The best steps to take really are going to depend on where you purchase your domain name. If you purchase the domain name directly from another party, the first step to take is to have the person sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. (free one at that link on DotWeekly). Even with a NDA signed, be sure to express to the selling party that you DO NOT want the sale or the price disclosed just as a reminder.
Using a 3rd party (escrow) or purchasing from a third party (Sedo, Afternic, Pool, SnapNames etc). Most escrow services do not disclose their transactions but some do. I know Moniker will often report sales that use its escrow service and I think Afternic will do the same. Escrow.com does not report its transactions. To be safe, if you wish to keep the transaction private, step two if purchasing from somebody is to make sure to clearly state that you wish to keep the transaction private to the escrow agent as well!
When purchasing a domain name directly on Afternic or Sedo that the domain name is not at auction, you will need to state during the transfer process that you wish to keep the sale private! Sadly, Sedo charges 2.5% of the purchase price to keep the domain sale private but if you wish to keep it private, it is the price you need to pay! From my understanding, no other service charges this “privacy” fee.
Auction domains. Any domain name that is at auction is going to be hard to hide the price or the fact that it sold. If a bidder is in the auction, they can clearly see the ending price. RSS feeds are in place and many sites report on domain name sales using automated scripts that grab this data. It is very hard to keep these type of domain sales private.
The one option a buyer does have when purchasing a domain at auction and wishes to keep private as to who the “buyer” was, is to use Whois Privacy Protection at the registrar. This needs to be done right away when the domain enters your account and will cost you a couple bucks a year. Since services like DomainTools.com keep whois history records, and if somebody were to do a whois request for your domain before privacy is in place, this will likely create a record of ownership with the details of your whois contact information.
Communication is your best defense. Be sure to express from the start that you wish to keep the whole transaction private if that is what you wish to do. Having a signed NDA by the seller will greatly help you if the purchase price and or domain are reported sold. If you are requesting the seller or third party service to keep the transaction private, you may also want to cover yourself with using whois privacy protection.
Never assume the sale will be private. Just requesting privacy from the seller is only one step if you are using a 3rd party as well to handle payment, so keep that in mind. To be sure things are as you requested, search at Google, Yahoo and Bing from time to time and include the “DomainNameTLD”, “DomainNameTLD Sold” or similar search terms.
Some businesses or people wish to keep a domain name sale private for many reasons and knowing some of these things will greatly help you in a quest to keep a transaction private. I think one step often over looked is the 3rd party service being used. Be sure to remember to cover your bases with them as well.
Some businesses or people wish to keep a domain name sale private for many reasons and knowing some of these things will greatly help you in a quest to keep a transaction private. I think one step often over looked is the 3rd party service being used. Be sure to remember to cover your bases with them as well.
John Daly is your source for Premium Domains