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I got an unsolicited email today that I thought I’d share with you.
On Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 9:51 AM, <backorders@tripodukonline.com> wrote:
Hi David,
I noticed that you own troubledteenresources.org and wondered if you are aware that troubledteenresources.net will soon be released.
The previous owner failed to renew it.
If you would like this premium extension to complete your branding and web presence, or even to just stop
domain squatters getting there hands on it then let me know.
As an expert in the area of acquiring dropping domains and with an 80% success rate I can help.
Please don’t hesitate to get back to me as there are just a few days before the domain is released.
Kind Regards
Gary Willicott
Director
Tripod UK Ltd
+44 (0) 870 808 0073 (UK)
+1 (310) 601-8248 (USA)
Here’s what’s funny about Gary’s email. He’s an expert in acquiring domain names, but apparently couldn’t discover that in addition to owning TroubledTeenResources.org I am also the former and only former owner of the name he wants to acquire for me.
My other recent experience on the topic of acquiring a backorder domain was with GinkgoMarketing.com This domain was in what’s called redemption when I came up with an idea for it. I put in a backorder with Godaddy for it, they had been the registrar for the old owner. I waited out the redemption period (this lasts 90 days) and then the deletion period (5 days) and then it was gone. Yep it had been picked up by DemandMedia through enom.com. Fortunately for me, they were just doing a little domain name tasting and discovered in the process that it didn’t get big type in traffic leading to clicks on their ads and thus wasn’t worth keeping. They dropped it and I picked it up.
So how should you go about acquiring a domain name you want? First, try and track down it’s owner and buy it direct from them, this will limit the competition and if they have let it go they may be willing to let you have it for would be a song compared to getting in a bidding war. I suggest http://www.whois.sc/ to find out who owns it and get some history on it. Now if it is in the redemption period you may not be able to find this out. So next I would head over to the Wayback Machine here you will find archives for pages of Web sites and this could lead to an address and or phone number.
If you track down the owner and the domain is in the last 90 days of its registration the owner may have to pay a fee, I think it’s $80.00 or something like that at Godaddy to reclaim it. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting at least a couple hundred more in addition to the fee for their trouble. Again, if you really want this domain go this route for the certainty of it and to avoid what is likely to be a more expensive proposition if it goes to auction.
If you can’t find the owner and you really want this name, then try one of the three big services that go after these names. If your desired domain was registered with Network Solutions then you’ll want to make sure to bid for it at SnapNames because they have an exclusive relationship with Network Solutions for names that are “dropping.” The other two big players are Pool.com and Enom.com so if your domain is with anyone else you’ll want to either use one of these or really hedge your bet by using both of them. BTW, Enom’s backorder and auction service is at http://www.namejet.com/.
