Website flip approach

9 replies
HI guys I have bought a few domains which a company shall want to purchase. They have a gathering/seminar/conference each year and they change their site every year i.e. www.xxxxxxx2010.com or whatever. I have bought their 2011-13.com sites and their 2010 site is a PR4. What do you think about me approaching them to sell them? My site I am launching soon is within their industry so I am also keen to get freen advertising on the sites I sell to them if possible to get that into the deal.

Does anyone have any ideas about the best way to approach them?
And should I do it now when I could do with the cash and the free adertising if it works out or wait until end 2010 when their 2010 event has finished? And would they have any intellectual property rights to the domains?

Thanks
#approach #flip #website
  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    IA very definitely NAL - but - I would think you would be on dodgy ground there.

    You have bought the sites knowingly, with the sold intention of extracting money from a company that has set a precedent.

    Having said that, it's a bit daft of them not to have pre-bought the domains. Maybe they didn't think anyone would want to, in effect, blackmail them!

    I'm sure those with better knowledge than me will give you a more informed opinion.
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    • Profile picture of the author JEL0221
      Originally Posted by rosetrees View Post

      IA very definitely NAL - but - I would think you would be on dodgy ground there.

      You have bought the sites knowingly, with the sold intention of extracting money from a company that has set a precedent.

      Having said that, it's a bit daft of them not to have pre-bought the domains. Maybe they didn't think anyone would want to, in effect, blackmail them!

      I'm sure those with better knowledge than me will give you a more informed opinion.
      I don't think this would be too dodgy and is an interesting way to generate some income, but this is just my own opinion.

      Many people often compare website flipping to real estate...buying some property, improving its value, and then selling it off.

      Another form of real estate investing is speculation. I know many people who have made a killing with this in the Chicago area. People will find large plots of land(usually farm land somewhat close to suburban areas), buy them, and then sit on them without doing anything at all to the property.

      In time, when a city/suburban area is in a time of expansion and some developers want to build on that land, you sell it for a lot more than you bought it because of demand.

      To me it seems fairly similar. He found a company's weakness(not pre-purchasing future domains) and purchased them himself.

      Now, as for my opinion for the OP's question, I am in no way an IM expert of any sorts, but being involved with offline real estate I would suggest you sit on the domain until your contacted.

      When you contact them, you show you want to sell this domain to make money. When they contact you, they you they want to buy this domain, with that state of mind they will be willing to pay higher prices for it.
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      • Profile picture of the author mmurtha
        Originally Posted by JEL0221 View Post

        I don't think this would be too dodgy and is an interesting way to generate some income, but this is just my own opinion.

        Many people often compare website flipping to real estate...buying some property, improving its value, and then selling it off.
        It may be considered as such by many, including the company if they have a specified TradeMark within the domains.

        In fact, if they do, they don't have to pay you squat. They can keep you from doing anything with that domain too.

        There is a difference between domain flipping and site flipping - they aren't always one in the same.


        webber1,

        Everything really boils down to trademarks these days when it comes to selling domains of this nature, and how much of a bear companies want to be about their trademark.

        As for me, yeah, you can approach them about it if you want to, but it's been my experience that if you hang onto those domains, and let that company approach you, you will probably be invited to sell to them. I've also found that most companies will pay a much higher price for them too.
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        • Profile picture of the author cellcom
          Right - what you are doing is not "flipping". It all depends on the company involved - but most companies with a strong brand name will sic their legal team on you.

          Harrah's and the WSOP is one such company that defends their trademark with a vengeance - and trust me, they have enough money and lawyers that they always win.

          I also know of a case where someone did what you have done and actually were earning income on that site - the company sued them (successfully) for all of that income earned during that time as well as the damages to the company itself for infringement on their brand name.

          If you do a google search on "domain name rights" you will find a ton of information on the subject.

          Be careful
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  • Profile picture of the author webber1
    I thought that this was how people made some money flipping the sites? Maybe it might be best to just wait until they contacted me?
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    • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
      That's cybersquatting, not website flipping.

      Website flipping usually involves making a site, building it up so that it starts to generate an income and then selling it through an auction site, or in the websites for sale section here.

      Some people design and sell start-up sites - leaving it to the purchaser to generate an income.

      Some people buy newly set up sites, build them up and then sell them again.

      Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author steve m
    They will end up being granted the domains I would of thought, skating on thin ice seems to pop into my mind. Good luck either way but my guess is that if they want them, they'll have you bent over a barrel with court judgments. As you state they are also a big company.

    My friend bought the domian name saverspecs.com and ask if specsavers wanted to buy it. He got issued a nasty letter back and ended up giving them the domian for free as they were threatining legal action.

    Or so he has told me anyway lol.

    Steve M
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  • Profile picture of the author mmurtha
    Cellcom,

    Yeah, I agree with you about everything.

    I had a friend who bought a domain that was trademarked, and he made money from the site for over a year. The company found out, made them take the site down, and sued the pants off of him. That company's lawyers didn't just sue for the amount he made and the use of the trademark, they also requested the judge take interest into consideration - and they got that too. He ended up having to pay them over 400K. Now that's a good bit of money for the use of a trademarked domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author webber1
    darn, not good then done this for a small company and a large company who have a conference every year and they have 15000 members in their main homepage. Think il just sit on them and then get rid of them for whatever I can!!!
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