When people check a used domain, they usually look at backlinks, archive history, trademarks, and past use. But old DNS records seem easy to overlook. I've seen domains still carrying old TXT records, mail records, verification records, or CNAMEs from previous setups. Maybe most are harmless, but if you do not know what they connect to, it feels like a small risk to leave them there. When you buy an expired or aftermarket domain, do you wipe the DNS zone first, or review each record before touching anything?
wow, I didn't even know you needed to do that. How do you see what dns records are out there and how do you wipe them? We only have a few that are second hand but we have some we'd like to sell. I'd always assumed that when you set up the domain on your hosting that anything out there relating to old webhosts would be ignored.
Yes, you’re right in most cases. If you move the domain to new nameservers or a new DNS provider, the old webhost’s DNS zone usually stops being used. But if the domain is still using the old nameservers, then the old records can still matter. To wipe them, people normally need access to the DNS provider where the nameservers point. But honestly, I think that is fairly rare unless the buyer got the domain bundled with the old website or hosting setup.