Best Way to Track Down Regged Domain

I have a great idea for a site, and I found the perfect domain name(s), but they are both regged. One has private registration, the other not.

The one I can either email the guy or call him, but the domain is dead (404), and I was wondering if there was an easy to way to see if these domains were for sale. I googled them, search here and NamePros, but found nothing. Any other suggestions?

Any suggestions on how to get the private regged one?

 

The best way is to email the guy.

About the private regged one, you could post in forums that you want to buy the domain, I don't know if contacting the domain registrar will help

 

Got a good formula for contacting him?

I have done this a few times only to have them reply back with hugely inflated prices. Should I tell him how much I want to spend in my first email, or wait for an offer from him?

 

yeah i get that,

whenever anybody gets contacted for a domain, the alarms bells ring in their heads, they assume the person mailing must need the domain desperately or have deep pockets.

My advise, determine how much the domain is worth in the market, and how much it is worth to you, communicate to them that you can only buy at a realistic price, based on your busget and the current market rates.

If they are serious about selling, negotiations will begin, if not, find an alternative.

what kind of niche is the domain in?

 

The affiliate niche, a blog about affiliate companies.