Dave Taylor answers free tech support questions about a wide variety of business and technical topics, including blogging, iphone help, ipod help, AdSense, MySpace, Sony PSP help, Mp3 players, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

How do I buy a domain name?

Dave, I'd like to buy a domain, but I discovered that it's already registered by a bulk domain buying company (just check negres.com). I tried to contact them but I have received no answer.

Do you know how much these companies charge in average for a domain? Or are they focused on the traffic and clicks and will not let it go?

Any recommended approach to bid for the domain?

Dave's Answer:

This is a tough one because domain names, unless you have a legal claim on them, exist in a pure commodity marketplace. What I mean is: the value of a domain is defined solely by its perceived value to the buyer.

If you wanted to buy one of my unused domains (for example, "BABY.NET" which is for sale, actually) then I might ask $20 for it, or I might ask $200,000 for it, or, who knows, $2mil. What's it worth? Well, that depends. If you're a huge company with a massive marketing budget and are passionate about obtaining this exact domain then $500,000 might be a fair market price for it. But then again, maybe $100 would be more than it's worth.

Economics books talk about pricing strategies where you charge "what the market will bear", and you can see where in domain names, well, that's almost impossible to figure out without a specific buyer involved.

There's no third party, no standards organization, no reference point for what domains are worth. I've bought domains from others for $200 and I've paid $8000 for one domain. My most recent domain purchase, BLOGSMART.COM, was about $500.

I should note that I have never bought a domain from a scalper (some people call them "squatters", or "domain squatters") or domain resale agency, however: My impression is that domain resellers encourage domain owners to set unrealistic prices and hold out. For the individual domain owner who doesn't know any better, it seems like a good deal and if offers at lower price-points roll in, well, they're easily ignored.

Then, three, four or even five years later, the domain owners with dozens or even hundreds of domains suddenly realize that they really aren't worth much after all because it's clear at that point that the market isn't valuing the domain the way that the reseller is.

But even without that disconnect, domains aren't typically worth what you may think they are. To see what I mean, pop over to AfterNIC, one of the top resellers in this space, and browse their 'recently sold' and 'featured' domains lists.

A few tips on valuation, before we get there, though: '.com' are worth more than other top level domains, dictionary words are worth more than multiple word amalgamations (think 'car.com' versus 'myfavoritecartodrive.com'), and that domain names with hyphens are worth less than those without. Further, remember that if you get a singular name, you need the plural, if you get a hyphenated name you need the unhyphenated too, and so on.

Unsurprisingly, the closing bids for "tiny-treasures.com", "yourbetterhalf.com", "onenet.us" and "2EB.com" aren't very impressive, but there are a few that shine as particularly good domains: "america.org" (sold for $20,000), "maple.net" ($5,000), "x360.com" ($5,000), "itoldyouso.com" ($15,000) and "searchme.com" ($15,500). Based on that, "baby.net" should certainly be worth at least $20,000, don't you think?

I believe that the best domains change hands in private transactions, however, and that if you've a third-party involved, it will unquestionably complicate the situation.

Anyway, back to your specific situation, I would try one more email message to the domain owner, and if they don't respond, well, it's probably time to do some creative synonym brainstorming and come up with a different name entirely. If they respond, but are asking for far more than you're willing to pay, keep dickering: I've been surprised how quickly potential buyers vanish, when I'm just negotiating a price.

Good luck to you!

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Comments

If you are interested in buying domain names for specific prices you can go to http://www.fabulousdomains.com

Cheers

Posted by: Shane at June 28, 2005 2:12 AM

Dave:

What is the going price for four letter domains such as sasr.com?

Thanks,
Erik

Posted by: Erik Hanvey at October 27, 2005 7:37 PM

That's almost impossible to answer, Erik. If it's a four letter word that's a dictionary word then it could have significant value. If it's a acronym like SASR, well, that's going to be less valuable for most. As a shot in the dark? A few thousand dollars, perhaps.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at October 27, 2005 11:54 PM

How do you register a domain by using http://iwantaname.com (not really that url) without the www?

I have seen several sites that now do that but I haven't been able to find out how.

Can a search engine find you without the www?

Posted by: Christie at February 4, 2006 7:58 PM

I want to buy a domain name that is apparently not yet owned. Where is the best and least expensive place to do that? Do I have to go through a reseller and buy Web space at the same time, or can I just reserve the name now before it disappears?

Thanks, Chuck

Posted by: Chuck Reese at May 2, 2007 5:36 PM

This site talks about my predicament. Someone, apparently not a big company owns a website I want. It's registered with GoDaddy but is "parked."

I want to negotiate but not pay a ton of money. The problem is that GoDaddy and Sedo or Selo(?) want $70 just to negotiate! For all I know they could want $20,000 and I'm offering $200. As far as I can tell there is no way to email the site. Or, is there a way to look at the page source and figure it out?

We both could split the $70 fee!

David

Posted by: David at February 5, 2008 12:17 PM

What if the domain name belongs to someone who has died?

Posted by: Martyn Breckenridge at March 7, 2008 4:49 PM

I wish to purchase a dot com and have contacted the owner. If they agree to sell, how does that dot com become mine?? What's the procedure and how do I know I'm going to actually get it.

Posted by: Gunna at April 15, 2008 12:54 AM

Gunna, the best advice I can give you is to work with a company like escrow.com to ensure that your payment isn't forwarded along to the seller until the domain ownership is transferred to you. Be careful!

Posted by: Dave Taylor at April 15, 2008 6:32 PM

Hi, I am interested in buying a domain name that is currently not being used. Where is the cheapest place to buy it from? Is there a government agency? Also, I plan on using a name that includes another company's name (e.g., ebaycomments.com). Do you know if it's a problem- can the other company sue me for using part of their name? Thanks!

Posted by: Kathy at May 11, 2008 12:47 AM

I would like to buy a domain name that has not been purchased for my website, which is not designed, yet. What are the steps I need to take and who to contact for the domain name for my website? Thank you.

Regards,
Rebecca

Posted by: Rebecca at June 20, 2008 4:55 PM

how do i get paid if i buy a domain name

Posted by: reg at August 3, 2008 6:22 PM

i do the owner match.com get pay

Posted by: reg at August 3, 2008 6:32 PM

Why do i have to buy a domain, if no other site has used this domain why do i have to buy it and why cant i just use it... probably a stupid question just new to this...

Tanks..
Cathal

Posted by: cathal at August 4, 2008 8:36 AM

Hey Dave..
Just building a web site for fun on microsoft web expression 2 and was woundering if my web site has many pages with hyperlinks do i have to buy a domain name for every page.?? would appreciate the help..
many tanks..
Cathal

Posted by: cathal at August 4, 2008 8:47 AM

Hi, I'm looking to a buy a domain name that doesn't seem to exist anymore. Looks like it expired in August 07. When you try to go to the URL it says 'Page not Found'. Is there are way of making a domain exist again?

Posted by: Kristen at August 15, 2008 4:14 AM

Kristen, you need to go to a domain registrar and look through their database. Just because nothing "comes up" when you try to go to that site with your Web browser doesn't mean that it's available. A lot of people use 'em just for email, for example, or to own so that a competitor doesn't buy. Some are owned by domain speculators too, where they buy the domain with the express intention of selling it later for more money. Try going to http://www.mydomain.com/ and searching for your desired domain to see what it says.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at August 15, 2008 8:00 AM

Hi Dave,

I'm interested in buying a number of specific domain names which I believe are not yet taken or registered. From where do I buy these domain name? Whats the stores out there that sell these domain names or help you in reserving them?

Thanks

Posted by: Omar at September 14, 2008 10:10 AM

I am starting a business and I was advised that I should really get my domain name. I am not 100% sure how to do this. If I google a certain site and it doesn't show up at all does that mean no one owns it yet? Also, how do I go about securing the site for my business.

thanks
rob

Posted by: Rob at October 1, 2008 9:32 AM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!