Bought an Expired Domain and received an email after 3 days

**kuru** · 11-10-2009, 02:47 PM

Hi,
I bought a domain name to use for a blog and after 3 days I received an email stating they owned the domain but didn't realize it expired. They are a very big compony. They are asking me to give it back. I don't know anything about those stuff. Seached the forum but couln't find an answer. What should I do? Ask money? Or just give it back? Please help. Thanks.

**copper** · 11-10-2009, 02:56 PM

Why should you give it back just because they ask for it?
You paid for it, right?

Just use it as planned.
As long as you don't infringe on their TM, you should be ok.
Do NOT use the domain that related to their business in any way.

**cleverlyslick** · 11-10-2009, 03:06 PM

That's their own neglect. if they want it they have to come out of their pockets for it. if you want to be a nice guy you can give them back to it for the amount that you paid to reg it. or if you want to keep it just keep it. don't give it to them just because they asked you for it. it's their fault they let it expire and now it is yours.

good luck

**stock_post** · 11-10-2009, 04:21 PM

If they make reasonable offer - you may give it to them.
Refer them to this thread..

**DomainsInc** · 11-10-2009, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by stock_post

Refer them to this thread..

Why? I think thats a bad idea personally. They will either buy it or not.

**kuru** · 11-10-2009, 07:17 PM

Another thing they say is they haven't received any notice about the expiring period but as long as I know thay had a long period of time to renew it.
Actually for me it is not an impotant one and has no meaning,it is their company name. I just bought it because it was an aged domain. I am not sure if they are willing to pay a good amount. And I don't know if it is TM but if it was they would have written that to me. I don't know if it will be too rude to say give me $...amount of money.

**Acro** · 11-10-2009, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by kuru

Actually for me it is not an impotant one and has no meaning,it is their company name. I just bought it because it was an aged domain. I am not sure if they are willing to pay a good amount. And I don't know if it is TM but if it was they would have written that to me. I don't know if it will be too rude to say give me $...amount of money.

Is there anything that you *do* know?

I mean, having a nonchalant approach to domaining yields similar results.

Research the domain, the company, acknowledge the fact that you paid for it. Explain that you are willing to give it to them - for an amount covering your expenses and a proper "finders' fee". Will you get pressure from them? Of course. Also, depending on the dropcatcher you used, you might be forced to return it (eNom has a 6 week return policy, if the previous owner magically wakes up asking "where is my domain?").

**katherine** · 11-11-2009, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by kuru

Another thing they say is they haven't received any notice about the expiring period but as long as I know thay had a long period of time to renew it.

It is important to note that usually, the registrar will change the name servers of expiring domains, so they will stop functioning. That means their website, E-mail etc should have stopped running properly. If it took them weeks to find out, it probably means they were not actively using the domain. So if they are telling you their business is crippled as a result of losing the domain, I would not believe it

**dominator** · 11-11-2009, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by Acro

(eNom has a 6 week return policy, if the previous owner magically wakes up asking "where is my domain?").

i woke up even before the redemption period, but enom sold my domain
then they referred to their terms and conditions

anyway, a "very big" company does not need its domain name (identical with their company name) for months?

strange

it can be a TM

**stewie** · 11-11-2009, 10:31 AM

hard to say without knowing the domain, but just mark it up from what you paid,

oh yeah plus+++ your time, your development team's wages, artwork, Advertising plans, your letterheads, your consulting fees with professional marketing firm...plus the over all loss of future revenues.

so lets say about $500-$1000 aprrox

its your call just ask for something you can live with.

Good Luck

**katherine** · 11-11-2009, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by dominator

i woke up even before the redemption period, but enom sold my domain
then they referred to their terms and conditions

It probably means it never made it to redemption, instead it was auctioned off as prerelease. I think with Enom the claim back period is 6 weeks.

**hugegrowth** · 11-11-2009, 12:24 PM

This happened to me once and I ended up selling the domain back to them for about $1400. I had won the name in a drop and had built a webpage for it. It was a generic name I liked and had no idea about the history of it. I didn't hear from them until months after the drop, don't know why it took them so long to realize. I felt they were lucky to get the name back from me, another person might have kept it or wanted more.

**dominator** · 11-11-2009, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by sdsinc

It probably means it never made it to redemption, instead it was auctioned off as prerelease. I think with Enom the claim back period is 6 weeks.

they told me that 29 days after the expiration they can sell my (their) domains

**hugegrowth** · 11-11-2009, 12:34 PM

kuru, as long as you are not using the domain to infringe on their trademark - you are really in the driver's seat here. You can be nice and give it to them for what you paid, you can keep it and use it for what you had planned, or you can sell it or wait for them to make an offer. If they try to take it away by legal means, you'll have to weight the pros/cons of fighting it. If every time you registered or caught a dropped domain, someone came along and said "I used to own it, give it back", and you did, where would you be? Are you in the business of covering up other people's mistakes? It's really somebody on their side that dropped the ball, so don't feel bad about it.

**gafadi** · 11-11-2009, 01:34 PM

IF the domain was important for their company and site was running how can they "forget" to renew ? doesn't make sense and also make sure that the person email is legit , not just some scammer trying to scare shit out of you and get the domain

**RMF** · 11-11-2009, 03:08 PM

I had this happened once, but the name wasn't trademarked. I first got a phonecall from the president of the company and we talked a little about the domain expiration process. He was a little rude on the phone so I said any further contact should be by email and hung up. I got an email from him soon after. It had a lot of legal terms and opinions in it, but I knew I was in the right. I ended up responding with a well written letter, but basically said I would sell it back for $3000. I then got another email from him saying he couldn't quantify a charge for the domain and some he had some more opinions. He then said his lawyer would be contact with me. I replied with a very nice letter stating all the facts and how he didn't have a leg to stand on. I also mentioned that the price went up to 25k. I never heard from him or his lawyers after that.

So, if you're in the right and the name isn't trademarked, don't let them push you around.

**Cartoonz** · 11-11-2009, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by dominator

they told me that 29 days after the expiration they can sell my (their) domains

that much is true, they will... but you can also claw it back too.
might take more than contact with the front line support people, but it is policy.

**dominator** · 11-11-2009, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by Cartoonz

that much is true, they will... but you can also claw it back too.
might take more than contact with the front line support people, but it is policy.

well, i called them and i do not have better contacts

i knew from other registrars that backordered expired domains can be still paid by their owners (i paid for other domains $160 redemption)

i was pretty disappointed
so i immediately moved some names to moniker

it is a .net and i doubt that the current owner earns much from the expired traffic

**kuru** · 11-12-2009, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the advice everyone. I sent an email saying I am willing to sell. I will wait for the reply and see how it goes.

**Banned: Wzhxvy** · 11-12-2009, 08:38 PM

Whatever you do. Do not give it away.I would drag it along for a bit...buy time and then ask them to confirm their identity (you might be dealing with someone who is not actually the former owner). Once you confirm who it is...then set your selling price and remember they are likely to come after it in a while even if you dont sell now.... no rush...time is your friend