website domain

[Greg PW Shearman]

hello ... I am in the process of expanding my business we own the .co.uk website domain but when we looked at the .com some domain organisation owns it .... as we are about to grow in uk and then potentially abroad should we bite the bullet and pay the $3000 they want for it ?

do they often take a smaller offer ?

any advice welcome

 

[Mr D]

You could buy it. Or you could buy a different name.
How much is the web domain worth to your business?

 

[Greg PW Shearman]

You could buy it. Or you could buy a different name.
How much is the web domain worth to your business?

not much now but could be worth more in the future ... do these companies sell it off cheaper / negotiate normally ?

 

[Mr D]

not much now but could be worth more in the future ... do these companies sell it off cheaper / negotiate normally ?

Negotiation implies demand for the product.

You can ask them - maybe they'll get rid of it. If they say no will you offer more?
Come back in a year or two the price could be a lot higher as there's demand for it!

 

[Darren_Ssc]

$3000 suggests it's not a hugely in demand name and you may be the only realistic potential customer. Best to sit and wait or find another name unless $3000 is a trivial amount to you?

Domain dealers can be very professional and reasinable people and they can also be complete jerks, That is the problem when dealing with individuals, you never really know what will happen until you make an offer. $3,000 may an entirely reasonable price if you consider they will be holding lots of names (many of which they will never sell) but have to keep paying to re-register. They may also paid a premium for the name themselves?

Then again, it could be some guy who's just registered a freely available name and made up some arbiratry selling price out of thin air?

On the plus side, any competitor who wants the name is in the same boat as you are and will likely opt for an alternative meaning you have the benefit of the .com not being used and at no cost to yourself.

 

[Greg PW Shearman]

thanks both

 

[Ian J]

Then again, it could be some guy who's just registered a freely available name and made up some arbiratry selling price.

I used to have loads of domains which were variants of factoringsolutions with different suffixes and I gradually let them lapse and often a few months later I would receive an email from some clown offering to sell them to me at some ridiculously inflated price

 

[Greg PW Shearman]

I'm looking at the bigger picture as may need .com in about 4-5 years time

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I used to have loads of domains which were variants of factoringsolutions with different suffixes and I gradually let them lapse and often a few months later I would receive an email from some clown offering to sell them to me at some ridiculously inflated price

I have had the opposite expereince where I've offered a reasonabl sum to be either ignored or told they already have a better offer - onlt for the domain to have been dropped and available to register a year or so later.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I'm looking at the bigger picture as may need .com in about 4-5 years time

Domain names are becoming less relevent by the year though so it may be wise to sit tight?

 

[Mr D]

I'm looking at the bigger picture as may need .com in about 4-5 years time

Will the address situation change sufficiently by then to give more options?

 

[japancool]

There are plenty of alternatives to .com.

 

[UKSBD]

I let a domain drop, looked at it again a few months later and it was for sale for £1500.
Looked again 2 years later and it was available for registering again.

If I wanted one that was advertised for £3000 I would offer £150 max, provided they pay transfer fees and that would only be if I really wanted it.

If they said no, I'd offer to pay transfer fees too.

 

[socialsoul]

There's no harm in making a much lower offer and if it's not accepted, try again in a few months. You could also consider using a service that will negotiate with the seller of the domain for a fee.

hello ... I am in the process of expanding my business we own the .co.uk website domain but when we looked at the .com some domain organisation owns it .... as we are about to grow in uk and then potentially abroad should we bite the bullet and pay the $3000 they want for it ?

do they often take a smaller offer ?

any advice welcome

 

[Karimbo]

dont pay the squatters a single penny. They charge several hundred for even the crappiest of domains with no commercial value.

Low (read reasonable) offers don't work. For any one domain they own - they have hundreds that dont sell and costs them money every year, so they need to price gouge on the ones that they can sell to pay their overheads.

 

[fisicx]

I'm looking at the bigger picture as may need .com in about 4-5 years time

Register a new name in 4-5 years time. Don’t pay these sharks a penny.

 

[DontAsk]

Register a new name in 4-5 years time.

It would be a lot better to start using a new name now, get all the domains you want/need, and build the brand from there.

 

[The Name Catcher]

You need to factor in the costs incurred in changing over to a new name. I'm sure you don't have a fleet of vans to rebrand! But there will be costs and not all financial.
Alternatively you could view a new name as an opportunity for a refresh and rebranding of the business ready for the expansion.

 

[fisicx]

It would be a lot better to start using a new name now, get all the domains you want/need, and build the brand from there.

But in 4-5 years time the domain may no longer be valid - you will have been paying for something you no longer need.

 

[DontAsk]

But in 4-5 years time the domain may no longer be valid

In what way?

- you will have been paying for something you no longer need.

Validity is different to need.

The cost and hassle of rebranding in 5 years time could far exceed the cost of doing it now and pay the reg fees for the domain, if the business grows in the meantime.

 

[computerbeing]

You also need to consider if it is a keyword rich domain hence in demand or only related to your brand as to determine how much you would pay for it. You have nothing to lose by making an offer you are comfortable with. Also need to consider whether having a slightly different domain name would affect the prestige of your brand.