What do people suggest I do? I thought I'd email them about purchasing it but then fear they'd hold me to ransom on it.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
Gary
Someone is squatting on a domain I want
IMHO "squatting" isn't the right word - they just got to the domain before you did.
You have three options:
1) buy the domain from them
2) find a different domain
3) wait until they let the domain drop
the last option may take a long time. I'd almost always recommend going with option 2.
Someone is squatting on a domain I want
We all want something owned by someone who possibly acquired it rightfully and legitimately.
Someone bought a lot and hasn't put up anything on it. If I can't afford his/her price, I have no other way to obtain it, legally or not.
Why should domain names be treated any differently? Just because they're intangible commodities, just like their tangible counterparts?
It sometimes amazes me how and why some people rationalize that specific thing that way. As if they have any factual enforceable rights in the first place.
Life is too short possibly spending too much time and effort exploring means to get something that doesn't belong to you to begin with. Webdoctor posted your only legitimate options, and that's it.
If you're considering other means that's potentially abusive, you're not getting any sympathy.
Whilst davezan is entitled to his opinion, I must admit that I strongly feel that squatting is absolutely wrong. That being said, you have to face the fact that the cards are loaded against you - your options now are to pay through your nose or to find another domain.
I thought I'd email them about purchasing it but then fear they'd hold me to ransom on it.
I was interested in the domain example.com. It was already registered so by chance I did a Google search for "example.com". I found the owner talking about selling the domain in a forum.
I joined the forum and PM'ed the domain owner with a $100.00 offer for the domain. He agreed to the sale.
Moral is: if you don't try, you surely won't get it.
I am open to starting a dialogue with them, but have a fear of being ripped off because, like I say, this is not something I have encountered before. I was also wondering if anyone has used a domain brokerage service to do the negotiations for them?
Davezan, I have no intention of doing anything abusive, but thank you for your measured input.
I joined the forum and PM'ed the domain owner with a $100.00 offer for the domain. He agreed to the sale.
That is encouraging! Hopefully my guy will be equally accommodating :)
squatting is absolutely wrong
And to that I ask "what exactly is squatting"?
Is it squatting to sit on something you have no demonstrable rights to at all?
I respect your opinions as well, guys. But what will you perhaps think if you had a domain name that's currently not meeting someone else's expectations, and s/he started considering what the OP's asking here?
Try imagining what it's like being on that side. You might see things differently.
IMHO "squatting" isn't the right word - they just got to the domain before you did.
In that case, what do you consider "squatting"?
OK - let's imagine I had an idea in the shower this morning, for an amazing new product, it's kind of like an iPod, but slightly different, with **way** more features, and I decide I'm going to call the "FUBARpod"
The problem is that last week you also had an idea - that "Fubarpod" might be a catchy name for a website, and you registered the Fubarpod.TLD variants.
Today, I'm jumping up and down and saying (rather like a six-year-old)
But it was MY IDEA, I thought of it FIRST!
Except the fact is that YOU obviously had the thought to register the domain name first, or you wouldn't be the owner of the domain.
In this example, could I call you a "squatter"? Of course not.
Think about the way Microsoft and friends deal with new product launches (I'm thinking of the Zune as the most recent example). They need to pick a name which isn't already well-known, and they need to register a trademark, AND if they want a domain name to match that also has to be dealt with BEFORE the market hears about the product launch.
Interestingly, www.zune.net seems to be the official page for Zune, and the .com variant is a 'page not found' in a non-English language. Looks like the .com owner is hoping for an offer from MSFT, but since MSFT has the trademark, the .com owner can't put any Zune-related content up or they'd be hit with a WIPO suit.
The domain I want is not the one above, but the example has exactly the same template-based link farm.
I don't believe anyone running a site such as this is doing anything other than registering a good domain name for the purposes of selling it on at an over-inflated price. The domain name here, as in my situation, bears no resemblance to the content of the site.
[edited by: Webwork at 3:42 pm (utc) on Nov. 27, 2006]
[edit reason] Charter [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]
I consider this squatting:<snip>
The domain I want is not the one above, but the example has exactly the same template-based link farm.
...as do many hundreds of thousands of others. Don't take it personally.
I'll buy you a beer if that URL is still in this thread by the end of the day. No need to drop URIs, we all know what domain parking pages look like ;-)
I don't believe anyone running a site such as this is doing anything other than registering a good domain name for the purposes of selling it on at an over-inflated price.
Either:
(1) you make an offer on the domain you (think you) want,
(2) you pick another domain
(3) you wait and see if the owner fails to renew the domain - unlikely if the type-in traffic is non-zero
(4) if you're feeling really lucky, then contact your lawyer, register a trademark, start your business on a different domain, and hope that the owner of <yourdomain>.com is stupid enough to do something with the domain that lets you grab in from him in a Reverse Domain Hijack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_domain_hijacking)
I asked what you DO consider squatting.
I think I know my options now - no need for a what is / isn't squatting debate - too many polarised opinions for that, in a Marmite kind of way.
Thanks for everyone's input.
I have no problems with squatters other than a lack of respect for what they contribute in terms of actual productive websites. I've given them plenty of money in the past. I'm about to pay off another one for doing nothing but squatting on a domain for six years and getting PPC traffic for mistype of one of my domains.
However, there's no need to go politically correct and stop calling squatters what they really are.
I understand that you don't consider this squatting. I asked what you DO consider squatting.
Hard to come up with a short definition, but I'd tend to agree with the definition given by Wikipedia
According to the U.S. federal law known as the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, cybersquatting is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.
although IMHO the second paragraph in their definition isn't necessarily appropriate
The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.
since you can make a lot of money with a parking page, no need to offer the domain to the trademark owner and end up with a letter from WIPO.
I'm about to pay off another one for doing nothing but squatting on a domain for six years and getting PPC traffic for mistype of one of my domains.
Do you have trademark(s)? If not, is this a deliberate decision? In many jurisdictions it seems you can stomp on "typo-squatters" pretty hard if you've got a trademarka and they're using PPC.
However, there's no need to go politically correct and stop calling squatters what they really are.
Don't worry, I'm not big on political correctness.
For the record, I own only one domain based on a typo (but [a] it's a typo of a very very well known term, and [b] there is a trademark on the original term, this particular domain doesn't bring in much revenue and to be honest I'd sell it tomorrow if I could. I'd never buy another typo domain - I must have been drunk when I grabbed this one :-(
From the Domain Forum Charter [webmasterworld.com]:
Comments Disparaging Domainers or Their Practices: There are many roles in the domain name industry: Industry oversight, domain registrars, drop catching services, domain parking services, aftermarket domain resellers and others. While some practices, such as typosquatting of famous marks, will never gain legitimacy others have firmly established their legitimacy and viability, despite the absence of universal acceptance or universal praise. Posting generalized disparaging comments about any domain industry constituency or their practices is to be avoided as such posts are little more than unproductive flame bait in a Domain Name Forum. Disparaging posts will be removed or edited.Thread titles are subject to editing by the moderator, for reasons including improving clarity or to bring the thread's focus into conformity with this Charter and the Domain Forum educational mission.
There is a form of "squatting" that IS a bad thing: Registering famous marks or versions thereof, such a Disney domains. AntiCyberSquatting Consumer Protection Act [en.wikipedia.org]. That's where we draw the line for using the disparaging reference of "squatting". Other than that scenario "squatting" is no longer deemed appropriate subject matter.
If you want to vent, express your frustrations or otherwise disparage the practice of domain registrations by others this is not the place to do so.
Thank you for your cooperation.
OBTW - You old guys and gals(?) are doing a pretty good job of holding a civilised dialogue so this comment is not directed towards any of you. I'm merely posting notice in anticipation of anyone less civil arriving, thinking that they might pile on with pejoratives about the practice.
[edited by: Webwork at 4:07 pm (utc) on Nov. 27, 2006]
you have quite a few domains that you are "planning to develop a site around some day" or that you are getting profitable type in traffic for
I have lots of domains that I'm "planning to develop a site around some day", but right now most of the undeveloped ones aren't even getting type-in traffic to cover their registration costs.
FWIW, I tend to grab names I can imagine branding rather than generics ('Google.com' vs '<widget_town>.TLD).
"a person that collects coins is not referred to as a "coin squatter"
I have lots of domains that I'm "planning to develop a site around some day", but right now most of the undeveloped ones aren't even getting type-in traffic to cover their registration costs.
Glad to hear I'm not alone on that!
(wish there was a winky face emoticon)
comme même ..I'm with web doctor et al ..on this ..I own loads that I have no time to do anything with for now ..except maybe email ..but squatting means sitting on something that already belongs to someone else ..not sitting on something that you got to first ..
and FWIW ..I was a railton road / bishops street squatter ( look it up ) in the seventies ..when you've been called it by the SPG and in the high court ..and crushed under the horses hooves ..you know what it means ..
[edited by: Leosghost at 1:39 am (utc) on Nov. 29, 2006]
