I guess it's my turn with the question. In this case, I'm trying to get a domain that is very clearly parked. I've contacted the seller - who seems very sketchy - and they're looking for something like $5000. I don't have this

Any ideas? It's not the end of the world if I don't get it - I was thinking of changing my company name anyway, but it certainly would be nice.

In case you're wondering, it's 3tg.net. I have 3tg.org, and I'm assuming that whoever has 3tg.com would demand six figures or something, even though it's not clear what the hell they do with their site...

Unless you have a trademark and want to enforce it, there isn't a way to grab a domain someone else owns. There is no anti parking rule for domains, or any rule that states a domain needs to be in use for ownership to be retained.

Ah, thanks. That's what I figured/was afraid of.

I guess the only hope is that they'll forget to renew

Sadly thats not a good strategy anymore. Some domain registrars will take ownership of an expired domain and then try to sell it themselves for more. And even if the domain registrar isn't being evil, other people/companies monitor what expires and will snatch them up to resell, figuring it's worth something. Enough people buy domains at higher prices to make it profitable.

About a year ago, I stopped trying to grab a domain I've wanted since 1999. At one point I even had a "buy this domain if it expires" watcher active somewhere, and it still was snagged somehow. Just add "buy the domains I want" to the "If I gain the ability to time travel" wishlist

There's usually an auction after expiration. Domains don't just become available again anymore.

And all sellers with parked domains seem sketchy, so that much isn't a surprise. If you do intend to buy a domain, definitely do so with a third-party escrow service.

Over the past 15 years I've turned down multiple offers of $5000 for a number of my domains. If they had been for the right domain I would have jumped at the opportunity, but unfortunately they've always been for ones I'm more attached to and using for one purpose or another.

Back in late 2005 or early 2006 I also had the chance to buy a certain domain for around $10000 and passed. Today I'm still kicking myself - lightly, but still. If I had to do it again, I would have forked up the cash.

Change the name you should have a dot com name anyway :-)