

Ask HN: Best way to word contact with owner of domain you want - zacharytamas

Hi guys, I was wondering how you would recommend contacting the owner of a domain you are interested in. Brief summary: there's a startup idea I'm playing with and I came up with what I think is a great, clever name. I was sitting in a Starbucks brainstorming when it hit me and I immediately pulled out my iPhone and tried to visit the site. It wouldn't load—good sign! Unfortunately later I did a WHOIS and discovered the domain is actually owned by a man from India who doesn't seem to be using it for anything—it doesn't even have A records pointing at a server.<p>As such, I am considering contacting this man to express interest in his domain but as I'm bootstrapping this venture I can't afford to be gouged too badly on a domain name. I know the "if the name is THE name for your product, spare no expense" mantra but realistically I can't afford to pay $10,000 for a domain name just because they know I want it badly.<p>So, my question is this: how would you recommend approaching the situation in an email to the owner in a way that is respectable but also portrays professionalism in hopes for a reasonable business discussion?
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Toph
1\. Don't overthink it or assume any dollar amount. You're only causing your
own problems/stress.

2\. Try to get an email (maybe off WHOIS) and email the guy to see if he is
even interested in selling.

3\. Go from there.

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runjake
I have a domain that I registered well over a decade ago. It's a simple,
single english word and an extension. I don't even reply to the ones that
don't give me a price up front.

The ones that have given me a price haven't been in the ballpark to make it
worth my while, but at least they get a reply (aka communication channel).

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canatan01
Even if the name hasn't got an A record, it might still be listed by the owner
in Sedo. So take a look there if it is listed.

Otherwise go for what Toph is suggesting in his reply.

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larrys
It's really hard to answer this question generally. The approach depends
totally on the name and what you are willing to spend and if you have a plan b
etc.

"owned by a man from India "

Generally speaking that's actually a good sign from my experience.

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bmelton
I don't have any particular advice for the question asked, but as an aside,
checking the domain first is the worst thing to do.

Domain squatting is such a big deal that squatters purchase unresolved domain
reports from ISPs, meaning that your phone's carrier is likely selling a list
of all the domains that aren't registered that people are searching for. If
you hesitate at all on acquisition, the domain might get scooped out from
under you.

I buy impulse domains all the time, and recommend that you get a whois app for
your phone. Also, check to ensure that the whois provider doesn't sell their
vacant search list as well. I know that whois.sc doesn't, so I pretty much use
them for everything, but I don't have my phone at hand to see what app I use
there.

Lastly, when registering, many of the registrars do the same thing. Name.com
doesn't, GoDaddy does, but those are about the only ones I can speak for off-
handedly.

~~~
larrys
"Domain squatting is such a big deal that squatters purchase unresolved domain
reports from ISPs, meaning that your phone's carrier is likely selling a list
of all the domains that aren't registered that people are searching for. If
you hesitate at all on acquisition, the domain might get scooped out from
under you."

Minor chance of that. Besides even after you run a WHOIS you would typically
visit the site to see if it's parked or being used or to simply gather further
info.

"Also, check to ensure that the whois provider doesn't sell.."

You can run a whois right from your command shell. (You have no control of
course over the registrar who has the whois server running of course no matter
what client you use.)

"when registering, many of the registrars do the same thing"

In general if you are brainstorming about names it is necessary to do several
things that might tip someone off.

I've been doing this since 1996 every day and personally have never had this
problem.

(By the way as an aside you might want to register the obvious typo of your
domain name.)

~~~
bmelton
That you've never had the problem doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist, as I
definitely have. There are also a variety of other horror stories where people
have had similar things happen to them.

That said, I don't disagree that it's a minor chance, but the chance exists,
and with a little mindfulness, it's worth shrinking the likelihood of that
happening even further. There's nothing worse than finding the 'perfect'
available domain name, gathering feedback from partners (delaying
registration) and then finding out it was taken.

It isn't inevitable, and a good argument could be made for promiscuous domain
purchasing without delay, but if it matters to you, then you should be
concerned with the ways in which domain poaching is more likely. If it
doesn't, then feel free to disregard.

