Originally posted by SedoCoUk
My God, it worked!!
After probably close to a dozen e-mails and a few faxes, Ult Search wrote back. 
The one that he finally responded to was a variation of the above, also incredibly to the point, and sent from my personal e-mail address.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the tips and the feedback.
Now, here's hoping that he responds faster during the negotiations!
Despite the common misconception, Ultimate Search and their counterparts are no enigmas. They're normal people, or groups of people, just like you and I, except that they have done particularly well in domain name acquisition. As a result they have a natural desire to protect their identity.
If you contact them, sticking 'to the point' and don't bulls**t them, I think they are more likely to respond to you, especially if they are interested in considering doing business with you. If they're not, they might choose not to respond. That is their prerogative.
Ultimate Search, and their counterparts, attract unfortunate negative publicity and notoriety because of their incredible success and desire to remain anonymous. I think many forget that they are simply normal people, like us. You might even have sat next to one of them in a coffee bar or walked past one of their group whilst out shopping; except you'd never know.
They're not unapproachable, but if you do approach them, consider replicating some of the above and respect their right not to reply, should they choose not to do so. If you do approach them politely, and keep your cool, you're more likely to receive a response.
I've successfully dealt with other notorious domain name 'collectors', without any problem. I've never failed to receive a reply to an enquiry. I'd say that most all of them got where they are by mixing intelligence with respect. They're just the same as you, albeit more successful. This certainly doesn't preclude you and them from doing business.
