Buying a domain from scratch often seems like the easiest choice when shopping for new domain names. As long as you can find the domain you need, it seems simplest just to press the Buy Now button and put in your credit card details. But before you do that, have a think. Search engines take a long time to recognise new sites. To be listed in the SERPs (search engine results pages) you need plenty of links from other sites. These take time to build up. And worse, if these links are low-quality links from cheap forums and blogs, then you're unlikely to get listed very soon at all - and very unlikely to be listed prominently on your favourite search terms.
Instead buying a domain that used to be used and has already has strong authority links can be a great answer. Services such as DropDigger list these dropped domains, and if you can find one relevant to your niche then you're on the money. Your site is far more likely to be listed quickly in the search engines, and your business or website is far more likely to be found.
Buying dropped domains saves the hassle and expense of negotiating domain buying websites and trying to come up with a good deal from all of those sites in parking too - so it's definitely the best way to buy your new domain.
P.S. Please come back whales!