Domain pirates are annoying

[Luxus]

Seriously, whenever I come up with a good domain name I find out that it's already taken. Especially frustrating if the domains are not used at all and only registered by pirates who want to sell them for big money to corporations. Just yesterday at night I came up with an awesome domain name for a gaming site and was already making a logo and style for it in my head only to find out the day after that it was taken by a damn pirate, including variants of it and all alternatives that I came up with. Very annoying and discouraging.

 

[Dakis]

I understand your frustration but I wouldn't call it domain pirates. I mean after all it's just "property" like real estate. Not everyone buys it to use it for himself - some buy it to make profit.

 

[Arantor]

The other thing to remember is that depending on where you're doing your search, some of the less reputable entities will 'do the search', tell you it's already taken even if it isn't and then proceed to purchase it themselves, on the theory that if you searched for it, you probably want it and they might be able to make a few bucks off you.

 

[wedgar]

The other thing to remember is that depending on where you're doing your search, some of the less reputable entities will 'do the search', tell you it's already taken even if it isn't and then proceed to purchase it themselves, on the theory that if you searched for it, you probably want it and they might be able to make a few bucks off you.

Yep, have seen this. Have even seen one of the 'large' domain services reserve the name you search via their whois application so you can't buy it cheaper elsewhere.

 

[BirdOPrey5]

Yep, have seen this. Have even seen one of the 'large' domain services reserve the name you search via their whois application so you can't buy it cheaper elsewhere.

Would it not make sense to name this 'large' domain service so as those reading could be warned?

 

[dilbert]

I understand your frustration but I wouldn't call it domain pirates. I mean after all it's just "property" like real estate. Not everyone buys it to use it for himself - some buy it to make profit.

I'm not sure I agree. I feel they are scum. What service are they offering? The only reason they registered the name is to make money off of you.
I registered a site once and let it go. A few years later I thought I'd resurrect the site only to find the name was for sale. $16,000. Clearly I didn't buy it.

 

[Sheratan]

This is why I always register my domain by country based domain, which is .id like .web.id, .co.id, .my.id

The chance that someone will steal that domain after expired just to sell it in ridiculous price is really low.

 

[HannahP]

I'm not sure I agree. I feel they are scum. What service are they offering? The only reason they registered the name is to make money off of you.

What "service" am I offering if I sit on a domain that I might use but never actually do anything with? I have dozens of those, as I suspect most everyone reading this does.

My intention isn't to make money from the domains, but if you want one of them and see that I'm not doing anything with it, the end result (to you) is the same. My intention is different than a "domainer," but since you can't have the domain either way, intention doesn't really matter, does it.

You might not like the fact that someone can monopolize half a million domains (I don't either - it pains me to check certain domains every year and see the same ad sites on them, raking in their 35 cents a day), but to be angry at the people who leverage the system in that way is just sour grapes. They saw an opportunity to make money and they're taking advantage of it.

And really, if you're even moderately clever you can come up with (and register) unique domain names all day long. Case in point; xenforo.com. Seems to me that the idea that "all the good domains are taken" is mainly propagated by people who lack imagination.

 

[DRE]

Come up with something weird. Works for me.

 

[Luxus]

They saw an opportunity to make money at the expense of other people and they're taking advantage of it.

Fixed.

 

[HannahP]

Every time someone makes money it's at the expense of someone else. I'm 99% certain that's how money works. Unless that someone is manufacturing money, which is a different - and far more interesting - subject.

 

[Razasharp]

It can be annoying, but I can't talk - I have hundreds of domains. The only difference is, I only sign up domains that I might one day use - rather than to simply hog them to sell them on (I doubt I would sell any of mine).

 

[wedgar]

It can be annoying, but I can't talk - I have hundreds of domains. The only difference is, I only sign up domains that I might one day use - rather than to simply hog them to sell them on (I doubt I would sell any of mine).

Arrrrrr Matey!