Domain Names/WHOIS

[Chim Girl]

I have found two domain names that I would like to purchase; both are showing 'parking' pages. Can anyone tell me if there is anything I can do in order to make this a) possible! b)easier. Here is the information I have on each domain.

.CO.UK
For sale through a UK reseller, WHOIS only has their information, so I guess it's one they purchased to make a profit from. I have contacted the reseller through their website, 5 days later - no reply.

.COM
WHOIS has provided the name and address of the UK based owner, with an email address in Peru(!). Again, no reply to email and the contact address supplied isn't listed in the UK phonebook. The registration is due to expire on the 8th of this month. I'm guessing snail mail is going to be the only way forward..

Crikey, is this frustrating or what.

Oh and one more point, I'm guessing that owning a Ltd company in the same name will only entitle me to .ltd and not the two domains I really want?

[Plotloss]

With the UK domain, if you can make a case that its commercially sensitive to you (i.e. that you own the trading entity of the same name) AND prove that this registration was in some way abusive (deliberately purchased by a competitor etc) then you have recourse under the Nominet Dispute Resolution Service.

If you cannot satisfy the latter part about it being an abusive registration then its a case of bidding for it on the open market.

Its crap but its the way it is. I've been through this exact process a while back and it felt like extortion every single step of the way but there really is nothing you can do.

Also, LTD domains are worthless. If you own ChimGirl Bakeries Ltd then no one other than you can register www.chimgirl-bakeries.ltd.uk so there is no need to buy it to protect it, unless you want it.

[Chim Girl]

Cheers Plotloss. It's vaguely reassuring to know that I'm not the only one to experience frustration, and the feeling that I am about to be royally shafted on the price, assuming I can get one/both.

[talkwrench]

Sounds interesting, Jo....
What are you up to?!

The whole domain name thing is immensely frustrating and completely open to abuse and extortion by anyone who has the time and the inclination. Last time I registered a name I ended up buying about 15 different permutations just to cover my back!

[Chim Girl]

talkwrench said:

What are you up to?!

Finally getting on with something that interests me, I'm putting the building blocks in place before taking that final leap of faith next year. We must have a coffee sometime soon, it would be lovely to catch up.

[talkwrench]

Chim Girl said:

talkwrench said:

What are you up to?!

Finally getting on with something that interests me, I'm putting the building blocks in place before taking that final leap of faith next year. We must have a coffee sometime soon, it would be lovely to catch up.

Yes, that would be an excellent plan. I'll text you!

[Arif110]

Register with a decent registrar (I like 123-reg.co.uk) and place the names on a domain-watch. The second it expires - you'll be notified. If the person doesn't renew in timely manner - you'll get dibs on it, essentially.

[M400 NBL]

Have you checked www.sedo.co.uk?

Search the doamains that you are interested in to check if they are for sale.

If the owner isn't making a decent income from parking they could be persuaded to sell.

At least you'll know he/she has recieved your offer because they'll be checking their account...assuming they'll using Sedo (I think it's the most popular)

Now can you please check out www.adrenaline-junkies.co.uk and click on a link to make me about 2 cents

Good luck.

[tigger1]

Two other things.

Ever noticed when you search for a domain and find it's available that the next day it's gone? No matter how "odd" the name is?

Also, if you're wanting to buy it "privately" - don't come out with "I'm from Chim-Girl Ltd" and would like to purcahse chim-girl.com from you...as the price will be x hundred pounds (possibly more) - say that you're [name] and that you want to set up a personal website with some photos of you and your mates, and would like to buy that address.

I worked for at least one company who saved thousands doing similar, pretending to be a bloke in a shed.

[JonRB]

talkwrench said:

The whole domain name thing is immensely frustrating and completely open to abuse and extortion by anyone who has the time and the inclination. Last time I registered a name I ended up buying about 15 different permutations just to cover my back!

Indeed. My wife has about 26 different permutations and variations for her business and a competitor has still come along and set up a business with a similar sounding name. Not similar enough to litigate over though.

[tinman0]

tigger1 said:

Ever noticed when you search for a domain and find it's available that the next day it's gone? No matter how "odd" the name is?

Yup.

We are pretty sure some larger companies are doing this. They have worked out ways of spotting potential clients who sleep on it overnight and return to purchase in the morning - only to find its gone.

One way to trigger this is to try the domain name search from multiple registrars. Somehow, the domain gets flagged as being searched for a number of times and gets registered in the meantime.