How do you actually sell a domain?

[Col South]

OK, silly question right? But I don't know and perhaps there are other new domainers out there who don't also.

Let's say you have a buyer who is ready to purchase a domain from you. What now? Do you tell them to just send you the money and you will transfer their domain? Do you sign contracts before hand? Is there some special process I should know about? With end-users do you generally have to walk them through it? What is generally the preferred payment methods?

I would hate to find myself on the phone with a potential buyer and them ask me what the next stage is, and me not know..!

 

[Chrisiwan]

You can use an escrow service, of where they pay the escrow service to keep the money in safe keeping until you push the domain towards them and then you get the money when they have approved. You have to pay for the escrow service though, so it's costly. For smaller domains, you have to collect the payment and then push to them, or visa versa.

 

[Theydon]

Use Paypal for smaller sales and unless you trust the buyer ask for payment up front, then transfer the name. For larger sales use Escrow as stated above.

Know which method you will use before negotiating as you will need to consider Escrow costs. Make it clear early on that the buyer pays Escrow unless you decide to split 50/50 during negotiations.

 

[PuSin]

You could use paypal for smaller amounts and escrow for bigger amounts.
If a buyer is unsure regarding the safety of a transaction, better use escrow. Educate your buyer regarding the buyer and seller safety in escrow.
Try to know the domain push(within the same registrar) and domain transfer(inter registrar).
and take care of the lock in period if ur domain is a new reg.
Push is easier during the lock and otherwise also, while a transfer is comparatively not that easy especially during lock in.
Try to erase the domains you sold from the marketplaces if you listed them.
and try that while you are negotiating for a domain name, it is better not listed at any marketplace at that particular time at BIN(buy it now) price.

 

[Kate]

I usually suggest escrow, split fees. This is fair and should instil trust between both parties involved.
Sometimes I offer to pay the escrow fee as a gesture, when the sale is good enough
Good business is about courteousness

Sometimes buyers are comfortable making a wire to our bank account. A few times a contract had to be signed, then they made payment by bank transfer. I haven't had a lot of contracts, but invoice requests are fairly common. Make sure you can issue an invoice if needed, and that everything is properly reported to the IRS, in case you are more than just an occasional seller.

An NDA may sometimes come into play, especially with larger sales.

If you have the ability to process credit card transactions as part of your regular business, then you may offer this option as well. Consumers are fairly comfortable with this option: if you take credit cards you are less likely to be perceived as a fly by night business. It is convenient for buyers too: it provides the ability to spread the cost of the purchase over a few months (in multiple installments). Keep in mind that domain names are often impulse purchases...

Like with paypal, the risk of chargeback exists if you were to sell a domain to an unscrupulous buyer.

 

[Genius327]

I strongly agree with Pusin. That's everything you need, Col.

Good luck!

 

[Steven Pilditch]

I would advise you to make a post on namepros.com and then sell it though paypal. You can then push the domain to the buyers account, from you account.