Learn Internet Marketing

One very important part of the process of buying and selling websites is of course, getting the goods, in this case the domain and the site contents, to the buyer. As soon as the terms of the sale and the payment method are decided upon, the domain name transfer is the next major step in the process. Furthermore, the transacting parties should also first decide on the hosting arrangement for the site before this next step is initiated.

In general, the original owner can go for either of two options in getting the domain to the buyer: 1. Domain Push; and 2. Domain Transfer. Let’s talk about the two methods.

1. Domain Push

Those who’ve tried selling a website are likely to be knowledgeable about this option because this is the most common manner of getting the domain to the buyer. In website flipping, a “push” simply means he (seller) is moving the possession of the domain from one person to a different one within the same registrar. Note however that this situation only happen if both buyer and seller have an account with the same registrar such as GoDaddy.com.

There are many benefits to pushing a domain: The process is simple, it costs absolutely nothing, and the domain is automatically “moved” once the push is made. There isn’t any waiting around for 60 days like one does when a domain is moved to another registrar.

2. Domain Transfer

If the seller has the domain registered at one registrar (GoDaddy.com for instance), and the buyer has his account with another (e.g. NameCheap.com) and wants the domain he bought to be registered in the same registrar, then a domain transfer would have to be made by the seller.

This mode of getting the domain to the buyer isn’t used as often as the first one due to some very justifiable reasons. First, there are fees involved to have the domain transferred to another registrar (although this may only cost about $8 to $10). Further, a transfer entails a longer and more complicated process. And then there’s the 60-day waiting period rule to deal with should it apply in your situation.  

For those who are uninformed of this rule, a domain that’s only been registered cannot be transferred to a different registrar within 60 days. This is clearly a big inconvenience if the seller has only created and registered the website a few days or weeks before the sale goes through.

Domain Push vs Domain Transfer

Understandably, the transacting parties would often opt to push the sold domain instead of transferring it for the factors discussed above. Even if the buyer has most of his websites registered with another registrar as that of the seller’s, it’s a simple matter of creating a new account for the buyer at the registrar where the seller can just make the push.

However, the buyer may still “insist” on a domain transfer and not just a push if the seller’s registrar isn’t that reputable and the buyer is not comfortable having his newly-bought site or domain on that registrar.

If you’ve already familiarized yourself with how to push a domain or transfer one, there are only a few more steps to take and you’ve already completed the process for flipping websites.