How to buy a domain that's already taken
Step by step: check if a taken domain is for sale, find the owner, decide what to offer, negotiate, and pay safely through escrow. Plus backorders for expiring names.
Most good .com names are registered, but that doesn't mean they're off the table. Plenty of owners will sell, and many names are bought this way every day. Here's how to do it without overpaying or getting scammed.
Step 1: Check what's on it
Type the domain into your browser and see what loads:
- A "for sale" page or a price. Good news. The owner wants to sell, and you can often buy instantly or make an offer.
- A parked page full of ads. Often owned by an investor who'll sell at the right price.
- Nothing, or an error. Registered but unused. The owner may not have thought about selling.
- A real, active business. Hardest to buy. They'd need a strong reason, and the price will reflect that.
Also search the name on the big marketplaces, such as Afternic, Sedo and Atom. Many names are listed there with a price even if the domain itself shows nothing.
Step 2: Find the owner
Run the name through our WHOIS lookup. You'll see the registrar, the registration date and the expiry date. Since 2018, the owner's name and email are usually hidden for privacy, but you still have options:
- The registrar's contact form. Most registrars offer a form or a masked email address that forwards to the owner. Look for it in the WHOIS record or on the registrar's own lookup page.
- The website. If there's a site, use its contact page.
- A broker. Services such as GoDaddy's Domain Broker Service will track down and negotiate with the owner for a fee. Worth it for valuable names, when you'd rather stay anonymous.
Tip: look at the registration date in the WHOIS record. A name registered 20 years ago by the same owner is usually loved, or forgotten. One registered last month was probably bought to resell.
Step 3: Decide what it's worth to you
Before you make contact, set your walk-away price. Look up what similar names sold for (NameBio has a large free database of public sales), and read our guide to what a domain is worth. Then ask what it's worth to your business: the extra customers, a cleaner brand, no confusion with someone else's site.
Rough ranges for real sales: many investor-owned .com names sell between $1,000 and $10,000. One-word and very short .com names often sell for five or six figures. Unused names owned by individuals can sometimes be bought for a few hundred dollars.
Step 4: Make an offer
- Keep it short and friendly. "Hi, I'm interested in buying example.com for a small business project. Would you consider $500?"
- Don't oversell your plans. Saying you've raised money or have a big launch makes the price go up.
- Start below your limit, but not insultingly low. Leave room to meet in the middle.
- Be patient. Owners often take days or weeks to reply. One polite follow-up is fine.
- Be ready to walk away. There's almost always a good alternative name.
Step 5: Pay safely
Use an escrow service, such as Escrow.com, for any private sale. The buyer pays escrow, the seller transfers the domain, and escrow releases the money only after you confirm you control the name. Marketplace "buy now" purchases on Afternic, Sedo or Atom include the same kind of protection.
After the transfer, change the account password, turn on two-factor login, set auto-renew, and check that the WHOIS record shows your registrar.
Waiting for it to expire
If the WHOIS record shows an expiry date that's coming up, the owner might not renew. Expired names go through a grace period, then a 30-day redemption period, then about five days of pending deletion, and are then released. Backorder services, such as DropCatch, try to register the name the moment it's released. You usually pay only if they catch it, and popular names go to auction.
Most valuable names do get renewed, so treat this as a long shot, not a plan.
Scams to avoid
- Fake escrow sites. Type the escrow company's address yourself. Never use a link the seller sends.
- "Someone else wants to buy your name" emails. If you own a domain, unsolicited offers asking for an "appraisal fee" first are almost always scams.
- Paying by wire, crypto or gift card with no escrow. Once the money's gone, it's gone.
- Trademarked names. Buying a name that matches someone else's brand can lose you the domain and the money.