Newbie question - What's a name worth?

[PurpleFCG]

:hi: all,

new to domaining and my first post here. i've designed simple websites in the past but i've never bought domains for the purpose of resell until recently.

i ended up buying a .co domain with a company's name among other .com domains i bought. i wasn't sure if this was legal since the name isn't all common words (e.g. petsmart, this is just an example, not the actual name) but the registrar let me buy it anyway. i guess it wasn't reserved and/or if it was offered to the company they may not have wanted it.

so my question is, what are the chances i can sell the domain? if not, i guess my only alternative is to let it expire. any insight from experienced domainers would be appreciated. thanks!

Purple


P.S. i was hoping i could sell it to a competitor or someone that could take advantage of a mistype (leaving off the "m" in .com).

 

[nielsencl]

Depending on the name your chances are slim. When thinking about things like this, ask yourself how you would feel if someone did this to you? Now imagine you can hire expensive lawyers to go after someone if they are using your domain or infringing on your trademark. >

Depending on the name, you may or may not be able to sell it to someone, but trying to profit off of another company's name is generally not a good idea. If you registered it less than 5 days ago you can ask the registrar for a refund, after that, no refund.

If the name is not like petsmart, there is a chance you can sell it and let someone else deal with it, or you could park it and see if you can make some money from it. Generally the worst that can happen to you is the company could contact you and demand the domain be turned over to them.

Or if you think owning the domain is not such a good idea and can't sell it, you could contact the company and offer to GIVE it to them. Since you are such a nice person and have kept the domain out of the hands of "cyber-squatters", they may reward you in some way for being such a loyal customer. If not, at least they may not sue you...

 

[PurpleFCG]

thanks nielsencl for your advice!

i will not be buying any more of these in the future. if i did want to try to sell it (it's been over 5 days), where can i go to do this? i've heard of Sedo, is that a good place?

also, in general, when selling a domain is it better to state a price that you want or leave it open to offers?

thanks again for your help!

 

[nielsencl]

You can try SEDO or try here at NamePros. I don't know any place that is better than others.

Some people seem to do well looking for offers on their domain, but others don't get many offers or only get low offers. In general it's good to set a price. You can also have an "auction" here at Namepros and there are no fees, but read the rules carefully if you decide to try that.
Good Luck!

 

[PurpleFCG]

thanks again, i'll look into selling here once i get my domain appraisal approved. good night!