My daughter was watching a movie on our flight home, and I used this time to think of some potential domain name acquisition opportunities. I spent a few minutes doing Whois searches for keyword domain names, and I found a great kids product domain name that was parked and listed for sale for under $1,000. I took the next step to buy it (clicking the DomainTools “for sale” link) when I noticed a giant “XXX” in the header of the parked page. Thanks, but I will pass.

Although many domain investors don’t really care all that much how a domain name was used in the past, I think it is important that we research the various iterations of how the domain name was used by its former owners. The domain name I found yesterday was one I would have bought in order to re-sell, and I would not want to have to explain why it had adult links at one time, assuming a prospective buyer sees that it was once laden with adult links.

In the future, when a

While I am doing research to find good domain names to buy, I occasionally come across a domain name that had been previously listed for sale at a live domain name auction. Sometimes the name sold and sometimes the domain name didn’t meet reserve. Domain names that were once listed at auction may be great acquisition targets.

If you’ve ever listed a domain name for sale at a live auction, especially if it was a few years ago, you know how exciting it can be to hear your name come up for bid. If the domain name didn’t sell, it’s a bit of a letdown, but the silent auction may have produced a buyer. It seems that the majority of names don’t sell, but that can present an opportunity for a domain buyer.

When I come across a domain name that didn’t sell, I occasionally contact a

I want to share a tip about performing due diligence when buying a domain name. This tip deals with tracking the Whois email address to try and verify ownership.

Let’s say you want to buy BrandManagement.com from me, and you use DomainTools to do a Whois history search for part of your due diligence steps. Let’s hypothetically say that I use domains@topnotchdomains.com as the Whois email address for my domain names (I don’t). Your historical search shows that the registrant appears to be the same for the last 3 years. All looks good to you on that front, and some people may believe this is sufficient to confirm ownership and proceed.

In my opinion, in addition to a historical

I have never advertised domain brokerage services, and I have no interest in becoming a domain broker. That hasn’t stopped people and companies from asking me to broker domain names on both the buy and sell side. I recommend that if you are not in the brokerage business, you shouldn’t agree to acquire a domain name on behalf of someone else (or sell one for that matter).

A while back, a personal acquaintance that isn’t in this business asked me about a domain name that was related to his business. I did a cursory check and saw that it was not a developed website. He asked that I pursue the domain name for him, and I agreed to help him out at no cost because I am not a broker and I figured it would be straightforward enough. After an email exchange, I was able to get the owner to sell it for an agreeable price. Unfortunately, the buyer decided against making the purchase, and that left me in an unfortunate position.

As someone who buys domain names as part of my business, I am often asked