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Purchasing domain name: seller keeps raising price?

I want to buy a website on Afternic.com but am put off by the agreement that they will own all the content of the website. I plan to offer creative works as well as health info - I'm a physician and want this domain because it has a "good feel" to it. And I'm reluctant to put out $1800 and have a non-exclusive license to use the website after I construct it. I've already applied for the website AcmeDoc.med.pro and await approval. I want AcmeDoc.com. Please advise as I want to purchase this immediately. My interest has already raised the price $100. I put a bid it for $717 and it expired after 7 days. I then put in a 24hr bid for $1050 which just got the asking price raised to $1788. Please advise ASAP.

Dave's Answer:

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Hmmm... First off, Afternic is just a reseller so I can't imagine that they could have any claim to own any Web site content. Are you reading that wrong, perhaps, or are you seeing a different agreement from someone else? Also, please note that while there's a ".md" domain that's intended for medical professionals and the health industry, that's not the same as '.med.pro', which I haven't ever heard of and which makes me wonder if you're being sidetracked or mislead by someone?

I use the site MyDomains.com and according to a search on their site, acmedoc.md is available and it'd cost you $99 to register it for the first year: go to mydomain and search for yourself. It'd be a lot cheaper!

In terms of acmedoc.com, as you say, it's owned by someone who has parked it at seeq, a domain reseller. It's now $1788 and you know what I'd advise? I'd forget about it. Some domain sellers simply push the price up and up and up, without heed for the other party because if you don't buy it, it's less than $10/year to hold on the domain until someone else comes along. If you've offered them $1000+ and they haven't accepted it, you'll probably never get them to agree to a price. Sorry to say that, but...

Also, remember you could register both AcmeDocMD.com and AcmeDoc.MD and have them point to the same site, then use the latter on your business cards, etc. Kinda cool to have an unusual domain - people will type it in just to see what happens.

Finally, do read my earlier article on how to buy a domain name for more ideas and information on this topic.

Anyway, I hope that is helpful advice. Please respond with a brief note if you have further questions or thoughts about this, and do let us know how it all goes!

The domain names in this article have been changed to protect the interests of the author. So don't be sneaky, dear reader! :-)

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Comments

.pro is a real top level domain, intended for use only by professionals. Professionals are defined to be lawyers, accountants or doctors. See http://www.nic.pro/ for details.

I'd have to say spending $1,000 (or more) on a domain name for personal-ish use is a waste of your hard-earned money. I'd suggest brainstorming a new domain name, one that is not already registered.

Posted by: Michael Clark at July 5, 2005 6:34 PM

AcmeDoc.com is shown as available on WHOIS... why??

Posted by: rick at July 5, 2005 7:44 PM

Rick - because I changed the domain names to ensure that the person who sent in the question would be able to acquire his actual domain without anyone scooping it up first. :-)

Posted by: Dave Taylor at July 6, 2005 12:31 AM

excellent!

Posted by: rick at July 6, 2005 12:58 PM

Those are expensive domains! Mine was free when I signed up at powweb.com, and most web hosts do offer free domain registration when you sign up. GoDaddy.com has most domains for under $10 a year. Why are you paying so much for your domains?

Posted by: matthew at July 6, 2005 2:17 PM

Dave,
I'd like to get a domain name. I already have a name in mind. How do I find if its already taken without alerting the hounds to get it first? And if it is not taken is it mine by default and how do I go about it? Lets say that the name is "wallybanger.com" and I want to use the site to sell widgets. What do I need to do in order to make this happen?

Posted by: Greg at April 9, 2006 9:32 PM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!