Congrats! You have just come up with the next "big" thing in a money making web idea! What do you do about a domain? A) Buy a sparkling new domain from favorite registrar B) Find a domain for sale that fits your site BUT has never been used (sitting in someones portfolio but aged) C) Find a domain that had been parked (May have traffic and aged) D) None of the above. I have a better idea and it is......
Really depends on the site. I like to check dropped domains first. I think there are still a few "good" .com's that are not registered (and many more dropping). However, if your new idea is a $5mil website. I would spend more than $8 on a name. A domain name means more than an address. I guess I tend to spend 5-10% of the new websites full launch price on the best domain I can.
You can tell if a domain is not being used by visiting it and seeing if there is a site one it. You can also check wayback machine for past results to see.
FYI, there are numerous administrative decisions (UDRP) that a domain name having a parking page is considered a legitimate use. It's a different story if it is being used to infringe someone's trademark rights, though. So I'd like to ask again: who says a domain name is not being used? Is there any authoritative source you can cite?
Well, I do not know of any authoratative sources that have said. I think its all up to the buyer. In my opinion, a domain is considered "in use" when it has a website other than a parking page.
And that is actually my point. I respect your opinion. But when some people base their opinion on inaccurate or incomplete information, they tend to form unrealistic expectations and even wrong ideas. And when some start making that "opinion" look like a fact, others might catch on and develop inaccurate or even wrong ideas as well. More so if they don't give it a long hard thought. If they care to, anyhow. But then, everyone is free to reach their own ideas based on whatever info they care to obtain. I don't mean to pick a fight, but I honestly get irked whenever I see someone saying "this domain is not being used". As if they really know how it is being "used" when it's not registered to them in the first place. What bugs me even more is when they start asking for ways to nab the name that's "not being used" when the registrant doesn't reply to their "demands" for it. As if they have some magical right of entitlement to something they've no demonstrable rights to. So why do some people believe a domain name they have no rights to is not being "used"? Simply because the registrant isn't meeting their expectations, which they don't have to? Okay, done ranting. I hope you and others who read this get my drift.
Good Point. For this though I was assuming it was for sale, not listed so "not in use" I am curious as to what would be better for a new site, new domain, not listed domain (better ) or a parked domain this is listed. There are a lot of choices here at DP and some real good names come up - I was just wondering if there was a prefered choice by the people more experienced than I.
Maybe its me, but I became quite lost here. Are you saying that people complain that they should get a domain if its registered but no one is using it for free? Just to clarify, I was more talking of buying a domain.... you can find lots of domains on sedo that just have had parking pages. Also, if I visit a domain I want and there is no website I send am email offering a price.
That's what I get for ranting like a madman. What I mean is this: 1. Some people have no basis (other than their own sometimes narrow-minded opinion or wrong expectation) that a domain name is "not being used". 2. Unfortunately some people use the "domain not being used" as a basis for trying to find any and all means to possibly obtain it, especially if they don't get any reply to their initial contact. 3. Some of them complain people are "sitting" or "squatting" on some of those domain names that are "not being used" when they have no rights to any of them at all, unless they can demonstrate their trademark rights (if any) are being infringed on by them. 4. What's worse is some of them don't even consider what it would possibly be like if the shoe's on the other foot. Or maybe they do, but they just don't care except for their own selfish interests. 5. When they complain online or elsewhere that this domain name's being sat on because "it's not being used", others might take it as gospel truth without knowing any better. Kudos to those who state they're just "opinions", though. Those kinds of people don't get my sympathy. They deserve to rant and rave, but they don't deserve to get what they want. There are some domain names I too would like to buy for my own purposes. If I don't get an answer despite all possible means of contact, or they reply and their price is too high for my "tastes", then I move on. It's a shame some don't. I hope it's clearer now. And I apologize if I was actually drifting off-topic.
Got it and I agree. If the domain is not being used and a person wants it, they should pay (unless the person that owns the name is VERY nice). Simple as that.
If you have the next big thing.. it is something new so you need a domain that is brandable without any past baggage. Steps B) & C) are out. Which means better that you think and list out original names so go for step A) .
So how do you draw the distinction, then, between those who are parking domains for the sake of holding them, and those who are legitimately holding them? Like those mindless pages of auto-generated drivel, with a "domain for sale" link at the bottom. What do you call those? I have been monitoring and attempting to backorder a domain. Today was the expire, and the person who owns it is obviously doing nothing more than holding it in an attempt to profit, as they renewed it again - despite the domain being for sale for over 2 years! Meanwhile, I have a legitimate use for the site that matches the name. (which is nothing common, by the way)
Well, they are either making money from parking or for a higher offer on the domain. Both are legitimate in my opinion. If you want the name, I suggest emailing them an offer or their asking price. Simple supply and demand.
I'm sorry to say, but the line between cyber squatting and domain parking is VERY grey. Domain names were never meant to be a commodity, so the supply and demand rule is a little off.
If you really have faith in the service & can't find a domain in the best possible extension then you can post a Domain Wanted on one of the dedicated Domain Forums. If the service will make you money then spending even $200 to $500 can usually get you a good solid domain.
You don't. Some people here have certain personal ideas. But that's all they are. Especially if you don't know the registrant's intent behind it.
Yes, but let's not forget the important point, as stated previously - domain names were NOT MEANT to be commodities! I would like to see a "parking fee" imposed on unused domains. That would be any domain not in use, ("use" being clearly defined) or not redirected to an "in-use" page, not including an index page with a list of redirected domains for sale. With so many people in the world online, there's no good reason to squat domains, anymore.