Hi,

I want to start an Export-Import business and a major portion of the
work will be conducted over the web. I am looking for an appealing and
easy to remember name for my business.

Here are my primary requirements

(1) Domain Name(without requiring hyphens) should be available for the
name.

(2) The name may or may not indicate the type of business (e.g.
smallworld , alibaba , Banana Republic). I will accept out-of-the-box
and unusual names provided they make somekind of a connection.

(3) It should be preferably small (however I will accept a long name
if it is really catchy)

(4) Please be creative and do not suggest "another tree in the forest"
names like tradethis or tradethat or somethingtrade etc.

Generous tips awaits the person who suggests the winning name.


Thanks,

ByStander

---

Request for Question Clarification by errol-ga on 08 Apr 2003 18:00 PDT

Is there any particular type of product that you import or export?
Is it worldwide or just to certain areas?
I understand if you would like to keep this information confidential,
so please do not post it if it would make you feel uncomfortable.
Regards,
errol-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by chellphill-ga on 08 Apr 2003 19:51 PDT

Greetings  bystander-ga,
I have been trying to come up with some potential names for you to
choose from. What would help is knowing a few specifics from you if
that's ok?
1. Are you wanting a name/domain made up of just one word, or can it
be a combination of words as long as there are no hyphens?
2. If combo names are ok, are there any words in particular that you
would like, or words that you specifically object to? (such as shop,
ect)
3. The goods you will be selling, are they category specific, such as
selling only clothes and wearables, or only decorative/home items, or
is it a little bit of everything?
4. If you could, please describe what kind of "feel" you want the name
to have.
(generic or all encompassing, exotic, amusing, clever, professional
sounding ect)
Thanks,
chellphill-ga

Personally, after the last three or four "name my business" questions
have taken all of our suggestions, then never paid a "winner", I don't
think I'll participate in any more of these.

- Hammer

I'm sorry ByStander that you are receiving the "fallout" from our past
experiences with this type of question.  But I have to ditto what
hammer-ga has said.

digsalot

Hammer,

Not sure what you mean. I am a newbee to google anwers so don't know
how think work here.
Just to clarify ....This is a serious query and I am really looking
forward to getting a name for my biz (or atleast some good ideas...)
and yes, I will pay up..if that is your concern... with tips to match
the effort.

ByStander

Wait! Someone has restored my faith!
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=184527

Perhaps I'll reconsider. :)

Sorry bystander, I know that you're new, but over the past few months
a number of people have posted questions just like yours, gotten
hundreds of good suggestions, then deliberately expired their question
and walked off. It's made us all a bit cranky.

- Hammer

Hammer,
Having searched endlessly for a suitable name myself, I fully
appreciate the time and effort that goes into this. Infact there are
companies who make their money by doing just this (e.g. check out
AHundredMonkeys.com). Rest assured , I have no intentions of running
away with your names. I am excited about naming my company and any
ideas in this regard will be suitably rewarded (Just remember that
domain availability is a requirement).

Thanks,

ByStander

Hi Bystander,

Let me see if I can shed a little light for you...

We've recently had a spate of "name my business" questions here at GA,
in which the customers ask for business name suggestions, with
promises of payment and tip to the Researcher whose name they choose.

Comments add up with a hundred or more suggestions...then the customer
expires the question, never to be heard from again.  And no one
playing the "Name My Business Lottery" gets the jackpot.  This has
been the case *every*single*time*.

I'm sure you can understand why Researchers are shying away from this
sort of question now.

This isn't precisely the way Google Answers is supposed to work.  The
way the system works is that the customer decides how much he's
willing to pay for his information, asks a question, and then a
Researcher *answers* it.  In the Answer box.  Not in the comments,
hoping the customer chooses his or her answer so s/he can get paid,
but answers it outright in the proper space.

Your question in its current incarnation doesn't fit within that
structure.  By offering payment to the person with the "best"
suggestion, you're essentially asking a number of Researchers to
expend their time and effort for free with the incentive of *maybe*
one of them getting paid for their work, when they could be actually
answering other questions and earning an income.  (For many of us,
this is not a hobby - it's a *job*.)

You might have more luck if you simply change the format of your
question.  Rather than offer payment to the suggestion you like the
best, rephrase it such that the Researcher who chooses to answer
provide you with a list of 5 or 10 or 15 names that fit your criteria.

Respectfully,

--Missy

Missy,

Thanks for clarifying things for me.

Obviously, I cannot pay every researcher who suggests names for my
company here. However, as I have said before, even if I do not finally
select one name, I am willing to pay (+ tip) the person who put in the
greatest effort and generated good ideas.

This is the best I can do. Please let me know (since I am new to this
place) if the above is not acceptable here so I will close this
question and save my and your time.

I am a bit frustrated that instead of getting "answers" here, I am
having to prove my "honesty" first.

ByStander

greatexportations?
Been reading this one for a while, and this is all I have come up with.

sorry I don't have any names to add.....but I just wanted to say that
I think "greatexportations" is fantastic! Great thinking,
shockwaveracing!:-)

Hey there bystander, 

You seem to have inadvertantly found yourself in a bit of a pickle
here. A kettle of cranky researchers -- yipes! Nothing scarier! But I
see you understand what the issue is here and I hope understand that
it isn't you. It's all those who walked on us before you.

My thought is, if you are feeling at all adventurous and don't mind
being the guinea pig, maybe we can agree on a new way of doing things.

What you want is a name .. or at least a really GOOD attempt at one
... for your money. Fair enough. What we want is to get paid for our
work. Also fair, no?

My suggestion would be that you decide how many ideas your $15 should
pay for. Define it for us. Then any researcher who thinks they can
come up with that many good names can lock your question and answer it
and actually get paid.


What you would have to decide is that you are paying for THE EFFORT OF
GENERATING QUALIFIED IDEAS not necessarily THE NAME.

Meanwhile, everyone else can just post comments like they are now.
Then, if down the road you decide to use a name provided by a
different researcher and want to pay him/her, you can post a specific
question to that researcher.

That's my thought ... what do you think?

--K~

I'm not a Researcher, so what the hell!

knowledge_seeker has (inadvertently) suggested a marvellous name:

guineapig

And, yes, it is available but only with the me.uk extension which
seems delightfully appropriate.

One of my daughters has a guinea pig, called Pixie, but I shall give
you first refusal.

Go for it!

Regards

Bryan

bystander,

You said << I am a bit frustrated that instead of getting "answers"
here, I am
having to prove my "honesty" first. >>

It's not a question of having to prove your honesty, and no one here
is casting aspersions on your character.

The way Google Answers works is that you offer a fee, state your
requirements, and any Researcher who feels that they can meet your
needs, and that your fee is reasonable for the work required, posts an
Answer.

What you've asked for are Comments. Free ones. I'm sure you can
understand if Researchers are reluctant to provide them; would you do
a lot of professional work for someone you don't know, free of charge?

Furthermore, the Editors (our "bosses") have instructed us NOT to
Answer Questions with the expectation of a tip, since there is no way
to guarantee that it will be included; we have been told to Answer
Questions only if we feel that the fee is appropriate for the effort
required to Answer it.

All you have to do is specify how many name suggestions you would like
to receive for your $15.00, and what you require in terms of AVAILABLE
domain names (such as no hyphens, .com only, both .com and .net must
be available, must include a certain word(s), etc.). Then one of our
wonderfully creative Researchers who feels that the fee is appropriate
for the work involved will provide you with an Answer.

I hope that this explanation has helped you to understand the Google
Answers process a little better.

If you still have Questions, you might try reading the 

Google Answers Help & Tips
http://answers.google.com/answers/help.html
and
Google Answers FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
http://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html

to see if that helps to make things clearer.

Best Wishes,

ace

WeShipIt.com

www.orgasmic.us (the .com is gone)
Slogan - we move the earth for you.

TransEarthTraders.com

spanglefish.com

Gee Missy I hope that  the lady from my country was not one of those
people that you explained was just out to get good quality free info
for nothin'. You may remember a cupla weeks back when she got back a
huge list of very well thought out  busines name ideas for her
lady-run lawn-cutting business operating from my city Melbourne,
Australia. If so then I am ashamed of her and apologise on behalf of
the rest of Australia as well. Generally we are not like that.
 I must make sure that I never use her service and before I forget I
may go and give her a serve via the comments column on her question
sheet.