Oops: Network Solutions tells clients that their domain is now available
Aftermarket sales email worries clients since of wrong subject line.
Domain name registrar Network Solutions mixed up an aftermarket promotion email blast, accidentally informing its clients that their domain name was available for purchase. It seems that someone used the wrong mail merge token in the subject line of the emails.
The first errant message was delivered on February 27. In my case, the subject line read “astounding.com is now available. Don’t miss this chance!”
I own Astounding.com.
The contents of the email were correct and pitched another domain for sale on the aftermarket:
The same email with the subject line error was sent out yesterday.
Apparently, at least one client was concerned that they’d lost their domain since Network Solutions sent a follow-up message with the subject line “Our Mistake: astounding.com is safe”.
The message read:
We Hit Send Too Soon
This morning you received an email with a subject line indicating that astounding.com was “available”. This may have caused you concern as this is a domain you right now own. The email’s subject line was a mistake and included your existing domain name instead of an alternate, available name we thought you might be interested in. Please know, your domain is safe and is not available for sale. Network Solutions will never sell or offer your domain name without your prior knowledge or consent. We apologize for any concern this may have caused.
Sincerely,
Network Solutions Client Support
These aftermarket promotions can be quite effective for selling domains listed on a marketplace’s distributed listing service. So it’s good that Network Solutions markets these…and I imagine they’ll double check these emails ahead of sending them in the future.
