There are places I won't name but I'm sure you know about where people buy and sell domain names much like traders in a pit in Chicago.

It seems that this goes on fairly easily among domainers.

Exactly how does this process work and how do you deal with a person whom you've never met (security)? :001_huh:

Gracias!

Generally I find ebay to be great.
There are some other sites around, but ebay has been my best source of domains for buying. I have only sold 1 domain out of hundreds purchased so I can't answer on selling. I do think the domains I have purchased were cheap so as a seller, ebay is probably not the place to sell.

Oh, why did I sell? Great page rank, no traffic.

I've used PayPal a number of times, but for my sales over $500 I use Escrow.com. Escrow is very safe.

I begrudgingly use paypal when selling a domain, but I also make sure I get the money up front. I never buy domains using paypal because they don't protect the sale of digital non-tangible items (like domain names). I also withdraw my funds as soon as possible from paypal because I've had them lock my account for "investigations" too many times.

My sales come from either domain forums or people contacting me directly from via my parking service or my whois info.

depends how much you are selling the domains for,

for somthing cheap like under $100 paypal is an option

but somthing worth alot more $500+ you might want to use an escrow service like escrow.com

also if you are selling on forums and whatnot also look at the persons history on the forum post count and trader rating can sometimes tell if the person is trust worthy or not

I think sedo.com is a top one. Also read their FAQ and you'll find out more. It's secure because it all goes through Sedo when selling / buying domains. Sedo won't push your domain to your buyer unless he pays for it.

Well, it's like buying or selling anything online. You are not 100% protected.
Due Diligence is important. Find out as much as you can about the person you are buying from/selling to.

Places to buy: dnforum.com, namepros.com, sitepoint.com, digitalpoint.com, webhostingtalk.com

When you find a domain you like and think the price is fair the seller typically posts the payment method. Stay away from those interested in only being paid in advance via western Union, xoom or any method which doesn't protect you, the buyer.

Paypal is the most common for low priced (under $1500) names.
Most will want payment first before they "push" the domain into your account (explained below).
Typically a buyer will request that your PP account be "verified". I only accept payments from verified accounts. Also many will require the account is "unded" which means you are paying from your paypal balance. The fees to the seller are less than if you are paying via credit card via your paypal account.

Once you have paid there are 2 ways to get the domain to you. In most cases the sale will include the phrase "free push to your (insert name of registrar here) account".
This is an inter registrar procedure where a domain is moved or "pushed" from one account to another within a registrar. There is no fee for this service hence the "free" push. This requires that you set up an account with the registrar where the domain is held. This is also free to do.
The seller will then push it to your account and neither of you will incur any fees.

Another method would be to transfer the domain name. The transfer is initiated by the buyer from the registar to which he/she wants the domain transferred. The seller will need to supply you with the EPP code which you will need to enter to complete the process.

Some of the better escrow companies are Moniker.com and escrow.com. Although escrow.com cost me a $xx,xxx sale when their sister bank HSBC London wired $xx,xxx to an account in Hong Kong instead of to me in the US I have never had other problems with them.

Gl

Great post bigtime!

I have seen a lot of big name domains for sale on sedo.com.

Any tips on how to set an asking price? Is there a good way to raise the value without dedicating a year of work first?

Thanks
Ray

I think its better to start lower than higher. If its a lower price you will get more bids. If you set it too high people will be turned off by it if they don't think its worth that much.