Expired .com registration query...

I want to register a .com website and the domain has lapsed from the previous owner in mid Oct 04.

How do I go about this, when I try to register it it says it's not available....OK it hasn't been de-tagged so how do i get it de-tagged?

ALSO:

Do I risk some search engine problems in buying a website that has been used before...(I don't know if the site has ever been live)?

Ian

 

You can try the web archive site to see if they ever heard of it. Try Google's cache to see if it's there. Also check if it has old dangling backlinks. With those 3 resources plus perhaps Alexa you can see whether it's dodgy or not. If not then all's fine.

Not sure on the de-tagging part.

Threads fits better in general business IMO.

 

There's a whole industry based around expiring domains and trying to 'catch' them as they expire.

You might do some independent research, it's been a little while since I delved into this, but you need to watch the registration status. Use something like: http://www.whois-search.com When the status changes to pending-delete (double check that in your research) that means it will be available for registration in seven days.

You might just be able to register it like normal at that time... but if it's a name that other people would be interested in, it's likely that you'll have competition. If you really want it bad, sign up for something like namewinner.com and other services that try to catch names the moment they expire. Many people preregister for popular names with all the name catching services, then, depending on which service catches it, they can try to outbid your competition to get the name.

Google 'expiring names', 'abandoned domains', that type of thing, for more details. A good site for further research and related forums is http://www.namepros.com

Good luck.