Domain Name Expired - More Help Needed [Archive]

kathynewman

17-Jan-2007, 07:59 PM

Following on from previous thread decided to bite bullet and try and buy back the domain name www.selseyfestivities.com

Yesterday it showed that it was owned by name.net and asked me to make an offer of minimum $90. Today it says
"Sorry, offers cannot be made on this domain through this site. Please contact the registrant of the domain"

Doing a WHOIS shows
Registrar: CAPITOLDOMAINS, LLC
Whois Server: whois.capdom.com

Go to capdom.com and do a WHOIS on their site and it shows
Wan-Fu China, Ltd. (SELSEYFESTIVITIES-COM-DOM)
P.O.Box CB-11901
Nassau,
BS
+31.847486135
+31.847486135
business@wanfuchina.com

Go to www.wanfuchina.com and it says:
"We provide company service for China trade business opportunity!"
with an email address. I have emailed them but not sure I'll get a reply.

Given all of the above does anyone think I stand a hope in hell of getting this domain back?

Really Really hope so as it's been published in a number tourist guides for this years festival and we can't change as they've gone to press:(

Kathy

RuralWeb

17-Jan-2007, 08:08 PM

Given all of the above does anyone think I stand a hope in hell of getting this domain back? NO - I would start thinking of plan B!

kathynewman

17-Jan-2007, 09:45 PM

Oh b****r that was not the answer I was hoping for Mal - but think I expected it.

No idea what plan B will be when that web address has been published - NOT looking forward to the committee meeting tomorrow night. So annoying - that domain isn't really of any use to anyone else unless they are planning festivities in Selsey!

Kathy

RuralWeb

17-Jan-2007, 09:47 PM

that domain isn't really of any use to anyone else unless they are planning festivities in Selsey!You never know - everything else we have is made in China!

Mark H

18-Jan-2007, 08:33 AM

If you haven't already got the .co.uk you could get it by tomorrow night - I think a lot of people would try the .co.uk if the .com didn't work

(plus you could always say that the .com was a typo!);)

kathynewman

18-Jan-2007, 08:49 AM

yes got order in for the .co.uk - nice idea about explaining away as typo - but I'd forgoten it's on a bunch of merchandise as well!

Kathy

kathynewman

22-Jan-2007, 06:29 AM

Well you could have knocked me down with a feather when I checked my email at 6.20am this morning - an answer from Wanfuchina!

They apologiese for having the domain name but said they bought it as it was lapsed - however for a payment of $840 as compensation they would be prepared to let us have it back!

Well emailed saying we can't afford that would they consider a smaller amount - will let you know if I get a reply.

Kathy

MDS

22-Jan-2007, 02:48 PM

Very interseting thread over at DNSSTUFF last year.

Seems to have lost formatting in the forum change, but you might find some parts interesting

http://member.dnsstuff.com/forums/showthread.php?t=943423

Looks like the same people involved.

I am afraid I would also go for the plan B option

RuralWeb

22-Jan-2007, 03:37 PM

They apologiese for having the domain name but said they bought it as it was lapsed - however for a payment of $840 as compensation they would be prepared to let us have it back So thier plan has worked:) you are despirate and will pay anything to get it back - NOT

RuralWeb

22-Jan-2007, 03:43 PM

Very interseting thread over at DNSSTUFF last year Domain squatting is on the increase. I have even been on the phone to a client discussing domain names and we had decided on one but chatted for a while and it had been registered by a squatter when we went back. Its happened a few times now and its almost as if something is tracking the domains being checked and registering them :rolleyes:

kathynewman

22-Jan-2007, 03:49 PM

Yikes that is very interesting - bit scary too - all seems to relate to us domain registering companies - but I will be bit more careful I think when searching for new domains in future.

Keeping everything crossed that the domain may become available again in few days - seems like that has happened sometimes and people have been able to get the domains registered again.

Will let you know if anything happens!

Kathy

RuralWeb

22-Jan-2007, 03:53 PM

Its best to use someone like 123-reg to host your domains as they will send warning emails at 60, 30, 10 and 5 days and then automatically re-register them when they expire if you do not select to allow them to expire.

Domains are the most important part of a website and if you loose one your whole business goes down the pan.

Duncan Rounding

22-Jan-2007, 07:39 PM

kathynewman

23-Jan-2007, 05:58 AM

Well another email awaited me this morning - I had gone back to them saying $840 was too much would they consider less - they came back asking for $750. Have emailed them saying: "Thank you for your reply - sorry but 750 is still too much for us to afford. I think we will have to leave the domain with you."

Will see if anything more happens - may be lucky as some of the posts on the DNSSTUFF forum have said that within 5 days or so the domain suddenly reappears available - will keep an eye out!

Kathy

fleetwood

23-Jan-2007, 08:26 AM

Kathy, why not just send them your own 'final' offer.
Its a fair bet that they are after getting as much back as they can, but other than selling the domain for a profit, it is probably of little other use to them.
As far as I am aware (and like others, this happened to be with my dot com domain), these companies bulk buy unregistered domains for a pittance, that are 'likely' to be wanted in the future, and hope to gain on any that are then chased.
Explain the situation to them, that your organising is small, and that you have very limited funds available, otherwise you will have to let the name go. Try and sound relaxed rather than desperate, and don't mention things like 'we are already using that name on all our stationary/advertsing'.
You can offer x, but that is the absolute limit of the funds you have available.
They will no doubt try and get more out of you, to which I would stick to your guns with your offer in any reply (keep it short and courteous).
So long as your offer isn't laughable, you may find they let it go after a bit of to and frowing.
They are after money in the bank, which they won't get if no-one else chases the domain, but they are unlikely to be bothered, if its not enough to at least make them feel they made 'enough' profit.
I'd suggest something like £150-£250 (if you can afford it), would be reasonable for both sides.
Please let us know how you get on.

chris ashdown

23-Jan-2007, 09:02 AM

Further to Martins reply, Also tell them you have now purchased the .co.uk address to use and only willing to pay the original $90 asked on the other site
as you will only be using it to forward onto the new site

Sean Williams

23-Jan-2007, 10:28 AM

Domain squatting is on the increase. I have even been on the phone to a client discussing domain names and we had decided on one but chatted for a while and it had been registered by a squatter when we went back. Its happened a few times now and its almost as if something is tracking the domains being checked and registering them :rolleyes:

I always check domains by browser in the first instance and when I'm sure I want it, I then do the whois via nominet/networksolutions etc in the hope that they have enough integrity not to be spying on the whois requests. I would never use a search engine!

We registered both .com and .co.uk domains on one of our websites 9 years ago. Then, despaite having paid for the renewal on the .com (in plenty of time), networksolutions sold it to someone else! Unbelievable. Eventually they entrenched their position and said 'sue us' guessing (correctly) it wouldn't be worth our while.
It then came up on a squatting site last year - for $2000!
Today, I find someone has bought it and is using it to forward to their own, competitor website in the US under a completely different name.....

I now register every possible useful version of a site via 1and1 so they get renewed automatically.

party_pete

23-Jan-2007, 11:35 AM

A domain name I wanted had expired and after contacting nominet on 13th October 2006, they stated that;
xxx.co.uk has only just been suspended. It is scheduled to be
cancelled on or after the 8 December 2006.

A domain name is cancelled at random by our systems once the minimum
suspension period has been served and this is made available on a
'first-come, first-served' basis. This is done in order to remain fair to
all prospective registrants.

So, as I haven't the time to check daily, I purchased a Domain Watcher from 123-reg, so they would register the domain for me as soon as it became available.

On 4th January 2007, I email Nominet, to ask when the domain was likely to become available, and got this response;

Having checked our records I can confirm that the domain name,
letsparty2.co.uk was cancelled on the 9 December 2006, making it available
for registration on a 'first-come, first-served' basis.

The domain name was subsequently re-registered on the 13 December 2006 by
a company called Hi-Res. The new registration details can be viewed using
our WHOIS facility, blah blah blah

I then contacted 123-reg to ask why the domain had not been registered by them on my behalf and they said
Unfortunately the domain watcher does not guarantee a purchase of the
domain. As you can appreciate we are not the only company that offers
this as a service.
What it does do however is give you more of a chance to be able to
purchase it first, as domain registration is based on a first come first
served basis

Just my experience............

jont

23-Jan-2007, 12:01 PM

Pretty good of them to sell you a service on the expectations it will work! They are correct in what they say so I trust they have made their position more clear on what it can and can not do for you before others part with money?

party_pete

23-Jan-2007, 12:18 PM

I purchased the Domain Watcher from 123-reg because this is what they quoted on their website (unedited);

Is the .com, .net or .org domain name that you wanted already taken? With 123-reg.co.uk you can now proactively watch domain names, and have them registered as soon as they expire, are deleted, or become available for any reason.

Research shows that out of over 30 million .com, .net and .org domains registered across the world, only around 10% of these are being actively used. Many domains are not renewed on expiry, or can suddenly become available for a variety of reasons.

For just £15 +VAT each (or buy 10 and get one free) you can set up your Domain Watcher, and we will track your domain for a whole year and secure it for you when it becomes available. Watch .com, .net, .org, .co.uk, .me.uk or .org.uk domain names! You will only need to pay the registration fee (at our regular, competitive rates) if you successfully obtain the domain you are tracking.

To me it emplies that they 'will' secure the domain for you as soon as it expires - don't you think?

Also, as it was only a .co.uk domain and every other TLD is available, it would appear that something not quite above board is happening somewhere....

jont

23-Jan-2007, 12:30 PM

Yep - I would copy the terms to them highlighting the "have them registered as soon as they expire" and ask for a full refund.... they may try and get out on the .co.uk front or claim that it is not actually available if someone else beat them to the jump.. either way it is very misleading.

kathynewman

24-Jan-2007, 08:02 PM

Just had another email offering us the domain for $650. I had replied yesterday saying $750 was too much and that we would have to leave the domain with them.

I've emailed back today saying thank you but the most we could afford is $100 - which is true - so will wait and see if we get another reply

Watch this space :)

Kathy

party_pete

01-Feb-2007, 03:55 PM

Just a bit of good news for me on this.

The Domain Name that I wanted was snapped up by a Bulk Domain Buyer based in Israel, called Hi Res

I found their contact details via the WHOIS database and aksed if they wished to sell.

$80 quoted and within 10 days the domain name is now mine, having just had an email from Nominet this morning.

Just thought i'd share this in case anyone else loses a domain to Hi Res and thought that it wouldn't be worth persuing.

kathynewman

05-Feb-2007, 11:08 AM

Well there I was at about 7.30pm on Friday evening sat in office browing web for a new car when the office phone rang - my reaction was along the lines of who the heck thinks i'm going to answer a work call at this time on Friday and left answermachine to pick up. Listened to call and it was someone from Canada asking for me having read that I was having problems with a domain name that had been taken by another company. Ears pricked up at this so answered call.

This guy from Canada had same problem we've had with the local festival name - he forgot to renew and it has now been taken by wufunchina. He was so annoyed about this he did an internet search and must have found the actinic forum and contacted me having read of my problems. I explained all that I had gone through and that I so far hadn't got anywhere. This guy is in worst position as it's his business - he's been selling herbal products for 20 odd years and now has no domain name. :cool:

Saturday morning got another email from wufan - my last email to them had been kindly refusing their offer of $650 for the domain name back and explained $100 was most we could afford - they this time offered $550 - emailed back and said thank you so much but can only afford $100 - watch this space!

Kathy

We got talking about our businesses - I explained I also ran an online store - turns out he has some products suitable for use on pets - and is looking for someone in the UK to sell them - so he's sending me some samples.

So neither of us are anywhere near getting domains back but who knows he may have found a UK distributor for his products and we might have found a new product to sell - strange how things happen

bangers

05-Feb-2007, 06:13 PM

Not mainy people know but if you have owned a domain and have a record of trading on it you may well have a case to make a claim against squatters.

I had a case again with Network Solutions when they sold a domain without contacting me. It got very messy.

Here a few steps:
1. Check out who's the new domain owner, if in the uk a small claims court route could be an option to let owners know you mean business (last option)
1. Try to keep it friendly and don't sound desperate.
2. If you get no joy with the new domain owner conatct their ISP.
3. Here the important stuff! You could try the WIPO (or World Intellectual Propery Organisation) who deal with matters cocerning the domain desputes etc and have powers to force ISP's to remove content or transfer domains.
See if you are covered under some of the rules laid out here http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/guide/index.html. Which could help for a domain dispute or http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/index.html for more general info.

In my case I didn't have a domain owners details and I was getting nowhere until I made it clear that if ISP didn't contact them and work on my behalf then I'd make the claim against them (though at $1500/claim I wasn't looking forward to it).

The threat should be enough and if it is your business going down the drain then $1500 is well worth it

Hope this helps someone,
Cheers
Bangers

wfl

06-Feb-2007, 04:54 PM

We had a similar issue with a .co.uk domain that we wanted but that was owned buy a squatter.

He is a US citizen but has a Nominet account as a Private UK Individual! What is more he had registered it when he was 17!

Admittedly we did pay him very handsomely for it but it was important. However we did not pay him anything like he wanted. We explained to him and SEDO that we owned the UK trading name and corporate identities and were in the process of registering the trade mark. Finally we made it very clear that anyone attempting to trade in the UK using the name would be talking to the legal beagles in double quick time. It was amazing how quickly we then reached a deal.

My biggest gripe was with Nominet (with whom I am now incidentally a member) for letting him become a member in the first place.

kathynewman

07-Feb-2007, 05:45 AM

Got an email this morning from someone else who's had similar problems with same company (again they found via this forum!) and they pointed me to interesting article

http://domainsmagazine.com/Domains_1/Domain_5479.shtml

Kathy

george

19-Jun-2007, 02:31 PM

Slightly similarish issue.

I ordered and paid for a new domain name a couple of weeks ago. A day or so later I queried why it wasn't redirected as I'd adjusted in the control panel. Turns out someone had registered it just before me. Fair enough you think, no real harm done... until I get an email today offering the same said domain name for sale (at an erm, slightly higher price of course) ... an inside job perhaps?

Darren B

19-Jun-2007, 03:02 PM

George

is this a co.uk domain name? if so i would report it to nominet

george

19-Jun-2007, 03:11 PM

George

is this a co.uk domain name? if so i would report it to nominet

Its a dot com Dazz. I'll do a bit of homework on the company later and see if I can dig anything dodgy up. I'm not tooo bothered about the name but hey, its the principle innt?

The Goat Club have been informed.

jont

19-Jun-2007, 03:23 PM

Tell them you want to buy it then mess them around for a few months with queries and typos and then claim you no longer want it - they may come back with a cheaper price or at the least they will have spent time (money) replying back to you and hopefully have lost the profit they are making :D

We like revenge in our house!