How To Acquire A Domain
It wasn't that many years ago that purchasing a domain was an expensive proposition. There were only a few places that you could register a name and the prices were $25 and up for a single name good for one year. Then after that you had to find a hosting company that you could park your domain until you build a website or sold your domain.
Things have changed a lot in the past few years. Now one can go and search out a name, park or host all in a single step. If you are going to just sell your names there are those sites that let you park for free and some even offer a low cost one page sales site for you to post your domain for sale.
Registrars & Hosting
There is a unwritten rule out there. It's called, "Read the fine print". A lot of hosting companies will offer you a "free domain name". Thats all well an good if you are going to build a site. But what if you are going to sell your domain. That's what your intending to do anyhow, right? Ask if you can transferr your name for free? Bet you it will cost. And cost a lot. Much more than you may want to pay.
There are a few other things to be careful off. Aside from the price of registering names, does the hoster offer 24 hr support. Most do but some don't. Be carefull of that. One of the best hosting companies going for prices and packages is Navahost.com. They offer one of the lowest prices for TLD registrations anywhere. They have been selling dot coms for $8.88 since time began. They are also backed by one of the largest domain hosting company on the planet. 99.9% uptime and a wide variety of hosting packages. They also offer free domain parking, a "free for sale page", free transfers and much more. Before I forget, everything from the time you arrive at the site, until you exit the site, all your transactions are done on in a totally SSL secure enviroment.
Do you have a name on your mind? Check and see if the name you have in mind is available. This will also give you a chance to check out and become familiar with what a web hosting site is all about.
Name Extensions
Because the net is getting to be a busy place we are starting to see a lot of .tv .ws .us .cc and so on. These are what they call extensions. There is really nothing wrong with them but as you know from surfing that most people will type in an address and just assume that it is a .com. That is why the .com's are so much in demand.
So that is why you will want to stick with the .com .net .org. They are the grandaddy's of all extensions and the most highly sought after.
The Right Name
Ahh...the name. That right and perfect name. If you are thinking about one word .com's they are far and few between. Almost all of the single words in the english language are gone. But don't be dismayed. They do exist. Everyday there are about 20,000 domain names expiring. That's what makes this biz so exciting. Everyday one word names drop off the world wide web and some will fall right into your lap.
Another great place on the web to find out what names are coming due is Pool.com. If you see a name that you want you can backorder it. Keep in mind that there is a backorder charge, plus a transfer fee to where you want to park your domain. That is why I always recommend backordering only where you will be purchasing and parking your domain.
The Whois
This is a term that you will find quite often. It is just a term used for "who is the owner" of the name you are searching for. Most lookups have a code you type in and then you are shown who actually owns that name, where it is hosted, when it was created and most important of all, when it expires.
Knowing when a name expires will give you an idea of whether you wish to back order the name or not.
Back Ordering Domains
When you find a domain that you would like to own but it is already taken, you can quietly place a back order on that name. There is always a chance that the owner may let the name drop. If no one else back orders the name and it get dropped, you are in luck.
If their are other interested parties in the same name, it will depend on the hoster or registrar that you use to be able to grab that domain name.
Keep in mind that if you back order from a source outside the register that you use, there can be a backorder charge, (as high a $60.00) plus a transfer fee to where you want to park your domain. That is why I always recommend backordering only where you will be purchasing and parking your domain.
Most registrars have a fee of less than $20.00 for a backorder and some will include a years registration in that cost also.
About Buying Names
Just because you can't think of any names, doesn't mean you can't have domain names. Because they are bought and sold you can always buy them. Places like Afternic.com have a vast array of names that are being sold 24 hours a day. A real great aspect of this site is the Bazaar. You can buy names for as low as 25 cents. Some of these names can be re-sold at a later date. Remember, if you are going to buy a name, make sure you can re-sell it for a profit unless it is a name you wish to use for a web project or keepsake. Also remember there can be transfer fees, etc. added onto the cost. You want to be able to buy wholesale and sell retail. If you are planning on buying a name and the price is in excess of $500.00, my advise is to get an online appraisal of the domain done. Appraisals are cheap and they will give you a better idea of what other may pay for that particular name. Afternic offers an online appraisal service if you require. These appraisals cost in the neighborhood of $20.00.
How Much To Pay For Domains
Buying domains is a fact of life if you want to be in the domain business. Domains are bought and sold every day. Knowing how much to spend on a domain name is always a big question. Not everyone has 7.5 million to spend. For good up to date information on what domains have been selling for, check out DNJournal.com. They have a weekly sales report that give you the prices and domains on what has sold the previous week. This will give you an idea of prices on domains. You don't want to offer someone a few bucks for a name that is comparable to something that maybe just sold for over $1,000.00. And you also wouldn't want to pay out hundreds for something that is not near that in price.
