The most difficult part of a domain deal is often the domain name transfer. This process can be especially frustrating when dealing with a buyer who is not all that experienced with domain name transfers and doesn’t know how to facilitate one. This can be even more frustrating when the value of the deal is lower than usual.
The other day, I posted a poll asking people if they have ever given a domain name as a gift to someone. The majority of people who participated in the poll were like me and have bought a domain name for someone else as a gift. Sometimes, buying a domain name for someone else isn’t such a great idea.
Nearly all of the time I have bought a domain name for someone, they have not taken possession of the domain name from me. Either they don’t have the need for the domain name (yet), or they simply don’t know enough about how to actually get the domain name. If I were to guess, most of these people have never even owned a domain name before and they wouldn’t know how to open a registrar account and initiate an account change or a transfer.
For the most part, I am fine with managing the domain name for them. Essentially, if they are a good enough friend or someone in my family that I went out and got them a domain name, the management of the domain name is more of a minor inconvenience. It can be frustrating sometimes when the person is working with a developer or SEO person who advises them on what to do and then they come to me and ask me to do it for them!
One thing I have done more than once is register the domain name of a local business I like or purchase one at auction on their behalf. I have done this more than once (at no cost at all to them) and I don’t mind helping people who might end up losing the domain name to someone who cybersquats on it, giving the domain investing business a bad reputation in the process. In these cases, it is a bit frustrating when the business doesn’t take the domain name or make the effort to learn how to take it. I am happy to help them out even if it is a loss for me, but I don’t want to turn into a defacto domain manager when I feel like I have already gone above and beyond by helping them! I have learned that there is probably a reason why they didn’t get their domain name!
All in all, it’s great to help someone by getting them the domain name they should have. However, it’s not always as simple as giving them a domain name for a gift!
Buy the domain and push it to a new alternate account and give them the account number and password. Simple way to give it to them without them doing much work.