[colug-432] buying a registered domain

[Angelo McComis]

> On Feb 15, 2014, at 2:26 PM, Rick Troth <rmt at casita.net> wrote:
>
> My sister has a real estate business and wound up paying several hundred
> dollars for her domain. It took several months before she (and/or her
> registrar and/or her tech staff) managed to talk the squatter down from
> something north of $2K. I was furious because it affected a relative.
> Tried to encourage her to fight the good fight and and not give in too
> soon to hostage negotiations. (But at some point, she would have to pony
> up ... or change her shingle.)

Depending on how she values her time, it sounds like she paid north of
$2k in the end once you factor in effort converted to monetary value.

OP should look for the "back order"
Option for buying the domain. Sometimes as a responsible registrar,
they will look into how to help you obtain the domain. This is a
layered approach. First: if it's registered, they put you first in
line to get it if it expires. Next you can have them challenge the
validity of the contact information. There is an ICANN requirement to
have valid contact info. Next they can help broker the deal between
you and the current owner.