Trying to acquire a web domain....advice needed.

[ArkiStan]

So some of my friends and I are starting a small company and we have a slightly peculiar company name. We want to acquire the web domain, www. [ourcompanyname].com but it seems like some random dude has it and he's not using it for anything useful: just some stupid place holder type website. The whois database shows the following for the domain:

Domain Name: ourcompanyname.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: NS.INTERPIA98.NET
Name Server: NS.PIAHOST.NET
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 22-jun-2006
Creation Date: 26-feb-2000
Expiration Date: 26-feb-2011

We considered approaching him for a sale, but we're afraid that would simply let him know the domain is in demand and he'll just make a ridiculous offer (we have very little money) and he'll make sure to renew it when it expires. As of now it seems like he hasn't touched the website/domain for over two years, so if we stay quiet, we're hoping he'll forget to renew it and we'll try to snag it as soon as his ownership expires in early 2011.

My questions is this. Is this an unethical approach? Considering our tight budget, is there a better way to approach this problem? This venture means a lot to us and I'm quite sure this domain is much more important to us than for this squatter.

[renovation]

i feel your right about the guy /person holding the site he want big $$$$.
have you thought about .net in place of .com or did he buy it up to ?

[DarkFury]

I'd agree with either going for the .net version of the name if available.

If that won't work, then maybe it would be cheaper to find an alternative name that would still identify with your company. You might even use a dash (-) to get around your problem.

Like these:

ourcompany-name.com
or ourcompanyname.net
or ourcompanynameLLC.com
or ourcompanynameINC.com

[ArkiStan]

we'll we've bought the .NET and .ORG versions of the domain, all of which will be forwarded to the same address. we even have the "-" (dash) version for all extensions. so we're okay for now, but to run as a business i feel people will go first to the dashless .COM address. okay, maybe i'm just being picky/greedy?

[Jeffbx]

No, you're perfectly within your rights to do what you're doing, although by registering the .NET & .ORG names, you may have tipped him off & he'll be sure to re-register.

It's one thing if someone already used the name for their business, but IMHO domain squatting should be illegal. If someone registers a name, they should be required to host something or at the very least have documents that prove they intend to.

It's gotten so bad that now squatting is automated. Give this a try - start trying to get to some random domain name that doesn't exist. Google it, 'try' to go to the web page, look it up on Whois. Repeat this for a while, and within a few weeks someone will own that name & have a website 'parked' there.

[attgig]

is your company incorporated, etc? i thought there was a law against squatting.

[MrGreg]

I am not a lawyer, and this strategy may or may not be true...

but I've heard about asking to buy the domain, specifically how much do you want for it. If they respond with a price, particularly a high one, then that can be used against them to demonstrate that they are squatting on the domain. Might make it easier to prove they have no intent to use it themselves.

But, of course, you're then tipping off that you are interested. Again, I don't know if this actually works or not, but might be worth looking into.

[Thesifer]

Also at least with all of my domains, they are "Auto-renew" They just charge my credit card when the time comes near, they never lapse. Even though they have an Expiration date, they won't go public.

[Cubsfan]

As far as squatting, I don't think that applies here. Looks the domain was registered in 2000? Since his domain predates the company by 8 years, probably can't consider it squatting anymore.

[ArkiStan]

As far as squatting, I don't think that applies here. Looks the domain was registered in 2000? Since his domain predates the company by 8 years, probably can't consider it squatting anymore.

the owner of the domain has no company. just a place holder. i have the company and not the domain.

[ArkiStan]

Also at least with all of my domains, they are "Auto-renew" They just charge my credit card when the time comes near, they never lapse. Even though they have an Expiration date, they won't go public.

yeah that would suck. i guess i'll wait until 2011 and if it auto renews, i'll just approach the guy with a decent offer. hopefully by then we'll be able to present him with a decent offer.

[Thesifer]

yeah that would suck. i guess i'll wait until 2011 and if it auto renews, i'll just approach the guy with a decent offer. hopefully by then we'll be able to present him with a decent offer.


You might be putting too much stock in one domain name though. I mean there has to be something close, or something similar, or shortened, or whatever that can work just as well without that domain.

Theres no acronym you can use or anything?

[ArkiStan]

You might be putting too much stock in one domain name though. I mean there has to be something close, or something similar, or shortened, or whatever that can work just as well without that domain.

Theres no acronym you can use or anything?

we'd really like that particular domain but it's no big deal. we have a bunch of other domains that are similar so we'll get by for now. thanks for the advice everybody.

:wavey:

[hotbatch]

If you've created your company after 26-feb-2000 there's really no way to wrest it from this guy. In fact, he could make (although spectacularly unsuccessfully) a claim that your company infringes his website.