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Any idea how one makes an offer when the details are obfuscated or hidden behind registrar data? I see broker services but that seems for commercial needs (and already more than I would want to pay) (Example: a domain I want is just sitting there. They used to use it but have stopped bothering... maybe now I could make a direct reasonable offer? I don't have any commercial plans so thousands of dollars doesn't work for me. )

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Look up the owner using Whois. There has to be a valid email address that goes to the owner. Even if it’s under privacy it must still work.

Emails that don’t work is invalid whois and can be reported to icann. Registrar has to investigate for invalid whois data or the domain will be made available again.

So to make an offer just send an email. If they’re interested they’ll most likely get back to you.

Most registrars will also get in touch with their customer to see if they want to sell.

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