When it comes to buying or selling any website regardless of whether or not it is to flip, one of the most important first steps is to verify who the website actually belongs to. This can be easier said than done these days thanks to services such as DomainsByProxy, but it’s actually a relatively straight forward task if you know what you’re doing.
The first thing you need to do is to check the WHOIS registry. One of the best things to do is to use Domain Tools. Domain Tools lets you find out the three most important things about a domain name being the current owner, previous owners and also any recent changes in web host or name server.
You might be wondering why it’s important to know these details, and the truth is it’s ordinarily not but when it comes to buying a website, you need to take every precaution to make sure that what you’re buying really does belong to you. The consequences of buying a hacked website mean that you lose out on your money, and in a few weeks you possibly get taken to court.
By checking the name server history on a site such as Domain Tools you can verify that the domain hasn’t been pointed elsewhere. If you see that the domain name has just recently changed ownership or the DNS server has changed, make sure to query the owner as it could be a sign that the ‘owner’ isn’t quite who they say they are.
One of the best ways to ensure a safe transaction is to be thoroughly vigilant. These days there are numerous websites becoming victims to hack attacks. If you have any cause for concern, then don’t go ahead with the sale. If the domain does look authentic and the owner appears who they say they are, also be wary that you may be buying from a disgruntled ex or someone with a grudge against the real owner. Use an escrow service for anything that’s going to involve money and most importantly before you hand anything over, make sure to see some evidence on paper.
Lastly, trademarked domain names are an important issue. If you are about to buy a website that has a domain name which uses another companies trademark, no matter what the seller tells you, you are breaking trademark law and the most likely reason the site is up for sale is that the previous owner has already been issued with a cease and desist letter, alongside an order to delete the domain name.
Copyright law states that any domain name using a company’s trademark belongs to that company. Facebooktips.com is a violation, microsofttips.com is another violation, and googlesucks.com is another. Make sure to check these issues first, and if a domain appears to be a trademark violation, don’t buy.
Buying a new website isn’t as hard as it sounds, and whilst you do need to be constantly vigilant, the best piece of advice we can give is to make sure that you know what you’re getting yourself into. Once again, the golden rule here is that if it looks too good to be true, chances are it really is.
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