me today at work. Epik owns Intrust Domains and the registrar part Domain Names International. Epik does not own the email part of the company and only bought the registrar but I would like to point out that the company sending out all the spam is anyone their business’ name. Here is the email I received today. It’s a little different than the last 20 I’ve received regarding the domain that is similar to the domain I own
Hello,
I know not all domains are worth $297.00. I wanted to give you instructions on how to make an offer on www.BLOGBOOSTERS.COM. I am paid salary, not commission so I will do my best to get it approved.
You can make an offer either way that is easiest for you.
1) Reply to this email with your offer amount. I will reply as quickly as possible.
2) For an immediate answer, call me at 303-800-0310 or Click Here To Chat
I look forward to hearing from you!
Sales Team
Domain Names International
11605 Meridian Market View #124-134
Falcon, CO 80831, USA
303-800-0310
The blog Quality Nonsense does a pretty good job pointing out the relationship between all the companies using the mailing address as the common denominator. And from the looks of it the address is a UPS store box, not even a real office. Calling it a scam would be incorrect but I think I have a legal case in calling it spam. I have no previous relationship with the company and there is no unsubscribe or mention of the ability to cancel the emails. I’m no lawyer and I hate ambulance chasers but to me it appears like a fantastic class action case of spam.
The final straw was today’s phone call to my work. It is the first spam call I’ve ever received regarding domains. I get people calling me a few times a month to buy domains but never to sell to me. I admit, I too, will solicit companies and offer them similar domains to their current domain or perhaps what I deem an upgrade, but mine is a simple email and perhaps one follow up email. If I don’t hear back I consider it a closed door. DMI or Intrust keeps the emails rolling for weeks on end. I even asked them to take me off the list and they still keep coming. It’s not their business model that is wrong. Emailing customers about possible domain names is commonplace, it’s the continuous bombardment of repetitive emails. The business strategy of these three companies is a black mark on our industry and they need to be stopped one way or another.
Suggest you get into touch with Rob Monster, probably your best bet, but this is a cash cow bigger than all of us, I get the same deal 2 times a day for the same names, they keep generating new emails, and random names, we are all sick of it.
Curious if you gave Rob Monster an email or call about this before blogging?
Tony,
Rob is a good guy but Andrew of DNW already contacted him earlier in the year and he gave the same answer that Ron gave above. Also, calling Rob would only help me. The emails would probably stop coming my way but it wouldn’t help anyone else.
Ron,
Thanks for the info and the call to Rob. I guess I already knew the answer so I didn’t bother.
I have Rob’s response to this, he has stated they did not purchase this department, and it is a different operation, but the goodwill of the company is out there, this spam machine is big enough to go to a class action suit, we have all been harassed enough now…
Spamming is illegal, so I say report them and let’s see if they stop when some fines get handed down to them.
I have gotten a barrage of e-mails from similar companies and to me it is tantamount to online harassment. I refuse to believe that Epik is not complicit in this. How could they stoop so low? If someone was using my name and “brand” to try to hawk bullshit, you better believe I would put an end to it immediately.
Gotta love when “they” don’t even have a contact name on them. You should give them a call and ask to speak with Sales Team.
I get blasted daily multiple times by that CockRoach Alex. Each email has a different email and different address with some BS opt out link and garbage quote at the bottom. The owners who allow them to do this obviously don’t care about this industry or the law.
I would hire a DDoS professional to take their sh!t out of the Internet.
Kevin,
That’s just as bad or worse than the spammers.
Spammers need to be lobotomized. Especially those that end the email with “we apologize if that reached you in error.”
So what we have here is that Epik owns a company named the same as a branch of the company they acquired (but which wasn’t part of the sale). That’s hilarious. Rob Monster needs to change that DNI name asap to avoid being confused again with the spammers in the future.
These people are the king of all spammers, we all know what they do, we all know who they are, domainers get worst of it, compared to a small portfolio owner end user. It has been going on for close to two years, nobody can shut them down, we have basically just come to tolerate it. Random spam is going to keep arriving regardless, but this is targeted spam.
Ron,
Rob Monster at Epik has he does not own the portion of the company that has been sending the emails. No need to get on Epik, they don’t appear to be at fault
I understand spam can be an annoyance, but just hit delete or create a filter to weed them out. The fact is it leads to sales. You admitted you do it yourself just on a smaller more selective scale. Its funny how people get so pissed off about this type of email but are perfectly ok with the barage of spam they get in their standard mail box at home.
Franklin,
Spam is part of life. Look at it like this. When your brother thumps you as a kid it’s no bid deal. But when he continues to thump you in the same spot 30 times you get annoyed and attack back. These emails sent once or twice is not a big deal. As you say, they are a part of our business. But after 15 of the exact same email you get annoyed.
Don’t you ever get spammed by godaddy trying to sell you names b/c you bought something similar?? It happens quite a bit.
Why is that acceptable?
godaddy,
No I have never received an email from Godaddy so I can’t answer that question.
It’s one thing for someone to fill out a templated Business website “contact us” page inquiring. Completely another ball of wax when a business scraps the whois of an individual domain name owner and blasts he/she with multiple emails by various made up individuals with made up addresses and various email addresses 10 or more times a day. That isn’t Ok and my bet is that Alex is going to bring so much heat on the domain industry that people who are in the know who do nothing to talk some sense into these idiots are going to look back and wish they talked them. My bet is they and many others are going to get fined massively at some point down the line and it won’t be so easy to just file chapter 7 and walk away and flee to another country. They are spammers pure and simple and whats worse is they know various industry blogs are talking about their practices and yet they just keep on going day in day out.
They are US based .
The FTC administers CAN-SPAM act complaints.
1 opens a file, repeated gets them looked at.
Lets make it a point that every time we get one, we file a complaint.
They are killing- KILLING- the publics perception of domain sale emails. Their actions are hurting us all.
Amen. I was getting so many emails from them last year (AFTER asking to be taken off their list) that I tracked down their number and called them. Of course, nobody picked up. The fact that their “unsubscribe” offers are bogus is a major violation of spam laws. I threatened to report them to the BBB and pointed out threads in message boards where people were bashing them. I even considered taking a road trip just to trash them in person.
Finally, although they use a number a domains and email addresses for their nefarious activities, I added a rule in Apple mail that sends anything from them straight to the trash.
FYI: “Franklin” showed up in the comments for the domainnamewire.com story a while back as a vociferous defender of the spammers. He’s obviously associated with the Intrust spam operation in some way.