Do I need the .COM?

[ETMA]

I have been running a new website now for around 7 weeks. Visitor numbers are good and rising. I have quite a few search engine referals per day and many plans to extend what is on offer.

I am using a rather exotic TLD - partly intentionally to set the site apart and partly because there were squatters on most of the generics. I subsequently bought up the .NET domain because it was free. The .COM domain appears to have been held by some guy in Canada for the past 7 years. He has done nothing with it - not even parked it. I have recently got an email from a company in Canada - not the guy in quesstion - offering to sell me the .COM domain for $200. The orignal registrant appears to have let the name slip. Last week it was registered to someone in Virgina, this week it is held by someone in Ohio.

My lawyer informs me that I shouldn't bother spending too much on acquiring the generics since there are legal measures I can take should the names be misused. That said, I am not clear just how much the generics matter should I want to sell the site or the whole of my business.

I wouldn't mind getting the .COM domain but I smell a rat here. I am quite new to this game so I would much appreciate some advice.

 

[stscac]

Post the email and redact the important information about the domain name.

I'm thinking that this is a scam, I've gotten offers for names that I own the .net for the .com for prices like $199.

As much info here we can get, the better.

-Steve

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

ETMA, it sounds like the .com is being tasted, and when it is dropped again, YOU hand-reg it. I've done that with my company's .com. It was tasted many times, though I didn't know about the practice until I came here. Once I read a thread talking about tasters, and that's why the whois will change frequently, I just waited it out, checking availability daily. Once I saw it was free, I grabbed it.

The fortunate thing about this webnamesolutions emailing you with their scam is that it brought to your attention to grab the .com as soon as it's dropped (that's what they'll try to do).

 

[canswift]

Get the dot com..

I think this is a difficult question to answer really. Using your example of deli.cio.us, I'm sure that they would love to own delicious.com but they're probably not going to break the bank to try and acquire it because of the uniqueness of their original domain which makes it easy to remember.
.

Delicious.com IS owned by deli.cio.us already. If you type-in the dot com version it redirects to the .us.

Also, if "your" dot com is being bounced around between the domain tasters, then don't keep checking that web page or the Whois. The more traffic the domain receives, the less likely it is to be dropped. Domain tasters usually drop a domain within the five day tasting period, so take note of the registration date in the Whois.

Some typo versions of my (trademarked) company name were registered by a taster, which I only found out accidentally. Once I realised who the registrant was (a known taster) I did nothing for the next four days, not even check the Whois. On the fifth day I did check and saw the domains were now dropped and regged them at once.

 

[sashas]

He's offering it to you for $200 (thats what I gathered from your post). Thats a very low price. Just set up an Escrow transaction and get the name. It'll be $200 well spent.

On the internet, its mostly about the .com. I'd say get it.

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

Delicious.com IS owned by deli.cio.us already. If you type-in the dot com version it redirects to the .us.

Also, if "your" dot com is being bounced around between the domain tasters, then don't keep checking that web page or the Whois. The more traffic the domain receives, the less likely it is to be dropped. Domain tasters usually drop a domain within the five day tasting period, so take note of the registration date in the Whois.

Some typo versions of my (trademarked) company name were registered by a taster, which I only found out accidentally. Once I realised who the registrant was (a known taster) I did nothing for the next four days, not even check the Whois. On the fifth day I did check and saw the domains were now dropped and regged them at once.

Checking the whois with software like domain name analyzer shouldn't give any traffic to the site.

He's offering it to you for $200 (thats what I gathered from your post). Thats a very low price. Just set up an Escrow transaction and get the name. It'll be $200 well spent.

On the internet, its mostly about the .com. I'd say get it.

Sashas, the thing is that most likely they can reg the .com for themselves without paying the $200. The company offering to sell the .com doesn't even own it.

 

[stscac]

webnamesolutions

That's the one I was thinking about... must have missed the post when I was scanning the thread.

Stay away from webnamesolutions... They try to sell names that they don't own. They do a lot of work trying to "sell" expired names, catch them for a nominal fee and make a profit, or take the money and run.

:o

-Steve

 

[nameboi]

If you think that buying expiring .com for a few hundred dollars is expensive, then go through your lawyer. Your lawyer sounds like a knowledgeable guy about internet IP issues. He'll take you right through all the litigations no problem.

 

[lzy]

Why don't you try backordering the name yourself? :o

I highly recommend you to get a .com

I have a pretty popular personal website developed on .net (before I got into buying domains) and when one day I contacted the .com owner, he quoted $700.

If he quoted $200, I would have gotten it without hesitation. But I wasn't prepared to fork out $700 for a 3 word combo .com.

Thankfully majority of my traffic come from search engines and links. So I can live with the .net.

 

[BinderGang]

I noticed you called the owner of the name for the past 7 years a squatter.

You say it's generic. How is he a squatter? Because he spends his money for something and does what he likes with it (which is his right to do)?