The warmest buyer for a .com is often a business already using the same name with .co, .io, .net, or a hyphen. They know the name works. They’re losing typed-in traffic and emails to whoever holds the .com. That’s the upgrade play.
- Businesses on other extensions of your name are your first buyer list.
- A short, specific, respectful email beats a mass pitch every time.
- Follow anti-spam rules and never imply a threat or a trademark problem.
Build the buyer list
- Check other extensions. Look up the .net, .co, .io, .ai, and relevant country codes. Note which ones host working businesses.
- Check variations. Hyphenated versions, plurals, and names with prefixes like “get” or “try” are all upgrade candidates.
- Search the phrase. Companies using the name in their business name or product, even without a matching domain, can be buyers.
- Qualify. An active, growing business is a far better prospect than an abandoned site.
Write a short, useful pitch
Keep it to a few sentences: what the name is, why it matters to them, the price or a range, and how to buy.
Hi Sam, I noticed your team runs ExampleName.io. The matching .com, ExampleName.com, is available. It can help you capture visitors and emails that go to .com by habit. It’s listed at $4,800 with a payment plan option on Atom. Happy to answer any questions.
Follow up once
If there’s no reply after a week or two, send one short follow-up. After that, stop. Repeated emails damage your reputation and can cross into spam.
Stay on the right side of the rules
- Follow anti-spam laws such as CAN-SPAM in the US: accurate sender details, an honest subject line, and a way to opt out.
- Email individual businesses, not scraped mass lists.
- Never suggest that the business has a problem, that someone else will buy the name to harm them, or that they’re infringing. Stick to the benefits.
- If the name matches their trademark, don’t pitch it. That can be used as evidence of bad faith. See trademark safety.
Make buying easy
Link to a listing with a clear price, a buy-now button, and a payment plan. Each name on our Farm Team has a dedicated page with exactly that, plus ideas that help buyers picture the name in use.
Where upgrade signals show up on our roster
Names like Veralo.com, registered in 14 other extensions, and OptionsBlog.com, registered in five, are classic upgrade candidates. Read more in the Farm Team report.
Handling replies? Use the negotiation playbook.