advice Previous owner wants his domain back. What's the standard practice?

[Darkniight]

A few days back, I won a domain in Sav auction. The domain was registered in Nov-2019 and expires in Nov-2023.

I listed the domain in several marketplaces. Today I received the following message through the domain lander:

I haven't responded to the message yet. According to the Way Back Machine, the domain seems to be used as an Amazon Affiliated Website. The matching Twitter and Facebook page doesn't seem to be active after Feb-2021.

Seeking your expert views about this. What's the standard practice in such a situation?

Feel free to share your similar experiences.

Thank you.

 

[Darkniight]

Some parts of the message made me doubt his words.

"added to auction without price" - He forgot/missed the reserve. When he has a live site with the domain, auction reserve should be the last thing in his mind.

"they didn’t cancel the auction and I didn’t know that." - He has a live site with the domain and he didn't follow up this crucial ticket.

"I lost it without getting anything" - So, if he would get a decent price, it would be ok to loose the domain?

"It seems you are a big domainer" - The word "Domainer" is not that much common to general people. Usually domainers use this among themselves.


The above points make me think that either he is a domainer himself (in disguise) or he was planning to make a good profit by auctioning off the domain. But the auction outcome did not fit his expectations.

 

[Hypersot]

I had a few similar occasions where the previous owner contacted me and it all depended upon who they were and what the domain was for.

In some occasions, I let the domain go for free, eg. I once got a serbian domain (.rs) which used to belong to a school and didn't get renewed by the registrar. The registrar contacted me about the issue and I let the domain go without a question. Needless to say, I was treated like a VIP afterwards by said registrar and even now, so many years later, that respectful treatment hasn't gone away.

In others, I asked only the fees I paid and gave the domain away because they proved that, for various reasons, they couldn't renew the domain.

and in others, I explained that this is how domains work, ie. domain dropped = free to register by anyone and bargained as I would do normally to any buyer.

One important thing however is,
if you plan to give the domain away for minimal cost due to previous ownership, ask for some proof that they owned the domain.

 

[Digital Nomad]

When I just started out with domaining I won "formals dot com" in a drop auction. A couple of days later the previous owner contacted me with a sad story about his mother owning that domain etc. and if I don't return it he will sue me etc. And I felt bad and didn't know much about domaining yet (now I know he can't sue me for his lack of responsibility of letting his domain expire) and thus sold it back to him for 10% extra of my purchase price. In the end it seemed he was just a domainer and put up the domain for sale. I still regret my decision to sell it back now that I know more.

I wouldn't feel sorry for anyone dropping their domain, if they care so much, why don't keep an eye on the domain and renew it for 10 years etc.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

It all depends about how kind you're feeling...

They are assuming it won't affect you and that it just landed into your lap. That's quite an assumption for them to make. Why didn't they check to see if the auction was finished if they cherish the name so much? Have they waited a while to message?

I'd be asking myself how much it is worth and price it accordingly as normal... Unless you really feel sorry for them give it to them at a discount.

Remember that all names had a previous owner. Your names that you've dropped, you're the previous owner of those... Do you expect the new owners to give you those names back now?

 

[jhm]

Comes down to you. If you want to hand it back out of the goodness of your heart, go ahead. However, I'd certainly want a bit more clarity about the business in question (in other words, a bit more credibility to the story). This is a business, and sometimes in business we make mistakes. If the shoe was on the other foot, would you expect a domain to be handed back, due to an error on your part? I think not

If it's a business with some turnover, I'd at least be offering you some money for the domain. I'd put my hands up and be up front that I messed up. The domain really means something to me. I'm not going to waste your time, will put a bid in right now, hope its a consideration. Something along those lines, would be the dialogue I'd engaged in, than "free". It adds a little humility to the situation

 

[NickB]

Just reads like someone trying to get a free domain or on the cheap.........

You are the new legal owner, set a price on a lander/Afternic and ignore the email

 

[bmugford]

A few days back, I won a domain in Sav auction. The domain was registered in Nov-2019 and expires in Nov-2023.

I listed the domain in several marketplaces. Today I received the following message through the domain lander:

Show attachment 226063

I haven't responded to the message yet. According to the Way Back Machine, the domain seems to be used as an Amazon Affiliated Website. The matching Twitter and Facebook page doesn't seem to be active after Feb-2021.

Seeking your expert views about this. What's the standard practice in such a situation?

Feel free to share your similar experiences.

Thank you.

It depends on many factors.

Is the story believable?

How much did you pay for the domain and how valuable is it?

How nice do you want to be?

I have been in this situation multiple times, and each time the outcomes have been different.

If I was even considering some type of accommodation, I would want more evidence to back up their story.

Brad

 

[Digital Nomad]

I have another story from many years ago, a crazy one. It was for (YouLikeThis dot com) which I drop catched and immediately put it up in a no reserve auction on Flippa. Can you believe the previous owner started to comment in the auction that I stole the domain from him, that he owned the domain, that he will come and get me in my home country etc. with name calling and everything, jeopardizing the auction completely for me. Finally Flippa banned him and the name still sold for a nice profit. But damn sometimes previous owners can really give you a headache. They think because they originally registered the domain, that they own it forever even when it expires and that they are entitled to it even without a TM or so.

 

[kor]

Just ignore it.

 

[Broth Investing]

On a serious note feels like some type of pity scam but I’m pretty cynical at this point.

 

[buydomainnames]

Its one of bad trick, just ignore it . Or ask him / her to pay $750 - $1k. If needed, give an option to pay with lease to own up to 10 month. He / she wrote to touch your heart , so you can change it with new heart and read the text like sing a song.

Sometime, I give a domain back to previous owners for free, but its only for non profit org or social / education - , but I will ask legal document to validate that they're the real previous owners.

 

[kor]

That man is outright lying. All the details are hidden in the e-mail he wrote.

 

[HotKey]

Same thing has happened to me, prev owner contacted with a sob story blah blah. I believed him. In the end, I offered the domain back for a few $XXX, said:

Look, I invested my time into this and the DN has potential for certain amount of dollars, I understand your circumstance here's a fair offer for both of us. They immediately accepted, and both buyer seller happy. I profited, the original owner recouped their loss, really, we both profited..

You never know until you try, don't just write folks off. And someday, you may be in the same situation.

 

[cabotower]

if you are going to put it up for sale, do it. and answer him with one thing, a link to the landing page, nothing else. he'll get the message.

 

[Leopard]

1) Check internet archives if there was a live site on the domain - https://web.archive.org
2) Ask him proof of previous domain ownership
3) If genuine then u may offer it at a discounted price. Quick flip and some good karma.

 

[nivadriver]

The question that arises for me is, is this person telling lies? If he gives you reason to believe so (implausible name, internal inconsistencies), give him nothing but perhaps a rebuke. To agree to be manipulated by a lie makes you an accessory to that lie. It habituates you to being a party to further lies, and emboldens him to deceive more people in the future. Ultimately it is to strengthen the rule of evil in the world. If I received the email that you did, helping that fellow would be the last thing on my mind.

 

[elevator]

"Finally I lost it without getting anything? "

I am very curious about this matter. How could a domain sold on auction and the Owner did not get any proceeds.

It seems he is a beginner domainer

 

[equity78]

"It seems you are a big domainer" - The word "Domainer" is not that much common to general people. Usually domainers use this among themselves.

Agree it's odd choice of words for non domainer.

 

[VadimK]

@bmugford I was pretty much about to write the same. I don't think there is any standard practice for this. All depends on the name, price you paid, expectations you have, also the ''request back'' itself etc.

Probably if it's somebody's first - last name like DickHardcok - I'd be more generous, comparing to some CryptoWorld name that person claimed that he's been attached to ''since his very childhood''.

I also think @Darkniight is right about this particular case. In any case, if the name is not of an important significance to you, you can pitch it back for some mid XXX to see the reaction. I don't think it's out of the world price to pay for something of an extreme importance to you. But of course that's if you feel like making some possible quick cash with the name, and do not plan for thousands % ROI on this. Also this way you'll check of how much it's important for him in reality. Up to you.

 

[pb]

Former owners are the worst, I very rarely even respond to their mails.
And in this case it's not even certain it *is* the former owner. And even so, you put the domain at the auction and then want it back? Tough luck, buddy.

 

[Darkniight]

The standard practice is: You want it, you pay up.

Sorry. Next time don't let your names expire.

He didn't let the name expire rather put it in an auction. Allegedly by mistake, forgot to put a reserve, got nothing in return.

Well, the point remains same. Next time don't put your names in auction.

 

[alcy]

tell him your dog ate domain with the homework so its gone

 

[twiki]

The standard practice is: You want it, you pay up.

Sorry. Next time don't let your names expire.

 

[twiki]

He didn't let the name expire rather put it in an auction. Allegedly by mistake, forgot to put a reserve, got nothing in return.

Well, the point remains same. Next time don't put your names in auction.

Sellers remorse?

Pay up, I say.

 

[handpicked]

Its very easy to loose domain name with SAV auctions in this manner. I lost some good ones for 1$ this way, only later one would realize that reserve cannot be set and the auction cannot be stopped