rareseed.com vs. rareseeds.com

[Jenn]

I had a little scare this morning. I typed in www.rareseed.com and got the Gurney's website. I momentarily thought Bakercreek had been bought out.
:eek:
I'm glad it was just a typo.
-Jenn

[EdlinUser]

Buying web addresses that are similar to a competitor's and redirecting as Gurney did here is not illegal but it is morally questionable. It's sad to see what the corporate buy-outs have done to Gurney, Fields, Park, Burpee and so many others.

Each of those companies was founded by a young man who delighted in growing things and sharing their delight with others. Their spirit lives on at Baker Creek.

[Lillian Osborne]

Buying web addresses that are similar to a competitor's and redirecting as Gurney did here is not illegal but it is morally questionable. It's sad to see what the corporate buy-outs have done to Gurney, Fields, Park, Burpee and so many others.

Each of those companies was founded by a young man who delighted in growing things and sharing their delight with others. Their spirit lives on at Baker Creek.

Well said!

[winter_unfazed]

Gurney is famous for its chicanery, almost as bad as Burpee & Co. I no longber receive either of their catalogs.

[nordicnacho]

Thanks for the heads up never going to order from them again. Burpee=Walmart Seed Company

[American_Gardener]

I got to read more of the old threads i guess.. i never saw this one before.

Dave

[crazyknitter]

I got to read more of the old threads i guess.. i never saw this one before.

Dave

ditto.

[Imp]

Sad part for me is that I recall when Gurney's was a reputable company in Yankton, SD, and well known for the good products they had and at a good price.

I think the building ( at least one of them) is still in downtown Yankton, SD- well, there is no "uptown" or "downtown" to Yankton, just town, and small at that.

[mjc]

Gurney's has nothing to do with rareseed.com, the original poster's ISP or browser redirected them there, because the page you actually end up at is a typical 'squatter's page' parked on a dubious hosting server.

It is owned by...

Parked.com, LTD
PO Box 10314
Grand Cayman, Grand Cayman

Cyber-squatting (the practice of using one letter off or common typing/spelling mistakes) is the most common source of viral infestations for those who don't using file sharing networks. And if the squatting isn't for viral purposes, it is for 'paid' searches.

[lorna-organic]

I'm sorry, MJC, that went right over my head. Could you explain again, please?

[mjc]

Most ISPs (at least the big ones...cable/DSL providers) will have their own redirects when you would type in an address that would lead to a page that is 'parked' (a domain name (ex:rareseed.com) but has no real content). Most of the time these 'parked' pages will either be 'sponsored' search pages...that means all the top links on the search have paid the search engine owner money to rank high on the search. These 'parked' pages get a cut of that money, but very often the owner of the search engine is also the owner of the pages linked to that search engine.

A number of them are even more nefarious. They will attempt, often through known vulnerabilities, to install a virus or other malware. Many times the malware will hijack your browser and redirect all your searches away from Google or Yahoo or MSN to the 'shady' search engine. Or they wind up at porn links...and multiple viruses, including rootkits and botnet droppers.

So if your ISP does redirect away from these parking pages, you'll end up at the first site that whatever search engine they are using thinks is the closest match to what you wanted.

If Gere wanted to protect himself from this, he would probably have to buy rareseed.com and point it to the main page, too. Then all the search engines would end up here...because there is actual content to the domain. This is the second way squatters attempt to cash in...they try to sell the similar domain names for outrageous amounts of money.

Still clear as mud?

[lorna-organic]

Sheesh! That explains some puzzlement I've experienced regarding searches. Thanks, MJC. Searching used to be so much easier (in the good old days, not so long ago).

[silverseeds]

what a stupid way to make money, I just dont get some people....

[tughillcam]

I own 'myheirloomseed.com' because I want to build a site with that name talking about it all... someone else owns 'myheirloomseeds.com' for mainly the same thing.(I'm assuming)-

it was quite by accident.
I didn't look for variances with the name. I just picked it.
Nothing is built yet though, and I won't have time soon.
ah well ;)

[mjc]

Tug, myheirloomseeds, is selling "Egyptian" heirlooms...looks like possibly overpriced 'survivalist' seed collections...

[tughillcam]

hoo boy.

thanks-