Does anyone have some enlightening comments on this? Do ordinary folks who would like one of these domain names try to buy them?
Thanks in advance......
[edited by: DaveAtIFG at 2:19 am (utc) on Feb. 8, 2004]
[edit reason] Deleted specifics [/edit]
this is a cybersquatter?This could be someone who decided to speculate in domain names before cybersquatting was named cybersquatting and deemed illegal, or a website promotion company that burns through many "throwaway domains," or...
Do ordinary folks who would like one of these domain names try to buy them?It can't hurt to make an offer! :)
The problem is that when I do a meta search for this name, nothing comes up. There are similar companies with the same name, but I am reasonably sure that they are not the company who owns all of these domains.
When I look them up on the Whois registry, the full company name and address comes up. Each and every domain name they own always comes up as "Coming Soon". Do you think that means that they plan to "one day" do something with it?
I have registered the same domain name with the .net extension (they have the .com) and I don't want to waste time and money to create and market a site if someone could come along and use the .com name to compete.
P.S. the company name is also listed as a server?
"Coming Soon"More likely it's something the domain name registrar or a hosting company provides so the name points somewhere. For example, I buy modest hosting packages for several small sites. A "coming soon" page is usually inserted when new hosting is setup and I overwrite it when I upload my new site.
Before doing anything, check out the history of the domain using the "Wayback Machine [archive.org]." See if it's been used and possibly abused. It may already have a "bad reputation." :)
For a large, well funded, and potentially lucrative project, it would be wise to secure the .com, .net, and .org versions of the name if possible. As you infer, the .com version is most significant.
Each and every domain name they own always comes up as "Coming Soon".
Sometimes names are not brought for resale, but for "stock" to develop a site as time permits. For example I have a hundred or so domains that say "coming soon" - they're good names I've brought to use later. They're just parked in the meantime.
Basically though if you see a domain not being used it never hurts to make an offer. Just be sure not to give away WHY you need it - for example if you own the .net then send the offer using a different name from a free email service.
If I got an offer from somebody who said "I own the .net, how much for the .com" I'd know they are a lot keener, and more likely to pay a good price, than somebody just trawling for cheap names...
So, is what I'm finding possibly that a registry company has purchased all of these names themselves?
None of the names have ever been used and I can't find them listed as For Sale anywhere. The names have been purchased over a period of a few years. The names are all related, for example:
www.widgetsforme.com
www.widgetsforyou.com
www.widgetsforus.com
and so on.
If the registry services can buy up the names, how is that fair to the public?
If the registry services can buy up the names, how is that fair to the public?
It's a free market, anybody can buy any number of domain names they like. The registrant still has to pay for them as they are "public" as well.
They have no special advantage (even on price - sometimes retail prices are lower than wholesale, to get new customers or to sell hosting services).
who knows,
robert
