When you come up with the perfect domain name for your personal or business website, it can be heartbreaking to find out that it’s taken. Most people would begin brainstorming for alternatives, but what if nothing represents your online identity as well as your first choice? Well, here’s how to go about buying the domain from its current owner.
Estimate Its Value
All domains are not created equal, some sell for less than $100 with others costing tens of millions. By comparison, registering available domain names costs between $2 and $20 per year. The true value of any domain name is the price you agree with the seller, but there are online tools you can use to estimate a domain name’s market value. If the estimate is way beyond what you are able or willing to pay, then you might consider another domain name – unless you are confident of your bargaining skills.
Search Domain Marketplaces
Flipping domain names is a lucrative business and many people register domain names specifically to sell them at a profit. Find out the most popular marketplaces with a quick internet search and find out if your preferred domain name is listed. The good thing about finding it listed is that the owner is willing to sell. Also, most reputable domain name marketplaces have transparent and secure systems for handling payment and domain name transfer.
Contact The Owner
If the domain name isn’t up for sale in any domain marketplaces, then you have to contact the owner directly. If the website has a contact form or a “contact us” page, then use it. Otherwise, you can look up its registration details which usually include the owner’s email address. Some owners have already established the domain name as part of their online brand and won’t sell unless you bid an astronomical amount. This can be daunting for small businesses working with limited budgets.
Protect Yourself
Unfortunately, scammers are everywhere in the digital commerce landscape and you should always protect yourself from being defrauded in a domain name exchange. Never do any deal without escrow payment protection. If you are using a reputable domain name marketplace, they’ll probably have their own escrow services. Research a domain marketplace to ensure its reliability before transacting on its platform. If you are buying directly from the owner, escrow.com is the most reputable domain name transfer escrow service.
Apart from escrow protection, always check if the domain name you are buying is a registered trademark in your jurisdiction. The trademark owner can sue you and take the domain if that’s the case. Also, do your due diligence to avoid buying a stolen domain name that can be repossessed from you without compensation.
Conclusion
When a domain name is taken, you can still look into buying it from its owner. The first step to doing so is finding out how much it costs by using a domain name price estimation service. It helps to check if it’s up for sale at a domain marketplace, which can make the buying process easier. If it isn’t, you have to contact the owner directly through their listed contacts or the email on domain registries. Always make sure you protect yourself using escrow payments and check if it’s a stolen domain.
