Back where you belong

I caught a lucky break yesterday, the evil domain squatters who had hijacked wheatsbassbook.com forgot to renew it, and I was able to swipe it back.  Here are the details:

Though I started Wheat’s BassBook back in 1997, for years it just lived at wheatdesign.com/bassbook. Relatively recently, I decided to register a domain name for it.  When it came up for renewal, my domain registrar sent me an email, letting me know.  I starred it in Gmail but quickly forgot about it.  A domain squatting company named maisontropicale.com registered it and put up page full of advertising.  I contacted them via email and offered them $75 for the domain.  

They emailed back saying the price was 5700 euros ($7,260 US, at today’s rate).  I replied, informing them that I had been using the name “Wheat’s BassBook” since 1997 and that, as they had no commercial interest in it (other than trying to swap my ad revenue), that I would file a domain name dispute.  They replied that such proceedings would cost me at least $1,700 US and countered with an offer to sell me the name for 750 euros ($955 US).  

I didn’t reply.  Instead, I did some research on dealing with squatters.  The basic idea is to eliminate traffic from the site the squatters are holding, so it generates no revenue and they won’t be inclined to renew it.  So I registered wheatsbassbook.org (and .net, though I later intentionally let that one lapse) and changed every link on my sites to the new domain.  I emailed anyone linking to the .com site and asked that they change their links as well.  I put the domain’s new expiration date on my calendar, set every sort of notification, and waited it out.  

Luckily for me, most people don’t go to wheatsbassbook.com directly; they hit it via Google.  They put in “bass book” or “bassbook” (with or without “wheat,” “wheats” or “wheat’s”) and it pops us.  Google’s algorithm is so good that, before long, the .com domain wasn’t coming up in any relevant searches, netting the squatters zero ad revenue.  

In the week before the domain came up for renewal, I received two interesting emails from services that offer to buy of domains for you, using some automated process that attempts to grab the name before some other squatter is able to do so.  One, tripodukonline.com, was quite cordial, and offered a range of pricing options (with varrying success rates) ranging from $250-$995, with payment due only if the effort were successfull. This might have been a good option if the domain were in high demand, but it was still too steep for me, so I let it pass.  I’m not sure if tripodukonline.com is a legitimate company or just another domain squatter.  

Then I got a misleading email from Digital Caucus (dcinchq.com), who did their best to make it sound like they had bought wheatsbassbook.com and were willing to sell it to me for $99.  A little web research revealed that they are simply a (ridiculously expensive) domain name registrar.  And they didn’t own the name; it was available.  So I registered it (for a five-year term) with namesecure.com, whose services I’ve been using for as long as I’ve owned domain names.  

So, what did I learn from all of this? Well, I learned not to count on starring an email as an adequate reminder. Renewing the domain should have gone on my calendar an in Tracks.  I also learned that it’s worth the extra cash to register for multiple years, at least for domains that I intend to keep (when my other important ones come up for renewal, I’ll be buying five-year terms for them as well).  

I got lucky this time.  I got my domain back with minimal out-of-pocket expense.  I just had to wait for a while.  I hope never to have to mess with this sort of thing again.