Frustrated that a domain “squatter” is sitting on a domain you want and doing absolutely nothing with it?! Why not try to buy it so you can put it to good use.
There are basically two ways to get a domain that someone else owns: either buy it outright from them, or wait until it expires and snatch it up.
Here’s some tips I’ve learned in my experience buying domain names:
Buying a domain directly from the owner
In my opinion, this is the least attractive of the two options, as it’s a lot more hassle and risk. But in some cases, it’s really the only realistic option.
To find out who owns a domain, run a WhoIs search on the domain. In many cases, the owner may have domain privacy so you can’t see who owns it. In that case, I would guess that they probably aren’t interested in selling.
If you can find the owner’s contact info, contact them via email or phone and find out if they’re interested in selling the domain. You’re at a big disadvantage in doing this, as once they know someone wants it, it instantly becomes more valuable to them!
I once inquired about a domain and asked how much they wanted for it. Needless to say, I wasn’t interested once they told me they wanted $2,500 for it! Learning from that experience, I would recommend making an offer upfront. Don’t ask how much they want for it; tell them how much you’re willing to pay.
Obviously, you run the risk of offering them too much, but I think that risk is pretty small. You’ve got nothing to lose by offering someone $100 for a domain you really want, and you never know – they might just take it, especially if they need the money!
I’ve never actually completed the process of buying a domain directly from the owner, but I would encourage you to use extreme caution and make sure you are very careful about the payment and transfer process. You don’t want to have them take your money and never transfer the domain to you!
Buying an expiring domain
What if the domain you want is about to expire? Or, you want it, but not that bad, so you’re willing to wait for it? I’d recommend trying to snatch it up when it expires. Of course, you run the risk that you don’t get it at all, but there are ways to try to get it without paying a cent unless you actually do score the domain.
My husband recently discovered a domain we wanted was actually expired, and in its grace period! The owner had let it expire, and the domain registrar had extended a grace period of an unknown length (it varies by registrar). Once we realized we were so close to getting the domain, we did some research and found that there are a few ways to try to snatch domain names as soon as they were available.
We used two different services, one of which I would recommend, and one I would not. And, there’s a third I would definitely recommend using as well. Here they are:
Both Snap Names and Name Jet will monitor the domain for you and try to register it as soon as it expires. The awesome thing is that you don’t pay unless they actually get the domain for you, which means it’s basically a no-risk option.
I would recommend setting up both of these domain snatching services to have a better chance at getting the domain. I made the mistake of only using Name Jet, and Snap Names ended up getting it. I was actually able to get it through an auction at Snap Names (and only paid a bit more than I would have for the domain snatching service), but I would definitely use Snap Names!
We also paid for Domain Alert through Go Daddy. Go Daddy was the domain’s registrar, so we thought that perhaps they would have a better chance of getting the domain when it expired. Not so! I probably wouldn’t recommend this service, as you have to pay $20.99 up front for each domain. It was kind of nice to keep getting emails when the status of the domain changed, but ultimately, I wasted $20.99 because they didn’t get the domain at all.
This “snatching” service is also commonly referred to as buying backordered domains.
Yes, these services will cost you quite a bit more than just a simple domain registration (usually around $70, but only if they get the domain for you), but it’s likely much cheaper than buying it outright from someone else who snatched it up!
How much is a domain worth to you?
A domain name is only worth whatever it’s worth to you. You can run a very successful site on a non-dot.com domain – like, hey, SavvyBlogging.net! You can get creative with the country domains (think del.icio.us) or just think of a new business name.
But, if you can’t budge on your domain, try the above tips and see if you can become the new owner of your ultimate domain!
Carrie Isaac blogs about ways to save money in Colorado at Springs Bargains and Denver Bargains and is the new, proud owner of ColoradoBargains.com!
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Kimarie Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 7:24 pm
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