[SATLUG] OT: Getting an already-registered domain name

[Matt Kinsel]

Hi y'all. I have a website design business (Kinsel Kreations), and I'm
planning on creating a website for my business with the domain name "
kinselkreations.com". In the previous months, I've checked on the domain
name to make sure no one was using it, and the times I checked, it was
available. However, I just recently decided to buy it, but when I made
another check for "kinselkreations.com", I found that it's been parked. :(

I did a whois on it, and it was registered 8/8/07 and expires 8/8/08. I
can't believe it.... And what's worse is that I remember hearing a while
back (although I didn't heed the info) about several stories of people
checking a domain name's availability, finding that it was available, and
soon after that discovering that the domain had been bought and parked. It
was rumored that the domain registering services run a scandal, per say, and
register domain names after they're searched for in order to turn a bigger
profit from customers who want to buy the registered domain name. This just
drives me nuts, because who in the world would think of creating a parked
domain name for "kinselkreations"? Kinsel is not a common name.

Anyways, do y'all have any advice? Have you ever negotiated a deal on an
already-registered domain name? And how does that work? Is it accomplished
with a single payment? How would they transfer the registration to my name?

Thanks for your time,
Matt