ICANN87: Which ccTLD Process Makes a Domain Sale Harder to Complete?

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

As ICANN87 wraps up in Bali, ccTLD participation includes .pt, .uk, .id, .nl, .br, .fr, .ca, .lk and .ke. The registries behind .jp, .au and .pr have also supported the ccNSO networking event as sponsors.

Agreeing on a price is one step. Getting a ccTLD into the buyer's name can involve a separate set of requirements, especially when the buyer is in another country.

What would you ask a registry to improve about that handover? Clearer buyer eligibility, a simpler ownership change or a more predictable timeline? Which extension has given you a useful lesson?

ICANN87 ccNSO programme:

ccNSO at ICANN Public Meetings

Discover current and upcoming ccNSO sessions at ICANN public meetings, with schedules, materials, and participation details, plus access a full archive of presentations from past ccNSO meetings.

www.icann.org

 

[ElhagMousab]

I had one handover fall apart after the price was agreed, and it was a .ca. The buyer ran a small agency outside Canada, had the budget signed off and a launch date, and then we hit the residency requirement. CIRA expects the registrant to qualify under its Canadian presence rules, so either the buyer restructures through a Canadian entity or the name sits with a local trustee. That killed the deal faster than any price gap, and since then I check eligibility before I send a quote.

If I could ask registries for one improvement, it would be a plain eligibility statement a buyer can read before making an offer, not a policy page I have to interpret for them. A predictable timeline is the second thing. The .uk tag move has been the smoothest for me because both sides can see the state change, while with other extensions you send the forms and then wait without knowing whether anything is moving.

A clear ownership-change path for foreign buyers would fix most of my stalled sales, since that is where the weeks disappear.

 

[AhmedSalad]

.si is one of the easier ones from what I've seen: no local-presence requirement, so a buyer anywhere can hold it, and marketplace transfers go through without paperwork. Residency rules like .ca's kill more deals than price does, and a lot of buyers assume every ccTLD works that way.

 

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

I had one handover fall apart after the price was agreed, and it was a .ca. The buyer ran a small agency outside Canada, had the budget signed off and a launch date, and then we hit the residency requirement. CIRA expects the registrant to qualify under its Canadian presence rules, so either the buyer restructures through a Canadian entity or the name sits with a local trustee. That killed the deal faster than any price gap, and since then I check eligibility before I send a quote.

If I could ask registries for one improvement, it would be a plain eligibility statement a buyer can read before making an offer, not a policy page I have to interpret for them. A predictable timeline is the second thing. The .uk tag move has been the smoothest for me because both sides can see the state change, while with other extensions you send the forms and then wait without knowing whether anything is moving.

A clear ownership-change path for foreign buyers would fix most of my stalled sales, since that is where the weeks disappear.

Your example shows how a deal can fall apart even after both sides agree on the price.

But personally I think, just from a registrar's perspective, checking buyer eligibility before payment would prevent a lot of unnecessary disputes.

And with .uk, the IPS TAG change is straightforward, but moving the domain to another registrar and changing its legal registrant are still two separate steps.

 

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

.si is one of the easier ones from what I've seen: no local-presence requirement, so a buyer anywhere can hold it, and marketplace transfers go through without paperwork. Residency rules like .ca's kill more deals than price does, and a lot of buyers assume every ccTLD works that way.

Your point's right, .si is a good example of how fewer eligibility restrictions can make domain sales easier, especially when the buyer and seller are in different countries.

However, there is still one step worth distinguishing. Under the .si registry's rules, changing the registrant requires confirmation from both the current and new holders, along with verification of the new holder's details. A registrar transfer using an authinfo code is a separate process.

It would help if more marketplaces made that distinction clear during checkout. At least, buyers would know exactly what needs to happen before the domain is fully in their name.

 

[DropWizard.com]

I had one handover fall apart after the price was agreed, and it was a .ca. The buyer ran a small agency outside Canada, had the budget signed off and a launch date, and then we hit the residency requirement. CIRA expects the registrant to qualify under its Canadian presence rules, so either the buyer restructures through a Canadian entity or the name sits with a local trustee. That killed the deal faster than any price gap, and since then I check eligibility before I send a quote.

If I could ask registries for one improvement, it would be a plain eligibility statement a buyer can read before making an offer, not a policy page I have to interpret for them. A predictable timeline is the second thing. The .uk tag move has been the smoothest for me because both sides can see the state change, while with other extensions you send the forms and then wait without knowing whether anything is moving.

A clear ownership-change path for foreign buyers would fix most of my stalled sales, since that is where the weeks disappear.

The buyer is responsible for checking any rules and needs to do so before making an offer. But the restrictive .ca rules have been the bane of .ca sales in Canada since day 1. The crowd controlling .ca only envisions Canadians owning the domains, which is why you see so few sales in the news. Cira, (the Canadian registry) was charged with developing the .ca domain space, and they have been a constant thorn in the side since day 1. Instead of working to develop, they have worked to destroy. That's why there is little aftermarket in the .ca space.
DropWizard back in its domain-catching days, opened a Canadian service but had to close it after a few months. Why? Because we couldn't transfer the catches under the new 60 day rule. I pointed out Cira was taking the business risk of the C/C companies and registrars (scathing letter) and transferring it to anyone wanting to start up a business in the domain field. Got an "Oh Well" letter back from the board. The original board was appointed from a bunch of university types that were waving the Canadian flag like crazy. Anti-business, every one of them.
Even today, they proudly advertise themselves as Non-Profit. 3+ million domains after god knows how many decades, and .uk which started out around the same time, has 10+ million.
.Com has 163 million. In the 28 years I've been dealing with them, not once have I seen the concept of a "thriving aftermarket" in sales hit their thinking.