Domain brokering service?

[OVRLD]

Hi All,

I own the UK trademark for an 8 letter word - the company that own the .co.uk are asking for €10k+ for the name on Sedo.

I wondered if there are any professional services that would engage with companies like this in order to get the best price for the domain name.

The TM that I own means that any other potential buyer of the domain would legally find it quite difficult to start an online business/service without infringement.

Further, I wouldn't really be interested in a firm that takes a % cut of the final price as I don't believe that they would necessarily have the client's best interest at heart.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Aaron Clifford]

http://www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/drs/

I'd suggest getting in contact with nominet if its regarding a TM issue using their DRS service, I'm sure there are plenty of people on here that have more brokerage experience with me, so maybe wait for some more replies!

 

[OVRLD]

Cheers for the response Aaron - don't think I have any rights to the domain as such as I registered the trademark after the domain was registered by them.

I'll see if anyone else has any suggestions

 

[Sam]

Hi ,

as i said per PM if you contact http://www.nominet.org.uk/about/contact/

Wizard

Cheers for the response Aaron - don't think I have any rights to the domain as such as I registered the trademark after the domain was registered by them.

I'll see if anyone else has any suggestions

 

[cm1975]

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to work out the 8 letter word and I think you might struggle to get much of a discount on the domain, as they might be the sort of company that will hold out for that amount.

It also looks like they might have owned the domain for over 12 years prior to your trademark being registered, so I think you might waste your money on a DRS.

I really don't think it's worth €10,000, as it's not produce related, so the only value would be in potential branding of the domain. ie I don't think they'd have had too many other offers for the domain.

Good luck!

 

[OVRLD]

Ok thanks - I might just send them an email and see what they say!

 

[cm1975]

Ok thanks - I might just send them an email and see what they say!

The best thing you could do is make them your best offer and make it clear that you will not (or cannot) go a penny higher. They'll probably be expecting some kind of counteroffer. If they still say no, then you know you've tried your best and you'll be able to find a better value domain!

 

[Retired_member41]

Hi All,

I own the UK trademark for an 8 letter word - the company that own the .co.uk are asking for €10k+ for the name on Sedo.

I wondered if there are any professional services that would engage with companies like this in order to get the best price for the domain name.

The TM that I own means that any other potential buyer of the domain would legally find it quite difficult to start an online business/service without infringement.

Further, I wouldn't really be interested in a firm that takes a % cut of the final price as I don't believe that they would necessarily have the client's best interest at heart.

Thanks for any advice.

I think you will find that they wouldn't have any problem starting an online business.

And you should be very careful in the way you are doing this as any domain owner switched on enough could have your trademark taken away.

 

[Bailey]

Given the precariousness of your position regarding this domain. I believe your best bet is indeed to make a polite but formal approach to purchase the domain.

I'm always concerned when somebody paints a situation picture but chooses (initially) to leave-out material facts (ie A 12 year old predating registration) OK to do that in negotiations with the seller but very questionable when asking for independant advice - as you have done here.

However, to move forword, The good news - at least you know the domain is available to be purchased, I agree sending an inquiry email or even letter if you choose is the best start, I would advise leaving out any reference to your TM at this point as the seller is unlikely to view that as relevant in the circumstances. A polite " I would like to use the domain for my business" is always the best opener.

1. it confirms you are a serious purchaser
2. You accept there is commercial value to both yourself and the holder of the domain

Always best from a "buyers point of view" not to mention an opening offer, but establish a rapport. All domainers would like to sell, so just discuss the domain as you would with a salesman selling a product in any other scenario (the £10k asking price is relevant but not material to the negotiations, so don't mention it).

Hopefully your realistic in your own expectations, so once the seller has relayed his asking price, you are hopefully willing to counter at a sufficient offer that will at least gain the sellers attention, Of course expect a second counter offer from the seller, probably somewhere midway between your offer an the original asking price, _ Now, where it ends-up on the scale between your offer and that 'ask' is down to your negotiating skills. Good luck.

 

[foz]

It sounds like the owner of the domain wouldn't need the money, so an attempt to negotiate down would not work. If £10K is the minimum they will want far more.

If the domain is generic and your mark is in one class of trademark that wouldn't stop anyone else using the domain in another.

If you used the DRS service and failed (which sounds highly likely, 12 year prior registration), say good-bye to any reasonable outcome of you purchasing it. Spite and anger will be in play then.

The seller obviously doesn't mind paying Sedo a 10% fee or it wouldn't be listed there.

If you choose to make direct contact put an offer upfront, I don't respond to any inquiries that don't contain an offer. Forget rapport building exercises.

 

[OVRLD]

Thanks all for your advice - some really helpful stuff!

I neglected some of the details purely because I didn't want to have the conversation revolve around the domain name but rather if there are any people that provide this kind of service.

I think I know what my course of action will be now so thanks again.

 

[Bailey]

I neglected some of the details purely because I didn't want to have the conversation revolve around the domain name but rather if there are any people that provide this kind of service.

Fair comment, I guess by all of us going-off in some tangent, gave you the answer - No - Certainly Not one that would be considered useful or effective.

There as you can see a myriad of answers to what constitutes the best approach, Only a fool would believe that there's a one-size-fits-all answer to any sales scenario. If we were all aware of a particular sellers circumstances at any point of time then I guess we would all know where to concentrate our efforts or otherwise.

But in your instance of one particular domain only you can be aware of your particular drive,motivation and financing to own this domain.

And of course It's worth mentioning that Sedo only allow a maximum listing price of £10K before the seller/lister has to pay for a Sedo appraisal ( I'm sure those tied in with Sedo get around that). So indeed the sellers expectations could be Far far higher.

The difficulty with 'one-off/unique' potentially high value sales' (usually marketable domains rather than generics and that the majority do not get involved with) is the amount of ground-work required before even starting out on a negotiation. obviously that would be a waste of effort in the usual round of domainer-to-domainer sales.

let us know how you get on

 

[Domainate]

I agree that the course of action to take is to contact them directly and make an offer. You should never start out with your best offer though. Initial offers are rarely accepted...most sales involve some level of negotiation, so you should consider an initial offer with 1-2 counter offers higher than it for if and when they come back seeking more. If the more they seek happens to be at or below your max offer, great! If not, come back with counter #1 and see what happens (and any time you make your final offer, make sure it's clear that it's your final offer).

 

[OVRLD]

Thanks for the additional advice guys - I'm actually quite excited about entering into some sort of serious dialogue with them now. I will keep you posted.