Ask Hn: How can I buy a parked domain if they have private registration?
I'm trying to buy a domain name from someone that's just kind of squatting on it. They bought it back in 1997 and using http://www.archive.org I was able to determine that they were trying to start a web hosting company. Since 2001 the domain has been parked and it's registered until September 2012.
The way I see it I can do 2 things:
1. Try to contact the person using the contact info in the whois records
2. Wait until it expires and do what Mike Davidson did to buy newsvine.com (see below for link)
The domain is registered with private registration (of course), so I shot an e-mail off a couple of weeks ago to the contact person at the registrar to see if they could put me into contact with the owner. No answer as of yet.
What would you do?
Article Link From Above: http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2005/03/how-to-snatch-an-expiring-domain
[Edit: Fixed formatting. I'll get the hang of it yet!]
9 comments
[ 0.17 ms ] story [ 29.9 ms ] threadGo to domaintools and do a whois on the site there. They can tell you things like how many other domains this registrant holds. How many times the whois information has changed (if it's ever NOT been private this is where you can look)
Maybe try and get in touch with a domain broker. I know the people who work for domainadvisors.com are very well connected in the "domaining" industry and she might be able to help you out. (look up T.R.A.F.F.I.C for a window into the world of domaining)
Services are not cheap though - you'd better really want the domain if you're planning on going that route.
I might have some more tips if you want to get in touch with me privately - alex dot chesser at gmail. (I don't know exactly how much help I can be - but I can help you hash out the ideas a bit more).
I might end up sending you an e-mail too. I really appreciate that you'd be willing to give up some of your time to help me out with this. I think the majority of us here on HN really value our time very highly (myself included), and it speaks worlds about your generosity to be willing to give some of it up. Thanks again!
Take a look at sedo.com, afternic.com & namejet.com to get an idea of what premium domains 'go for' in the aftermarket.
http://domainnews.com/ http://www.domainnamenews.com/ http://www.dnjournal.com/
Are some industry references that I've got in my RSS feeds. Unless you're prepared for the sorts of costs that domains go for, you might find yourself a little shocked by how much this person might want for the name alone.
Quite often it's worth it - but depending on the scope of your project - you might also want to consider looking for alternative names for your project. Someone recently posted http://impossibility.org/ to HN and I thought it was absoloutely brilliant. A domain name generator. It's bloody fantastic.
I've had a domain backordered since 1999 - it has had a parking page since it was purchased, and every year, about 7-10 days before it expires, it gets renewed. The domain isn't special, just one that meant something to me - and obviously him. Every year, about 60 days before renewal, I send an offer letter, he's responded a few times but has never asked for more money, just that he isn't interested in selling.
That said, a domain broker might be able to get a response. I wish you luck.
How would you respond to him?
Any offer will have to be enough to allow him to make some profit from the domain registration, possibly hosting, and perhaps a small incentive during the holidays for profiting on an unused domain. If the name is an actual word, he's going to assign some inherent value which might make the domain more valuable to him. The fact that you have some back and forth dialog means he's at least considered it enough to respond.
In cases like this, I generally let them suggest a price and use the 73% rule. Generally, they won't accept less than 73% of their initial offer. Once you have a number to work from, you can start to negotiate the purchase. If the answer exceeds what it is worth to you, you could try a hail mary and say, well, we really only had $x budgeted, thanks for your time. If you ever reconsider, please let us know.
Money today sometimes exceeds the possibility that he could sell the domain in the next year and make more than that, especially if you're the first offer he's had in a while. Until you get some starting point, it'll be difficult.
As for what you want the domain for, I would just say that you were considering a project and thought the domain would be a good fit. There are other domains you're looking at including another you have registered, but, you thought this domain had a slightly better fit.
Good luck with it.
example: domain.com@private-register.com will forward to the actual owner.