Hey, if I have a few domain names with places like dreamhost and godaddy. When I go to sell it and the person is not on godaddy or dreamhost, I just switch the admin contact and email and then they intiate the transfer and they can do it themselves right? Also when they transfer it to another registar would I have to pay for the transfer or them? thanks in advance.
I have no idea about dreamhost but with GoDaddy, you do not just change the admin contact and email because if you do that, the domain name is still in your account. When in the GoDaddy Control Panel, do an 'Initiate Account Change' for the domain name you are transferring. You will need to get all the contact information from the new owner and you need to type that in the change request. This will push the domain name to the new owner account. This is free for both you and the new owner. The new owner does not necessary need to have an account with GoDaddy at that point as one would be created for him for free. If you want to transfer to another registrar, you need to unlock the domain name. The receiving party will initiate a Transfer over at the new registrar and they need to pay a year extension for the domain name. This is an extension which means that it would be 12 months + whatever time frame remains for the domain name. Keeping within the same registrar is usually free and almost immediate. I've just taken a look at Dreamhost and it appears that the domain name is free and attached the hosting account. You probably need to check with them as far as domain name transfer procedures are concerned and if it is permitted because if the losing registrar does not consent to the transfer, the whole process is cancelled.