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GlossaryBuying and selling

Outbound sales

Outbound sales is the practice of a domain owner contacting likely buyers directly, usually businesses whose name, product or niche matches the domain, rather than waiting for inquiries to arrive through a marketplace listing or lander.

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Also called outbound · outbounding

Outbound sales, explained

Typical targets are companies using a longer or weaker version of the name, such as the business on the .net or .co of your .com, or one using the same words with a prefix; firms whose product the name describes; and funded companies in the keyword's niche. A good message is short: it names the domain, says why it fits that buyer, and gives a price or invites an offer, followed by one or two polite follow-ups. Expect most messages to go unanswered; outbound works best for names with an obvious set of end users, such as a service plus a city.

Outbound carries legal and reputational risk. Never contact a trademark owner about a name built on its mark: under the UDRP, registering a name primarily to sell it to the mark holder is listed evidence of bad faith, and your email can become the exhibit. Skip pressure tactics such as hinting that a competitor is interested, follow commercial email rules such as the US CAN-SPAM Act, and stop when asked. AI tools now speed up prospect research, but judging who is a legitimate buyer is still your job.

Example. The owner of a service-plus-city .com emails three local firms that use longer versions of the name, explains the fit in two sentences and quotes a price in the low four figures.

Go deeper How to Sell a Domain Name: A Seller's Guide

Sources

  1. ICANN — Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, paragraph 4(b)
  2. Federal Trade Commission — CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business

Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.

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