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How to buy a website that's not for sale?

by IMPromocoder
15 replies
Hi all,
I came upon a site/blog that hasn't been updated for more than two years. The domain is about to expire very soon and I'm interested to own the site ( not only the domain but also the content).
What is the process of getting there? There's an administrative contact I found using whois, this is not the actual owner of the site but rather just a web design services company. Yet they are listed as the contact person, along with an email. And there are the writers, who I believe to be the owners of the content. All I found was their twitter accounts and not emails.
What would be the correct way to approach this for the fastest resolution? Should I say I want to keep the blog alive before it's expired and is lost along with it's content? Should I say I want to purchase it for money?

Appreciate the help.
#buy #sale #website
  • Profile picture of the author Gambino
    I would say email the web design company and ask who owns the website and their for their contact info. Then I'd tweet the owners and say you're interested in their site.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    It depends on the registrar. If the registrar is GD, they sometimes keep the site alive while trying to sell the domain. If the registrar doesn't keep the site, the PR will get affected.
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    • Profile picture of the author IMPromocoder
      Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

      It depends on the registrar. If the registrar is GD, they sometimes keep the site alive while trying to sell the domain. If the registrar doesn't keep the site, the PR will get affected.
      It is GD, but it doesn't matter, I need owners' approval to own/use their content. The site itself without the old content is worthless.
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      • Profile picture of the author nate55@bellsouth.net
        IMPromocoder: This is interesting. Could you please tell how you came about this website? Was it after you doing research or by "mistake" that you found this website? I mean, do you use a particular method to find them? thanks
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        • Profile picture of the author IMPromocoder
          Originally Posted by nate55@bellsouth.net View Post

          IMPromocoder: This is interesting. Could you please tell how you came about this website? Was it after you doing research or by "mistake" that you found this website? I mean, do you use a particular method to find them? thanks
          No research, happened to stumble upon it on a Google search, hasn't updated for more than 2 years, has tons of quality content and is about to expire, hope to keep it alive.
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    I would contact the web design company, since they might have contact information on the actual owner of the website.

    The bottom line is that you will have to locate the owner, then do everything in your power to contact that person. I would recommend calling that person, or sending a UPS-delivered proposal to ensure that you can get their attention.
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    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    The way I've done it is use the contact info on the site and contact the owner and make an offer. I've bought two that way at reasonable prices.
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    when negotiating, structure your deal as minimum down, and give them a % or payments based on future success for a limited amount of time.
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  • Profile picture of the author DeborahDera
    Are you sure it's really going to expire? Just because the date is coming up doesn't mean the person doesn't have it set on an automatic renewal? I once worked for an SEO company who tried to buy a blog that hadn't been updated in over a year. It just so happened to have really good rankings and the last post ever published was a reputation management issue for a client we were working for. The guy didn't know we were doing the reputation management project, but he did NOT want to sell. He just wanted to hold onto it for when he felt like dealing with it again.
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  • Profile picture of the author helpandinfo
    That is a very good point about the owner having it set possibly to auto renew. Anyway if there hasn't been any updates for at least 2 years then I would suggest that maybe the owner isn't that interested. I would ring the administrative owner personally. It's always the best way to get directly to the person concerned. E-mails easily get lost or forgotten etc. that person should be able to give you all the information you need as to whether it's possibly available or not..
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  • Profile picture of the author MrJonny
    The best method, in fact probably the only method, is to email the owner or use the contact form and ask him or her if they are looking to sell the website.
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  • Profile picture of the author onegoodman
    I would go to who.is. see who own the site ( or at least in charge ) and contact him, he would probably be the best person to contact and help you. If the one who has the contact info is not the owner, he can at least direct you to the right person.
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    • Profile picture of the author IvoryPulse
      I can only agree with all other posts. To buy a website you need to contact an owner. If there is any sort of contact information or e-mail form on the webpage, you can start there. If there is no response, the second best thing to do is to check the domain info, find the responsible person and get in touch with them. Even if they're not the owners they will know where to look for the right person.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    Do you have a phone number for the admin contact? If so, call them and ask. Chances are, they will be able to connect you with the site owner.

    At one time, when the owner cared more, they may have had alternative contact info (like a phone number) posted on the site. Look it up in the wayback machine and see if you can find it.

    I recently did exactly that and was able to buy a category-killer domain for one of my projects on a site that was otherwise all dead-ends.
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    • Profile picture of the author MarketMaster13
      Hoping that their contact information has some email,I would advice you drop some email there declaring your interest to buy their site.
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