Eflowers by Any Other Name . . .

Marc Ostrofsky turned a $70 investment in an Internet domain name into the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift--a dozen long-stemmed roses for his wife every month for the rest of her life.

Since Ostrofsky spent $70 to register the eflowers.com domain name two years ago, about 100 companies have offered to buy it from him. But the publisher of Telecom Business magazine in Houston said he wasn’t motivated to sell the name until he got an offer last week from Flowers Direct, a floral delivery firm in Tampa. Flowers Direct said it would pay $25,000 for the name plus a 50-cent commission for every order placed on the eflowers Web site (https://www.eflowers.com)--but it took the monthly dozen roses to close the deal, Ostrofsky said.

Flowers Direct liked the flowers-for-life idea so much it decided to offer the service on its Web site for $2,495, said Chief Executive Bill McClure. But when Ostrofsky learned the comparatively low retail value of the bouquets, he said he wished he had held out for more.

As for his wife, Sara Ostrofsky said she thought the flowers would be “fun,” but her first question after being informed of the deal was “Where’s the check?”