Also called domain aftermarket · secondary market
Aftermarket, explained
Supply comes from two directions: owners listing names they hold, and expiring names that registrars auction before they would drop. Sellers list on marketplaces such as Afternic, Sedo, Atom and Dynadot, or point the name at a for-sale lander. Afternic syndicates listings to more than 100 registrar and reseller sites, so a buyer searching for a taken name may see it offered at their own registrar. Larger deals often involve brokers, and payment usually runs through an escrow service such as Escrow.com, which holds the funds until the transfer completes.
Prices span a wide range, and most sales are modest. Sedo's median sale price in 2025 was $818 against an average of $2,753, according to the Global Domain Report 2026; a few large sales pull the average up. Escrow.com reported $102.5 million in domain transactions in the fourth quarter of 2025. Platforms also consolidate: Dan.com closed on June 27, 2025; GoDaddy, which acquired it in 2022, had already migrated the platform to Afternic.
For an investor, the aftermarket is where you buy below retail and where you hope to sell at retail. The common mistake is treating asking prices as values: asking prices are wishes, sold prices are data, so check comparable sales before paying or pricing. Expect slow sales; most names never sell, and the ones that do can take years. Never transfer a name before payment is secured through escrow or a marketplace's own process.
AI changes how buyers arrive more than how deals close. Founders who brainstorm names with AI tools often find the good suggestions already registered, which sends them to a lander or a marketplace listing. RFC 10023, published in July 2026, defines a _for-sale DNS record that signals a name is available to buy, with a link and a price that software can parse. Neither replaces the basics: a clear price or a working offer form, a fast reply and a clean transfer.
Example. A startup that finds its preferred .com already registered and buys it through a marketplace listing is buying on the aftermarket.
Go deeper How to Sell a Domain Name: A Seller's Guide
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- GoDaddy Help — What is List for Sale? Afternic listing FAQ (accessed Oct 1, 2026)
- InterNetX and Sedo — Global Domain Report 2026, data for 2025 (2026)
- Escrow.com — Domain Investment Index Q4 2025 (Mar 4, 2026)
- DomainInvesting.com — Dan.com closing down on June 27 (June 18, 2025)
- RFC Editor — RFC 10023, the _for-sale DNS node (July 2026)
Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.
