question New company wants to buy my old domain name.

[namexf]

Hi guys.
I am new to this.
I will try to simplify.
I own a .com domain name from many many years. Its been parked all this time.
Now a new company has contacted me and they want to buy it from me.
This company's name is the same as my domain name. And they have recently registered a local domain
with that name. But they are interested on buying the .com version (from me).
The key point is that I registered the domain name before this company even existed with this name.

Is there a risk that they could forcefully take it away from me if I try to negotiate a price that it is too high?

I am open to sell it but I would like to know how much can I ask.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ExploitOdds]

Doesn't sound like you are attached to the domain. That is good! What is a good deal? A good deal is when both parties are happy, imo. Sounds like a potential XXXX or XXXXX sale . . . Maybe both parties will be happy??!!

 

[namexf]

Doesn't sound like you are attached to the domain. That is good! What is a good deal? A good deal is when both parties are happy, imo. Sounds like a potential XXXX or XXXXX sale . . . Maybe both parties will be happy??!!

I think XXXXX is too much. I will have to research and look for similar cases. Namebio has been suggested above in this thread by john888.

 

[namexf]

I have made a search at namebio and prices are lower than I expected.

 

[BaileyUK]

These type of situations (The one you find yourself in at the moment) are usually the icing on the cake as far as domaining goes. That being they are usually the most profitable, the easiest to conclude and most satisfying.

So that said, Quite often the hardest part is not the negotiations as such, But deciding on the price point at which your willing to sell, my advice is do try to come to a Price in your own mind that your willing to sell. And I do mean really dig-down into the market for this particular type of domain, Look for all the reasons to justify your asking price, It takes quite a bit of work to hit that 'Comfort-Point' but when you have achieved that, you'll be far more comfortable in your negotiations and more confident in any correspondence, you can even share some of that knowledge with this potential purchaser, secure in the knowledge that you've done your homework. Buyers whatever their preconceptions are usually willing to acknowledge fact based counter arguments and opinions - particularly if the inquiry comes from a professional organisation .

The final piece, you have already acknowledged and that is that this is a Single opportunity sale. ie the one 'potential' buyer scenario, Don't be scared of that as it is more often the case in all sales negotiations (unless it's a generic descriptive) Just remember to build-up your confidence in your 'Justifiable' asking price and play to that strength - the rest of the negotiation usually follows on quite easily

 

[Ostrados]

I have made a search at namebio and prices are lower than I expected.

In Nambio ignore any sales from Namejet and Godaddy those are usually expired domains auctions at low reseller prices.

While sales from Sedo, Afternic & Uniregistry are end user sales most of the time.

 

[xynames]

Typically such domains sell for higher than what they might be worth in a vacuum but not significantly higher. You seem to be grounded in your expectations.

For example I’ve sold four or five character domains (dot com) for great prices when I realized the buyer was a large corporation and needed the domain for a particular purpose or existing campaign, but in all such cases the domain was worth a fair amount on its own - in other words useful to many potential buyers not just one.

Only a spendthrift company would spend a lot on a domain they know is worthless to anyone else.

 

[MapleDots]

To the OP

Forget all the asking for advice and engage your client.
You have a best case scenario, an exact match domain and a company that asked you for a purchase.

Do some research as to the value of the domain and engage the company in good faith.
Chances are you're overthinking it and you have a genuine offer.

If the name is older than the company chances are their lawyers have already advised them it would be difficult to get the name any other way, and that is why they contacted you for a purchase.

If anything untoward should happen worry about it then and get legal advice thereof.

PS. Mention nothing in your negotiation, no history, no stories.. just quote a price.
Remember that loose lips sink ships and all the end user needs to know is your price.

Good luck

 

[rh2000]

To the OP

Forget all the asking for advice and engage your client.
You have a best case scenario, an exact match domain and a company has asked you to purchase.

I agree. The OP might just be nervous and don't know what to do.

 

[xynames]

It’s not necessarily an exact match domain. An EMD is where the real word defines what the company does. For example donutcrazy for a business that sells donuts.

Here, the definition of the dictionary word may have nothing to do with the company’s business. The word could be an archaic never used one that happens to be what this company decided to call itself.

I can’t think of an EMD that would not have multiple uses and appears that OP is saying that this domain of his is probably useless except to this one company.

 

[namexf]

Hello all. I am back.
This forum is fantastic. I cannot believe you guys are so generous giving advice.
Thank you so much.
I am going to answer your points.
But first let me update on the situation.
I contacted my registrar and they said that I can stay anonymous all through the selling process. As i told you, the domain's real whois is hidden and the potential buyer contacted me using an "intermediary email". I cannot use this intermediary email to reply. But anyway I can create an anonymous gmail account and email him anonymously.

Or maybe it is better to email him openly using my real name and usual email account?
But then he will probably do a reverse whois and find that i own other idle domains. I don't know if this coud be an issue? Maybe he could acuse me of hoarding domains?

 

[namexf]

I see you are asking about the scope (category).
My domain name is very general. It could be used by any tech company. The scope is totally open.
So if I miss this opportunity I think I will be able to find new buyers in the future.
I

 

[namexf]

These type of situations (The one you find yourself in at the moment) are usually the icing on the cake as far as domaining goes. That being they are usually the most profitable, the easiest to conclude and most satisfying.

So that said, Quite often the hardest part is not the negotiations as such, But deciding on the price point at which your willing to sell, my advice is do try to come to a Price in your own mind that your willing to sell. And I do mean really dig-down into the market for this particular type of domain, Look for all the reasons to justify your asking price, It takes quite a bit of work to hit that 'Comfort-Point' but when you have achieved that, you'll be far more comfortable in your negotiations and more confident in any correspondence, you can even share some of that knowledge with this potential purchaser, secure in the knowledge that you've done your homework. Buyers whatever their preconceptions are usually willing to acknowledge fact based counter arguments and opinions - particularly if the inquiry comes from a professional organisation .

The final piece, you have already acknowledged and that is that this is a Single opportunity sale. ie the one 'potential' buyer scenario, Don't be scared of that as it is more often the case in all sales negotiations (unless it's a generic descriptive) Just remember to build-up your confidence in your 'Justifiable' asking price and play to that strength - the rest of the negotiation usually follows on quite easily

Thats very encouraging. Yes, I have to make a good research first. Maybe I should contact him right now and tell him that I need time to do my research?

Regarding "Single Opportunity Sale", what do you mean? Well, the name is very broad. Many tech companies could use it.
But this is the first time that anyone makes me an offer for my domains. So in this regard yes, it is a single opportunity sale.

I make no promotion on my domains. They are simply sitting idle with no parking page and no "Domain for sale" message or "buy now" button. Maybe this is why I get no offers. I don't even expect them. This is the first time and it was a surprise.
If this comes out well, maybe i cheer up and try to sell a few more.

 

[namexf]

In Nambio ignore any sales from Namejet and Godaddy those are usually expired domains auctions at low reseller prices.

While sales from Sedo, Afternic & Uniregistry are end user sales most of the time.

But when I search using the beginning of the word (ie. the root, so to speak), and filtering for .com, I only get less than 200 results (100 shown). Ordering them from higher to lower price, the 19th is 3k$ and the 43rd is 2k$.
Maybe this domain root is not as good as I thought...

 

[namexf]

Typically such domains sell for higher than what they might be worth in a vacuum but not significantly higher. You seem to be grounded in your expectations.

For example I’ve sold four or five character domains (dot com) for great prices when I realized the buyer was a large corporation and needed the domain for a particular purpose or existing campaign, but in all such cases the domain was worth a fair amount on its own - in other words useful to many potential buyers not just one.

Only a spendthrift company would spend a lot on a domain they know is worthless to anyone else.

No, this is not the case. This name can be used by many many companies.
It is not a very short name. I would say it is standard length.

 

[namexf]

To the OP

Forget all the asking for advice and engage your client.
You have a best case scenario, an exact match domain and a company that asked you for a purchase.

Do some research as to the value of the domain and engage the company in good faith.
Chances are you're overthinking it and you have a genuine offer.

If the name is older than the company chances are their lawyers have already advised them it would be difficult to get the name any other way, and that is why they contacted you for a purchase.

If anything untoward should happen worry about it then and get legal advice thereof.

PS. Mention nothing in your negotiation, no history, no stories.. just quote a price.
Remember that loose lips sink ships and all the end user needs to know is your price.

Good luck

oookayyy, it seems to be a consensus that I am relatively safe from litigation. that is comforting.
I have read that litigation is very stressful and you can lose your domain in a few days.
One guy, just for fun, registered alibaba.xxx and even made a homepage with illustrations of the classic tale. Immediately Alibaba sued him and he lost it in few days.

 

[namexf]

I am getting an error sometimes when I try to edit my posts. it says there is spam.

 

[namexf]

To the OP

Forget all the asking for advice and engage your client.
You have a best case scenario, an exact match domain and a company that asked you for a purchase.

Do some research as to the value of the domain and engage the company in good faith.
Chances are you're overthinking it and you have a genuine offer.

yes, also consensus about researching the value. Any other site besides namebio?
I am ready to spend time researching.

I agree. The OP might just be nervous and don't know what to do.

yes, it is my first time and I didn't expect it. Years ago I made some research but it was very shallow.

 

[namexf]

It’s not necessarily an exact match domain. An EMD is where the real word defines what the company does. For example donutcrazy for a business that sells donuts.

Here, the definition of the dictionary word may have nothing to do with the company’s business. The word could be an archaic never used one that happens to be what this company decided to call itself.

I can’t think of an EMD that would not have multiple uses and appears that OP is saying that this domain of his is probably useless except to this one company.

Sorry If I didn't explain myself correctly. The word is very very generic and any tech company could use it.
That is why I am surprised that namebio found so few results. Maybe it is phonetically not attractive.

 

[namexf]

I am searching other words at namebio and also having very few results.
"buyingXXX.com" renders just 38 results.
"tradeXXX.com" is better with 388 results.
I don't know if I am doing something wrong.

 

[xynames]

Without knowing the exact name you’ve probably gotten all the useful input available at this point. If others wish to burn rubber guessing in the dark you might get some more.

 

[namexf]

Without knowing the exact name you’ve probably gotten all the useful input available at this point. If others wish to burn rubber guessing in the dark you might get some more.

Should i post the name here? Is that the usual thing to do?
I could as well invite the potential buyer here and we all could discuss...¿??

 

[Ja Kai]

Shit or get off the pot. You are WAY indecisive.

 

[john888]

Do not post the name here. Others may want to get in the middle of your sale and mess it up. Do not invite the buyer here since he will take you for a fool. Let him sweat for 2 days and get some research done. Ask him for his offer he might offer 10k then come back and get more advise if needed.

 

[namexf]

Do not post the name here. Others may want to get in the middle of your sale and mess it up. Do not invite the buyer here since he will take you for a fool. Let him sweat for 2 days and get some research done. Ask him for his offer he might offer 10k then come back and get more advise if needed.

Thanks John. Its true! If i post the name here some lurkers could contact the buyer and tell them about this thread. In the event i posted the name here it would be better to invite them.
"Xynames" and Ja Kai, why are you pushing me?

The potential buyer emailed me 4 days ago.
Should I contact him with my real name or it is better to stay anonymous?

 

[Ja Kai]

Thanks John. Its true! If i post the name here some lurkers could contact the buyer and tell them about this thread. In the event i posted the name here it would be better to invite them.
"Xynames" and Ja Kai, why are you pushing me?

The potential buyer emailed me 4 days ago.
Should I contact him with my real name or it is better to stay anonymous?

You should let one of the experienced/trusted members here broker it for you - pay them 20%. I'm not inferring me - I'm new here. But, you need help.