Bought domain.. old owner contacted me

[dmday1]

Well I bought a domain name from someone on another forum last week because it had PR + DMOZ listed.

Now I just got an email from the previous owner claiming that he didn't know it expired and wants to know if I'll sell it to him.

What should I do, and I should make him pay at least what I paid to buy it, shouldn't I?

 

[Hurley4540]

Yes you should, make him pay AT LEAST what you bought it for....this is a good situation for you because he forgot about it, you grabbed it, and he wants it back. You have control over the price....if he doesn't like it...he doesn't get what he wants .

 

[tyggemannen]

You can do what you like. Specially charge what it costed you. The rest is up to you to find out what to do.

 

[weblord]

yes you are entitled to say to him what price will make you happy to sell after all you're the new owner of it.

 

[Corey]

lead by example

and ask what form of compensation he is willing to pay
whether that be money or names

leave room for negiotation and you will win out

Cheers

 

[Hurley4540]

But be sure you get a little bit more than you regg'ed/bought for.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

He neglected the domain by choice or by mistake but that's not your problem.

He may tell you to "do the right thing". Don't be pressured. You are the rightful owner.

He was evicted and you are now living in his old apartment. Why should you have to move out?

 

[nicedomains]

I would try to give the guy a fair price that gives you some profit for your time/work required to find and buy the domain. Don't try to price gauge the guy it will leave a bad taste in his mouth when dealing with domainers.

Another thing, are you positive he was the previous owner? It could be a underhanded strategy of a potential buyer to try and prey on you. Be as communicative with this person as possible.

 

[Fixhotep]

I would try to give the guy a fair price that gives you some profit for your time/work required to find and buy the domain. Don't try to price gauge the guy it will leave a bad taste in his mouth when dealing with domainers.

Another thing, are you positive he was the previous owner? It could be a underhanded strategy of a potential buyer to try and prey on you. Be as communicative with this person as possible.

Right on. I've been contacted a few times by 'previous' owners who were anything but.

 

[Michael]

First step is to make sure he doesn't own an active trademark on the domain. He could be setting you up to prove bad faith, or simply be trying to determine if it would be cheaper to buy it or file a complaint with WIPO.

Second step is to make sure he is actually the previous owner by checking the whois history. I've heard of people pretending to be the previous owner to get a domain cheap.

After you have done that just think of a price you would be happy with. If you wouldn't sell it to me for as low as $800 you shouldn't sell it to him for lower out of sympathy. Forget the fact that he used to own it, and just decide what you would like for it. Don't be a jerk and demand an absurd figure though, that will just irritate him and you don't want to do that.

Why not post the domain in the appraisal section or here and we can help you determine a reasonable price?

 

[dmday1]

Another thing, are you positive he was the previous owner? It could be a underhanded strategy of a potential buyer to try and prey on you. Be as communicative with this person as possible.

Yeah he told me to call him and everything if I wanted. He provided the same information that's seen on his site in webarchive.org.

Why not post the domain in the appraisal section or here and we can help you determine a reasonable price?

I don't really want to share it til after I make contact back with him again and everything.

 

[Embrand]

It's a tough situation. I have had a similar experience with a domain grabbed at TDNAM. In a way, I couldn't really care less, as we all know domain owners get every possible chance to renew. On the other hand, it is hard not to have a bit of compassion for people who apparently did not intend to let it expire.

In my case, I demanded about twice my actual expenses to make up for the time used finding and researching the domain. And although he was probably not too happy about it, he did agree.

 

[Michael]

Yeah he told me to call him and everything if I wanted. He provided the same information that's seen on his site in webarchive.org.


I don't really want to share it til after I make contact back with him again and everything.

If you want any advice on price based on the actual domain feel free to shoot me a PM. I'll keep the domain confidential.

 

[Hurley4540]

Yup, people worry too much about ethics!

 

[htmlindex]

Tell the owner that you bought the domain with future plans for it but if the offer made would be enough to compensate you for your time & planning for the domain, then you'd consider selling it. Leave it up to him/her to come back to you with an offer.

 

[raredn.com]

I would try to give the guy a fair price that gives you some profit for your time/work required to find and buy the domain. Don't try to price gauge the guy it will leave a bad taste in his mouth when dealing with domainers.

Another thing, are you positive he was the previous owner? It could be a underhanded strategy of a potential buyer to try and prey on you. Be as communicative with this person as possible.

Wow very well said

Repped!

 

[nrmillions]

Dont ask for a fair price just because he claims he owned it before. Charge him whatever you would for the name if you were going to sell it to any random person who would PM you on the forum for it even if you would want 20x what you paid. You dont have to cut him a deal and it doesnt matter what he thinks about domainers. If he doesnt like your price then too bad, you can keep the name that you bought and just act like you never got that email in the first place. Buying expired names is all part of being a domainer and its his fault for not renewing.

 

[Cronus]

The saintly thing is to offer it back to him for the price you paid. The "opportunistic bastard" approach is to take advantage of his misfortune to gouge him for all you can. And there is a huge gray area between these. It is up to you to decide where you fall on that line. Also, think about how you'd feel if you made a mistake (lost your wallet in a park, let one of your domains expire, missed a property tax payment, paid your credit card late, etc.) and how you'd like the other party to react.

My view is that it is fair to ask the price you paid, plus what you think is fair for your the time you spent researching and buying the name, and transferring it back. Last time this happened to me, I told the guy exactly what I paid for it (sent the Snapnames auction log) and told him how much extra I thought was fair for my trouble. The guy declined (the Snapnames price alone was more than $1,200), but he thanked me for the offer and said it was reasonable. So I got to keep the domain, and felt good about myself.

Note that this assumes it is a generic term domain. If it is a domain like foobarcafe.com or victoriastreetrecordstore.com, you should just give them back their name IMHO and shouldn't have bought it in the first place.

 

[Meongtae]

if i had plans for it, i would keep it, send a email explaining your intent, and then press on. what if it was your car? would you sell it back?
stay professional, and things work out.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

I think Cronus is saying "What would Jesus do?"

Funny.

It is almost impossible to accidentally let a domain expire today. Registrars send out all kinds of expiration notices, attempt to auto renew in most cases then disable any website or email then hold it for at least 30 days then offer to take it out of redemption.

That's plenty of fair warning for anyone who lets a domain expire.

Cronus, you'd make a pretty bad landlord.