I'm being played and I dont like it.
Discussion
Got a domain
Lets call it my-domain.co.uk
mydomain.co.uk came up for renewal and I missed it, was got by someone else. The domain is the same as my limited company name.
Currently in Nominet DRS proceedings
The current holders have made an offer to transfer it for £650
Being honest, I'm loathed to pay it because this feels like it was the person who caught its end game. However, there is a commercial value to be attached to the non-hyphenated version.
I just dont like being had over a barrel.
Anyone been through this before?
Is the non-hyphenated version worth the cash.
I just dont know.
Lets call it my-domain.co.uk
mydomain.co.uk came up for renewal and I missed it, was got by someone else. The domain is the same as my limited company name.
Currently in Nominet DRS proceedings
The current holders have made an offer to transfer it for £650
Being honest, I'm loathed to pay it because this feels like it was the person who caught its end game. However, there is a commercial value to be attached to the non-hyphenated version.
I just dont like being had over a barrel.
Anyone been through this before?
Is the non-hyphenated version worth the cash.
I just dont know.
I don't like hypenated versions of domains however if that is all you can have then fair enough.
How badly do you want it?
Ar they a domain holding co or do they actually have a use for it?
Have you thought about making an offer?
What would you be prepared to pay for it?
If you want I can give them a low offer and see if they bite..without hurting your position (low ie £100).
D
How badly do you want it?
Ar they a domain holding co or do they actually have a use for it?
Have you thought about making an offer?
What would you be prepared to pay for it?
If you want I can give them a low offer and see if they bite..without hurting your position (low ie £100).
D
Current version is hyphenated, I want the non hyphenated one.
It just concerns me that someone will hear/be recommended the name and type it into a browser without the hyphen and its a prospect lost.
The holder has plans to use it but has done nothing with it so far, the holder is also a domain registrar which smells like trading to me, hence my annoyance. They have stated the price due to lost time/inconvenience etc.
I think a counter offer maybe the way forward but its difficult to ascertain value.
It just concerns me that someone will hear/be recommended the name and type it into a browser without the hyphen and its a prospect lost.
The holder has plans to use it but has done nothing with it so far, the holder is also a domain registrar which smells like trading to me, hence my annoyance. They have stated the price due to lost time/inconvenience etc.
I think a counter offer maybe the way forward but its difficult to ascertain value.
Non hypenated is certainly more valuable from a marketing point of view but how many of your customers find you through the web after hearing of you through word of mouth? It might not be worth the £600.
Is the name of value to anyone else do you think? It might be worth waiting a while and making them a low offer to 'take it off their hands' but only if there is no risk of someone else snapping it up.
Is the name of value to anyone else do you think? It might be worth waiting a while and making them a low offer to 'take it off their hands' but only if there is no risk of someone else snapping it up.
Plotloss said:
Current version is hyphenated, I want the non hyphenated one.
It just concerns me that someone will hear/be recommended the name and type it into a browser without the hyphen and its a prospect lost.
The holder has plans to use it but has done nothing with it so far, the holder is also a domain registrar which smells like trading to me, hence my annoyance. They have stated the price due to lost time/inconvenience etc.
I think a counter offer maybe the way forward but its difficult to ascertain value.
It just concerns me that someone will hear/be recommended the name and type it into a browser without the hyphen and its a prospect lost.
The holder has plans to use it but has done nothing with it so far, the holder is also a domain registrar which smells like trading to me, hence my annoyance. They have stated the price due to lost time/inconvenience etc.
I think a counter offer maybe the way forward but its difficult to ascertain value.
Yep just looked at the details Matt and thought it looked fishy (especially as the contact info was hidden as if it was a private individual.
My company paid $5000 for the .com of their domain name from some Korean guy - probably inflated because the company is a plc and therefore assumed to have loads of cash! We bought it through a hotmail account since when we contacted them through the company email the asking price was $15000!
If you want someone to make an "independant" enquiry about it in the future give me a shout, although I guess you'd have to make it clear you weren't interested otherwise they'd jack the price further if they thought there was competition for the name!
Know what you mean Plotloss - REALLY irritating!! These people are like "cyber pikies", trying to rip everyone off. My advice would be to offer him half of what he's asking for, and if he refuses tell him to stuff it - then leave it for a couple of weeks. He may come back to you and want to do a deal.
Malcolm Cracknell who runs Dailysportscar.com had a dreadful experience with a claim through Nominet a few years ago with the old sportscarworld domain that he had been using.
It's a long story, he was the original user of the name and on paper he should have won but he got royally screwed over and it cost him a lot of money.
It might be worth dropping him a line through DSC but I'm guessing his advice would be that if you can achieve the domain name you want for £650 then do it rather than risk litigation in the future.
It's a long story, he was the original user of the name and on paper he should have won but he got royally screwed over and it cost him a lot of money.
It might be worth dropping him a line through DSC but I'm guessing his advice would be that if you can achieve the domain name you want for £650 then do it rather than risk litigation in the future.
If the domain name was linked to your company trading name, copyright or registered trade mark you may have a claim assuming the current owners have no valid interest in it.
IE it was a non generic name. For instance if microsoft.co.uk became available (hope hope) and I snapped it up, and my company name was not micro and I made soft drinks then I would probably have to give it up. But if it is a generic name like woodfloors .com then any claim is likely to fail.
Hyphenated names are not as good but do get high places in search engines ie website-Design .com will still get a high ranking in a search engine.
End of the day PLOTLESS your registrar should have given you at least 30 days notice that it was about to expire. Traders can put a domain name watcher on domain names and snap up expired names very quickly. Ask yourself this, is the name worth £650 to you?, if not forget it, if it is bite the bullet and pay although you should get it for a bit less. Hope it works out for you.
IE it was a non generic name. For instance if microsoft.co.uk became available (hope hope) and I snapped it up, and my company name was not micro and I made soft drinks then I would probably have to give it up. But if it is a generic name like woodfloors .com then any claim is likely to fail.
Hyphenated names are not as good but do get high places in search engines ie website-Design .com will still get a high ranking in a search engine.
End of the day PLOTLESS your registrar should have given you at least 30 days notice that it was about to expire. Traders can put a domain name watcher on domain names and snap up expired names very quickly. Ask yourself this, is the name worth £650 to you?, if not forget it, if it is bite the bullet and pay although you should get it for a bit less. Hope it works out for you.
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