Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

bag99001

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 11, 2015
283
298
I have a domain I’d like to buy for a business idea and apparently it’s already owned by some squatting company who hasn’t done anything with it for ten years. By some miracle, according to Whois, it’s registration is supposed to expire on June 13th. Is there a reasonable and appropriate way to try and get this domain then?
 
I have a domain I’d like to buy for a business idea and apparently it’s already owned by some squatting company who hasn’t done anything with it for ten years. By some miracle, according to Whois, it’s registration is supposed to expire on June 13th. Is there a reasonable and appropriate way to try and get this domain then?

If they're squatting they'll probably just renew. I had a .net domain that I let lapse once (which was OK) and the next thing I knew it had been squatted upon and offered back to me for some obscene amount. I watched it year after year get renewed. It's now almost 20 years later and it's about to get renewed again by the same squatters... 🙄🤨🤔
 
Last edited:
You can lie low and wait to see if it renews or not and then register it yourself (it may not become registrable immediately though depending on whether the domain registrar reserves it for a while). The only other option is to contact the current registrant and negotiate a transfer. Depending on whom you are dealing with, just showing your interest in this can result in an unreasonable offer and maybe a loss of opportunity to get it virtually forever (as demonstrated above).
 
If the expiry is 13th June then that simply means that when the timer starts for them to renew it. Different domain endings have different time limits on how long you can renew. Grace periods can be anything from 7 days to 1 month. It all depends on what the ending is and how fast they are.

If they don't renew and let it expiry properly, you may need to wait a little while longer.
 
These companies buy every plausible domain name especially the dot coms. They ask preposterous amounts of money. Many are not sold but those who are make more than plenty over it. It is scandalous as they add no value at all but shag down the people actually trying to set up a business.

Some advice to put the in front of is eg themacrumors.com. Others plead to choose a different extension eg MacRumors.dev. Whatever you do. Don't try to look for another word. They buy everything they can get their hands on.

And yes you can always pay up at a negotiated price and fuel the theft.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.