I want someone else's domain!!!

18 replies
Hey everyone!

Not been around around for a while. Been working on a new product.

But I have hit a problem. The .com domain for the name that I want call my product has been taken but has been 'Parked' at searchformydomain.com so I don't think it is being used.

How would I go about getting it?

Never done this before so your help would be welcome!

Thanks again guys!

Ben
#domain
  • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
    Ben,
    Who is the domain parked with?

    Also, have you looked up the domain in whois to see if the registration is private or if the email/address info is available?

    You can use a free service like Domain Tools to check this.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mr Lim
      Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

      Ben,
      Who is the domain parked with?

      Also, have you looked up the domain in whois to see if the registration is private or if the email/address info is available?

      You can use a free service like Domain Tools to check this.

      This is what I want to tell...

      You can see their information in WHOIS site, and this is where I got my e-mail SPAM BOX FILLED.

      There's also the telephone number I think.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kecia
    Is there a place on the parked page that you can submit a price or contact the owner?

    If not, try searching for the domain's WHO IS information. You should get a contact email that way.
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    KeciaHambrick.com - Blogger. Content Creator. Social Media Enthusiast.
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  • Profile picture of the author ours
    May be you can check who own the domain ( from whois) and can contact the person who own. Then may be you can convince him to sell you the domain. Hope I am able to guide you.
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  • Profile picture of the author krtinberg
    I always use Domain tools and check the Whois information. Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
    Use the Whois info to contact the owner. Shouldn't be too hard to buy the domain if it's parked.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ben_Doyle
    Thanks for your replies guy's!

    I have checked the Whois and I have an email address. But what would the process be if we agreed on a sale?

    Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Bass
    You could pay him through paypal and he would transfer the domain to you.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Jeremy Bass View Post

      You could pay him through paypal and he would transfer the domain to you.
      Depending on the price you agree to pay, you might want to use an escrow service. You pay the money into escrow, then release it once you have control of the domain name. Remember to change the password before releasing payment...
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  • Profile picture of the author Kai Pei
    I know GoDaddy offers a domain buying service where they negotiate the deal for you. They charge $70 dollars plus commission. However, that DOES NOT include a guarantee.

    Once you enter into an agreement, they track down the domain's owner to initiate a transaction. You get charged $70 for the service regardless of whether the domain owner decides to sell the domain.

    I can see how this MIGHT be handy if you're trying to remain anonymous throughout the negotiation process.

    Otherwise, go to Who.is: Whois Lookup, Website, Domain Name, and IP Tools - Who.is and type in the domain to find out the registrants information.

    Of course, if the domain's owner registered privately, then you won't see their contact information. In which case you may need to resort to a domain buying service like I mentioned above.

    GOOD LUCK!
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Be aware when you contact a domain owner letting them know you'd be interested in their domain, they will smell "big money" and will try to ask crazy amounts.

    I've found a domain name (.com) for a business with the same name owned by a guy in Ukraine. (I mean the domain is owned by him, not the business) The domain has a splash page (under construction) and nothing else.

    Sent an email asking for a "reasonable price"... Well, the guy started to tell me he already spent over $3,000 advertising it (yeah, my a$$ - an empty page under construction), so he would expect to get back his "investment".

    It was entertaining.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
    Some good tips here...

    How to Buy Domain Names Like a Pro: 10 Tips from the Founder of PhoneTag.com

    Be prepared for sticker shock.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Lots of good advice for you above, Ben. Wishing you good luck with this.

      Please excuse my gatecrashing your thread to whine, but these situations can be annoying. There's a domain I really want to buy. For over three years it's been sitting mostly unused, hosted and unparked, doing nothing. At one point (recently) its owner put something up on it - briefly - and I thought "Eew, well, they're not going to sell it to me now - they're finally using it". But now that's all gone, and the site's back to "coming soon" or something (which it said for a year or so before its brief content).

      And they don't reply to inquiry emails.

      Very difficult to know what to do. If anything. One doesn't want to look too keen to buy the thing, because that's going to inflate the price, for sure. :rolleyes:

      So far I've sent about 4 "casual interest" emails, over 3 years, saying that I might be interested in buying it since they don't seem to be using it and I might be able to ... and never once had a reply.

      I wish you better luck than I've had, anyway.
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael D Forbes
        Making initial contact is obviously required. Do what the above have stated.

        If you are patient, you may not have to pay some ridiculous amount.

        There was a domain I wanted that was owned by a domain reselling company. I contacted the and inquired about the price. It was 30 times what I was willing to pay. I politely laughed and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry I wasted your time, your price is not even close to what I can afford."

        They asked what I was willing to pay and I just said, "Sorry, I don't want to insult you, have a good day."

        Two weeks late I get an email, asking if I was still interested in that particular domain, because it was somehow magically "on sale" this month. If I remember correctly, it was about 1/3 of their original amount. Still 10 times more than my max.

        I replied kindly that I was sure I would never be able to afford their domain and I would be making alternative plans for my business.

        Interestingly, they quickly became interested in selling "At a loss" to "Help me out". This is what happens when the seller becomes more interested in selling than the buyer (appears to be) is in buying.

        We're close to a deal, and I've yet to tell them what I am willing to pay.

        Lesson- play it cool and don't show your hand. It doesn't always work so nice, but I'm sharing this so to illustrate that asking prices often have no basis in reality. A real, able buyer in hand will bring many domain sellers back to reality if they have any interest in actually selling.
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      • Profile picture of the author txconx
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        So far I've sent about 4 "casual interest" emails, over 3 years, saying that I might be interested in buying it since they don't seem to be using it and I might be able to ... and never once had a reply.

        I wish you better luck than I've had, anyway.
        For myself, money talks. Send them an offer and tell them it's good for 3 days. If you don't hear from them, they're not going to sell it to you.

        And as far as domaining goes, there are few things that irritate me more than having someone send me a "you're not doing anything with this domain name" e-mail. I'm more likely to delete an e-mail that contains no offer if it includes this phrase than I am to respond and ask how much the interested party is willing to pay. I'm more likely to respond, period, if the prospective buyer makes an offer at the outset.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by txconx View Post

          For myself, money talks.
          You sound like a domainer? This isn't that sort of situation. The domain belongs to a very beautiful black girl with whom I share a name - she evidently does some modelling work, and presumably bought it to display her photos (because that's the only content it's ever had, and that was very brief anyway).

          Originally Posted by txconx View Post

          Send them an offer and tell them it's good for 3 days.
          Yes, I could try that, I suppose ... thanks for the suggestion.

          It's not exactly a "big deal" - I'm probably willing to pay only about $100 for it anyway, and she'd probably feel that for that sort of money it's not worth selling (which is exactly what I'd feel in her position, I admit).

          Originally Posted by txconx View Post

          I'm more likely to respond, period, if the prospective buyer makes an offer at the outset.
          Point taken - thanks. Well, perhaps I'll try that, next time.
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          • Profile picture of the author txconx
            That's kind of different from the situation the OP describes, however. I thought you were talking about a niche name, not a name name.

            I wouldn't sell my name name domain name for any amount of money - so yeah, you're probably SOL on that one.

            Just please, anyone contacting a domain name owner - please don't tell them "you're not doing anything with it." Not only is it irrelevant, but what appears to you to be "nothing" may, in fact, be "something" to them.
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  • Profile picture of the author bagpuss0001
    As said, use whois.com and use the contact details to make them an offer. Mind you, if I was approached for my parked domain I would let it go for peanuts. :-)
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