Selling - whois on or off?

[Toonz]

Hi all. Got a newbie question about whois privacy. Is it generally accepted that private sellers shouldn't have this activated on a domain that they're selling?

Also, how do you feel about revealing your name and address when you list domains for sale on forums like this?

I think it's in my nature to err on the side of privacy in general - however I realise that in some situations it's necessary to disclose details publicly if only to not appear like I'm hiding something. I just want to find out what the general convention is when promoting domains for sale.

Cheers.

 

[Pyro]

Opt out of displaying your address if you're an individual. Otherwise you can choose to get a postal address where mail can be sent to for a small fee or free. Place that postal address as your registered address when registering a domain.
That way you will only reveal your name and not your physical residence.

If you're a Ltd company and have registered it to your home address then I don't see why you would care about privacy of the domain when you can be found through Companies House.

 

[scottmccloud]

Opt out of displaying your address if you're an individual.

Why?

 

[Pyro]

Why?

Why would you place your address on the website any more times than you had to?

There's the off chance that you may annoy someone with the content on those websites which the domains are pointed at - they may sign you up to spam, come to your address, send you inappropriate letters.

Another reason is you can have your information scraped by bots and placed in a database which is sold or placed on a website.

Ideally, you should only give out personal information to individuals you trust.

 

[Toonz]

Irrespective of the arguments for and against, I'm still curious what the convention is among the professional domainers here. Do you bother with privacy when listing regular domains for sale?

 

[tocku]

I don't think that there is a convention.

Some domainers with a tag go all-out on making the WHOIS record read like an ad notice...

• registration name is a domaining-relevant company name
• tag name relevant to domaining
• contact details include a "BUYNOW@" type email address
• private name server names give further clue that the domain is for sale
• address can provide transparency

Others use a privacy service and don't show anything. And others do something in-between.

Do what works best for your situation.

 

[Toonz]

Will do. Thanks.