Buying a Domain Name From a Third Party

What happens if the domain name you want is already owned by a third party?

In this case, unless you believe you have a fundamental legal right to the domain name and are prepared to undertake a UDRP dispute or other legal action against the domain name’s current owner, there’s only one thing left for you to do: make an offer to buy the domain name directly from the current owner.

While nothing can guarantee the success of any particular transaction (much will depend on the current use of the domain name, and what the current owner values the name at), the right approach can increase your chance of completing a successful transaction while at the same time reducing the amount you’ll have to pay to secure the domain name.

If you already know which domain name you want to buy, you can move on to the initial approach to the “seller”. If you’re not yet certain which domain name you’re interested in, or if you want to explore the options available to you, then read on.

Grace Period

AGP (Add Grace Period)

AGP is the acronym for Add Grace Period and refers to the 5 days after the initial registration of a domain name at which time a registrar used to be able to cancel any registration without incurring an expense. The AGP was initially put in place to protect registrars from incurring an expense when domains are registered with bad payments, credit card fraud, etc. Due to substantial abuse of the AGP with domain kiting and domain tasting, ICANN and several registries began limiting the number of domains any single registrar can delete without incurring additional fees which greatly reduced this practice.

 

IP Address
An IP Address, or Internet Protocol Address, is a unique, numerical address that is assigned to each device on a network that is connected to the Internet.  Domain names are mapped to a specific IP Address, which then tells the location of that web site on the Internet. An example of an IP address is 209.85.171.99, which is one of many Google IP Addresses.  The hard to remember string of numbers was the reason why domain names were created in the first place.

Nameserver
A name server manages DNS for any given domain name, to include A Records, CNAMEs, MX records and other domain name related mapping services.  In a nutshell, the name server responds to computer requests with regards to where it can find services related to a given domain name.

Redemption Period
In the world of domain names, the redemption period is the 30 day period that occurs after a registrar cancels a domain name at the registry (most commonly due to non-renewal). During this 30 day redemption period, the registry keeps a hold on the domain name and the original registrant (domain owner) has a chance to retrieve the domain name for an additional fee. The redemption period is essentially a domain owner’s last chance to renew their domain name prior to it being deleted and released. While the redemption period gives the domain owner an additional 30 days to renew their expired domain, the domain itself is removed from the zone files in the global DNS, which means that the web site, email accounts and any other services associated with the domain name will cease to work until it is redeemed via the registrar.

Resources

Looking for a way to reach your audience on the Web? First, you need to find a good domain name that is relevant to your use. Any available domain name will allow you to gain a presence on the Internet. Preferably, a high quality, generic domain can help you brand your cause globally, develop instant credibility and draw relevant traffic to your site.

Various considerations, however, must be taken into account when evaluating the market value of a domain name. Some factors include brand ability, the domain’s organic traffic (in contrast to search engine rank) and resale value. That said, there is no single formula that dictates a domain’s monetary value.

With over hundreds of millions of domains already registered and owned by someone else, how can you get the right one for you? When you find a name that resonates with you, that’s when you know you have found the online identity you’ve been searching for, and that’s where DomainBrokers.com may be the ideal solution for you.

Over the years, we have helped thousands of people find their unique online identity. From individuals looking to make personal websites to Fortune 500 companies who want to “own” the category in which they compete with a premium generic domain name.

Here are a few examples of brand name category owners: