Do you have a domain name you bought to build a website but ended up not using it? For content creators, bloggers, and digital marketers who run several websites, having an unused domain name is very common. If you also have a domain name that seems to be of no use, you can sell it to recover your investment.
The best way to handle a spare domain is to sell it to someone who can actually use it. If you do not have any experience in selling a domain name, don’t worry because we are going to guide you through the entire process, starting from setting the right value of your domain to the final step of selling it.
Steps For Selling a Domain Name
1. Find the Right Value For Your Domain
You have to realize that you cannot sell your domain name at the price you bought it. Also, individual selling does not work like the domain selling by popular websites such as GoDaddy, Bluehost, and Siteground. It could take a long time before you start getting bids for your domain name. Also, it all depends on the price you set for your domain and how well you market it.
Here are a few factors that determine the value of your domain name:
- The suffix of the domain name, which can be .com or some other lower value suffix like .ad, .af, .vn, etc. In general, a .com suffix has a greater value than other suffixes.
- The length of the domain name along with the popularity of the words in it.
- An error-free domain name that does not include any signs and/or symbols.
A domain name based on these above points makes a perfect domain name. However, even if your domain name checks off all the points above, it doesn’t mean it will sell for a high value. To check the approximate value, you can use online tools like Sedo, Free Valuator, Epik, MySiteWealth, etc. While these tools do not give you the exact value, you can at least get an idea.
2. Choose the Correct Domain Marketplace
Once you have decided on your domain name’s estimated value, you will need to choose a domain marketplace. You should choose a popular site that gets a lot of visitors every day to increase the chances of selling your domain name quickly.
Here are some popular domain marketplaces:
- eBay
- Effy Website
- Flippa
- Namecheap
- BrandBucket
- NamePros Forum
3. Make Sure You Have Updated Your Contact Information
Often sellers are skeptical about uploading their contact information on the web. However, when you sell something online, especially a product like a domain name, you have to make sure that you provide your accurate contact details.
Choose to display your email id on the sites publicly instead of choosing to go for the built-in forms only. Giving every kind of option to the customers to contact you will increase your chances of selling the domain name faster.
Also, make sure that you do not take much time to reply to the query emails. When someone is planning to buy a domain name, they may not wait for long to get a reply from your side (unless your domain name is the exact name they want). Consequently, they will start looking for alternative options.
4. Prepare Your Listing Properly
Listing your domain on the site is not where your work ends. Most people go further to update their listing with valuable information like existing traffic, age, number of backlinks, and domain authority (DA).
Some people prefer buying an old domain name from a reseller rather than buying a new one. For a new domain name, they will have to start from scratch but a domain that already has some traffic, backlinks, and domain authority, it is possible to get a good head start. So, if your domain has already marked its presence on the web, make sure you do not miss out on sharing information that makes it more valuable.
5. Choose a Safe Payment Method
Once you have met your ideal client and the deal has been finalized, it is time for the payment. If the funds are to be transferred internationally, PayPal and Paypioneer are good options. However, you have to be sure that you trust the person you are dealing with.
Since it’s difficult to assess whether the buyer is a scammer or not, you can opt for Escrow, which is a third-party service that will withhold the funds and safely transfer them once the transfer is done. In this case, you will surely get the payment once you transfer the domain ownership to the buyer.
6. Transfer the Domain
This is the final step in this process. Here you will transfer the ownership rights of your domain to the buyer. However, you must keep in mind that the process of domain transfer depends on your domain provider.
For instance, if your domain provider is GoDaddy, you need to unlock the domain you want to transfer then get an authorization code from your current registrar. After that, you will be asked to verify the contact information registered with that domain. You just need to share this authorization code with the buyer, who will then access your domain with this code and change the privacy settings to lock you out.
Or let’s suppose that you are using Bluehost. In this case, you will have to log in and access the domain manager from your current registrar and update the contact information so that Bluehost can reach out to the owner post-transfer. Also, ensure that your domain is unlocked for the process and ensure that your privacy options are disabled while transferring. Once you have done that, update the nameservers to point to Bluehost. Finally, get the authorization code, also known as the transfer EPP code, and share it with your buyer for them to access the domain. And that’s all, your domain name will be transferred successfully and your buyer can now use it and connect it with their website.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has made it clear how you can sell a domain name on the web with ease. While selling a domain, just be extra cautious to save yourself from fraudsters and scammers. Also, make sure to follow each step mentioned above so that you can sell your domain successfully.
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