Buying Domains

There are two ways by which a domain name can be acquired.

Registering Domain Names

If your desired domain name is not yet registered/taken, you can register it at a domain registrar, such as www.widest.com. Domain registration is the cheapest way of obtaining a domain name, as you simply pay a registration fee, which can be as low as $10. 

Buying Existing/Aftermarket Domain Names

However, most of the top quality and brandable domain names are already registered. Finding any decent domain names to register is like finding a needle in a haystack.

However there is good news. Nowadays it is absolutely easy to buy an aftermarket domain name. These are domain names that are already registered and pre-owned. Normally the owner has not yet developed a website for the domain, and would be happy to sell it.

These pre-owned domains will however attract premium prices, depending on their quality. There are a number of ways to value a domain name. The value of a domain name will be ascertained by a number of factors, including its length, keywords, relevant industry, and TLD (e.g. .COM, .NET, etc).

Regardless of whatever method that is used to value a domain name, a premium domain is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it. However the seller would never sell a domain for less that what the domain is worth to them. So really, a domain name is worth what the buyer and seller can agree on to make a deal.

How Do You Buy a Pre-owned Premium Domain Name?

Before you can buy a pre-owned domain name, you will need to find out who the owner is. You can obtain details about the owner of a domain name by checking the Who-is information about the domain. To do this, simply visit a reputable domain registrar such as Widest.com and look for a “Whois” link.

Not all domain owners would be willing to sell their domains. These domain owners may understand the real value of their virtual real estate and may decide to keep them for future development or until domains appreciate in value.

Domain names that are listed on aftermarket sales websites such as eBusinessDomains.com are generally for sale. These websites will give specific instructions regarding how you can either buy or make an offer for the domain name.

The easiest way to see if a domain name is for sale is to type the domain name into your browser window and check the landing page. If the owner wishes to sell the domain name, there will normally be a message on the landing page that indicates that the domain name is for sale. Normally there would be a link by which you could contact the seller directly, either by email or by completing an online form with your details.

If a price is listed with the domain, then normally that is the Buy-it-now price, and is often not negotiable. If there is no price, then the buyer and seller will have to negotiate until they can agree on a price to make a deal. 


How is Ownership of the Domain Name transferred?

A domain name that is already registered and pre-owned can be transferred to another owner in either of two ways: internally and externally.

Internal transfers are transfers that take place between two accounts within the same registrar and external transfers take the domain out of the current registrar altogether and move it to another registrar. Internal transfers are usually much quicker; as the domain is staying at the same registrar. The domain name is simply transferred from one account to another.

Account transfer works on a push method, where the seller/current owner initiate the transfer from the current account to the receiving account and, depending on the registrar, some pushes will need to be accepted by the receiving account.

Another type of internal account change works on the pull method which is the opposite of a push, where the buyer/gaining account requests the domain be transferred to it. Again, the losing account will probably have to authorize the transfer.

With external transfers, the domain name is transferred to another registrar. This method can be extremely complicated as not all registrars have easy interfaces to work with.

Normally a transfer is initiated at the receiving registrar, where the buyer/new owner pays for a domain transfer service (in a similar way as they would do for a domain registration). Once payment has been processed, the registrar will send a set of instructions to the person requesting the transfer. These are normally easy to follow, depending on the registrar.

The person selling the domain name or surrendering the domain name will also get a few emails with instructions to follow. Normally, these will be a few security-related processes to verify ownership and for the acknowledgement and authorisation of the transfer.

Once both parties have followed all the instructions, there will be an automatic process that will be conducted by the 2 registrars, which could take up to 7 days to complete. The receiving registrar will often notify the buyer/recipient when the transfer is complete. The buyer/recipient will now have full control and be responsible for renewing the annual subscription at the new registrar. They will also be able to modify the domain ownership/contact details account and hosting/DNS settings.

I would highly recommend Widest.com to be used for domain transfers. Widest.com is a domain registrar with a very powerful, but easy to use interface. Their security features are of the highest quality. There is also a 24/7 customer service support line, just in case you get stuck.

It should be noted that some TLDs will require extra processes. For example, if you are buying/transferring ownership of a .CO.UK domain name, a form will need to be filled out by both the current owner and the new owner and then sent into the .CO.UK registry for processing.

There are also some TLD#s that require residence in order for someone to own them, these are primarily country codes TLDs (ccTLDs). An example of this would be .DE for Germany or .EU for European Union.

If you are buying a premium domain name from a reseller site such as eBusinessDomains.com, the domain transfer process will be quite simple as their specialists would be able to walk you through the processes in a step-by-step fashion.

About the Author

Kevin Jackson is the founder of eBusinessDomains.com and Exdon,com. You can sign up for his domain newsletter at eBusinessDomains.com and view his premium domains blog at eBusinessDomainsBlog.com.

This article may be reprinted providing it is published in it's entirety, including the author's bio and link to eBusinessDomains.com.