Buying a domain from current owner for eCommerce

My client wants to approach an apparant squatter

[JayCee]

One of my marketing clients was unable to buy one of the best domain names for his small 'ma & pa' business (it matches the generic name of his niche product) in 2001, but has heard that the owner is offering it for sale now. It remains totally undeveloped (parked) and the 'WhoIs' database shows it registered to someone in Hong Kong. We assume that the owners is a 'domain squatter'.

We have about 6 competitors, who may also want the domain. Neither my client nor I have ever bought the rights to a domain registered to someone else before.

What is the best approach to making an offer?
Should we go through a 3rd party (the 'WhoIs' listing has a link for unsolicited offers through "GreatDomains').
Or should we save money by just contacting the owner via their 'WhoIs' email address. Certainly we would use my client's attorney, but this may be outside their area of expertise.

The asking price he heard mentioned is less than 2% of annual online gross sales (which are also increasing every month quite steadily). And offline sales are considerably greater than that and are also available to fund online projects. So it seems worthwhile financially.

Guess I should explain that I have enjoyed a very close relationship with this client for a number of years, and also do their web development. So we discuss many aspects of their small business together, not just SEO.

Advice anyone?
Resources where we can learn more?

Thanks!

[Shakil]

Jaycee

is it the company in HongKong who own 1000s of domains, if so approach them direct.

We have just acquired a very valuable domain to us from them, we used a lawyer to handle the transaction and all went smooth.

Shak

[rcjordan]

>The asking price he heard mentioned

It sounds like your client is comfortable with that price, so start somewhere below it if they do not have the price published.

>attorney

I've been approached both directly and by attorneys representing their client. If the opening offer is serious, I prefer to be contacted directly at first.

[Shakil]

rc,

I personally make the initial contact with the seller when looking to purchase a domain for myself or a client, however due to past experience I then pass it over to a Lawyer specialising in Domian Names to do the paperwork.

Nearly paid £35,000 in December 2002, for a domain which was going to cause nightmares, I was dead set on buying until the lawyer showed me proof of what was outstanding etc etc.

Shak

[JayCee]

Thanks for the advice and experiences!

The company initials seem to be 'V A'. Are they the ones with 1,000s of domains? Hope it's OK to mention them, since I don't know any other way to verify if they are the ones you write about.

Yes, my client feels that the asking price is no holdup. We will over less to start, of course.

Any advice on finding a good intellectual propert lawyer?