How to Bid on Domain Names

Domain names can sometimes fetch bids that are millions of dollars.

A domain name is the name given to a website as a way of identifying its address. The resale of an existing domain name is referred to as domain aftermarket. These websites can be sold as an agreement between two parties or they can be auctioned to the highest bidder online. Some of the more popular domain names can fetch prices in the millions of dollars.

Instructions

1. Pick an auction. There are many auctions available online. A couple of the larger ones are Sedo and GoDaddy.

2. Browse through the catalogs available on these sites, and choose a domain name to bid on. These auction catalogs provide a lot of information about each of the sites that are for sale, such as the amount of traffic, if developed content is included and how many offers the seller has received so far.

3. Visit online resources that specialize in providing information about websites in order to learn more about the about what you are bidding on. Two of these online resources are Alexa and WayBackMachine. Alexa provides site traffic figures, audience information and key words people use to visit the site. WayBackMachine lists all the sites associated with the domain name going back to 1996.

4. Bid on the website. There are alternative ways to purchase domain names at some of these auctions. For example, you can negotiate directly with the seller or get brokerage assistance if you are not adept at bargaining.

References

• archive.org: WayBackMachine
• sedo.com: Sedo
• godaddy.com: GoDaddy
• alexa.com: Alexa