Guide To Domains

[SigRent.com]

Okay ill try my best to describe and inform you on the how to's of selling and buying domains.

Admins and mods: If you dont allow the exchange of links in this guide you have permission to remove them but i have added as the new members might benefit from it.

First Step:

Picking a domain:

As you are new to it it would be a good idea to search through www.dnforum.com for more infomation on whats selling for the most and what people are looking for.
Mostly generic domains either one word ( all taken ) and two words using well used keywords like poker, casino, domains ect.
Almost all of these names are registered unless you get when they drop ( after the expiriation date and the owner doesnt renew they go back onto the ''system'' to be resold this is where most people get there names as some allready have traffic from existing sites.
I have resently seen alot of people looking for made up but brandable names like google, yahoo this is a easy but not as profitable way most will sell for mid xx to low xxx but you really dont need any experiance to start off.

Buying A Domain:

Buying a name is done by going to www.godaddy.com ( this is what i use there are many about ) and typing in the domain you wish to purchase in the right field ( will have a pull down box with different tld's eg .com .net .org.
Then you will go to a new screen where if availible it will have a tick next to it in this registrars case in black if not availible it will be in red and either have click here to backorder which at this stage you shouldnt worry about.
Here is an example go to www.godaddy.com and in the field ( center of screen ) type in pludo you will see that it is in red and unavailible to be registered not go to the bottom and search again now type in SOCCERISTHEBEST you will see that it is in black and availible to register ( not avisable todo so though ).
You will then be taken to another screen where it will ask for details you will have to register and give your details you will recieve a e-mail activate it and then proceed with your order, buy thename for 1 year as you are likely to sell and the buyer if wanted will have to renew the domain not you ( saving you a few dollars which is quite alot when starting off.
If you allready own a paypal account you wont have to sign up for one but if not go through at www.paypal.com and make youself one as you will have to use alot whilst buying and selling, You then pay for the name which is quite easy just read the step by step guide located on the site.
After this you will return to godaddy and you will have recieved your name check your e-mail you will recieve a order comformation and 3-4 e-mails after that which you dont need to keep.
You can then access your account via the control panel.

Ins And Outs Of Your Domains:

When in your account you will see alot of buttons at the top of your screen like manage contacts, set nameservers, set locking.
You will not have to go to manage contacts at all unless you need to change the details of your account eg if you move house change phone numbers.
Set Nameserver: Nameservers are the Hosting servers names which unless using for a site you wont need if you are you will need to ask your host for the required names they should look something like ns1.yourhostingaccount.com and ns2.yourhostingaccount.com.
Set Locking: this is used to stop people changing your domains into there account
even when you dont allow them to this uasually happens to valueble names but its always good to be safe try locking your domains at all times, it only takes a few seconds to unlock them.
Change Account: This is used when you sell a domain you will be taken to a field where you enter the buyers contact details none are needed to be correct apart from there e-mail as the buyer can change there name, adress and so forth as they might want to keep the confodential.
You then select transfer account and the process is done on your behalf the buyer will recieve an e-mail saying that you have sent they follow the directions and it is now theres.

Selling A Domain:

This is the hardest part and the most time consuming then all the other partstogether you will need to find a person who is looking for the domain you own either to resell or to add a site to it.
This is usally done via www.dnforum.com and www.sedo.com.
You will have to register and post either in the domains for sale forum or search through the wanted ads and pick a user requiring a name you own.
After this you just have to wait and see if there is anyone wanting you name, better names usually sell quicker depending on price.
Parking a domain is a vital step in selling and recieving a small income from them this is done by going to www.sedo.com or www.domainsponsor.com signing up and following the steps, you will have to change the nameservers at your registrar and within a few hours you will be recieving an update on traffic and revenue from each of the domains.

Pricing Your Name:

As a new user you will probably have no idea what you names worth you can, go to the mentioned sites above and post the name in the appraisal section and ask for more knowlegable members to give you there thoughts on the value or you can make a post asking for offers.

Payments:

After you have found a buyer you will have to come to an arrangement on payment method the most used is paypal, quick, easy and well used money transfering programm.
Most sales work by the buyer sending the money then the seller sends the domain asap, this can change but as stated it will be arranged by both the seller and buyer.
If you have any more problems you can contact another member most of which will help you without a problem but i cannot speak for everyone.
If sale is more then $500 some people will ask for payment through escrow.com which is more secure but more expensive in fee's that need to be paid, most split it 50/50 but arrange it so it suits you and your buyer the best.

Scams:

This market is ( how do i put it ) full of them you will recieve e-mails asking to buy your domain which at this point cant be distinguished between a interested buyer or someone wanting your money.
Reply but at any stage they ask for an appraisal from a selected registrar, more times then not they will ask for an appraisal then never get back to you after research you will find they own the appraisal service.
If you are unsure post on the forums members will help you out.

Tips And Tricks:

This is what most people who come into this industry are looking for so here are some tips.

. Always sell your names for more then you paid for unless they are useless and you want to get rid of.

. Only buy names that you feel have some sort of market as above poker, casino, domain and brandable names will usually sell but dont just buy names in this catagory.

. When selling or buying be nice, quick, and reliable dont make a bad name for yourself as alot of people will be hesitant to deal with you in the future pretty much killing off your run with domains straight away.

. Read as much as you can you will learn alot every day browsing forums and making posts asking for infomation if your stuck.

. Sometimes spending money is how you make money but not always you will however lose sometimes but think beforeyou buy you want to have more income then outcome remember.

. Buying domains with traffic will sell for more then thoughs without if you are using google or any other search engine and there is a pop up saying this site could not be found jot the name down and if availible register it, if you found this site more then likely others will to and you will recieve hits without any advertising most people will buy this for a nice sum of money depending on the amount.

. When using godaddy you can use the coupon usa6 which will get you $1 of your order doesnt sound like much but over time it will be worth it.
I think mostly everthing you need to know has been added but if not please use the forums mentioned and ask for more advice.

I will also update this guide regulary adding new things.
If you wish to add something please pm me and ill read and either add it or decline.

Thanks for reading

[SigRent.com]

anyone find this usefull?

[Domnom]

anyone find this usefull?

This is good stuff.

Thank you for taking the time to put this up.

I also suggest attending the Domain Roundtable Conference in Seattle the May for folks who want to learn more about the industry and where the opportunities and pitfalls are.

http://www.domainroundtable.com

[chiefsmurph]

thanks a lot. great article. I especially liked the second half. Helped clear up some things I've had on my mind.

[Spydey]

definitely a great article..thanks for the insight!

[denny007]

Buying a name is done by going to www.godaddy.com

Not so good advice...

[Spydey]

hahah for reals

[Julio]

Thank YOU! for that I picked up a few tips from there.

[BidNo]

Thanks Sigrent. Well done.

Cheers,
BidNo

BTW, I also appreciate you're plugging my domain; GuideTo[snip].com (I'll pay you later). ;~)

[Gritgrat]

some excellent info!! Just an idea Maybe there should be something like that as a sticky?

Thanx for sharing

[noelius]

Great article! Thanks for posting here.

[petrosc]

nice article, thanks for taking the time to write it

[russ]

hhhhhhhhhhhh

[newbienew]

Thank you for that! I am bookmarking this page.

[flamingo]

Thank you sigrent..

[mistermouse63]

Great article! some tips were especially useful

[Argie]

Great info!!! Thank you. Extremely Useful.