domain name issue, to sell or not....
 

A few years ago I happened to register a .com url that is an old nickname I've used. Recently I discovered that the same domain name, but .net, is the name of a mainstream punk band that is on the up and up. I have approached the band manager and spoke to him on the phone yesterday with an offer to sell it to them, and so far his response is that the band really "does not have the money" right now.

However, in the same conversation this manager tells me that the band *just* got accepted and is about to be played on MTV2, is in the process of negotiating a record deal with major labels, and is "about to become a household name." From looking at their .net site and from what I can conclude per my conversation with the band manager, they seem very marketable and have a good image and are in a great position to gain some success. I also concluded from my conversation with him that my .com site is getting 2-3 times the number of hits than their .net site. It has only been erected with a counter for less than a week, and seems to be getting higher numbers daily.

My dilemma now is that I really want to get a decent chunk of change for this domain name, ASAP, and turn the profit into something else. I have invested time and money in the past towards the planning and development of this site PRIOR to even being aware that such a band existed under the same name. I am not going to mention the name here, but it is a rather common couple of words, and I do not think they can really give me any hassles if I were to go ahead with my original plans for this site. My plans for this domain name are NOT conflicting with the band itself, I have never and still do not have any plans to SQUAT or capitalize off this band's name to make my original business plan successful. In general, its a good mainstream domain name.


I do not care to play negotiating games with some struggling band if they cannot give me what it is worth. I am considering selling it if I can get a fair amount for it, yet I am also thinking about moving ahead with my original plans for this domain. Unsure of just what to do.

I am posting this here because I know there are a lot of serious business people here, definitely more knowledgeable and aggressive at this type of business venture than myself, who may either have good advice to give me, or perhaps interested in turning around some K.

If anyone has any advice it is greatly appreciated. I can also be contacted by email at [email protected] if anyone is SERIOUS and would be interested in buying this domain from me if the band themselves do not pull through. As I said, in probably 6 months from now this url will be pulling in lots and lots of type in traffic and is going to seriously increase in value. I need the capital, and if anyone wants to make a quick turn-around of some money then drop me an email and I will give you more info :)

To my knowledge this band does not own the trademark of their name, but has put out 6 cds, and sold "hundreds of thousands" of albums. They JUST released a new album and are even on the WARP TOUR bill for this summer. hehe and I own their dot com. Fun.

Thanks in advance for any help in this matter!

blah

fuck it
let them borrow the money.

give the kids a break, just give it to them, they have dreams of playing music for the masses, help them with their dream!

fuck them
they put out 6 cd's
are on the warp tour

they can afford it

Uh well from what I can tell, their "dreams" right now make more money than I do lol.... sooo as much as I want to help their punk rock cause, I also need to get what it is worth to even consider selling it, in general.

He's playing your bluff ;)

I'll give you 15 bucks for it. ;)

i'll raise that to $20

Sell it now or end up getting sued when this band gets on their powertrip... Trust me I know... I was sued 3 years ago for a similar issue

sell it, being nice doesnt pay the bills

They've sold hundreds of thousands of CD's, are ready to get signed to a major label, have something going with MTV2, are on the WARP tour, and can't afford to pay you a fair price for the domain?

Pffff. Doubtful. Someone's yanking your chain trying to play the sympathy card.

Give it to them before their record company sues the shit out of you... cybersquatter.

it's not cyberquatting if you owned the domain BEFORE the freaking band even existed lol

:) http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/ent...000/855523.stm

:( http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/ent...000/976047.stm

hmm damn !

I guess I was wrong then. Better get rid of the domain until they sue you.

or start some serious business on the domain and they won't be able to take it from you ... i'd assume.

wait until they'll be more known and have some money, and then sell it

Oh one more thing... the band openly admits to getting their name from a line in a movie.... the name itself is not anything spectacular and I even doubt they can trademark it. I can prove beyond any doubt that I am NOT cybersquatting.

Anyhow at this point I am just waiting on a counter offer, but thanks to all for the advice.

Keep the name and make money with the type in traffic. I have 5 .com's which get traffic because other people have registered .net and it' like a nice lazy man's traffic pump. Pure luck, I never cyberquatted nor did I think anyone would register the .net variations.

I have also been threatened by 3 separate idiots, one large European corporation and all 3 back down after our lawyer stepped up. Domain names don't always get taken away that easily espcially if you are sincerely not sybersquatting and there is any grey area. The funny thing is I would have sold the names each time but the initial contact from them was aggressive threats so fuck it, that put me off.If I was you I would just get something up on the domain so that it shows you are using it.

Stand your ground and if the band really wants the name they will come back with a better offer. Maybe you could also offer them a link to their site from your index for a monthly fee but I would be careful about contacting them too much about this hence it will look like you are cybersquatting.

Good luck and njoy the traffic!

Punk Rock bands generally don't make it. There's only room for one in mainstream at any given time it seems. Green Day, Offspring, Blink 182, and now Sum 41. So if they do overthrow Sum 41, they'd be pretty big.

I'd personally just give it to them in return for backstage passes to every show they ever are a part of in your area. You may not like them, but that could be cool if they played with other bands you do like.

Judging from my conversations with CherryLula, one of the bands you name is assisting in *this* bands promotions and *producing their albums. :winkwink:

is it eskimo joe?

hehehe...

LMAO which one of these bands are Punk Rock?....

Ohh you mean Pop Rock......The above bands are Pop and not Punk!

No shit Prowler... I only use the word "punk" to define this band because of the mainstream assholes who have slaughtered that term. They sure as fuck do NOT know what real "punk" is about, that is for sure. Needless to say I'm keeping it on a business level with them. ::::vomits:::::

:)

Can u ahhhh just tell us who the band is. Im damn curious :p

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