Have the .com what about the .net

June 30, 2009 2:28 AM

My company a domain name ending in .com. We have been contacted by a company claiming that someone else is trying to register the same address with a .net, .info, and .org suffix and have offered us first option (they contacted us because "they got a request for these and saw that we had the .com and were giving us first option)...

OK so these guys are not ICANN registered so two elements to this; how often does this occur as scam (we're in the EU) and what is the legality of someone speculatively buying, say, www.notverygooddomainname.net when we have notverygooddomainname.com? Appreciate thoughts. We're not a huge company and forking out for all the variations of the domain name seems like overkill but appreciate thoughts experiences take on legalities and datapoint anecdotes.

posted by Gratishades to computers & internet (15 comments total)

I work for a net startup, and we always buy the standard alternate versions of our domains right off the bat, exactly to prevent squatters from taking them over and possibly profiting from our clientele (i.e. people mistakenly looking for us at .net etc.).

That said, getting this communication from a registrar that is not ICANN reads as shady. In all the years I've been registering my own domains, I've never once been contacted by a registrar when spammers bought out the neighboring versions of my domains. I call scam. Google the name of this registrar and see if what kind of rep they have.

Try to register the domains yourself through a proper registrar, or say goodbye to them, is my call. I wouldn't give your money to these guys, though if you want to PM me the name I can tell you if they are a registrar I've dealt with.
posted by Billegible at 2:38 AM on June 30

This looks to me like your domain registrar is looking to boost his business during recessonary times by instilling fear. I can bet that you can go to an alternative registrar and snap up these names right now. Call me cynical but what obligation does the registrar have to you and on what basis potential client has been put 'on hold' while they check with you knowing full well that the new client is free to take their business elsewhere and get the domains. When I register domains they are registered or not, I dont recall being put on hold while they get permission from a third party.

I dont claim to know their intention but this is how it appears as an outsider. Hope it helps.
posted by london302 at 2:46 AM on June 30

It sounds like a shady deal, but that doesn't mean it's also not in your company's best interest to pick up those names while it's still possible.
posted by zachawry at 2:55 AM on June 30

I once had some scammers try to sell me the .net and .org version of my .com domain. Since I actually was interested in these new domains, and since the scammers hadn't purchased the domains themselves, I just went to my usual registrar and bought the new domains for the usual price.

The scam is that these guys don't yet own the domains they're offering for sale. So there's no reason not to just buy them yourself from a reputable registrar.

Note that it's important not to reply to their spam or otherwise show any interest in their offer. If you do, they'll quickly snap up the offered domains. Then you really will have to buy from them.
posted by ryanrs at 2:58 AM on June 30 [2 favorites]

The interesting word in "trying to register the same address with a .net, .info, and .org suffix" is "trying". A domain is either registered or not.

A : the .net, .org etc are still available : grab a credit card and register them pronto !

B : they are unavailable : get legal advice
posted by Baud at 3:15 AM on June 30

lol, no need for legal advice. It's scam-ish, but not a scam.

There is no one 'trying to buy' these other domains. This company is just trying to get you to buy the domains through them.

You can do so - there's nothing illegal or dodgy about the company most likely - but do so in the knowledge you'll be paying a premium to this company, over and above what you would typically pay. You can buy off regular registrars much more cheaply should you want to.
posted by smoke at 3:26 AM on June 30 [1 favorite]

I once had some scammers try to sell me the .net and .org version of my .com domain. Since I actually was interested in these new domains, and since the scammers hadn't purchased the domains themselves, I just went to my usual registrar and bought the new domains for the usual price.

I had the same experience, except it was with a .eu they were trying to scam me into. Just buy the domains at your regular registrar, if you want them.

And note that I do call it a scam since they're trying to charge you about 10 to 50 times what the normal registration costs.
posted by DreamerFi at 3:35 AM on June 30

For the most part, I think you got the answers you were looking for, but one small thing:

and what is the legality of someone speculatively buying, say, www.notverygooddomainname.net when we have notverygooddomainname.com

The *buying* is, for all intents and purposes, totally legal. From there:

If you don't have a trademark for notverygooddomainame, you have no recourse at all.

If you do, it comes down to three things:

1. What they do with it after they register it. ("Bad faith")
2. Whether or not they have a viable claim to it.
3. Whether it is "identical or confusingly similar" to your mark/domain.
(more info)

If you are quite certain that all three of these things apply, double-check with a lawyer, pony up your $1,800 (plus lawyer's fees) and with a little luck, you can take it from them.

Doesn't sound like where you are with this, but that's the info if ever you need it.
posted by SpiffyRob at 5:12 AM on June 30

Cheers- thanks all for the advice. Will ignore the scammish ones and investigate whether we should register the alternatives with a more reputable registrar.
posted by Gratishades at 5:21 AM on June 30

Smoke has some very odd ideas about what constitutes a scam and 'dodgy'.

The scenario smoke outlines seems most likely to be what is going on here and that in my book qualifies as a scam. They are lying to you to pressurise you into buying something that you don't want or need just so someone else can't have it (who could use the domains to make money off your brand or besmirch your company's image...etc)

Its probably not illegal but it sure as hell is dodgy.

If you want the domains buy them but not from the company that is trying this shady tactic.
posted by missmagenta at 5:35 AM on June 30

I get these for every single domain I own. It's a marketing ploy.
posted by rokusan at 6:38 AM on June 30

Agree with ryanrs, re: don't respond, but not because it's a scam, because it's a query to determine value.

What they are doing is seeing if you think your .com domain is or will be valuable enough to justify their purchase of them.

When it was just .org or .net, they wouldn't even bother asking, they'd just buy them without your permission and squat until you pay.

There are a lot more options now because of domain name expansion (.eu,. tv., etc), which means it's a lot more expensive to speculate.

How do they reduce the cost of their speculation? They ask the person most likely to know value...you!

Like ryanrs says, if you respond affirmatively, they'll just buy them up anyway and charge you even more. You could respond with "Not interested, this site won't be around for long or I don't plan to expand internationally, or...", but why bother.

If you think the domains they're offering have value, buy them now through another registrar.
posted by foooooogasm at 6:43 AM on June 30

And no, it's not illegal or dodgy, it's smart business.

If I could cold call Boeing or Cisco and ask if it's worth investing in their stock before their next quarterly earnings come out, you can be sure I would. :)
posted by foooooogasm at 6:44 AM on June 30

Don't respond, and don't worry about buying the domain unless it's one of the big ones (.net, .org, .com)... we get emails on a weekly basis saying someone is going to buy our .cn, .jp, etc. domains, and at a certain point you don't need to buy every LTD unless you're IBM or Dell.
posted by furtive at 7:02 AM on June 30

It's a scam in the sense that "...someone else is trying to register the same address with a .net, .info, and .org suffix" This is a blatant lie. They didn't halfway accept a registration on blaugh.info and then say "can you wait a minute, I'm going to ask the owners of blaugh.com if they want it first" because it just doesn't happen that way.

The email is misleading and shady.

However owning reasonable variations on your business name is standard business practice any more, and doesn't cost much. It's not uncommon for a business in search of a new name to be sure that they can get all common TLD's for the name before committing to the new name.
posted by Ookseer at 12:29 PM on June 30