How to Save Time and Money Buying Domain Names
by Lee Hodgson
http://www.webmasteroutpost.com/articles/buying_domain_names.html
It's an all too familiar story. You're about to launch your new website, and
finally get round to registering your chosen domain name. But horror of horrors,
someone got there first, the name is already registered! Don't panic, this guide
will help you get that name you really want, at the right time, and the right
price...
Step #1 - Find Out If The Name Is For Sale
There are no reliable statistics available, but it's likely that the majority of domain names are currently registered by resellers rather than site owners. Therefore you have a great chance of buying the name you really want, even if it has already been registered.
The obvious way to find out if the name is for sale is to email the owner. You could either get the email address by visiting the website, or by looking up the owner information in the WHOIS database. But before you even consider contacting the owner, read the following very carefully. It could save you a lot of money.
What's the key word when buying domains? Anonymity!
Domain names are an abstract intellectual property, they have no fixed price. The sale price is arrived at purely as a result of negotiations between the seller and buyer. As in all negotiations, the winner is the likely to be the party with the most meaningful information about the other side.
Do you really think a canny seller expects to get the same price from a fellow reseller as from a large corporation? Of course not. It's not untypical for a reseller to ask five to ten times the amount from a corporation, as compared with a fellow reseller.
So do everything you can to remain complete anonymous until the deal is done:
In general, say as little as possible. It's incredibly easy these days to find out information about a person on the Internet, so don't give the buyer anything to go on.
OK, now we've got the anonymity thing over with, let's get back to the plot. You need to find out if the web site is for sale. To start with, attempt to visit the website in question. There are several possible outcomes here:
(1) You find a working website up, with a real home page. If this is the case, chances are the name isn't for sale. But just to be sure, locate an email address on the site, or if you can't find one, guess at info@sitename.com and send a polite email asking if the name is for sale. The more 'amateur' the site, the better the chances that the name is for sale.
(2) You get a 'Site for Sale' web page back. Some resellers put up a custom 'For Sale' message on the homepage, often accompanied by a form allowing you to make an offer on the name. Don't make an offer at this stage, just note that the name is available.
(3) You get a web page from Afternic.com, a domain name auction site, telling you to join in order to bid on the name. Good news, the name is definitely for sale.
(4) You get a web page from GreatDomains.com, a domain name brokerage site, telling you that the name is for sale, together with a form asking you to put an offer in on the name. Again, good news.
(5) You get a 'default' web page from the registrar where the name was registered. Many registrars, Network Solutions excluded, automatically put up a web page for every site that is registered, saying something like 'The future website of SiteName.com'. If you come across such a web page, you are really none the wiser as to whether the name is for sale or not, so you'll need to email the site owner instead. Please skip to the 'Contacting The Owner' section just below.
(6) You get an error message from your browser, such as 'The page cannot be displayed' or 'Cannot find server or DNS Error'. In this case, you'll definitely need to contact the owner using WHOIS database...
Contacting The Owner Using The WHOIS Database
The WHOIS database is the central database for all the COM, .NET, and .ORG domain names that have been registered. Here you will find information about the current owner, as well as email addresses for the admin contact, the technical contact, and the billing contact.
I personally use a site called DomainIt.com to query the WHOIS database, but there are thousands of other domain-name related sites with the same functionality. On DomainIt.com, you just have to type the domain name in the search box, and you automatically get the registration information back.
What you get back varies according to who the name was registered with.
For instance, names registered with Network Solutions (the majority) will not show an email address for the owner! In that case, you should use the admin contact email address instead. If that proves invalid, email the technical contact instead.
Many resellers use their WHOIS entry to make it perfectly clear that the domain name is for sale. For example, they may list the site owner as 'This domain is for sale' or similar. In this case, there is no need to send an email, the name is definitely for sale. You can skip to step #2.
When you send the email, keep it short and simple, remembering to use a generic email address, and don't give out your name or other contact details. Just say something like 'I am interested in purchasing the name SiteName.com. Please tell me if it is for sale, and if so, how much you are asking for it.'
If you get a negative reply, you will have to accept that this name isn't available. Otherwise, you're in business...
Step #2 - Set Yourself a Budget, and Stick To It!
Now that you have established the name is for sale, it's time to set yourself a purchase budget. Any given name is worth a different amount to each business that has a use for it. It's up to you to decide how much the name is worth to your business. This could be in terms of extra traffic, extra sales, prestige, or any other criteria.
You might try going to a professional domain appraisal service in order to get an independent valuation, but this should just be considered a ball-park figure. You certainly shouldn't feel compelled to come up with a budget that matches the valuation.
Once you have established your budget, it is very important to stick to it. Better to lose the name than to get carried away and pay way over the odds. There are always other names available.
Step #3 - Decide Where To Make An Offer, and Go For It!
There are many possibilities here, especially since some names will only available by contacting the owner directly, others will just be listed at Afternic, others will just be listed at GreatDomains, others will just accept offers via a form on their home page. Still others will be available for purchase through a number of sites. There are pros and cons to each purchase method:
Private Sale
Pros:
1) Likely to take much less time than other methods. 2) There's no middleman to
take a commission.
Cons:
1) Less easy to remain anonymous than other methods. 2) You will have to arrange
the transaction yourself - payment, escrow, domain transfer, registrar transfer.
Tips:
1) Experienced resellers will rarely open the negotiations by naming a price.
They will expect you to do that. If you can get the seller to name a price,
chances are that you're dealing with a hobbyist rather than a professional
reseller. 2) Use an escrow service when the deal is complete. It's much less
risky than paying the seller directly.
Negotiated Sale via GreatDomains.com
Pros:
1) Easy to remain completely anonymous. 2) No commission for buyers.
3) GreatDomains lead you through the whole process.
Cons:
1) You have to make the initial offer.
2) The process can take many weeks.
Tips:
1) Make a low initial offer. The seller will make a counter-offer. This sets the
boundaries of the negotiations. 2) If the initial counter offer is way out of
your price range, submit a new offer, just above your first offer. If the seller
sticks with his high price, chances are that the name is priced too highly for
your budget. If the seller drops his price considerably, you should be able to
complete the deal.
Auction on Afternic.com
Pros:
1) Transparent auction process.
2) Afternic lead you through the whole process.
Cons:
1) You have to be a member of Afternic to bid on a name, which requires you own
a valid credit card. More problematical, the seller can see the date on which
joined Afternic. Any experienced reseller will know that if you have just joined
the community, then you are a site developer looking to bid on a single name.
This is important information you are giving away. 2) The buyer pays a
commission.
3) As with all auctions, you can never be sure that other parties bidding on the
name are genuinely interested in purchasing it.
4) The process can take many weeks.
Tips:
1) Make an initial bid as quickly as possible. This will set the auction count
down 'clock' going.
2) Even if a counter-bid comes in quickly, don't rush to place a new bid. You'll
just get caught up in a bidding war. Wait until there is only a few hours left
on the auction before placing another bid.
If you make a successful purchase, you may end up with a name that has been registered with a registrar other than Network Solutions. If you're not comfortable dealing with other registrars, you can transfer the domain back to Network Solutions once the deal is complete. This will cost you an additional $70.
Finally, remember the three most important things when purchasing a domain name are:
Good luck!
Lee Hodgson is a domain name consultant at http://DomainGuideBook.com/,
dedicated to helping businesses choose the best domain names for their websites.
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Article courtesy of AskTheRabbit.com
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