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question Should I try to sell this domain to a company using an inferior version?

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sellian

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Hi Pros,

I recently regged a name that is the same to a company's website, with the only difference being that mine doesn't contain the word "the" in front, which makes it shorter (2 words instead of 3) and more professional.

They themselves don't include the word "the" when talking about their company on their own site and Facebook.

I have checked on HosterStats.com and it appears that my domain was already taken when they registered theirs in September 2021.

My domain was then dropped in June 2022, leading me to believe that the company had to opt for registering the longer version with the word "the" in front.

I was wondering if any of you have had experience with this type of situation before and if you think it's a good idea to reach out to the company to offer my domain for sale.

If so, how would you approach the situation?

Thanks a lot!
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Check for trademarks before you do anything.
 
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First, I Certainly would NOT approach the company directly, This will most likely put you on dangerous ground straight away (there are explanations as to why this is so) with or without trademarks given the similarity of the terms.
As for valid dates - If your registration is a new registration (therefore post their registration) Stay aware that that can be considered significant If TM's are registered. Dates do matter. If the domain dropped, your registration is the relevant date. There can be some relevance to it's previous history, If it had been used.
Without knowing the exact term and how generic it is - I can't advise you further. As gilescoley has said. check for trademarks. There's probably none if its a descriptive. But search the main wording with and without the prefixes. Then hopefully people here can advise you on how to move forward
 
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Yeah I forgot to mention that there are no trademarks for this word combination. Thanks a lot guys!
 
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Yeah I forgot to mention that there are no trademarks for this word combination. Thanks a lot guys!
That's a good start. I still wouldn't approach the Company you mentioned straight away. You can lose a domain in a dispute procedure If it is deemed that your registration was purely as an act of profiteering from that company and there were no other mitigating circumstances. It does happen so no point in rubbing the other companies nose up the wrong way in the first place
The next step is to give the domain a value (assuming you have no development plans yourself) Then decide how you want to list the domain. I would probably avoid incorporating ads if it's a sales page. By all means do an Ad page if you just want to include a contact and you think it will bring in good advertising revenue but I wouldn't include A FOR SALE notice with ads, not straight away.
So it's your move.. Good luck with it. Hopefully it will end up in with the Company you identified as the result of a sale.
It's a really just a balancing act. If you are offering it a good-value. Who knows, the company you mentioned might even thank you. Only you know the lay of the land, so work with that.
 
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If there is no trademark I would definitely baldly go ahead and offer the name to this company. You will be waiting forever till they accidentally discover this name is available. Sometimes we simply overthink and lose opportunities. Do not assume that it's easy for the company to fight for a name that is not trademarked. It's a long and expensive process with a very unclear outcome (and I'd say you have more chances of winning, although of course there are many nuances).
I had some lawyers from US sending me the ''Cease and desist'' letter three times (my name was different by one letter comparing to their trademarked name - I didn't offer the name to them through, didn't even know about their existence), which I completely disregarded, and they just peeled off.
The chances that the company might be interested in buying are much higher than that will start going legal after you.
 
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Park it. Discover what traffic it gets. Perhaps same situation but more information.
 
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Park it. Discover what traffic it gets. Perhaps same situation but more information.
Indeed, the more you find out the better. It doesn't read like there is any urgency in moving this ahead and I doubt the referenced company will be in any rush to change all their headings either.
 
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Park it. Discover what traffic it gets.
Hi

i agree.

if there is no traffic, then the company's current website probably doesn't get much traffic either.

that means there is no inherent value you could relate to them, in an email solicitation.

if it does get some visitors and clicks, then you can reassess it, as an asset.

note: "inferior version" is domainer mentality, and not how an end-user may see it.

imo...
 
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Amazing guys, thank you very much!

I think I am going to take a mixed approach. Given that the domain is still locked for more than 50 days I will park it and assess it's traffic during that time. Based on this, I will decide wether or not to send them an email offering my domain at a reasonable price (or maybe ask for an offer?).

Now, I have never parked any of my domains. What's the best place to do this? Should I put a BIN or MO while my domain is parked?

Any further comments about my strategy would be highly appreciated.

Thanks again, you're all geniuses!
 
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note: "inferior version" is domainer mentality, and not how an end-user may see it
They are literally a branding company so I really think the absence of "the" in front makes my domain superior to theirs in their eyes too.

From a branding standpoint which one is better, TheFacebook.com or just Facebook.com?

Thanks again Biggie.
 
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They are literally a branding company so I really think the absence of "the" in front makes my domain superior to theirs in their eyes too.

From a branding standpoint which one is better, TheFacebook.com or just Facebook.com?

Thanks again Biggie.

It really depends on the exact keywords used in the brand/domain. "The" may give an emphasis or slightly alter the meaning and could very well be the better brand.
 
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It really depends on the exact keywords used in the brand/domain. "The" may give an emphasis or slightly alter the meaning and could very well be the better brand.
Can I show you the domain via PM so you tell me what you think? Thank you!
 
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Approaching the company wanting to sell it to them is in itself "bad faith". You bought a similar name and you're trying to profit from doing that. The company could easily 'turn the tables' on you, file a UDRP, and take the domain.
A lot of this depends on what the domain name is, though. But still, I would not contact the company and try to sell it to them.
 
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Approaching the company wanting to sell it to them is in itself "bad faith". You bought a similar name and you're trying to profit from doing that. The company could easily 'turn the tables' on you, file a UDRP, and take the domain.
A lot of this depends on what the domain name is, though. But still, I would not contact the company and try to sell it to them.

His domain is definitely the superior one. Judging by the site, I wouldn't worry about an UDRP, quick flip for a small amount/profit maybe.

Generally speaking you're right though.
 
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Dosquatter sound better than Thesquatter or just squatter.
imo
 
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Ok, so I'm NOT going to approach them so I can get good sleep at night :)

Any advice on parking would be greatly appreciated though.

Thank you guys so much, you are all great!
 
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You said its a branding company who chose to go with the three word rather than pay the previous owner for the name you later bought. What makes you think you will fare any better than the previous owner? I think the branding company has made their mind up.

Put on a lander with low bin and forget about it.
 
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You said its a branding company who chose to go with the three word rather than pay the previous owner for the name you later bought. What makes you think you will fare any better than the previous owner? I think the branding company has made their mind up.

Put on a lander with low bin and forget about it.
I know. I actually like the name a lot and might develop it in the future. It might actually be a good name for a domain portfolio too.

I will keep it on a lander with BIN for now.

Thank you!
 
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JUST LIST IT AT GODADDY AND SEND THEM THE LINK,IT COST 3 GRAND TO START A SUIT ,IF YOU HAND REGGED IT YOU HAVE A SMALL INVESTMENT ,AS FAR AS DATES YOU WOULD HAVE TO GIVE IT TO THEM ,BEING THE REG ENDED ,TECHNICALLY EVEN IN SOME SITUATIONS IF OWNERSHIP CHANGES HANDS THIS FORFITS ALL RIGHTS TO PRE, TRADEMARKS AND THEY CAN TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU. CHECK OUT RECENT DNW PODCAST.
 
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Approaching the company wanting to sell it to them is in itself "bad faith". You bought a similar name and you're trying to profit from doing that. The company could easily 'turn the tables' on you, file a UDRP, and take the domain.
A lot of this depends on what the domain name is, though. But still, I would not contact the company and try to sell it to them.

If that is the case then every outbound email can end up getting the domain in UDRP. Even a message at LinkedIn can be considered the same. Or even pure targeted Adwords Ads (like these used by SquadHelp) can be considered bad faith if the AD is targeting a company with similar name!

I am trying to understand the thin line here between successful outreach and bad faith.
 
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If that is the case then every outbound email can end up getting the domain in UDRP. Even a message at LinkedIn can be considered the same. Or even pure targeted Adwords Ads (like these used by SquadHelp) can be considered bad faith if the AD is targeting a company with similar name!

I am trying to understand the thin line here between successful outreach and bad faith.
You are exactly right all outbound contact is a risk to some degree.

The thin red line is I buy a name in com dropping soley because I see someone is running their business on the org and someone else using the io. In this case you never contact them and you price reasonably.

This is much different than “this a a great two word domain for a bake shop so I will buy.” (That doesn’t exist yet) No one can pin nefarious intent to this kind of buy.

People make their whole domain careers “on the line”. Its riskier by far but chance of success is built in to the purchases as long as pricing is appropriate and reasonable and contact is not sought out.
 
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The thin red line is I buy a name in com dropping soley because I see someone is running their business on the org and someone else using the io. In this case you never contact them and you price reasonably.

Then never buy a domain taken in many extensions and stick to hand reg to be safe? like for example a 3L .com can be a bad investment because it is taken in many extensions. But ask yourself how do brokers do their job and find potential buyers to such domains routinely?

I think there is exaggeration in cautiousness on this topic, if it is obvious TM then the risk is very high, if there is no TM then no need to panic over a contacting a potential buyer or hiring a broker to do so.
 
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