closed Microsoft just emailed ME!!!!

[schmidte]

This is what I wrote to Microsoft:
Quite simply, I own the rights to www.MyCarSoft.com and
www.MyCarSoft.Net and think these would be GREAT
domain names to promote your Car software. The cool thing about the
names are that they sound like
Mi-Cro-Soft,
but it's My-Car-Soft!!! And the fact that Microsoft is using the .Net
phrase, www.MyCarSoft.Net is more of a interesting marketing concept.
Thanks for taking the time to read about my idea, I told my wife I was
contacting Microsoft about my idea and she's still choaking from
laughter. You can email or call me if you're interested in purchasing my
domain names.
I really don't have a company, I'm just an individual with what I think
is a good idea. The only value to me would be to make a few bucks
selling two good domain names.
Any Microsoft software that is automotive related could be accessed for
www.MyCarSoft.Net or .Com
I like Microsoft products, but if I'm interested in downloading software
for my automobile, I want to go to one site, not navigate the entire
Microsoft site to find what I need. The name is easy to remember, it
says it all...My Car's Software....MyCarSoft!!!



They responded the first time:
Ed,

I appreciate your enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit. Those are
great domain names but we find it is less confusing for our customers if
we use very standard (and boring) domain names like:

http://www.microsoft.com/automotive/

and

http://www.windowsdevices.com/

Good luck selling you domain names. Tell your wife that they all
laughed at Henry Ford, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos and look where they
are. Except Ford whose dead.


Regards,
Microsoft Automotive Business Unit


That was 3 weeks ago, today I got this message:

Ed,

Just out of curiosity, what were you expecting to get for these?

Regards,
Microsoft Automotive Business Unit



WHAT DO YOU THINK.....ARE THEY INTERESTED
DO YOU THINK WWW.MyCarSoft.com and .net have potential?

Visit www.mycarsoft.net to read articles about how incar software
is going to be worth BILLIONS in a few years!!!

 

[Ed30]

Of course they're interested! Ask $5-10k. Best of luck.

 

[Fearless]

Looks like you set your price "a few bucks". Good luck with Bill.

 

[Ed30]

$10k is petty cash to Bill.

 

[TrafficMonsterRRR]

Apparently the talked about it in a meeting and died with envy about your witty e-property.

The guy's boss probably told him to get them domains anyway, in case they decide to go with something more ..radical (isnt it funny when microsoft sounds like the old school establishment?)

IN any event, I do not think you should shock them with a $500,000 price but play their game and yours as you started it.

Tell them some more about your wife, Bezos, and some other interesting characters, and hint that you may keep them after all, in case some other Fortune 500 company would want to sink some real money into them in order to compete with big brother Bill's toy car with subdomain letter soup in tow.

 

[Addictive]

nice names , i'd start at $10k
by the way .. nice nickname ..nice car

 

[President Gringo]

very smart idea indeed, i like it. I guess the more they thought about it the more it made sense.

Its also nice to see microsoft being friendly, you could be forgiven for thinking that a actual human wrote that

Good luck, and like everyone else says, start at 10k....should give you some room for negociation. Anything above $2k would be nice...and some free software of course

 

[revsorg]

Maybe you should quote your correspondence with Microsoft in a couple of well place emails to Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Netscape and IBM ? A bidding war awaits

Added: My PC has crashed 3 times this evening. I can't wait to get an MS operating system in my car!

 

[greggish]

Originally posted by revsorg
My PC has crashed 3 times this evening. I can't wait to get an MS operating system in my car!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

[greggish]

Schmidte, ask for 200 shares... thats about 11K

 

[bidawinner]

very nice schmtde,


Tell them just enough to give the wife a new car this christmas

Good Luck..

 

[Darkfire001]

LOL, As much as I can see people wanting to get 10K for these names I just dont see them getting that much. Its cool that there coming back to you with an inquiry which obviously means they are willing to put a few thousand in but they are real people not an entity. I have an aqquantice who is working with some people are Microsoft (Including Bill Gates at one Conference) for a certain project, but he was telling me that as much as people like to think they are rich bastards they arent stupid either thats how they got all that money. And I just dont see them paying $20,000 for two names.

But in seperate news, 2 good names pretty catchy. And I can see them giving you $5,000 without much Negotiation. But still haggle them for what its worth I am sure your wife would get a kick out of that new car.

 

[pretender]

excellent stuff!

what a way to think up an idea, and everyones given great suggestions about what to do from here.

not trying to take away from your idea, or say it's not good or anything - but wouldn't micarsoft.com and micarsoft.net have been more appropriate?

 

[interactive]

Lol say you wont 51% of the company. Sorry just had to say that. Nice domain I'd tell them like $5mil see what they say then go lower from there. Just me though.

 

[cxz]

.

 

[mohno]

Request uncrash Windows billion dollar value

 

[alaneads]

Dont give them a really high price and expect them to pay it.. be reasonable.. how much would you sell it for if a DIFFERENT company wanted it.

 

[adoptabledomains]

Hate to be negative here, but there are other potential reasons for the second response.

1. You yourself mentioned the similarity in pronunciation. (VERY BAD - Never say your domain sound or reminds people of their Trademarked name). They may be preparing a UDRP or WIPO filing to just take them from you or to order a cease & desist. They may not want them, but just don't want YOU to have them. Your response could make a difference between being considered a cybersquatter and an entrepreneur. If the asking price is less than the cost of filing a dispute or having the attorneys draft a letter, they may offer to buy just defensively to retire them. MS does have lots of domain names, many just redirect to directories within the microsoft.com domain structure. Examples are windows.com, sharepoint.com, and technet.com. They do maintain some separate identity sites like webtv.com, xbox.com, msn.com etc.

2. MS may have no interest, but the person you contacted may have an interest outide his employment.

3. Could be just plain curiosity with no purchase interest.

Not to be negative, but you should handle this carefully and professionally.

 

[adoptabledomains]

Did a quick search. I seriously doubt Microsoft will want that name if they do a trademark search. There is an active US trademark for "carsoft" which is close enough to be a potential problem:

http://www.nameprotect.com/cgi-bin/FREESearch/search.cgi?action=SEARCH&db=PTO&ss=carsoft

 

[interactive]

Not really that much to worry if you got money for lawyers. Think about it, anyone remember the lindows lawsuit?