Domain taken but URL says Server Not Found

[Gongchime]

I went to register the domain I want but it says .com and .net are already taken for that. But if a type in that url, nothing comes up. I suspect someone bought it in order to sell it. How can I find out who owns a domain? There are services which will charge you something like $9 to make an offer for you but it seems better (cheaper) to ask them directly.

[sub8hr]

Another potential reason is they are trying to block a competitor from using an advantageous domain name. In any event, you can look up the domain owner on whois.net.

[kamakiri]

godaddy has a service that will contact the owner. I have never used it, but I do see it come up in the options everyone in a while.

[ukgimp]

http://www.whois.sc/

that can give clues, if it is behind a proxy service things will get more difficult.

If the domain is not resolving that might make it cheaper to buy, most domainers do actually park the domain