How do you buy a domain name?

How can I buy a "parked" domain name for a reasonable price?

• I recently inquired into buying a domain name (the name of my startup) that was not being used, and the owner quoted an exorbitant price ($25,000), claimed he had already invested into the so-called brand equity. What are some strategies to gain that domain?

• Answer:

  Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate...that's the name of the game in domaining. Now, if you layed down all your cards from the beginning then no wonder the domain owner is asking you so much money (you said who you are, what you need the domain for, other details). See here the answer I gave to this question: Like I said, if the domain owner had the domain before you thought to setup your company then the chances to get it through UDRP arbitration are slim (even if you applied or apply for a trademark). You can try, of course, but you may lose $1500 (the fee for the UDRP arbitration). Here is an example I am going thru as we speak... A client o mine had lost her COM domain accidentally (it expired and the registrar failed to notice her). Immediately, somebody grabbed it although the domain was my client's name and it's not a common name (it's an eastern European name). My client has the domain of the country she is in and the COM domain was for her international presence. So, I approached the actual owner (hidden so I talked to intermediaries) about buying from him. He asked (through those intermediaries) thousands of dollars. My client was willing to offer a couple of hundred for it. The owner didn't want it. Ok, then I said to the intermediaries that we will go to UDRP arbitration because this is a clear case of cyber-squatting (my client had the same domain for the country she lives in, we had the history of the COM domain which clearly shows who was the previous owner, my client is well know in her country and started to be know internationally - being in the Worldwide Records Book). Well, after several exchanged with the owner intermediaries and now the actual registrar of that domain we will get the domain for free. They don't want to go to UDRP and have their name tarnished (which is a smart thing to do). So, I guess you should have checked up if the domain is available before setting up your company name (on papers). If it wasn't available you should have comed up with another name. Don't fell in love with a name. Do you know who is the owner of the domain? Or it is a private registration? Usually, if the owner is a known domainer (they all have companies setup) then they could be more expensive and keep the price up. They know how to negotiate and they'll do their research on you, that's for sure. In this case maybe it's better to get an experienced  intermediary to do the negotiation for you.... If you tell me the domain you are looking for (in private) maybe I can give you more advices...