Tucson:

You have a few options when a domain is not available:

1. Contact the current owner directly, and try to buy it. Go to the website that is currently at the domain, and check to see if there is contact information for the current owner. Alternatively, you can try to find the email of the owner using a WHOIS database. Send an email or make a phone call with your offer.

2. Check Sedo and AfterNic to see if is for sale or coming up for auction. These sites lists domains that are for sale, and may have pricing information.

3. Settle for a similar name (or different TLD, like .NET, .ORG). Sites like HotNameList can help you find alternate names.

4. Wait for the name to expire. The WHOIS database mentioned in step #1 above will also tell you the expiration date for name. If the name is about to expire soon, you may want to wait and see if it "drops". This is a little riskly, because if the name is pretty good, lots of people are waiting to snap it up (see #5 below). Also, the owner may renew it.

5. Use a service to get an expiring name. Godaddy Backorder or SnapNames.com to try to snag the name automatically when/if it expires. Again, if lots of people are waiting to get that name, then it may immediately go auction.