Inside the brains of expiring domains

Posted by Scott on August 11th, 2008 .

While scanning through lists of expired/expiring UK domains you get a real insight into the weird and wonderful thought processes some people go through when registering domains, the list below details some of the real domains that had been registered 2 years ago and now are coming up for renewal and for some reason are not being renewed.. go figure :)

shampoodirectory.co.uk - What? I have seen some weak directory ideas in my time but a shampoo directory?
tarmactraining.co.uk – I think this was always going to be a long road
carphonewhorehouse.co.uk – made me laugh
libraryshelving.co.uk – now that’s what I call a small niche market
ediblelandscapes.co.uk – your telling me this business idea never worked out?
planmydeath.co.uk – ooh morbid one
concretefurniture.co.uk – I’d hate to see their delivery charges!
datemywife.co.uk – I’d rather not
yourleisure.co.uk  - Is my pleasure..Trainspotting
ediblephotos.co.uk – this one didn’t take of either?
divorceplanner.co.uk – you know what they say, fail to plan and you plan to fail
antiquesdotcom.co.uk – hmm now that would suffer in the radio test wouldn’t it
bodypartsdirect.co.uk – I’m sure the NHS could have done with this service
ducksnuts.co.uk – {shrug}
talktothepaw.co.uk – sometimes the hand isn’t enough
okaysions.co.uk – almost quite clever in a way, but no.

There are hundreds of expiring UK domains each day and the better one’s are competed for by a large number of people, you can still get some nice brandable names and 2 word products can be caught using drop catchers.

I joined Nominet at the end of last week, by becoming a registrar I can renew my .co.uk’s for £5+VAT each saving £1 per domain.

Some of the better domains that have expired and dropped in the last week or so are:
gemworld.co.uk
ruth.co.uk
studentscene.co.uk
sonnet.co.uk
invernesscity.co.uk
eyelasersurgery.co.uk
xpresstravel.co.uk
resurrection.co.uk
moneyadviser.co.uk
carmobility.co.uk
businessbuilder.co.uk
marineply.co.uk
defined.co.uk
beautygifts.co.uk
childinvestment.co.uk
glean.co.uk

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20 Comments »

Comment by Jacob Allred Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-11 10:57:08

Edible landscaping is a popular eco-friendly gardening method. Nobody calls it “edible landscapes” though so type-in traffic would probably be low.

 
Comment by Scott from Scott
2008-08-11 12:21:03

Thanks for the info, it’s a new term to me Jacob, all I could think of was Willy Wonka.

 
Comment by Justin Cook from SEO Toronto Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-11 12:38:18

Same with edible photos. People commonly get photos printed in ink that can be put on the top of a cake, such as at an anniversary party.

This is an awesome idea for a business, if it could be run online!!!

Justin Cook’s last blog post..What to do when you’re dropped from Google’s index

 
Comment by James from geniosity Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-11 13:08:37

Personally Spud’s site is the best… :-)

Btw, is there any chance of a more in depth tut on catching dropped/expiring domains? I THINK you haven’t done that yet, as I read your blog religiously, and don’t remember reading something about it yet.

I’m curious to see what information you actually see as a registrar, and how long a domain is held before being bought by somebody such as yourself. (It seems that in South Africa it takes about 6 months before an expired domain is released back into the wild).

James’s last blog post..Opera Mobile 9.5 is SLICK!

Comment by Scott from Scott
2008-08-11 14:15:03

Once I get my feet wet James I go back over what I have done and what I have learned.

Comment by James from geniosity Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-11 14:18:47

That’s excellent. I can’t wait…

James’s last blog post..Opera Mobile 9.5 is SLICK!

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
 
Comment by Matt from Sharpe Investing Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-11 13:23:27

Thanks for the list. antiquesdotcom.co.uk was especially funny. I was also suprised by how many good domains expired.

Matt’s last blog post..Weekly Economic Data - August 10, 2008

 
Comment by Nigel from ParallelP on Twitter Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-11 16:54:29

I recently developed a nasty dropped names addiction. I’m hooked on JustDropped.com. They have a great interface that lets you tailor your search through the dropped list. Unfortunately they don’t track .co.uk, but I’ve picked up one or two nice domains, like AdirondackOutdoorFurniture.com.

 
Comment by Peter Cooper
2008-08-11 18:54:54

shampoodirectory.co.uk - What? I have seen some weak directory ideas in my time but a shampoo directory?

Someone tried to encourage me to start a blog about gravy the other day - it happens.

carphonewhorehouse.co.uk – made me laugh

That’s what I always call them! I wouldn’t mind that one just for the fun of it *g*

 
Comment by train travel from train travel
2008-08-11 23:28:04

every one of us might have regged some funny domain at least once and thinking why we did that at the time of renewal.

train travel’s last blog post..Kangra Valley Railway

 
Comment by Curt Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-12 09:14:29

Lol i was the numpty who regged planmydeath.co.uk. It was suprisingly regged after a weekend of heavydrinking so please forgive me! I couldnt believe it when i saw it in the list today as im a regular visitor to the site. Just shows how bad it was to be flagged out of the 1000’s of expiring domains.

Curt’s last blog post..Scots Delight Down Under

 
Comment by Scott from Scott
2008-08-12 09:56:10

I have reg’d my fair share of drunken domains Curt, usually on a lighter note than that one mind ;)

 
Comment by Siberia from Quality Avatars
2008-08-12 12:59:09

I avoid reading these dropped lists or i just come up with too many new ideas. Better to actually work on the ones i have =)

 
Comment by Mikael from Internet Markedsføring Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-13 06:12:59

I’ve tried to change the title om my link because it seems that Akismet is filtering my comments (VRE Blog doesn’t seem spammy does it??)

I just wanted to thank you for the great laugh Scott. My personal favorite is definitely concretefurniture.co.uk. What were they thinking?

/Mikael

Mikael’s last blog post..Can Internet Marketers Actually Sell Anything But IM Stuff?

 
Comment by blogcom from blogcom
2008-08-13 09:20:37

some really great domains that have expired there - I trust you got some of them

 
Comment by John Essex from Loft Conversions Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-13 19:04:43

I’ve bought some dreadfull domains in the past, and I even have some now which I’m letting expire as they are a bit naff. I’m too embrassed to let you know what they are :) Sometimes it seems like a good idea at the time…

 
Comment by Poems from Christmas Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-16 20:56:21

no preused domains- this is my main principle!!

Comment by Justin Cook from SEO Toronto Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-16 21:04:43

Why? Buying the right domain can give you a 6-8 month head start in the SEO game, and you can be making money right away.

Justin Cook’s last blog post..What to do when you’re dropped from Google’s index

Comment by John Essex from Loft Conversions Subscribed to comments via email
2008-08-17 18:56:28

I agree, whats the problem with buying a preused domain? Given the speed with which they are being used up you might not have much choice if you want a decent name anyway, unless you are happy with http://www.akjghyti3h“db6bm£jg8.com :)

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Comment by Goran Giertz from Web Design | Net Age
2009-09-13 09:11:03

If you’re on top of it you can really scoop some gems. Some of your initial examples are really crazy good. It makes me wonder what went wrong with some of these ideas. I do not mind picking up the pieces at all, as thewre are gems to be had!

 
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