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TheDomains.com

The Story Of How Harvey Levin Bought The Domain TMZ.com For $5K

February 15, 2016 by Michael Berkens

indextmz

The Newyorker, just published a very interesting story on the history of TMZ, including the story on how the founder of the company, Harvey Levin bought the domain name for just $5,000 back in 2005.

“The site needed a name, and “Feed the Beast,” “Frenzie,” and “Buzz Feed” were all considered, according to Rowe’s notes. Then, one day, a Telepictures executive suggested “Thirty Mile Zone.” It was an old movie-industry phrase, dating back to the mid-twentieth century, which designated the industry’s boundaries in Los Angeles.

Levin suggested an abbreviated version: TMZ.

“The domain name tmz.com, however, was owned by a man who built robots—the site’s initials stood for “Team Minus Zero”—and he showed little interest in selling. “We had the guy’s name, and we knew that he worked at a computer-parts company.

“One day, Levin decided to go see the man, and he asked to borrow someone modest rental car, so that he wouldn’t appear to be wealthy. (Levin drove a Mercedes.) “Harvey called him up, went over, wrote him a check for five grand, and bought the URL”

If you are a fan of TMZ or just want to read about a story of how a company like this got to be so successful in a short period of time check it out at here

Filed Under: Domain Names, Domain Sales, Domains, Media, Three Letter Domains Tagged With: domain, domain name, domain names, Domains, Harvey Levin, how much did tmz.com domain cost, mz, TMZ, tmz.com

About Michael Berkens

Michael Berkens, Esq. is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheDomains.com. Michael is also the co-founder of Worldwide Media Inc. which sold around 70K domain to Godaddy.com in December 2015 and now owns around 8K domain names . Michael was also one of the 5 Judges selected for the the Verisign 30th Anniversary .Com contest.

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Comments

  1. Acro says

    February 15, 2016 at 11:06 am

    In 2005, five grand for a LLL .com domain with a “Z” was quite generous. The seller got a good deal at the time, and the buyer got the domain plus a story to tell.

  2. Jan Crawford says

    February 15, 2016 at 11:59 am

    They pay more for tips and videos –TMZ blackmailed Justin Bieber, paid $100G for Ray Rice vid http://nydn.us/1oimAEU

  3. @domains says

    February 15, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    Chip domains were even selling well back then!


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