[colug-432] buying a registered domain

[Rick Hornsby]

The question isn’t quite “how do I buy a domain?”.

I own the .org of a particular second level domain.  I’d like to buy the .com and move my content over there because it really isn’t a nonprofit org.  This .com site has said “hacked by Turkish hackers” or something like that for a while.  I tried emailing the registration contact person (says they’re here in the states) a few times over about 18 months (once every few months, nothing more than that), but never heard back.  The domain registration has since been renewed through March 2015, probably blindly or automatically.

There is a phone number listed on the registration, but I haven’t tried it.  Any thoughts/advice on this?  Has anyone ever tried to purchase a domain in a situation like this?  I would be willing to pay for the purchase, but not something outrageous.  Probably no more than $100, and that’s on the high side.  Would you mention that the site appears to have been hacked if you call the phone number (assuming it even works)?

Certainly registrars aren’t in the business of determining the validity of a domain’s content for the purposes of selling/transferring it to a third party, and there is more to a domain than just a website.  But would trying to contact the registrar help at all?

thanks!