Getting a domain whose owner has passed away

[NetworkPearl]

Hi,

I'm interested in a domain name who's owner has passed away in a few months. The registrar is GodDadd y and the owner is still the registrant and admin whereas the technical contact is a web design company.

I tried to call the owner, number is not active anymore and neither are the emails.

So I got in touch with the technical contact and told them about this. They stated that they don't have a contact with the owner for years now.

What can be done? Expiry date is quite far.

 

[matrigaldo]

Well there is nothing wrong in approaching owners/heirs and offer them a good price for their domains.
Now selling is a different story. You will price your domain 30k-40K but you won't get even a $1000 offer in years. Sometimes a good name won't sell for a long time. There is a lot of risk involved because most of us have got a lot of domains and have to pay thousands of dollars in renewals every year... That's why domainers try to buy low and sell high. If you have 100 domains you might sell 2-3 domains in a year (still no guarantee).

If buying low is unethical then Selling high is also unethical? I have seen regfee domains sold in 5 and 6 figures.....

Anyone who got an offer of 5K for a domain they got on $100 few months ago?
I would love to meet that domainer who rejected an offer of lets say 5K and counter with a 1K sale price because the profit was too much and it was very unethical to sell that high? anyone?

Dude, i'm afraid you didn't read anything in this thread.

We're not talking about high ROIs , we are always happy to reg a domain and sell it at $5000.

We're talking about someone trying to symbolically "steal" a domain from an unaware family offering a lowball amount.

 

[Potential.Domains]

No wonder you have "Messages: 2,462" and "Likes Received: 7,272" ... a 1:3 ratio!!

You don't want to be one of those posting or commenting for "Likes" across the web. Just be yourself, post something meaningful and leave the rest to God. #justsaying

 

[matrigaldo]

I just wrote this behaviour is unethical. It's not illegal, anyone is free to do almost anything.

However i just pointed out it would be unethical, because the relatives might not be aware about the value of the domain or even their old man used to have domain names, and it wouldn't be fair to "steal" the domain from them at such low price.

30k is the most it can get. It has a resell value of $5k and I contacted the IT company with a max offer of $8k. Read properly before judging.

You came here with this story:

Hi,

I'm interested in a domain name who's owner has passed away in a few months. The registrar is GodDadd y and the owner is still the registrant and admin whereas the technical contact is a web design company.

I tried to call the owner, number is not active anymore and neither are the emails.

So I got in touch with the technical contact and told them about this. They stated that they don't have a contact with the owner for years now.

What can be done? Expiry date is quite far.

Which IT company are you referring? The technical contact that doesn't have any rights to the domain?

 

[bluebox]

We're talking about someone trying to symbolically "steal" a domain from an unaware family offering a lowball amount.

We (domainers) "steal" money from potential end users ever time we buy a name we don't want to use, just to prevent them from getting it for a reg fee. And then asking 100x for it.

If you are ticked scalper criticizing other scalpers (and saying their methods are unethical while yours are ok) makes you kinda a hypocrite wouldn't you say?

Why are you reselling domains if ethics and fairness is so important to you?

 

[NetworkPearl]

I just wrote this behaviour is unethical. It's not illegal, anyone is free to do almost anything.

However i just pointed out it would be unethical, because the relatives might not be aware about the value of the domain or even their old man used to have domain names, and it wouldn't be fair to "steal" the domain from them at such low price.



You came here with this story:



Which IT company are you referring? The technical contact that doesn't have any rights to the domain?

It's actually a web design firm. The owner was an old client of their company.

 

[MackieMesser]

At least in the Western hemisphere it regularly happens that somebody dies and there are several heirs who are not in a good relationship with each other.

If you are in the position that you want something from them which requires some sort of deal or agreement, it might get difficult to get the required approval or signature from each heir. If had in other fields of business the experience that some heirs - even though they are siblings - argue about money or are for some reason just jealous at each other.

Often there was already a burdened relationship before the person from whom they inherited died and the situation escalates after the death when the heirs argue who gets what.

Sometimes I really wonder how family members can be so quarreled even about a heritage of little value. All could benefit, but, because one is jealous on the other, he/she doesn't want the other to benefit even though he/she would also benefit.

Crazy....

 

[lennco]

 

[tha-she]

Maybe some of us would offer way more than we should, realize we couldn't afford it, and then simply not pay, eh?



I'm beginning to understand your bidding history now.

Im sure you have only done good all your life long, followed all the rules by the nanometer.

All hail the king, the one and only who has always tracked hes actions.

Besides that, thats completly off-topic, if you have a problem, feel free to reach out via PM

 

[Jv1999]

Am i the only one who consider some kind of ethics when you "steal" the domain at crazy low prices from someone not aware about the domaining world?

It's just graverobbing. Seems like it fits in the domaining culture. It's right next to catching expired domains and reselling for high prices to the previous owner of 2 weeks ago.

Or registering a trademark before it's been filed /made official for the purpose of selling to the company.

 

[Jv1999]

Some time ago i read the story of a young woman (20 or something) inheriting from her suddenly dead relatives few apartments in their little town plus a prestigious one in Rome. She was suffering a lot for the loss, and decided to sell all these apartments because she didn't want any memories anymore.
Her lawyer decided to take advantage from it, and told her he found a buyer for the Rome's apartment: 180,000 Euros. It was the average price she received from other 3 apartments, then the lawyer told her it was over the real value of the apartment, was a bargain, because it was in bad conditions etc (she never visited, she was young, naive and mentally unstable after the loss). She agreed to sell it at that price.

The buyer was the lawyer itself, through a small individual company he created days earlier, and he was able to flip it at 1.5 Millions of Euros within few weeks.

I don't really know how, but after a while she sued him for "swindle" and, eventually, won and received a huge compensation, the lawyer has been dismissed and removed from the lawyer register.

I'm aware it's not exactly the same, but don't you feel a little like the lawyer?

Yeah lawyers have model rules that impose punishments for conflicts of interest. When you're managing your client's inheritance, then mix your personal gain... you goin' down bud

 

[Jv1999]

I just pointed out that maybe this situation would involve ethical thoughts, and tried to focus about how fair and ethical would be offer a low amount to unaware relatives for a domain owner by a dead person worthing a lot more (we talked about $2k - $30k but it's just an example).



It's not illegal to offer $1k or even $400 , and it's not illegal to take advantage of similar situations and acquire, i.e., a property (such as domain names) at a lower price.
It happens everywhere, everytime, in .

Don't take his legal advice if you're from the US. He obviously didn't look anything up. Talking out if thin air.

instead, Google unconscionable contrscts.

 

[Addison]

Well? did you resell those domains ?

They were for my friends. The first domain did sell for a big profit at auction, but the second domain was my friend's common first name. I doubt he'll ever sell it.

Taking advantage of people who lost a loved one is really a lot of fun.

#1 I said it was fun playing PI. Click here for the definition.

#2 They were not taken advantage of. They were given $XX,XXX (a significant amount of money) for assets they didn't know were valuable and that would have expired if we didn't contact them and help them through the process. In the case of the lawyer, it caused the family to owe less money and have less financial hardship during a time that was already tough enough for them. I don't know what happened in the other case, but the money could have gone to paying for the funeral for all we know. No matter where it went, paying someone thousands of dollars unexpectedly is never a negative thing, despite your attempts to make it one.

 

[matrigaldo]

@Jv1999 my time worths more than you and your irritating posts.

 

[Jv1999]

@Jv1999 my time worths more than you and your irritating posts.

Doesn't mean you should spread bad advice. If you cba to look it up, don't make it up?

 

[matrigaldo]

Doesn't mean you should spread bad advice. If you cba to look it up, don't make it up?

Bad advices? Have you even read my posts?

 

[TauseefKhan]

First you need to meet and educate the concerned family members on how to gain access to the domain in question. Secondly, you negotiate the deal. I think you need to meet them personally.

 

[varmuk]

50-50

 

[NetworkPearl]

How old are you @Insha010?

May I know why're you asking?

 

[Carol Carmel]

Why don't you be legitimately fair about the whole thing and split it down the middle. Offer at least half of what it's worth. Tell the seller that you are only offering 1/2 price and explain the complexities of selling it at full value unless your a professional. Then you gave full disclosure, sleep guilt free, and win over the heir with your honesty. It's a win-win situation. You may not make a killing off the deal but, you'll have done the right thing, and we all know the world needs a lot more of people doing the right thing.

 

[DTradr]

Assets in estate sales are often sold for way under market price to move them quickly and minimize the hassle and time with a drawn out disposition, dealing with attorneys, dealing with listings, brokers, fixing it up, etc.. If somebody is selling something and they are ignorant of the real market value of that asset - why would the buyer be considered unethical? In most every case - you're doing them a big favor in that they are monetizing something they would likely not have, or would have to bare the test of time and effort to get market value....