Carolina RailHawks Trademark and Web Domain Name Goes for $14,999.00
The Carolina RailHawks eBay sale for the trademark name is now over. The winner is j**c, whomever that is, who seem to duke it out with r**a (whomever that was).
Speculation was flying on Saturday as to who the two parties were but it’s likely we will know the winner within weeks as the NASL starts to set up shop as the new team in Cary, NC.
The bidding started slowly but heated up going up nearly $10 thousand the last 24 hours. The final bid was $14,999.00.
The winner of the bid received the Carolina RailHawks brand, including the common law trademarked team name and all associated logos, symbols, designs, slogans, and mascot (Swoop), and the internet domain name www.carolinarailhawks.com.
All in all there were 55 bids placed and the best part of deal must have been the “FREE Standard Shipping” that was advertised with the deal.
For more information on why the RailHawks name and merchandise was sold on auction please see this earlier article I posted.
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This is, without a doubt, one of the ten most absurd moments in sports business history.
Yeah, selling off the stuff makes sense. But seriously, an eBay auction for the team trademarks? Even as a Carolina man, I can’t help laughing.
For $14,999.00, shipping better be free. I just hope someone auctions off “Stability in D2 Soccer.” Now that is something that would be PRICELESS.
The J**C guy is the owner of it. Bidding started at $500ish and that individual auto bid it up to the $14,999 so that is either the Wellmans or it is Traffic. It is not an outside bidder or person.
I bet it was one person who bid on the Railhawks trademark not two and he was bidding against himself. One person raised the price to $14,999.
Actually, there is more discussion about that here.
@ Soccer Boy – love the comment about putting “Stability in D2 Soccer” up for bids. LOL LOL
“I bet it was one person who bid on the Railhawks trademark not two and he was bidding against himself. One person raised the price to $14,999.”
Isn’t that against eBay rules?
And there wasn’t even a late snipe bid, go figure…lol!
Yes, that is an Ebay listing rules violation if you get caught. Although considering the final value fee they’ll collect if that sale goes through, I’m sure they’d conveniently overlook it.
@RedCard – What you’re saying doesn’t make much sense. The only person interested in driving the price up as high as possible would be the seller. Well, check that a second. I could see Holt, papdakis, and Marcos sitting around a laptop pushing it higher and giggling like school girls just for fun. But anyway, If the Wellmans wanted more then $500 for it, they wouldn’t need to artificially bid it up, they could have simply started the auction at a higher price.
Crazy that this is the process that would have to be gone through, but I do hope it was Traffic that wound up with the rights. Marketing the Carolina team as anything other then the Railhawks at this late date would be extremely difficult. The $15k for the name and domain rights would be WELL worth it.
I think that’s was he was implying. The seller could create another phony ID and artifically drive the auction price up himself. Some have done that in the past (and I’m sure still do); they’ll start at a low price to try and attract bidders, then hopefully get one or more of them engaged in a bidding war. An obviously shady practice, but it happens.
Sorry, don’t mean to turn this into an Ebay thread! Now back to our regularly scheduled program……
Now if I can just learn to spell ARTIFICIALLY properly, I’d be all set!
You artifically spelled artificially. I think this discussion is somewhat about the bid and eBay. No apologies needed.
@BQ – Hearing anything about the aftermath of the firesale? I know a couple of people have posted that they were told an announcement was forthcoming that they would be happy about, but nothing more substantial it seems. Unless the league is already prepared to drop down to D3, they have no choice but to get the Railhawks back up and running right away. Time is growing short, and there are still so many questions to be answered…..
BTW, listened to your appearance on that Kick This show. Those guys sound like total clowns. Your presence on the show undoubtedly brought them to new heights of class and soccer knowledge. They spent more time talking about the lingerie football league then they did anything pro soccer related. I’ve heard a lot of negative comments levied at them and their show in the past, but never listened before now. I’m understanding the negative feedback about them now after having done so though, heh.
Strikers Return. I haven’t heard anything and don’t know if I will for a while. Also, the people that were told that an announcement was forthcoming is (I think) the same thing we were hearing last week from the NASL people. But that announcement sounded as if it would be several weeks away. Is that too long? Yes! Is there anything they can do about that until they find out if they sanctioning or not and have all the legal stuff cleaned up in Cary? No, not a chance.
“I could see Holt, papdakis, and Marcos sitting around a laptop pushing it higher and giggling like school girls just for fun.”
You’re like 22 years old, aren’t you?
You just…honestly…have no idea how things work, do you? And no interest in anything that doesn’t play directly into your fanboy mentality.
My GOD, man. Grow up, would you?
Easy there Ken. After all, that’s what lawyers are paid to do.
I don’t think Holt, Papadakis or Marcos would waste their time over trying to juice up the price to $14,999. In the real world, that is nothing and it would have no effect on Traffic.
But more to the point, NASL is not competition for USL anymore anyway, unless NASL goes to D3.
@Bart – Tell that to the folks in SA. And wasn’t USL’s 16th team suppose to be in Ft. Lauderdale? Considering all the little jabs each group takes at each other, they clearly view each other as competition.
Sad day for 2nd division soccer. Railhawks was another spotlight for players to showcase their talent.
@KT – LOL You’re too much Kenn. That’s what you’re going to pick out of my post to rant about? Am I 22 years old? I’ve mentioned multiple times, not that you pay attention to anything really other then the anti-USL comments that send you into a frenzy, that I attended numerous Strikers games at Lockhart in the late 70′s and early 80′s. Simple math gets you quickly to the conclusion that you are indeed incorrect. Or wait, were you fishing for my age for some other reason Kenn? Perhaps I should just let you know now that I’m a happily married man, and I don’t play for the “other team” if you know what I mean. Ok, glad we cleared that up. LOL Honestly, considering your choice of words and quickness to anger at anything even remotely anti-USL, I’m very confident in believing that no matter what our differences in age, which probably isn’t all that great unless you’re an even more crotchity old man then you appear to be, maturity is not something I’m lagging behind you in. LOL
Anyway, as Dave said, considering the shots that have been taken by both sides over the last year, who is to say ANYTHING, no matter how absurd, is beyond either of these bitter rivals? And really, that’s what it has become. It was initiated by the TOA breakaway, but it is dragging on longer then it needs to thanks to USL. When the USSF released their standards, and NASL made the decision to attempt to meet them, while USL decided to drop to D3 instead, that SHOULD have been the end. Different leagues, different directions, one with some very hefty standards, one with really none at all. Bart stated as much just now, and I whole-heartedly agree. They’re aren’t supposed to be competing anymore, they’re supposed to be building their own levels on the North American soccer pyramid. But that’s when the USL “manuevering” all began. Anyway, we all know the story from there, so there’s no need to keep rehashing all its bitter details.
Bottom line is the USL is indeed on more solid footing then the NASL. But, it sure was easier to get that more solid footing by jumping down a step, rather then climbing up the face of the sheer cliff to the new plateau USSF set aloft for anyone to reach.