Gold digging - is sale of account doable?

AppleInLVX said:

Hey there. Question for you all.

I have one of the earliest mobileme accounts, and therefore one of the easiest email addresses. That said, I am thinking of letting MobileMe go at the end of my current subscription. I find the only thing I use it for can be got elsewhere for far cheaper.

What I was wondering is if there's a market for people selling their enviable MobileMe accounts, and if it's even legal to do so?

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I have a number of mac.com email addresses but I certainty wouldn't pay for the letters "mac"...

Usernames, once used, aren't recycled like phone numbers. Once taken, they're not made available again by pretty much any provider I'm aware of.

It won't lapse and be available at any point in the future. It's yours.

I'm sure somebody would be willing to buy it, but it wouldn't be through any official channels.

I would never trust anyone enough to buy or sell something like that. It's not like a phone number where you can officially get it changed over. You're giving someone else your email password. Friends, family, bills, etc that send to that email address are now fair game to the person you sell to. Just something to think about.

JNB said:

Usernames, once used, aren't recycled like phone numbers. Once taken, they're not made available again by pretty much any provider I'm aware of.

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Agreed, Apple doesn't reuse email addresses. They're tied to too many things that could really cause headaches. Apple's support forum, itunes, are just two examples.

Given the the fact that you can register your own domain, a short email address isn't in too much demand at this stage.

I also have been an .mac user since day one (back when it was called iTools), though I will renew as the work to change my email addresses eclipses the cost savings.