Getting premium domains these days is difficult, especially .com domain names. In the early days of the “gold rush” for domain names, you could typically select from a list of words that would work if your .com was not available. If that didn't work, you could look at .net or .org domain name endings to find the right choice. Unfortunately, the most desirable domain names have been registered, and you now have to go to the secondary market to buy them from their current owners. So, how do I find domain owner info to buy a domain I want?

Go to the Domain URL for Contact Information

People buy domains and keep them parked for later business opportunities, flip them with a reseller, or try to sell them independently.

Try typing the domain name into your browser and going to the website. If you see a domain parking page, you may be in luck. On a “parked” page, you may see a message from the owner to get in touch if you're interested in purchasing the domain. The owner might be interested in selling the domain for a reasonable price – primarily if available for a while.

 

Start with a WHOIS Search to Find Domain Owner Info

The WHOIS database is the official directory that stores information about domain name owners. If you go to ICANN.org and enter the name of the domain name you are interested in, you can see the following:

  • Registrant name
  • Technical, administrative, and billing information for the domain owner
  • Domain registrar information (Namecheap, for example)
  • Currently used nameservers

In the past, a WHOIS lookup would give you contact information for website owners. Due to recent privacy law changes and massive amounts of spam, the contact information has been redacted. However, since you have the registrant's name and location, you can search by their name for contact information.

 

Contact the owner Via the Registrar.

With the registrar's information you can attempt to reach out to the current owner through the registrar's information. Some registrars have dedicated teams and domain broker services that will do this on your behalf for a fee. Namecheap has a team that will reach out to any domain owner or registrar to secure a domain for you. For example, all Domaintive domains are for sale directly through Namecheap. Their domain broker teams handle the entire process, from answering questions about payment, escrow, and delivery of our purchased premium domain names.

Hopefully, these tips will get you started finding domain owner info so you can get the right domain name for your business.

Interested in buying a premium domain name from Domaintive? Check out our premium domain name listings to get started!