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Comment by ryan | Hacker News Reader

Here's a scenario: my co-founder and I are trying to finalize our company/website name. We have two names right now, one we like slightly better than the other.

The problem is, the .com for the 'better' name is held by a squatter who wants $25k! I hold the .net and .org.

The 'worse' domain is slightly longer (an extra syllable), and from my tests so far people find it a bit harder to pronounce. The positive is I own the .com/.net/.org

So my question to the bright minds here: how hard do you think it is to brand a company with a .net domain (and potentially purchase the .com when we can afford it)? I know some companies have done it.

Would you go with a slightly-better-name.net, or a slightly-worse-name.com?

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Email the squatter and be very firm and offer a reasonable amount for the .com you want. Couple hundred bucks at the most. Don't go higher, and don't give him twenty five grand or the pisant will just go buy more domains he won't use.

If you can't get it up front, go with the .com you own now. I may be bitter and jaded, but I'm sure anyone who has ever tried to register a domain name feels the same way. Domain squatters and ad spammers are lifeforms barely above spammers and slightly below the bacteria that grows in sewer sludge. If you get enough success to let you be exploited into paying his ransom, he'll just raise it.

After all, it's now more valuable. Get it now, get it cheap, or get another name.

I would say that under almost no circumstances should you use a .net domain. What happens when you're successful and the .com owner puts up a bunch of porn banners? Buy it for millions? Not to mention you will go totally insane dealing with people's confusion.

Definitely go for .com.

If slightly-worse-name.com is hard to remember and/or pronounce, then you're options are:

- try to get slightly-better-name.com on the cheap

- find another .com...

If you choose to negotiate, here are some tips:

1. Don't tell the squatter you have the .net & .org. If you do, this will give him even more reason to keep the price high - he knows you want it!

2. Offer low, and make it sound like you don't really need the domain

3. Try to convince him that you've gotten an offer from someone else, selling a better domain, in your price range. This works best if you know someone with a good domain name. For example, I own odio.com. I could send you an offer (from sam@odio.com) to sell odio.com for $500.

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