$200,000 Offer - Sell or Develop?

[DomainAuction]

I was offered $200,000 for a domain name that I own by a company that is worth billions of dollars.

This figure was expected for this particular domain name however I am in need of some advice in regards to possibly developing a company/website out of this opportunity instead.

My domain is an exact-phrase match for technology that is going to be around for the next decade (guaranteed) and this particular phrase will be on over 100 million consumer electronic products, their commercials, packaging and even brochures - you can't miss it. Average price of these consumer products (as of now) is $10,000.

So, do I develop/drop-ship (e.g. 5-7% commission for 10 years) with an exact-phrase domain and stellar SEO/Development skills OR do I take my $200,000 and buy champagne.

All feedback is appreciated ahead of time! Thank you

 

[Edward Smeu]

Nice thread and nice domain. I can only ask you if you think the domain name is worth max 200k / sensible less or if you think the name is worth at least 200k / can go a lot lot higher?

If you have not seen this yet : http://www.ricksblog.com/2013/10/inside-1-35mm-ebet-com-sale/ . This should clear your mind a bit.

Best of luck!

 

[DomainAuction]

@STP ... such a great share!

@decades80 It's not about greed though, it's knowing my domains value, both short-term and long-term.

First off, let me share that I get decent direct type-in traffic for this domain already.

There are millions of this/these products rolling out within the next 24 months (confirmed) and with price tags ranging from $2,500 to $50,000.

That being said, if I were to even have .001% of the pie (in regards to sales) via drop-ship or as an affiliate i'd be a millionaire within the next 365 days.

I think the $200K offer got me excited because it's the most ever offered to me for any of my domains.

However, Mathematics + Confidence is telling me to keep/develop OR reject any offer under 7 figures.

Any input on my decision?

 

[Edward Smeu]

It makes the most sense if your reasoning is accurate.

It's easier when the domains and the amounts are a lot less.

 

[Cyphix]

This is not legal advice as I'm not a TM lawyer but AFAIK companies cannot register trademarks on a term after the fact and then cry foul about a certain domain someone has - this I believe is referred to as reverse domain hi-jacking; although I did notice that link regarding Ovation.com and I shake my head at that.

Additionally as has been pointed out by the OP he has been told that the term is illegible to be TM'ed as it must be a generic term.

I say you have a tough decision, but if it's as great a domain as you say it is then I'm sure you could probably get even more than 200k (considering several big parties may be interested in it), so may be best to negotiate with them.

Good Luck!

 

[DomainAuction]

@Jasonn - I totally would but I have 20+ domains in the same field that are even better! =)

I pretty much invested everything i had in these domain names (since early 2008) rather than stocks because the phrase was not only predicted but also very appealing to me - and the product(s) were not in existence yet.

For example, lets say the phrase is "Games" and you invested everything you had in 100+ domain names involving "Games" - like Board Games, Computer Games etc. and then 6 years later you find out the phrase "Games" was also appealing to companies/the public.

It's what I am dealing with. I monopolized all of the best possibilities hoping one day it would arrive and get picked up - and it did.

The trademark information I found out was awesome,
but regardless of what I was told... the personal information I just shared with you all is why I would not back down 1 bit if any one were to cry =)

It's literally, mine.

 

[cdboard]

do you have experience developing a site and making a lot of money from operating that single website?

 

[godolphin]

Why don't you call up Rick Schwartz, Frank Shilling... they might give you the right advice.

Good luck!

 

[gmd]

Few things needs to be considered:
1. Are you financially stable right now? or in 2-3 years to come? if yes
then keep it and develop it and make its value much higher. (long and stable investment)

2. If your not financially stable, the better option is sell it now. sometimes countering their offer leads to a non sale.

 

[Edward Smeu]

Have you considered to rent them the domain? It would be a good price 200k for the first year with the option to buy, seen good deals going this way.

Let us know what happens.

 

[forge]

A fool and money in his pocket are soon parted.

 

[garptrader]

I guess the question you would have to answer for yourself is why are you so confident that you could compete in this industry with players with much deeper pockets and if so why do you need this particular domain to do so. No doubt the perfect domain is a great head start, but one has to separate the domain from the business. I have seen restaurants on the beach fail even though undoubtedly they had plenty of tourist traffic. But if this is such a hot industry you might want to shop it around to other potential buyers. If you can get a bidding war going between three interested parties, you can sit back and watch the action.

 

[VisionEdger]

this whole thread is BOGUS!

someones fantasy played out here guaranteed.


:zzz:

 

[DomainAuction]

Thanks @loredan, that was a cool share...

I am 100% not worried about trademarks,
this is a phrase that 100+ top brands will be using and if it's licensed to 1 particular individual or company than I would take out a $200,000 personal loan and invest in her/him/that company lol.

Billionaires can cry, they are human. I would definitely hand them a KLEENEX tissue...
but I don't recommend them humiliating themselves =)

 

[4better]

This one is tricky. Think that the multi-billion company can TM the exact-phrase and get your domain for $2000 if they go for an UDPR. I'd say you should sell it now if they are so generous and willing to spend $200K. If the technology is going to be around for the next decade I bet someone would TM the exact phrase sooner or later.

Just get the money, find & register another related domain and develop your dropshipping site on this new domain.

If TM becomes a problem in the future, is it not a good idea to make the first move in filing the TM for that exact-phrase? That is, if the OP decides to develop/drop-ship the domain as he foresees the products could generate $200,000 in profits alone. OP believes he can achieve this so in that case why settle for $200k only if he thinks he can have more than that. If one is confident enough that he can possibly get this amount later by developing the domain and make a business out of it then I (imo) would push through with this plan. After all, he still has the domain and he can always sell it later if he wishes. Probably, the domain's value could even have increased getting a much better price by then.

 

[DomainAuction]

@4better ...

Thing is, many sources have told me that this phrase is not eligible to be trademarked.

Once again, no worried at all.

 

[DomainAuction]

That sounds good!

 

[Keith]

If you have not seen this yet : http://www.ricksblog.com/2013/10/inside-1-35mm-ebet-com-sale/ . This should clear your mind a bit.

Best of luck!

Great play by play there!

 

[DomainAuction]

@Cyphix thanks for that!

I have confirmed several brands tried to file a Trademark but were denied as it's "too generic" which helps my case in the future if they decide to cry =)

Also, their filings were in 2013...

My ownership, concept and intentions date back to 2007 (public).

I found this out and confirmed it with 3 different agencies as I was trying to file a Trademark myself.

I thank all of you who have replied, I am very appreciate - for everything.

 

[DomainAuction]

@Primerlloc I totally agree with you, I have also owned the Vanity URLs for this particular phrase on the top 10 social media websites since 2008.

@cdboard Yes, I was an in-house SEO specialist for a company for several years and they were ranked #2 in the entire world within the matter of 3 months because of my work. The website consisted of only 48 pages where as rank #1 had/has over 250,000 pages and #3-8 had 50,000 pages on average. Their traffic increased by over 20,000% (within 90 days) - but this is not the only website I have done this for. When I realized what I am capable of, and how I made a TON of money for others (while getting hourly pay) I left the company and formed my own company.

 

[DomainAuction]

@godolphin I wish I had those opportunities! My last domain sale was for $3,500 to a company that I later found out charges $3,500 for their smallest advertising slot PER DAY. It's frustrating working hard for a gem that others get to polish.

 

[urlurl]

It is not a matter of positioning on Google. Exact words work in users minds in an authority-leadership-trust manner. That's the real value of these domains.

just tried googling candy... i'm on the 5th page and I still can't find candy . com

 

[DomainAuction]

@urlurl You are comparing Candy that's $1 to the successor of a product that sold over 200 million units which (now) has a $1,000 on average price tag for over the past 10 years. Also in regards to Candy - the .com is weak in my opinion, but their Alexa Ranking proves they own A LOT more than .001% of the Candy pie. See where I am coming from?

 

[DomainAuction]

@ipodxpert interesting point but I do not see it as an issue what so ever and I thank the social media Vanity URL pages for that. They will be promoting and contain the link to the best domain name I own for this technology (which isn't the one with the $200K offer) so that will help out a lot with other extensions swarming the scene. Tagging/Mentions/Shoutouts etc

@urlurl don't get me wrong, I appreciate every feedback but I am not seeking top position, I am seeking at least .001% of the pie. You Candy example was great, especially stating they are nowhere to be found as you were on Page #5 - well, as I stated... they have a lot more than .001% of the pie and that's without being ranked well

---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 PM ----------

@lennco 100% agree with you on this, I have no experience in that department but a good friend of mine does and he said something very similar. Thanks

 

[sbweb]

If you are "safe" from trademarks and the domain is as generic as you say it is, I would definitely try to negotiate for more cash and/or equity, especially if you're dealing with a billion dollar company. Big companies know the value in domain names, and I'm not only speaking from an SEO perspective. There's also brand value and type-in traffic.

And, so what if there's a few big players in that industry? Every industry has big players, but it's about how much piece of the pie you can get. You don't have to be #1 to become a millionaire on the Internet. You can be #4 or 5 and still be a millionaire.

Another thought: Imagine developing a site for the domain, and growing it. Then, think about how much money they'll offer you once it's an established business, sitting on a premium domain.

Just my opinion.