Taking back a sold site

Hi there,

I sold a website a few years back to a private buyer, and since then he has lost interest in the site and abandoned it.

I am in a position where I have access to the server and could take the site back and continue from where it was before I sold it, however I have not and may not be able to contact the "owner".

In short I would like to take my site back and work on it again, but am worried that my actions could be interpreted as theft and what the consequences of that could be.

Regards,
Pete

 

Look up the whois on the domain there should be a email for you to contact him with, its always best to contact him first , since he did buy the site of you and is the rightful owner.

If you don't you can be in some big trouble if you just take the site back without his say so.

 

yeah i think it depend who the owner is.. if the owner is a lawyer..i wouldn't try to do that...

 

Contact him first.. he paid for it, it's his until he relinquishes it. Otherwise, it's theft.

 

He does not need to maintain anything on the domain. If he bought it from you he is free to do what he wishes with it, even if that is nothing.

If you attempt to take it back, just because you still have access, you are most certainly doing something wrong.

 

It isn't YOUR site if he purchased it from you. Contact him and do things right.

 

Thanks, I have sent an email and now await a response.

 

Yeah definitely contact the owner, going into his server is a big no no w/o permission heh

 

One thing that I've experienced with buying domains and websites is that the previous owners are very attached to them and consider them "theirs". I once had someone try to blackmail me in order to make me sell him back a domain I bought from him!

It is true that webmasters often have emotional attachment to their sites because of the amount of time and energy they devote to them. However, once you make that sale, it is no longer yours. It's like selling any other possession.

Just because the buyer of your site did something you didn't like with it doesn't give you the right to steal it from him. Would you take back a house you sold to someone because the buyer never mowed the lawn?

 

100% ture that i have sold a few sites that made $200 + a month after putting a lot of work into advertising ect.

After i sold the site i keep going and checking on it to see how its doing to find the site was down , it was down for about 2 months , since its back all the money it was earning , and advertising had just disapered.

 

Yeah, you had better contact him. If he doesn't answer within say a week, it should be fine. Otherwise, it would be theft if you didn't at least try to get in contact before taking the content

 

If he dos not reply within a week?

Sorry but is he dos not reply he still has no right to take back the site.
What if the guy is ill , or somthink hes not gonna reply from hospital is he?
The guy payed for the site he is allowed to do as he wishes with the site when its been sold as hes the rightful owner.

If you just take the site back you will be in some big trouble.

If the guy dos not reply , just move on ther is nothink you can do about it.

 

Amen brother he has no right to even think of taking it back....You ever think maybe the guy wants the site to die off for what ever reason.....MOVE on WITH YOUR LIFE AND START ANOTHER SITE

 

It would be like theft if you did anything to the site without the owners permission FULL STOP.

It's not your site, it stopped being your site when he paid his money to you. Without his pemission you cannot and should not do anything.

Get over it!!!