Network Solutions Certified Offers: Do People Use Them Often?

Certified Offers

I’ve had a few people ask me about the Network Solutions Certified Offers program. This programs allows domain buyers to use the services of NetSol to acquire domain names stealthily, where the company negotiates on behalf of the buyer.

The other day, I stumbled across a Whois lookup that listed “Certified Offer Holding Account” as the domain registrant. I hadn’t noticed this registrant information before, and according to DomainTools’ Registrant Search tool, the email address on file for this account holder is only “associated with about  2 domains.” Further, the Historical Record shows only 51 total domain names associated with the account name ever.

Now I understand that perhaps there may be many others that haven’t been archived by DomainTools yet (or previously). Network Solutions also may have changed the email address associated with the Certified Offers domain names, or the company may have changed the name on the account.

I really don’t know what the case is, but I would have imagined there would be many more domain names associated with this account since Network Solutions is one of the larger domain registrars, especially for corporate accounts.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

16 COMMENTS

  1. I received an offer of $2500.00 on one of my domains from this service a couple years ago. I accepted the offer, but the buyer never did send in their paperwork so NetSol canceled the order. I still own the domain and probably wouldn’t sell it for this price now 🙂

  2. Why use certified offer service? If you want to remain anonymous just setup a shill website and domain name and make the offers via that.

    In terms of negotiation, if you are reading this blog, and you want to be in this business, I can’t imagine that you won’t be able to do better negotiating directly with the selling party than through a go between.
    Then you can interpret nuance directly.

    Separately there appears to be a meme that goes around in domain and business circles that says that if some big company wants your domain name (or propert) they will part with top dollar. Supported by stories like Rick selling ireport for $750,000. The truth is that’s a gamblers game always sounds good since you hear about the times it works and not about failed deals. The buyer of that name could have easily walked away at $400,000 and simply decided to do something else. And that name could have sat forever until sold.

  3. If your whois is public and/or you have the name listed at Afternic, there is no reason for a buyer to go through network solutions other than for them to be anonymous.

    This is of course a huge red flag… makes me wonder who they are and what they are trying to hide.

  4. “The $20 up front fee weeds out buyers that aren’t serious.”

    I don’t believe in doing this but if I did I would simply require $20 charge to get a “bidders” packet – something physical for the money so the buyer can justify why they are having to pay money.

    In any case if you sell enough names you can usually tell who is serious as the patterns normally replicate quite well. If someone makes an offer, you accept and they don’t close it’s not like
    you are actually passing up another offer at the same time, right?

    I never believe that they way to advertise anything for sale is by “serious inquiries only” type wording which sounds rigid.

  5. Have only ever received one offer via NSI; a year or so back for 4tify(dot)com.

    As I recall, buyer offered 10k; think I countered around 20k.

    Might have had a better chance at coming to an agreement had their automated system allowed for multiply counters from both parties.

    One of their customer service reps however was nice enough to at my request e-mail the offeror to see if they’d like to continue negotiations.

    While they apparently didn’t want to go above their initial 10k offer, other than needing a longer negotiation option, seems overall like a good service to me.

  6. HuntingMoon.com Domains/M & A has completed 5 NSI certified offer transactions. We like the business they have sent, and our only complaints would be the few week hold time before we are compensated & that the buyer can make a final offer that does not allow for a counter. Sellers transfer their domains to NSI on faith and a check box… Not that I think they would fail to pay though.

  7. A company decided to use Network Solutions’ certified offer to purchase a domain from me. The deal was successful. Moreover, the NS certified offer team will always respond to e-mails. Good service for any company that runs their website at NS.

  8. It works. I sold 3 names through Netsol Certified offers in 2010. They are quick and efficient. Usually handled by a Lisa Durange. They have a registrar to registrar transfer system, that makes transfers easy and quick.

  9. Hi everyone. I sold my domain through Network solution certified offer, before 12 days ago…how much time it will take to get the check(Payment)..

  10. Hi Diablo

    I sold 2 domain thru netsol..every thing was smooth..as i am located in india, it took almost 18days check to arrive..Deposited it in my bank account and got the money in 10days…awesome service by netsol…cheers:)

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