Side Hustle of the Day: Presidential Domain Name Squatter

One man hopes to sell TrumpPence2016.com for six figures.

This money-making scheme doesn’t quite rise to the level of “job of the day,” but it’s worth noting: this past April, investor Shannon Burchett made a $10 investment in the domain name “TrumpPence2016.com.”

The Investor Who Bought TrumpPence2016.com in April for $10

Now Burchett stands to make some serious money off of his instincts, which ran him about $10. He expects that the return on his investment will be “many multiples of that,” perhaps even “a six-figure valuation.” Burchett was coy about the process, but suggested that it was underway and that he anticipated that things “will happen quickly.” (On Monday morning, he added that discussions were “continuing.”)

I’ve got a few questions about this, of course.

First: Do you need to buy TrumpPence2016.com if you’ve already got a perfectly good DonaldJTrump.com website? I know that the Trump campaign probably doesn’t want TrumpPence2016.com to fall into the hands of someone who would use it for less-than-favorable purposes (insert your own Trump joke here, Cheetos, hair, whatever), but do they seriously need to pay six figures just to redirect TrumpPence2016.com to DonaldJTrump.com?

(Also — and I’m just mentioning this because I know someone will ask — DonaldTrump.com redirects to DonaldJTrump.com.)

Second: If they didn’t want to buy TrumpPence2016.com, they could follow Walmart’s example and send a cease-and-desist letter if anyone ever uses the domain for anything besides generating a “this site can’t be reached” page. Why give someone money if you can threaten them with legal action?

Walmart Is Now The Rightful Owner Of Walmart.Horse

But there’s actually an answer for that question, and it’s “threatening people takes time, and this election is around the corner.” (111 days, people.)

Third, and lightning round: What about TrumpPence.com? (It’s “currently available for sale.”) Or TrumpandPence.com? (“This website is for sale.”) Or MikePence.com? (Redirects to DonaldJTrump.com.) Or PenceTrump.com? (Redirects to TattooFactory.com, for inexplicable reasons.)

Even MakeAmericaGreatAgain.com is not owned by the Trump campaign (it’s yet another domain available for sale, temporarily featuring an image of a #TrumpBaby wearing a fedora followed by an All Lives Matter meme), which makes me suspect that TrumpPence2016.com isn’t as valuable as its owner thinks.

But hey, maybe he’ll make good on his investment — which is something that Trump would approve.

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