Buying domains from another person - Safety

charly11 · 12:15 AM

When I buy a domain from another person (e.g. through this board), how can I make sure that I really receive the domain and that the seller really owns the domain. I may pay and then I never hear again from the seller.

I thought maybe by communicating to the e-mail address on the whois record I could make sure that I am really talking to the owner.

Any thoughts? How is this usually done?

paris · **Re: Buying domains from another person - Safety -** 02-06-2006, 08:26 AM

If you're leary of someone's legitimacy you can always use escrow.com or Sedo.

If its a lot of money, talk to them over the phone, try and get some references, etc.

utball · **Re: Buying domains from another person - Safety -** 02-07-2006, 11:59 AM

I was wondering the same thing. I would like to find out if there is some type of place where we can find out if a domain name is even registered to the person who's selling it. Is that what escrow.com and sedo are for?

charly11 · **Re: Buying domains from another person - Safety -** 02-07-2006, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by utball

I was wondering the same thing. I would like to find out if there is some type of place where we can find out if a domain name is even registered to the person who's selling it. Is that what escrow.com and sedo are for?

I think sedo and escrow.com can be used to facilitate the transfer process. You can go to any domain registrar (e.g. GoDaddy.com or register.com) and check the current owner. Search for a domain name, then when it tells you that it is unavailable you can look at the whois information, which will show the person owning this domain (this is called whois record). If you are then able to correspond via e-mail to the person on the whois record using the e-mail address on the whois record, then you know you are talking to the real owner.

rebwhit · **Re: Buying domains from another person - Safety -** 02-11-2006, 01:03 PM

I am curious. Do people sell domain names on Ebay? I was thinking this would be a safe way to purchase, if they were allowed to sell them there.

charly11 · **Re: Buying domains from another person - Safety -** 02-11-2006, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebwhit

I am curious. Do people sell domain names on Ebay? I was thinking this would be a safe way to purchase, if they were allowed to sell them there.

Yes, people sell domain names at eBay. eBay however does not help in the transfer process. For that you are on your own or you can use one of the services mentioned in this thread earlier.

rebwhit · **Re: Buying domains from another person - Safety -** 02-13-2006, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charly11

Yes, people sell domain names at eBay. eBay however does not help in the transfer process. For that you are on your own or you can use one of the services mentioned in this thread earlier.

Thanks for the explanation.

I guess Ebay would not be a good place for a newbie to start out.