Getting a domain that's already taken.

msarge · 05-05-2009, 09:04 AM

Hey there forum readers,

I have a question. There is a domain that I really want but somebody got it a few months ago and used it for his World of Warcraft guild for about one month, and then stopped using the site all together, then I believe his guild fell apart, and the site has been stagnant for three months. So I'm thinking he might not be all that interested in the url anymore. I'm thinking about trying to contact him and seeing if he would be interested in letting me have the domain.

So my question is, how does that process usually transpire? What can I expect, and what do you suggest I do to ensure the process goes smoothly? The domain was registered at godaddy, should I go backorder the site now before I try to contact him?

I'm sorry I'm so full of questions I'm somewhat new to this. I've had crappy little websites for years, but I'm just now ready to get serious with it.

Thanks for your responses!

TerryMason · 05-05-2009, 03:32 PM

Let's say he has the name at godaddy...

You signup for a godaddy account

he goes into his godaddy control panel and "pushes" the domain to your godaddy account. There is no charge for this, and it's about instantaneous. I think that all registrars have this setup.

SiberForum · 05-06-2009, 11:36 PM

As you know which thoughts he has I would recommend you contact him if you are interested in the domain name. Good luck

holdem8 · 05-08-2009, 07:05 AM

Just email him and ask him if he wanted to sell it. If yes, then negotiate a price.

Once the deal is done, check out escrow.com. Initiate a transaction there and Escrow.com will take care of all these stuffs for you. Good luck!

JobsEmployment · 05-10-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by holdem8

Just email him and ask him if he wanted to sell it. If yes, then negotiate a price.

Once the deal is done, check out escrow.com. Initiate a transaction there and Escrow.com will take care of all these stuffs for you. Good luck!

Yep, ditto.
Make sure you don't sound like a robot - let him/her know you are 'into' it.
Mention your crap site so they don't think they have a 'sugar daddy' with big $$.

lordspace · 05-10-2009, 12:52 PM

Is it a nice .com domain ?
Are there any other alternatives ?

**ScriptMan** · 05-10-2009, 03:19 PM

Just do a whois and send the guy an email

Domain owners get a bit of scam mail like this so you may have to mail him more than once.

Or spend 44 cents and mail him a letter.

TerryMason · 05-10-2009, 07:23 PM

Just a heads up from my experiences:

I had a guy offer to buy one of my websites. He contacted me and asked how much I wanted. I told him to make me an offer. He then told me what a crappy site I had, and how I couldn't be making much money because my site was so bad. It's the same mentality that causes a person to point out all the dents to a used car salesman before making a lowball offer. I told him to buzz off because he came off as a jerk.

So, no matter how bad you think his site is, don't tell him. He may be proud of it.