I have been looking into buying a domain name, and I opened a discussion with the owner via the current Whois email address. One thing I noticed is that a year or two ago, the email address changed while the other Whois information remained the same. On very rare occasions, this can be indicative of a domain theft where a thief controls the new email address unbeknownst to the real owner.

One way that I like to do due diligence is to send an email to the old email address found via DomainTools Historical Whois search. Typically, I will send a short email to the old email address confirming that the current email address is accurate and that the rightful domain owner is aware of the email discussion.

If I don’t receive a reply confirming this, I would

I have bought and sold quite a few domain names to larger companies with multiple levels of decision makers. In these dealings, I have negotiated with a variety of individuals at different positions within the companies. One thing that should be discussed is whether the other party has the authority to negotiate terms and agree to a deal.

I have discussed deals with everyone from marketing managers to lawyers to executives. Generally speaking, I assume that the other party is authorized to discuss a deal because they either contacted me to discuss a domain name or they were the point of contact for me. As a negotiation gets going a bit, you should think about asking the other party if they have the authority to do a deal with you.

The primary reason for learning this information is that you don’t want to reach a deal with the other party only to learn that someone else has the power to cancel the deal. It can be a major time waste if you negotiate a price and terms only to learn that there are other people that need to get involved before the deal can be finalized. It is pretty

“I am interested in buying your domain name but have a small budget”

One of my big pet peeves when dealing with a prospective buyer is when they open an inquiry by telling me they have a small budget. I understand that they are at least trying to set my expectations at a low level, but I find this quite annoying and sometimes won’t even reply when this is one of the first things mentioned.

I have read various articles advising domain buyers to tell domain owners that they are students, working for a non-profit, looking to start a small business…etc. in an effort to get a better price. When I receive an inquiry with that type of language, I almost immediately write it off.

I understand that