No Nameserver Change ≠ Fake Sale

A few years ago, I privately closed a very substantial domain name sale. Following the sale, the buyer did absolutely nothing with the domain name. The Whois was made private, but the nameservers remained the same as before. To this day, the domain name resolves exactly where it resolved prior to the sale.

Around that same time period, I sold a different domain name for $12,000 via Afternic. Within a few weeks, the domain name was relisted for sale on Afternic for around $15,000. My guess is the buyer chose a different brand name and relisted it for an amount that would make him whole. The domain name is now being used, but I don’t know if it sold again or if that buyer decided to use it.

I generally don’t report my domain name sales for a variety of reasons. Had I shared either sale publicly, some people probably would have claimed that they were fake sale or that the deals were not completed and I didn’t want to provide an update.

I can understand why some people might question large domain name sales when the domain name isn’t subsequently used. I think the fallout from being caught even once would not be worth any notoriety gained from a large sale’s publicity. I can’t imagine any domain investor would take on that kind of risk, particularly on multiple occasions.

In looking through a list of my recent sales at Afternic, many of these domain names aren’t being used. Some resolve to the default Afternic landing page that is shown when a name is sold on Afternic. Some resolve to a generic GoDaddy landing page. Some don’t resolve at all. Without putting much time into research, I would guesstimate that somewhere around 25% of the domain names I sold between 6 months to 3 years ago aren’t being used right now.

There are many reasons for why a domain name was bought but is not used. The domain name could have been acquired for a future project that hasn’t been started or ends up getting cut. It may have been bought for defensive purposes. Someone may have had an idea at 2am after an evening of drinking and bought a domain name on a whim. There are also many reasons for why a domain name stops getting used. 

I don’t follow-up with buyers to ask why they bought my domain names, so I don’t know why they aren’t used. Once I am paid, I don’t really care either. I’ve been around long enough to know that just because a domain name isn’t being used or the nameservers aren’t changed doesn’t mean a sale did not happen. It’s a rookie move to assume that a reportedly sold domain name wasn’t actually sold just because it isn’t being used.