Looking to sell the .com of a current company/site that is operating under a .net domain?
Ran into this question today on one of the forums and thought I would take it up here as a topic to discuss. For our purposes, lets assume you have the name legally without any TM or infringment issues. This seems like a slam dunk to those who are familiar with the power a .com domain has over a .net. It is important however, to look at it from the end users perspective if you want to maximize your results.
The Right Message is Key
The key to end-user sales is that YOU need to help them see the value of the name. As the owner of the thing you are trying to get them to buy, your job is to put that value into terms they can relate to and make sense of. For someone to just say, “I have the .com of your .net”… domainers and those involved in e-commerce would see the value instantly, but to the uninitiated, not always.
Why do They Need the .com?
They have spend time and money to get their company and site operating to where it is, and they were able to do it without the .com. They don’t need your domain to be successful. This is a good thing! This just makes the power of the .com that much stronger. Focus your message around just a few points to illustrate that power and you should have them chomping at the bit to buy your domain. There are plenty of different message points you can use but we have compiled a few to get you on the right track.
Why would having the .com be advantagous to the .net owner?
* .com represents 85% of all the traffic on the internet, making it more familiar to not only internet users, but your customers as well.
*The confusion with .com and .net also relates to email in addition to website traffic. How often do you think people mistakenly type .net verse .com when trying to send a message to XXXX.net?
*How much would one customer lost per year be worth to you and your company? What about 5 customers? 10? 100?
* The .com extension is recognized around the world as the most credible and trustworthy domain extention available. It represents a solid investment for your companies successful future.
* What is one of your competitors got ahold of the .com domain? What might they be able to do with it? What kind of signal would that send? This is always a nice touch to end your arguments. 
With a well crafted introduction and a resonable asking price, you should be on your way to a sale. Good Luck. Any Comments? We would love to hear your stories or feedback. Cheers.
