Is squatting on a domain name still profitable?

How long does one hang on to a domain before deciding to stop renewing it?

I ask this because a name squatter has been holding my family name since 2001. In 2003, I sent mail to the "company", inquiring as to how much he would sell the domain for. Someone responded back asking what I would be willing to pay.

Crap.... sounds like a shakedown already.

So I respond back stating that I would like a price. I received obscenities in return. Basically, he claimed he was going to develop a business around surnames, and hadn't figured out how to develop it. If I didn't like, I could stick in my hind end.

I noticed around that time that the same person had also registered thousands of other surname domains, and it looks like he still holds them to this day.

I went to ICANN to see what I could do, and they want $1100 to open an investigation. Not being a rich man, I hung my head in defeat.

Here it is 2011, and this squatter (yes, he is a squatter) still holds my family name.

Are there any other options? Do I simply wait for this moron to either die or get bored of his shenanigans?

 

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot you can do. I've had a similar case of someone squatting on a domain I used to own that realistically wouldn't have value to very many others, but they want a ridiculous price for it and have kept it several years now.

With a surname, you don't have absolute rights to the name, so you probably wouldn't be able to win it in a UDRP. That would pretty much be your only recourse. I wouldn't bother with that ICANN investigation because they'll likely say the same thing.

The only thing I can suggest is to try contacting him under a different email address and not use your name. You may have to put forth an offer to get him to talk price it seems, so consider doing that, but at this point I would do it more anonymously as he'd probably quote you a sky-high price after the exchange you've already had.

 

Also check all domain marketplaces to see if this person has listed a price for this particular domain.