The following material is based on our own research and experiences in the domaining world. The suggestions, tips, advice and points mentioned may or may not be directly relevant to your line of operation. Kindly follow the same only after you have read other posts on this topic, and when you are convinced that you are receiving advice from a "real" domainer. This post could be titled in a few different ways.... How To Buy Domains? How To Buy Profitable Domain Names? How To Buy Domain Names To Flip? How To Buy Domains Online? and so on. There are many places you can buy domain names online but before you buy a domain name you must consider why you want a domain name in the first place. You can buy domain names via the following methods or resources.... - You can buy a domain name from an auction house such as GoDaddy Auctions. - You can buy a domain from a top forum such as Digital Point Forums or NamePros. - You can buy a domain name directly through the WHOis for that particular domain. - You can buy a domain name through an email newsletter such as Toby Clements, etc. - You can hand register the domain name you want. There are other ways of buying domains too. But we have mentioned only what we have personally used ourselves and know more about. We consider hand registered domains to be bought since we need to pay some money to get them. They are not free! The best and cheapest way to buy a domain name is Hand Registration. However, you may face difficulties in finding an "available" domain name since most good domain names are registered already. 99% of the domain names we buy are hand registered, through the WHOis or discovered on GoDaddy auctions. While researching the web for domain names to buy you should ensure that most of the points mentioned are met.... - the domain name should not be copyrighted in any way. - the domain name should not have been self domain name hijacked. - the domain name owner can verify ownership via his company or personal profile. - the domain name should be reasonably priced. - the domain name should have a clear history that can be seen in online archives. - the domain name should suit the exact purpose for you wanting to buy it. - the domain name should have an extension (.com/net/org/in/info/etc) that you want. - the domain name should not have been sold recently. Such domains are usually SELF domain name hijacked. There may be several other points and factors which you need to take into consideration before buying a domain name. However, once again, we have outlined only the most important and popular points to note. If your intention to buy a domain is to FLIP it then consider buying only those domain names that are hand registered or you are certain that the domain name itself will sell because it is a.... - terrific domain name. - exact match domain in a popular search market. - short domain name (2L/3L/4L/5L). - PR domain. - Dot Com domain. - domain that comes along with a developed website. - domain that you can create content on easily. Domain flipping is a popular business these days. However, it would be wise to do enough research online on the topic, and read through the domain blogs available that outline such topics well. There are 2 important questions that you need to ask yourself when buying domains to flip. The 1st question is "Will this domain name make me more money than what I paid to acquire and develop it?". The 2nd questions is "Will it make me enough money to cover up for the amount of time and efforts invested on the name?". Use your own common sense when buying domain names. Use your gut instinct as well. If something does not seem or feel right about a particular domain name that you want to buy then you are probably right. Also, pay close attention to the domain seller, broker, or auction house that is selling the domains to you. Some domain investors, brokers and auction websites online are involved in self domain name hijacking and reverse domain hijacking. There are also several domain blogs that give you huge lists of domain names that you can buy from NameJet, GoDaddy, etc. These domain blogs ONLY promote those domain lists because they make their living by selling those names to you. I would suggest that you take a good hard look at the business health of the blogger selling you those names. They aren't worth your time if the bloggers selling them hasn't had much success in selling domains or making much money online. Always try to take out the middle men involved when buying a domain name. Middle men involve excess fees, hidden charges, and irritating follow-up service that you can do without. Avoid buying domain names from websites, blogs, forums on which there are too many BANNER ADs promoting other products and services. Websites, blogs or forums that depend on money earned via inserting many advertisements into their content spaces are usually those that don't make enough money selling their own products or services. How many times have you seen a Banner Ad on GoDaddy promoting another domain registrar or auction house?? There are few other things to keep in mind when buying a domain name for you or your organization. And, we will try to add those into this post when we compile 'em together. Hope this post helps you buy a good domain name. Please post your views, inputs or comments on this thread. It will help us all buy better domain names in the future.