Why I Bought a Blatant Trademark Domain Name

Over the weekend while reviewing a Dropping.pro list of domain names coming up for auction that day, I saw a domain name that stood out to me. It’s the unique name of a popular beer in the .com extension. The domain name had been registered for many years before expiring and dropping. I am pretty certain the beer name is a trademark of the brewery.

I backordered the domain name and prevailed. I am now the registrant of this trademark domain name.

You’re probably asking yourself why I bought the domain name and what I am going to do with the domain name. I will share a story and explain.

Several years ago before my brother got married, he had a bachelor party near the brewery that makes this well-known beer. I planned the bachelor party and wanted to incorporate the brewery into the weekend somehow. Unfortunately, I learned, the brewery doesn’t offer tours. I reached out to the owner to see if I could arrange something small for my brother and his friends. Nope. I later asked if I could invite him as a special guest to a dinner at the best restaurant in the area. Nope. Finally, I asked if I could host him for an hour at the house I rented for him to talk about his beer in exchange for a donation to a non-profit organization of his choice. Another swing and a miss.

After my final request, he mentioned that if we swing by the brewery shortly after closing for the day, he would give my brother and friends a short private tour. My brother and some of his friends are really into beer, and he treated us like longtime friends of the family. He answered a bunch of questions about his brewery and beers, and he talked shop with the guys who were super knowledgable about beer. It was neat to watch these guys talk about beer in a place that was one of the top destinations for beer lovers.

That brings us to the present day. I saw the domain name and knew I was going to do what I could to secure it. I didn’t know if the brewery and its owner would want the domain name but I figured I would do my best to grab it and offer it to him for free. He went out of his way that day to treat us like friends of the family, and I wanted to do the same for him.

After securing the domain name, I reached out via email to let him know that this domain name dropped and I got it for him – no strings attached. I told him I could send him the transfer code when I am able and will forward the domain name to his website in the meantime. I also told him if he wasn’t interested in having it, that would be no biggie either and I would let it drop upon expiration. I wouldn’t want to give him an unnecessary “gift” that costs him $20/year to renew.

He wrote back to me the next day and was very appreciative. He has not been tracking the domain name and would like to have it. He offered me some beer as a thank you, which I thought was super nice. I declined his offer because I bought the domain name as a sign of appreciation for how he treated us a few years ago, and I felt like accepting his offer would negate what I said about it being no strings attached.