The com.au and net.au are both registered by same person and both expired... just waiting for the drop to see if i secure them. If i don't secure them then i won't be using the name.
The .com is owned by one of the largest domain broker in the USA since 2003... they have paid up the domain registration until 2016. This domain broker has millions of domains parked for sale. Unless i was to pay big $$$ i wouldn't be able to secure the .com anytime soon. As they have owned it for 10 years and there has been no takers... it might be cheaper than i think
As a local mowing business based in Australia not owning the .com in my opinion isn't a deal breaker... I would be happy enough with the .com.au and .net.au for the Australian market. I understand what you are saying though darren as it is best to own every domain possible!
This business name has never been registered in Australia... i'm surprised that it hasn't to be honest. Its easy to remember, simple and straight to the point with strong keywords for SEO! As i would mainly be using the name for online marketing it wouldn't matter if i don't have the .com and at this stage it isn't even a parked domain so absolutely nothing comes up with a google search... to get to the site you need to physically type in the address in your browers and it then redirects to the list broker's details.
On a side note to registering a business name - the business name register is now done through ASIC which is now a national database service...
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Bu...ess_names.html in the old days a business name was done through the fair trading which was state to state so there could be "identical" business names in each state (except if there was a company name registered). This is no longer the case.
I will be registering the business name as a company anyways, which will should stop any sole trader trying to register the name in the future in any state... I will also be applying for a trade mark on the business name once i secure it which "should" protect my brand.
Regarding a business name doesn't guarantee you to secure the domain name... i have to disagree. In my previous business i had the .com and .com.au names... one of my competitiors registered the .net.com and redirected the name to there site (they also did it to multiple businesses in our industry)... they had to give the domain name to me (yes it did cost me). For .com there is no rules so to speak and why there is list brokers selling names... there aren't many brokers selling .com.au names unless it is very generic strong keyword names or location based names etc.
If i get the trademark approved and secure both the .au sites i would then consider purchasing the .com site if it was a reasonable price. If I plan to push the brand nationally, it would be foolish not to secure .com if i went down this path... for a local "one man" mowing business it wouldn't matter.
I would perfer to have a national business though
Simmo.