Domain For Sale
Jul 21, 2004

Sometimes people reach a place in which they are not using one or more domain names that they have registered. In this situation, it may be worth considering reselling these domain names in the aftermarket. Here's some more information about approaches and considerations.

Why Sell?

Aftermarket domains are those that have already been registered, and they can be valuable commodities, worth at least as much as the original fee for registration. Depending on other factors, the value may even be quite a bit larger. The property that no longer has value for you may turn out to have been a worthwhile investment.

Prior to Sale

But how do you know what your domain name's value actually may be. To gain a more accurate assessment—and perhaps even to raise the selling price—a professional appraisal is an intelligent choice. An appraiser provides an assessment of your domain name's potential, and the simple fact of having an appraisal, rather than just setting a price yourself, bespeaks honesty and fair practice to your customers.

An appraiser takes a number of factors into account when appraising your domain name—how many or how few depends on the fee: the more factors the more you pay. Items included are:

• a monetary value
• a separate appraisal for each factor
• in the case of multiple domain names, a separate appraisal of their value as a group

When engaging in the appraisal process, it is important to remember that an appraisal is no more than a professional opinion. That is, you may hire an expert with an honest reputation, but what you receive will still be that honest expert's speculation, which is neither a fact nor a promise of this article has all rights reserved and is copyright by 100 Best what will happen when you go to market. To read more about  how to do a pre-appraisal test for yourself, see the article Domain Appraisal Pre-Test.

Domain Name Sale How-To

Let's suppose that you've had a domain name appraisal performed, and you've decided that you want to pursue a sale. What's next? First item on the agenda is to check the existing domain name registration for accuracy. Use the WHOIS lookup at the WhoIs site (http://www.whois.net  —note that it's .net, not .com) to check the registration record. Make any necessary updates or corrections before doing anything else.

You may already know someone who's interested in the domain name, in which case it's time to begin negotiations. If that's not your situation, now is the time to choose your marketing approach. Here are some of the most useful options:

• You can place a sign saying "Domain for Sale" on one or more of your websites, including the contact information that you would like a potential customer to use.

• You can take advantage of the service that allows you to list a domain name sale at the domain name's own URL. GoDaddy, for example, offers this service as one of its "Free Extras" (https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/registrar/search.asp?ci=8969

• You can list the domain name for sale with a specialist third party like AfterNIC
(http://www.afternic.com/sell.php), where—for a small percentage determined by the sale price, a listing for your domain can be made with a professional broker. Included in this package are the details of the property transfer and responsibility for the monetary transaction.

• You can use a domain name auction website and auction your domain name rather than offer it for a stated price.

Why List Your Domain?

A domain broker may not only obtain a better price for your domain than you could yourself, but also included in the usually small fee is the security of knowing that the money transfer will be professionally handled by a escrow service that partners with the broker. Brokers can increase the exposure of your domain name in the market. Of course, if the buyer is a well-known and trusted associate or friend, you may not need to go down this road. But in all other cases, it's a good plan. Brokers can also provide site appraisal if this is not a step you have already taken, or if you'd like to purchase all of these services from the same individual or group. 

Using an Escrow Service

Suppose you're in a situation in which you don't wish to list your domain name with a broker, but you're conducting a private transaction in which you don't know the buyer. How can you make sure the transfer is done properly? In this case, you can contract for escrow service alone, paying a fee that's set for private transactions. This is, for example, a service that AferNIC offers for self-arranged domain name sales (https://www.afternic.com/nescrowBegin.php). When you have contracted with a domain broker, you may notice that independent escrow services are cheaper, but you will probably find the in-house service more reliable.