I was looking for domain name for a project and instead of a button to purchase it, there was a link to “make offer”. I clicked the link and was taken to a website called Domain Agents. Domain Agents helps with try to purchase domain names that are already taken. They charge a fee of $19.95 for their service. So, I decided to give it a try since I would like the name I brainstormed and curious on how the process might work.
Domain Agents facilitates the process of contacting the domain name owner and negotiating on your behalf. They work on a credit model. Your $19.95 purchases one credit to go towards trying to purchase a domain. They will then contact the owner and start the process. If the negotiation doesn’t result in a sale, your get another credit to try again. They also provide an escrow service to handle the transfer of money.
One thing that wasn’t clear before starting the process was the price of the offer. They recommend a minimum offer of $199. I guess this is a fair price but since domain names cost around $15, it does seem high and just rewarding buying up domain names to hold them. But, I guess this is a business model and $200 isn’t a lot for a domain name I wanted.
So, I placed an offer and waited. Domain Agents did keep me updated on the offer status but in the end, they weren’t able to get a response from the domain owner. I tried on 2 more domain names with the same result. That was a little disappointing because I thought the offer should have been interesting to someone. I gave up and just purchased a similar domain name.
In summary, it was interesting to try to purchase an already taken domain name. My experience was disappointing but only out around $20 to try. So, you might try if a domain name you want is already taken but definitely easier to just buy a domain name at the start.
