Parked domain names

Why have I been directed to this page?

This is a holding page for a parked domain name.  A domain name is used as the address for a web site as in https://www.example.co.uk and for email addresses as in john@example.co.uk

What is a parked domain name?

Parked names are those held by ourselves on behalf of a client but are not in current active use.  There are many reasons behind the decision to park a name.

Do you own this domain name?

We hold this name on your behalf but for reasons addressed below the decision was made not to route it to your active web site.  That change can be made on request and acceptance of the implications.

Looking for a specific web site but found yourself here?

The chances are that you’ve used some kind of variant of the name.

• A common one is example.uk, try correcting that to example.co.uk (could be the other way round too, if example.co.uk brought you here try example.uk)
• Might you have entered example.co instead of example.com or example.co.uk ?
• Names with hyphens used to be a very popular way to denote word boundaries like ready-to-go.xyz especially before Google search became able to parse multi-word names better. They still have their place, to make the word boundaries clear where there might otherwise be confusion.  An oft quoted example is WhoRepresents.com.  Using who-represents.com would make it clear that the correct reading of the name is not whore-presents.com 
  If the name includes hyphens, try it without
  If the name is more than one word but no hyphens, try inserting some
• Might there be a typo in the name perhaps a misheard word like where/wear
• Similarly some names include numbers Ready2Go.xyz or ReadyToGo.xyz (by the way, that part of the web address is case insensitive, any mix of upper and lower case is OK).
• Some letters and numbers can be confusing depending on the typeface: a zero can look like capital letter O, the number one can look like lower case letter L 

Why are parked names redirected here?

Names  will be routed here for one of  these reasons:

1. The name is held defensively to prevent a competitor or someone with malicious intent to damage the owner or brand of the related live web site. The decision has been made not to route the name to the live web site because visitors may become familiar with this secondary address. If the name were to be dropped at a later date, customers would see an error message and might infer that the owner has ceased trading.  In that case the name is unlikely to be for sale.
2. It could be left with no specified destination, in which case visitors would see some kind of unhelpful “not found” error message.  This is intended as a more helpful explanation. It does not mean the name is for sale but the possibility cannot be dismissed.
3. It could be available for sale.  The very act of putting it on the market reduces the potential sale price, it becomes a “buyer’s market”.  Listing here does not mean it is for sale but in some circumstances the owner may be open to offers.
4. The name may have been purchased speculatively, hoping to resell at a higher price, see 3: above.
5. The name may have become surplus to requirements before the scheduled and paid for renewal date and so is “parked” until such time as it expires.  In that case offers to buy the name may attract a positive response. A potential purchaser could await name expiry in the hope of buying the name cheaper.  In that case you need to be aware of the practise of “drop-catching”; speculators run programs 24×365, monitoring for dropped names, automatically reserving them for a short period to assess the resale value and consider the possibility that they have lapsed in error, in which case the original owner will be desperate to recover the name and pay a substantial premium.

There are several other ways to deal with a name that is held but not the address of the owner’s live web site.

1. It could be redirected to the name-owners main web site. Foe the reason why not see 1: above
2. It could be relinquished. That means it would go back on the open market. Usually there was a sound reason for holding the name in the first place, if there truly is no continuing need for the name and no “risk” in releasing it (e.g. if it was closely similar to a trading name or brand) then that may be a sound decision.  Names released back to the market are commonly snapped up by speculators either hoping to sell it back to the original owner (who perhaps overlooked the need to renew an important name) or that it has been in use before, in which case it can be used to generate advertising revenue. (That’s because even quite old names will have existing links from around the internet and so there will be some associated traffic – an immediate audience for advertising).
3. It could be redirected to the name-owners main web site.

Are parked names for sale?

Not explicitly but everything has a price, we can pass any enquiry on to the name owner.

You should bear those in mind should you consider making an offer for a name. Actual sale prices range from the low £hundreds to many £thousands (and a few most highly desirable names occasionally fetch £millions).

What does a domain name cost?

An unregistered name might only cost £20 p.a. but all the most useful names were sold years ago. Your choice is to buy a name from the current owner, use a “second-best” name or even one from an unauthorised TLD (see below).

The value of an already registered domain name is a matter of negotiation between the owner and prospective buyer. To buy a name that is in active use for a live website requires the current owner to relinquish that usage and that is very unusual. Names directed to this page are not in active use and may be more open to offers.

What factors affect the value of a domain name?

There are seven primary features that contribute to the value of a name:

1. It is short
2. It is a single word
3. It is a dictionary word or a proper noun
4. It is memorable
5. It is in a widely recognised TLD (Top Level Domain, i.e. .co.uk or .com) See the note below…
6. It has positive connotations (and no negative connotations)
7. It is relevant to the purpose and content of any associated web site

TLDs

There are now hundreds of TLDs, that gives the illusion that a name buyer has more choice, unable to secure tesco.com or tesco.co.uk you might think tesco.shop (if that were not held by Tesco) would be an acceptable alternative.  Tesco’s lawyers would be on your doorstep next day!  The cost of those unofficial names varies from almost free to $thousands p.a. Unlike official TLDs (.com and the country codes like .fr France, .de Germany and .uk) prices can fluctuate wildly and uneconomic TLDs are sometimes withdrawn. Even some country code TLDs have proved risky, at one time operation of .co (Columbia), operated by a private entity hit some problems as the Columbian government was unhappy with the arrangement.

Domain names are commonly offered at a very low introductory price, even official TLDs at below the wholesale cost – there will be strings attached like a requirement to pay for two years with the second at a much larger price or linked to a web hosting package the cost of which is inflated to cover the cost of the name.  The situation with unofficial TLDs is much riskier, the TLD owner sets his own price and can arbitrarily increase it significantly, as a client using that for your web site and email the option of moving to an alternative name once it is well known and established is fraught with difficulties and it’s simpler just to pay-up.

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