Where Do You Buy Domain Names?

Elliot Silver
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13

I was looking over my recent domain name purchases today, and I noticed that most of my domain buys in the last six months have either been private acquisitions or auction purchases, the majority of which were from NameJet. I was curious about where you buy domain names.

I set up a short poll below to ask where you are buying most of your domain names. I didn’t provide full details on each of the selections, so I broke them out below:

  • Hand registrations (new registrations from registrars like Name.com, Go Daddy, eNom, Dynadot…etc)
  • Domain auctions (NameJet, Go Daddy, Snapnames, eBay, Flippa…etc)
  • Private acquisitions (purchases directly from other domain owners via email)
  • Domain forums (buy now or make offers from DNForum, NamePros, DBR…etc)
  • Domain marketplaces (Sedo, Afternic, BuyDomains, Aftermarket.com…etc)
  • Domain brokers (Domain Holdings, Igloo, Media Options)
  • Other (anything I may have forgotten)
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How to Do Due Diligence – Part One

Elliot Silver
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6

I previously discussed the importance of doing due diligence before purchasing a domain name, and I want to offer some thoughts regarding how I perform due diligence. This post will cover aspects related to finding out about a domain name’s sale and listing history.

You’ll want to find out previous sales and previous sale listings to help with your negotiations. You might be prepared to pay $20,000 for a domain name, but if you saw it didn’t sell at TRAFFIC 2009 in the $5,000 – $10,000 reserve range, you know your offer is probably too high. Likewise, if you saw a name sold for $100,000 in 2010, you probably won’t have much luck offering $1,500 for it.

Here are some suggestions on how to find out if a domain name was previously sold:

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Numeric Domain Names are in Demand

Elliot Silver
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79

It seems like every domain broker is looking to get their hands on one type of domain name – numeric domain names. Every time I have a conversation with a broker where we are discussing domain names for sale, I am asked if I know of any good number names that are for sale.

From what I understand, the Chinese market is very big on number domain names. There is considerable demand for two number (nn.com), three number (nnn.com) and even four number (nnnn.com) domain names. I am not going to pretend

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Domain Due Diligence: Previous Marketing

Elliot Silver
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9

Before buying a domain name, it’s a given that you need to do your due diligence for a variety of reasons. The primary issue I want to discuss today is previous marketing attempts for the domain name. In my opinion, there are two reasons you will want to investigate how the domain name was marketed in the past: legal reasons and financial reasons.

Let’s discuss the legal issue first. For the sake of this discussion, I will assume the domain name that is being purchased is a descriptive keyword domain name. With most of these names, even the most commonly used terms, there are trademarks associated with them (think Apple). Although it’s clear that you can

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Deposit Necessary for Hilco Streambank Auction

Elliot Silver
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6

I assume you already know about the  Hilco Streambank  domain name and IP auction that is happening in a little over a week. I wrote about the Bargain.com and ETM.com auctions in a blog post last month, and the company shared a press release yesterday announcing the addition of the auction for the Tweeter.com domain name, a remnant of the once popular music store called Tweeter.

If you aren’t familiar with the Hilco Streambank auction and you want to bid on one or more of the lots, now is a good time to familiarize yourself with the  HilcoIPauctions.com  auction platform and rules. Probably most importantly for you to know at this point is that a refundable cash deposit is required in order to bid on the auctions. You’ll want to make arrangements with the company to wire your deposit in advance to ensure your deposit is made on time.

The company is likely requiring a deposit for a few reasons. First, it will deter shill bidders from participating. Second, it will serve as a downpayment for the winning bidder. Finally, it will be a bit of insurance in case the winning bidder fails to pay.

I have not used the Hilco Streambank auction platform before, but I assume it works in a way that is similar to standard auction platforms. If you are planning to bid, it would make sense to ask any questions in advance. Perhaps you’d prefer to bid over the phone, and those details should be discussed well in advance.

I still think Bargain.com, ETM.com, and now Tweeter.com are by far the best domain name assets in the auction.

Being Spiteful Cost Me Money

Elliot Silver
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26

I haven’t shared this story before, but I might as well share it with you. It’s a story about how my being spiteful cost me money. Probably a considerable amount of money. I am not going to share the domain name because I don’t think it’s polite to reveal private negotiations without the other party’s permission.

I saw a solid .com domain name on Sedo  in 2011, and I made a $500 offer for the domain name. The domain owner counter offered at around $1,500. I decided to try my luck again and I offered around $700. The owner countered at around $1,000.

Each counter offer brought us closer to an agreeable amount for us both, and figuring that we were getting close, I offered

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