Previous owner wants domain back

[anton#1]

Since I deal with expired domains I'm frequently asked by the previous owner to give the domain back.

I used to be quite lenient and transfer those names against cost.

Since this is happening more and more often I recently started asking an adminstration fee of $50.

What does the forum think about this?

 

[jasdon11]

As I've only been buying and selling domains a few months, I've not got experience with many registrars, mainly godaddy. Whenever a domain has been coming up for re-registering I'm inundated with reminders - to let a domain expire unknowingly seems to be impossible (I stand to be corrected if the situation is different with other registrars).

Personally I think its fair game to get as much $ as possible under these circumstances, after all that's why you bought it isn't it? How would you feel if you sold it back for $50 only to see it at some domain auction at a much higher price?

I can understand that in some cases where someone has moved house or business they could have slipped through the net, but if it happens to you regularly, how many of these cases can be genuine? If it was really important to them they should've never let it drop, and be willing to pay to get it back.

Regards - Jas
PS. I'm not as mercinary as I sound - it's only business

 

[anton#1]

People forget to update their email address in the whois. All those reminders don't arrive.

But still ..., their domain is offline for at least one month before auctioned off. One month no email on the domain address, one month not visiting their own domain on the web ...

 

[Romain]

During the free .be, I registered a lot of expired domains and I received a lot of requests of people wanting the name back. When it was individuals (look at web archive to see the old site), I gave 'em back for free.
So I think that for .com you should charge the price it cost you to get this name. But if you see that this name is a good revenue generating, I understand that it's quite hard to give it back at low cost... In that case, I would sell it for 6 to 12 months revenue to the previous owner.

 

[DNjet]

this was dicussed in a previous thread and DCG weighed in saying he gets a minimum of $500 to give it back , maybe thats good advice from the god? I am sure there are cases that most of us would just give it back though.

 

[Bob]

I get these all the time. I have even been threatened with legal action. The last one was where the guy claims the his registrar renewed the name, his credit card was charged, and everything was correct on his end. He thought that I stole the domain name and his attorneys shared the same opinion. He wanted the name back, and he offered to show copies of his passport, treaty agreement, foreign work permit, and about 10 other legal documents.

I replied that I had not stolen the domain name and that I merely queried to see if the name was available. When I saw that it was available, I registered it. Plain and simple. He threatened legal action, and I told him to go ahead. I never heard back.

I used to be lenient when people let their names expire, but not anymore. It is too hard to replace decent domain names. If they want it, make them pay. You will probably be called every name in the book, and they will threaten legal action for sure, but hey - the current process was designed to allow for people to have maximum opportunity to notice that their domain name is no longer working. If they can't do that, then that is NOT my problem.

-Bob

 

[Tia Wood]

I don't see a problem with charging for the following reasons:

- You put money out to acquire the domain
- Their statements could be false. Not everyone tells the truth 100% of the time. (Meaning, there is a likelihood they aren't the real owners or they don't have 'good intentions' with the domain.)
- They allowed it to expire. Registers provide plenty of notification when a domain is about to expire.
- Allowing a domain to expire should be treated as "property abandonment". If you rent a house and abandon the property, the landlord has a right to rent the house to someone else.

There are special cases to this, but I agree. Charge people to obtain their domains back. It cost you money to obtain the domain. You're going to lose money paying for other people's mistakes.

 

[NameAlot.com]

Completely agree with above post. The way I see it is that domain names are no different from physical realestates. Absentee owners need to keep an eye on their properties.Otherwise, they're just using up webspace. The name could better benfit someone else. But its a case by case situation. I wouldn't charge less then $500, but name dependent, I could give it away for free also.

 

[jdk]

If your time is not worth much, sure give it back for free. However, time is money, so at the bare minimum I wouldn't charge anything less than $100. If the name is decent you can up your asking price. If it is a prime domain I would make sure to register it at a different registrar than the one it is registered on to prevent any issues of the registrar taking it away from you.

 

[stuff]

Don`t sell anyhting under $1000
If they need it, they will buy it. Why should You give it for free? This is no charity.

 

[droplister]

i dont charge anything over $100. If the email i get is threatening i wont sell it to them. Mostly its just an average joe who forgot so i hook them up

 

[Duckinla]

If someone won't pay at least a $100 administration fee, I would have to wonder how bad they want it.

Even a pet adoption agency that wants nothing more than to place dogs in homes will typically charge a minimum fee of $50 or so. I think this is to make sure the dogs are being taken for the right reasons. If the dogs were free, scumbags would take them all the time to sell for science research.

Also you have time and money invested into your skill. If you invested for the charitable purpose of catching names and returning to previous owners, great. Otherwise you are legitimately owed something for your efforts and abilities.

 

[dvestors]

this was dicussed in a previous thread and DCG weighed in saying he gets a minimum of $500 to give it back

He said in a "making money with drops" thread in exclusive that he asks for $1000, no exceptions.

 

[totenmaske]

As long as the domain was ethically acquired some monetary compensation is due to the acquiree (due diligence, research, time, expense). Depending on the domain name $50.00 - $1000.00 is not unreasonable. Anything less than $50.00 you've just donated your efforts...

 

[March2005]

If I had an important or high value domain name that I accidentally let slip away, I would gladly pay $50 to get it back and I would feel lucky that I was able to get in touch with the person who registered it because their contact information was correct and we were able to communicate in the same language.

 

[typeins]

If the previous owner didnt pay his bills, bad luck.

Dont go below your asking price because they used to own it. In fact you can usually ask even more because of this.

Its not your fault they didnt pay their bills, if its not TM'd that is.

As for the $1000 minimum, that sounds about right.. probably a little bit more a lot of the time.

 

[March2005]

.

 

[Theo]

I charge $50 for having to delete any such moronic email claiming that they want the domain without any sweat off their brow!

It's ridiculous. Domains expire and drop, then they become available again. They are not like tangible property. A better example would be: you neglect your wife for years, she divorces you. She finds a better husband, who pays her dues and keeps her close. So now you come to claim her back, saying you forgot about her!

Don't make me laugh...

 

[Dale Hubbard]

Better example is a "mistress". You only rent domain names. You never "own" them.

 

[actnow]

I use to get a number of the "hard luck" emails. Initially, I would quote something like $ 200. Then, they would get nasty.

I just realized that I haven't gotten any of "these" type of emails for 6 months or more.

Does that mean that I am only catching grappy domains that no one wants back?