Questions about buying and selling domains

Buying

Why is a registered domain not for sale at the registration price

Because it already belongs to someone. The registration price applies to names nobody has taken. A registered name changes hands at whatever its holder will accept, which reflects the term itself and the population of buyers who want it.

How is the owner of a domain found

Registration records show far less than they once did, since most holder details are withheld under data protection rules. The practical routes are the sales page the domain resolves to, a marketplace listing, or a message through the contact form of any site running on the name.

Is it worth making a low first offer

A low offer establishes contact and costs nothing, but it also sets the frame. Sellers read the opening number as a signal of the buyer's ceiling. An offer far below any plausible level often produces no reply at all.

Should a buyer stay anonymous

Anonymity protects against a price set by reference to the buyer's identity, which is real: a funded company is quoted differently from an individual. The cost is credibility, because sellers move faster for a buyer who explains the use. Withholding the company name while stating the purpose is the usual compromise.

Is a shorter name always better

Shorter names are more liquid, not automatically more valuable. A long exact commercial term with real buyers outperforms a short string nobody searches for.

Does the extension matter more than the term

For liquidity, yes. For price on a specific name, the term and the identity of the buyer usually matter more. A weak term in a strong extension is still a weak term.

Selling

How is an asking price set

By reference to sales of similar names, matched on term type, extension, date and buyer population, then adjusted for the specific name. Sources for those comparisons and their biases are covered in where public sale records come from.

Is it better to publish a price or take offers

A published price converts decided buyers quickly and caps the outcome. Offers keep the ceiling open and lose the buyers who will not start a conversation. Names with many possible buyers suit a published price, names dependent on one buyer suit offers.

Why do most domains never sell

Because no population of buyers exists for them. Most registrations are terms nobody is searching for, in extensions with shallow demand. Turnover across a portfolio is low even when the names are well chosen.

How long does a sale usually take

Anything from a single exchange to years. Inbound deals often close within weeks once a serious buyer appears. Outbound campaigns run on the buyer's timetable, which is normally a rebrand, a launch or a funding event.

Do appraisals convince buyers

Rarely. End users treat automated valuations as marketing, and investors know how the models are built. Evidence of comparable transactions carries more weight than any generated figure.

Is a broker necessary

Only where the buyer is a large company, the amounts justify a success fee, or the seller wants distance from the negotiation. For most names the cost of representation outweighs the improvement in outcome.

Transfers, risk and expiry

What is an authorisation code

A secret string issued by the current registrar that authorises moving a domain to another registrar. Several country code registries use a different mechanism instead, listed in the extension table.

Why is escrow used rather than a bank transfer

Because one side has to move first. Escrow holds the money with a neutral party until the domain has arrived in the buyer's account, which removes the risk from both directions.

How long does a transfer take

An account push at the same registrar is often immediate. A transfer between registrars takes days and can be delayed by lock periods after a recent registration, transfer or change of holder.

Can a domain be taken away after purchase

Yes, through a dispute procedure where the name conflicts with a trademark. Screening before buying, described in screening a domain against registered trademarks, is what prevents this.

What happens when a registration expires

The name enters a grace period during which the holder can still renew, then a redemption stage where restoration costs more, then deletion. Many names are auctioned by the registrar before deletion rather than dropping freely.

Does a domain include the website and the trademark

Neither, unless the written terms say so. A domain sale transfers the registration. Content, email, social accounts and any rights in the term are separate and must be named in the agreement.