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tips Never contact Whois email of dropping domain..

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Gube

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Hello,

In case you are looking to buy a domain currently in RedemptionPeriod, do not contact the last domain owner to offer him money in exchange of the domain..
He could renew it and keep it for himself..

I should have waited a few more days,
They actually forgot to renew the name, but my email made them renew it.
The name could have gone to a public auction but at least I would have had the opportunity to buy the name, here it's not possible..

Gube,
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
That should be obvious, not to do that, no?

However many domainers wait until the last minute or even a few days after expiration to renew, so that you emailed him may have had nothing to do with what he did.
 
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Yet, if they sold it to you instead of renewing it, then you would recommend contacting them to buy it before it goes to auction??
 
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So many people used to do that, some of the biggest domainers today, built their portfolios like that. Times, and rules have changed all that now for the most part.

Sometimes hit, and miss, usually with tighter redemption windows, and fees, the price will surely go up, once they pull it out of redemption.

If the name was of quality, you would be probably bidding in the 4 figure range on an average day.
 
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Well, I did that because they were no longer using the name since atleast 2 years.
And since the name was registered in 2007, with some SEO, It would have gone to auction
The goal was to avoid the auction
 
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Well, I did that because they were no longer using the name since atleast 2 years.
And since the name was registered in 2007, with some SEO, It would have gone to auction
The goal was to avoid the auction

Then you lost nothing by trying.
 
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Then you lost nothing by trying.
I just lost some time, but it's one domain.. I will find others as great as this one (or even better), and I will simply backorder them :)
We learn from our mistakes
 
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I just lost some time, but it's one domain.. I will find others as great as this one (or even better), and I will simply backorder them

But I thought you were trying to stay away from the inevitable auction, that's why I said that.

Option 1 was to contact the registrant and possibly lose it and other was to try a high-priced auction and lose it. Both have negative outcomes, while only the first one has a truly positive one.

If it was a premium domain that I was pretty sure I would lose out to, I would contact the registrant every time. You really have nothing to lose but typing an email.
 
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Here is an idea, make the owner a fair market offer for their domain?
 
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Here is an idea, make the owner a fair market offer for their domain?
Here is what he replied when I said I could pay more than the restore fee (Translated from french) :
Thanks for your proposal but we would like to keep these names (created to market a program created a few years ago) and we would like to redevelop them mid-term.
 
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Here is what he replied when I said I could pay more than the restore fee (Translated from french) :
Thanks for your proposal but we would like to keep these names (created to market a program created a few years ago) and we would like to redevelop them mid-term.
You are not taking into account their holding costs over the years etc, simply their renewal out of redemption fee. You have to give them a hard number to entice them. Like we are willing to pay $2,000 etc...
 
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You are not taking into account their holding costs over the years etc, simply their renewal out of redemption fee. You have to give them a hard number to entice them. Like we are willing to pay $2,000 etc...
Yes; I will send them an other email tomorrow.
They registered the name in 2007, so it costed them atleast 250€ from the begenning.
Plus the money they lost promoting their domain, time they took to improve their SEO, Hosting costs..

They were promoting an app for restaurant owners and bar owners. Clients could order from a tablet and It would print a ticket in the kitchen. At the end, clients could ask for the bill in one tap.
The problem is that it never really took off
Their site was never updated.. No facebook page; They were only selling this as an upsell to their other programs (Restaurant manager, cashier..)
 
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I just lost some time, but it's one domain.. I will find others as great as this one (or even better), and I will simply backorder them :)
We learn from our mistakes

Most emails sent to whois email addresses are never delivered.
You will likely lose more time by sending emails and thinking someone reads your emails.
 
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Not just expiring domains, it is also the case with domains available at BIN prices.
I have learnt by experience not to make lower offers for domains priced about $100-$1500.
The moment such offers are made, most owners remove BIN and quote you 2-10x of the original BIN price.
So, deliberate beforehand on the importance of the name for you and if the price isn't too high, just buy it outright. At the most, they will renege and you will get a refund but your chances of snapping a domain are much higher.
 
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Thank you for this thread! I was just wondering about this as well...

Just like @DomainRecap said, you have to choose between a few less desirable options. And there is a third option, like @wwweb said.
  1. By contacting the owner you could lose out because you'd just be reminding them to renew the domain.
  2. By letting it expire you could lose out to much higher bidders. Expired domain auctions are a pretty competitive space with players who have deep pockets.
  3. You could make them a fair offer. If you're trying to get the domain at below market value then this option is also less desirable.
One thing you could do is find a buyer before you contact them and make an offer for the name that includes your broker fee...

I'm actually in the same situation: found a super nice domain and am trying to get it without waking up the other players with deep pockets, so that I can get the name below market price.

If anyone has other ideas, please let me know!!
 
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@Gube

You may have not gotten the domain but you may have gotten some good Karma points.

Keep your eye on the domains.

I was recently able to purchase a domain of a shuttered company I once worked for.

Wanted it for years as I had emails flowing through it as well as account logins and wasn't able to disengage the address before it went poof.

A chinese company snatched it up immediately after expiry and I figured it was lost forever.

Persistance paid off and I now have it, +4 years later.

Surprisingly found that a large amount of emails addressed to the previous execs still flow freely into the domain.
 
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