on buying domains

i've been wanting to buy a certain domain for a year now and it was unavailable back then. a few months back, i remember i got an email that it was available. but i was too nice to think that someone owns it and might need it. there was probably just a gap in their domain ownership and was not renewed right away. lo and behold, i checked it today and realized that it was bought by a company that sells domains. price is much more now. wish i just bought it back then and thought of selling it myself... let's just charge this to experience. now i know better next time i see another email alert.