Premium Domain Brokers

written by

JoeUddeme

JoeUddeme

Premium Domain Brokers

As super premium domain brokers specializing in .com, it’s fascinating to see the large number of normal everyday people that have no idea what domain brokers do for a living…

The domain name business is a lot like Real Estate, although there is no tangible piece of property. The inventory is digital in nature and typically consisting of Intellectual Property.

Additionally, domain names are a fantastic alternative investment for someone looking to diversify their portfolio. Furthermore, as a long-term strategy, they tend to increase in value. They also have a very small renewal fee on a yearly basis.

There are many domain brokers in the domain name space. Many brokers focus on all of the top level domains only. Others’ tend to skew towards one specific tld or potentially only a few.

If we drill down little deeper-two dominant types of brokers exist.

 

  1. Reactive Brokerage: These are the sales platforms that exist in the space. Potential clients use inbound sales platforms such as SEDO or Afternic, type in a keyword and buy their domain name.
  2. Proactive Brokerage: Brokers that take the time to build the leads and determine the best fit for a specific domain name.

 

I’m amazed how some domain brokers skew towards the reactive approach and don’t take the time to fully understand the opportunity.

Solid domain brokers understand web trends and algorithm updates. They understand the true value of the keyword and take the time to investigate the opportunity thoroughly.

 

Domain Brokers should be proficient in the anatomy of the domain name. They should also be in-tune with current market conditions when effectively pricing a domain name for sale.

 

Domain Brokers should never overvalue a domain name. In addition, they should not create false promises for clients. Pricing should be realistic based on current market conditions. Everyone in the Domain Name Industry loses when brokers over promise and under deliver.

 

Please join the conversation and post on twitter or linkedin.

 

Best Regards,

NameExperts.com 

Joe Uddeme

Domain name Expert

Subscribe for More Domain Buying & Selling Advice

Related posts

Default alt text
Stealth Acquisitions Domain Name

As a buy-side broker specializing in Stealth Acquisitions, it’s our job to dig deep and find the rightful owner of a domain name. Problem is, some domain owners make it very difficult to reach them. What’s the psyche behind this rationale? Not all domain name owners are equal and some owners don’t want to be contacted. They might not have any interest whatsoever, in selling their domain name. They might not have accurate, up-to-date whois information and might be difficult to decipher the current domain owner. GDPR is another major change. Many Countries now adhere to stricter policies related to domain name owner privacy, with many Whois channels now dark and redacted for owners’ privacy rights. Stealth acquisitions represent an opportunity for the buyer to be protected by complete anonymity. It is necessary to align with your broker before completing any type of acquisition. Your stealth acquisition should be able to answer these questions BEFORE making necessary contact: Have you completed a relevant trademark search around the keyword in question? Have you established a budget to complete this potential acquisition? Have you established a timeline for this potential acquisition? Are you familiar with aftermarket domain name valuations? Have you thought about viable alternatives, if your target might not be available? What type of barriers do you see in this potential acquisition? Buy-side brokers need to understand the full opportunity and any pertinent history on the previous acquisition attempts of the prospective buyer. Many domain owners like to use privacy to protect their anonymity. Sometimes, they don’t want to be bothered with the Spam that gets generated on a daily basis. Buy-side brokers should also be able to drill down, identify and contact the rightful domain name owner. The buy-side broker should also be able to act as a buffer between buyer and seller and remove any emotion from a potential deal. How to buy a domain name Here are the basic steps to acquire a domain name Identify ownership, and research if asset is available Submit an offer to appropriate owner Negotiate Agree on price and complete paperwork (if applicable) Escrow to complete financial component Registrar transfer via push, or authorization code Confirm control of asset(s) Release of funds Consider these items when buying a domain name Check the DNS, see where the domain is pointing to. Is there a website, or is it undeveloped? Whois history is a valuable tool to understand the true history of the domain name Check the Way back Machine to see what other properties have been developed on the URL in the past. Speak with the buyer or acquisition partner to fully understand their goals and objectives including history, timing, budget etc. Make sure to set the expectation with the prospective buyer on price. Is the buyer familiar with aftermarket domain name values? Legal—contracts, redlines, edits and changes Furthermore, the buy-side broker should offer the following upside for any Stealth Acquisition: Negotiate with YOU in mind, no dual agency in this scenario Provide contracts that protect ALL parties involved Typically save you time and money Allows for a third-party (non-biased) approach towards the acquisition Coordinate necessary contractual paperwork between parties Facilitate and handle smooth transfers of domain names Offer transparency and full disclosure Non-disclosure where applicable Starting the Process Acquiring a domain name doesn’t have to be a daunting task. You should start by researching suitable candidates to help with your acquisition. Don’t identify the asset unless you are sure you found the proper buy-side broker. Ask the broker for information on their service and a few names they recently acquired for clients? Find out how that Company or individual can add value to your potential acquisition and always do a google search to learn more about the broker you are working with. Take the time to do the research and find an expert that can properly assist you with all of your acquisition needs. Ask appropriate questions and make sure that you get aligned with the broker. Hold the broker accountable and require status updates so you are not left in the dark on the progress—or lack thereof. In most instances, your stealth acquisition needs to be completed right the first time. Most domain name acquisitions only have one chance to secure the domain name target without leaving extra money on the table. Stealth acquisitions should only be performed by a seasoned-domain name buy-side broker. The domain buyer should understand if the broker has certain strengths or weaknesses. Some buy-side brokers have decent buyers for domains, but don’t always have the tools and knowledge to find the rightful domain owner, or rich relationships with industry veterans. Other buy-side brokers are excellent at managing the acquisition, but terrible at the details. Can’t keep things moving and get things closed. Details are key when it comes to any domain name acquisition. Contracts and paperwork can take months to pass through the legal channels. Its important to find a representative that is fully-vested and can assist you with all aspects of the buy-side domain name acquisition process. Finally, when selecting a buy-side broker, make sure you ask for referrals and do your homework so you can make contact with the rightful domain owner and secure the perfect domain name for your brand. NameExperts.com has successfully negotiated and closed hundreds of domain name transactions on behalf of our clients. We encourage you to get in touch with our expert brokers today to learn more about our services, and how we add value for our clients. Join the conversation here

Default alt text
Best Places To Find a Premium Domain for Sale

Premium domains are the best type of domains because they are memorable and tend to draw a lot of organic traffic. To the uninitiated, premium domains are short, catchy, and memorable domain names that have a high potential to become popular web addresses. They also present great branding opportunities for websites. The best places to find premium domains for your business include: Name Experts GoDaddy Sedo Network Solutions Domain.com Namecheap

Default alt text
Domain Due Diligence – What to Do Before You Buy

It’s advisable to perform some due diligence before buying anything. For example, before buying a car, it’s helpful to have a trusted mechanic perform an inspection and to review the vehicle’s service history. A similar thing applies to purchasing domain names. It’s necessary to perform proper due diligence or risk wasting money. This article will give you a due diligence checklist to follow to ensure you make a worthy purchase. Why You Need To Conduct Due Diligence For Any Potential Acquisition Due diligence means investigating the details of a business or person that you want to enter a commercial transaction with. It’s necessary because it helps you understand the nature of what you want to buy, the risks involved, and anything else that could be a hindrance. Not conducting domain name due diligence before buying can cause trouble. For example, you may buy a domain that has been blacklisted for spam activities and wonder why your website isn’t getting traffic. Or why any email sent from your domain goes to the recipient’s spam folder. You could also buy a stolen domain and be subject to lawsuits accusing you of theft. The list of potential risks is endless, so always carry out domain due diligence before any purchase. Domain Due Diligence Checklist WHOIS WHOIS is a public database containing information about domain name owners. You can run a WHOIS lookup to trace the ownership of a domain name, and it’s advisable to do this for any domain you want to buy. Check the WHOIS history for at least a year to see if there were any ownership changes. If you notice any, you can contact the prior owner to ensure that they actually transferred the ownership and the domain wasn’t stolen. Domain thieves try to sell domains in a hurry, and this process helps you avoid buying a stolen domain and exposing yourself to legal troubles. Because of Europe’s GDPR data protection laws, you may not be able to see details about a domain’s owner (it’ll appear as redacted). However, access is granted to certain licensed third parties that, in turn, offer that data to people for a fee. DomainIQ and DomainTools are two examples of such parties. Domain History The WHOIS lookup will help you verify that the domain is owned by a legitimate buyer and not a hacker. After that, the next step of the domain name due diligence is to check how the domain was utilized in the past. What type of website was it used for? Is it something that could have gotten it into a blacklist? A good website to check a domain’s history and utilization is the Wayback Machine. This is a digital archive that lets you see how the website for any domain looked in the past. The idea is to ensure that the domain was used for appropriate activities. If it was used for nefarious things like unregulated gambling, scams, or data theft, it’s a signal to stay clear because the domain may have been blacklisted by search engines and email providers. Potential Trademark Issues Ensure that the domain name you want to use is not similar to an established trademark because this can lead to infringement lawsuits and a possible court order to hand over the domain. There was a popular case of an entrepreneur called Mike Rowe who registered the “MikeRoweSoft.com” domain for his software company. Microsoft, the well-known software company, filed a lawsuit alleging trademark infringement and Mike Rowe had to hand over ownership of the domain in exchange for an Xbox and some certification training. If the domain name you want to buy is similar to an established trademark, then it’s best to avoid it and go for something else. Search Value Another important part of the due diligence checklist is to see how the domain name performs on search engines. If you can’t find valid results when you input the domain name of a search engine, it’s a signal that it may have been blacklisted due to past activity. Check if there are backlinks from nefarious sites pointing to the domain because it represents another red flag. It’s also important to see if a domain has been marked by email blacklists. If so, emails from that domain will likely end up in the recipient’s spam folder instead of the main inbox. Popular email blacklists include Spamhaus, Barracuda, and Proofpoint, and most of them let you run a simple scan to see if a domain is part of the list. During the Acquisition Process Once you have ticked all the boxes in your acquisition due diligence checklist and decided to proceed with the purchase, there are some essential tips to follow. Tracking Each Step You should create a spreadsheet to track each step of the domain name sale. The spreadsheet should contain sections like “current status”, “date transferred”, and “price”. This will help you stay on top of every detail of the imminent domain acquisition. Setting Up Escrow Escrow refers to a neutral third party that holds the money before it is transferred from the domain buyer to the seller. It’s necessary to use an escrow service to prevent yourself from falling victim to fraud. The escrow service will hold the money that you’ve agreed to pay for the domain and only disburse it if the seller fulfills all the terms of the deal. What To Keep In Mind For the Transfer Process When you acquire a domain, the buyer will have to transfer it to your registrar for it to officially become yours. A domain must be at least 60 days old to be transferable according to rules defined by ICANN, the governing body for domain registration. The owner will need an authorization code from their registrar to authorize the transfer to your own registrar. Once this is complete, the domain is officially yours. If you need help with domain name due diligence, you can hire a professional domain broker that has experience in appraising and investigating domain names. The broker can help you decide if it’s a worthwhile purchase and also negotiate a good price with the owner. NameExperts is a good example of such a broker; we have over a decade of experience in negotiating domain sales worth over $100 million.

Why Work with Name Experts

Name Experts offers personalized domain brokerage services, assisting clients in buying or selling premium domain names with expert appraisal, negotiation, and complete transaction management while ensuring confidentiality.

Some of our most
successful stealth acquisition and sales

Aid.com

Fit.com

Mine.com

GLD.com

Jeff.com

Fora.com

Nori.com

Secure.com

Guitar.com

F*ck.com

Radian.com

MetaData.com

Prize.com

Link.com

Loop.com

Programs.com

Claim.com

Quince.com

Hook.com

QXO.com

NQ.com

Rest.com

Humani.com

Max.com

Need help buying or selling your premium domain?