Just Say No to Domain Squatters
I feel strongly that domain squatters are maybe not the worst scum on earth but definitely top ten. I refuse to ever purchase any domain name owned by a squatter, to do so would justify their behavior in the most financial of ways. So this past weekend when I received the following email, it’s no surprise that I didn’t bite.
We are selling the domain name krissteele.com. Since you own a similar domain if you would also like the more desirable .COM we are making it available. The cost is $49.95. That includes a year of registration and transfer of ownership to you. To purchase or to learn more go to:
http://www.dcinchq.com/index.php?domain=krissteele.com
If you pass on this opportunity someone else could purchase this domain and it may not be available again.
For questions contact us or go to:
http://www.dcinchq.com/faq.html
All the best,
Warren Davis
Digital Caucus, Inc.
You won’t truly realize the true evil of domain squatters until you decide to open your own business or website. I spent hours searching for a company name, trying all kinds of crazy combinations of words related what I wanted to do and the quality of which I wanted to do it. When I found one that I liked, since my business would largely be web based, I needed to determine if a suitable domain name was available too.
Guess what? None of the names I wanted were open. They weren’t snatched up by some other entrepreneur that had thought of the name first but rather by some domain squatting company that were selling them off at inflated costs. I’d like a catchy name, but for a new businesses, I can’t justify spending a thousand or more dollars on something that costs under ten.
Perhaps the strangest bit of this particular email request though is that KrisSteele.com is actually, according to a whois search, not registered to anyone. I’d have to be really boneheaded to give this company $50 for a domain name that they don’t even own in the first place. Not that I really want it. Obviously this domain squatter wasn’t smart enough to realize that I registered this domain while the .com version was available (and still is available). I feel somewhat compelled to register the name now just so I can laugh at this person as I email them back saying I already own it.
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