What to do if sitename.COM domain is already reserved?
 

I was wondering what do people think is the best way to go when trying to register a new domain for your new site. As most of us have seen, trying to find a meaningful domain name which is not already reserved can be a pain, and often they're parked domains with no real use, but they still may ask 4 figures for them and transfer itself is already an extra hassle.

What are the best options when www.sitename.com is already reserved?
a) Try to buy the .com domain from current owner even if it's overpriced
b) Take .net if available? .org? .biz .info or something else?
c) Add something like "the" in the beginning of domain or hyphen, like "thesitename.com" or "site-name.com"
d) Try to think of some other domain name, even if it doesn't sound as good as your original idea
e) something else = ?

Obviously it depends on many factors, like what kind of site you're making and how much revenue you expect to get from it. But I would like to hear some justified insights about all the options above, what is the best option? How much does your domain name really matter? And WHY?

you need .com - just think of another domain- unless yur loaded with cash to waste.

It depends. If the name is some nice 1-2 word generic, the .com will be taken, will cost a lot, and you're not going to find something available that will even remotely compare. IF it's a generic, you could go for the .net and .org if your primary goal is to get SE traffic, since Google is looking more at the exact match than the ext. Other exts besides com/net/org - not so much...the name would have to be REALLY good to bother. Even if the .net and .org are not available, if the cost is low enough for a quality term, buying one is still better than taking some shitty long .com with the term instead.

If it's some brandable name you came up with and only the .com is taken, and they're asking 4 figures, chances are you can find another available .com that can compare if not be better. If it's a name you really like and they're asking say mid-$xxx or lower, if you're serious about the site and particularly like the name, I see no reason why you shouldn't get it. I see far too many people waste a serious web effort by rushing the domain choice and going with something really shitty (Cuil anyone?).

Short answer: You should never overpay for a domain, but there are times when you should opt to buy a name vs. find something to register, and .net or .org might make sense vs. .com for a generic domain if the .com is cost-prohibitive.

oh man, its weekend ok ...

You don't need the .com. Yes, its the bestest! If the .com does not own your chosen keywords, you can destroy it with a a .org or .net

Its worked for me.

i mean, find who is owner of the .com, buy a ticket and make him a visit, then cry and cry and cry ... oh man ...

i mean, if you run serious business, you dont need to ask those questions here, and if you are just affiliate you dont need exactly any name ... go and try by yourself what works best for you, and excuse me if you are trying your best, just woke up with headache ...

Use an .info or .biz domain if you want to spam the Google index.

TeenCat, you are one funny fucker. What is your native language btw? :upsidedow

Never buy if it´s overpriced. If your project won´t cover the costs of buying the domain, name the project in a different way.

I´d always buy those TLD´s in addition of the .com if the project is important. At least for mainstream projects. If it´s just another pornsite, maybe the project is not important enough and you could choose another name to get the.com for it.

I don´t like those ones because surfers often type the name without additions and hyphens.

Be sure your first idea is as good as you think it is. In many cases it´s worth thinking twice about it.

me speak czech republic :)

Thanks for the input so far. I'm not looking for just plain maximum SE optimized domain names(google spamming), although it's a plus if google likes the domain too. But most of the times I'm interested about domain names that would appeal to the surfer too. In other words, be relevant to the subject, yet not too long and hard to remember, and look reliable, so that they will visit the site again.

For imaginary example, if oilshop.com would be reserved and buying it doesn't seem easy, what would be the best options? oilshop.net (or org), theoilshop.com, oil-shop.com, or change the idea to buyoil.com or oilkings.com or etc? These days it's just getting harder and harder to find a "right" kind .com domain that's still available. What makes it just more annoying is that very often the reserved domains aren't even used for any real site.

Also I don't have an experience on buying a reserved domain name, and with different domains there's different ways to do this, not sure about their reliability and how much time it takes and is it really worth the trouble and $.