Corporate Domain Name - Should I Sell? (3)
So I recently had a really bad experience with a local retail company which left me out of pocket and seething! My experience was so bad that as an online marketer it made me want to hit them where it hurt.
I bought a domain which was an abbreviated version of their company name, say they were called 'Microsoft Works', I bought microsoft.com. As their name was quite unique, it was still available.
In a moment of madness, I contacted them and told them I knew a bit about SEO and was going to rank my site above them on Google with all my negative views laid out and ruin their company.
Since I have calmed down and I've had a conversation with the manager, where he apologised and we cleared the air and I agreed to not do what I threatened and have not once acted upon what I said I would.
However, I still own the domain and they have now come back and requested ownership of it.
What I want to know is, do they have a right to this domain or should I ask them for a price?
I've done a lot of reading and none of it has really been conclusive - it's a grey area many seem to think.
This is pretty much the most knowledgable forum I've ever encountered, so I want to know what you guys think I should do? Can I some how gain out of my misfortune here?
As a former local business owner...I appreciate your being understanding. It's tough being a small(ish) local business. The last thing they need is a smart geek on a warpath due to some employee's stupidity 
HOWEVER...when a business screws me over, I expect the manager/owner to provide more than an apology. He should provide reparation and if he is smart, even some sort of freebie to recover me as a happy customer. Seems he failed to do that.
I would therefore say:
"As you know, I was out of pocket for XYZ amount. I'll be happy to sell you the domain back for XYZ amount."
Only fair.
Since you have no unique association with the name and only bought it because of its affiliation with said company, that's not really the best look for you. However, trying to force you to fork over that domain in court would take a good amount of hassle, effort and money that is probably beyond most small local businesses. They might not win anyway.
(I'm not a lawyer..)
I would definitely charge them a premium for it. That's the price of stupidity of not buying it themselves if they wanted it!
Don't just roll over.
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