Getting a domain already registered

[vixxx]

Hello everyone,

I registered a .co.uk site for my community group and forum in May 2008.

This evening it has come to my attention that a 'rival' group bought the same url but .com in june 2008!

Argh!!

Of course I shuld have done this myself at the same time - but I was new to this website lark.

The question is - how can I get my hands on this domain name?

I know who has it registered and even his address (he live 12miles away) but as things are not good between the two sites I would prefer not to directly contact him.

It is up for renewal in june 2009. Is there any chance at all of me getting it then? Or will it just be automatically renewed?

Sorry if I sound stupid.

x

[Gene Pimentel]

vixxx,

There is not much you can do but hope he doesn't renew it. Of course, you could make him a decent offer to see if he's willing to sell (and you can do it annonymously). The only other option is to place it on backorder at a site like snapnames.com, and IF it becomes available, they can usually snap it up for you the second it's available.

[vixxx]

Thank you very much! I will go to snapnames.com. There is no point in an anonymous bid as they would know it is me! x

[Sam Rodrigo]

X,

IF you have a trademark claim, you can make a legal claim, since you used the name first. The TLD (.com, .net) etc. does not usually become part of the trademark. I am not in the business of legal council, so, I suggest you talk this over with a lawyer as well. The idea is that IF you have a unique claim that you demonstrated *before* the .com, you might have a right to it.

Just an idea to explore. It is rather difficult once a registration is made to end up with it --unless they sell to you.

Good luck,
Sam

[vixxx]

Thanks. The .com they bought which is the same as my site (lets say "sausages.co.uk") just forwards people to their site ("bangers.co.uk") - they are not actually using it except to be petty!

[Trieu]

When looking for a domain, I always go for a .com before .net or .uk as its more valuable. You can contact the owner using whois and ask if whether he/she is willing to sell it

[Steadyon]

I hate to say it but many of us have made this mistake in the past.

If you do get a good domain, especially a brand type name, then definitely make sure you buy the main variants of it, such as .com .net .org and any other ones you may think are important such as country specific.

It can definitely be worth the extra $100 or so a year.

Good luck on trying to get it. You may find though that for $10 a year they just keep paying it. You may have to hope their credit card record doesn't get updated and they lose interest. Or if it is genuinely worth it, make them an offer.

Don't let it get you down though. Either make your business better than their's or change your domain if it is that vital.

[Mo Goulet]

Make an offer. I'm sure they did not buy it to aggravate you. They bought it to sell it back to you at a higher price which they hope will aggravate you in the long run but how you handle it is up to you. I would start with a low offer like $50 and see how they reply.

Here's a tip for those of you who are into this domain buying craze.

Try searching for the name you are looking at and see what names or domains are pointing to it.

I own a 4 letter domain CDBN.com and if you search for CDBN on Google, the National Bank of Canada has the .CA and I see them looking at my website at least 3 times a week...I even put up a teaser to sell it but they do not know I see them every time they log onto my site? LOL

They ultimately have to pay since I've owned it for 10 years.