These are a few domain names which may be for sale.

The value of an already registered domain name is a matter of negotiation between the owner and prospective buyer.
Names directed to this page are not in active use or can readily be released. They are open to offers. Any purchase request at the asking price (where specified) is likely to be accepted. Close offers may be considered.
Names are the property of various individuals or businesses, serious enquiries will be forwarded to the owner.

The names available for purchase here

The names listed were all available at the time of listing but may have subsequently been sold or withdrawn from sale

sheffieldunited.uk	£300
8tt.uk	£1000
sg0.uk	£1000
b0b.uk	£1000
b0b.co.uk	£1000
r0b.uk	£1000
h8s.uk	£1000
be9.uk	£1000
r08.co.uk	£1000
russian-translator.co.uk	£100
internetholdings.uk	£100
peakwalkers.co.uk	£2000
website-rescue.co.uk	£1500
cavingbooks.co.uk	£2500
midland-bank.co.uk	£500
lyalya.uk	£500
intemetholdings.co.uk	£1500
laserscapes.co.uk	£1000
cavingbooks.uk	£2000
sheffield.co.uk	£50,000
sheffield.uk	£50,000
shffld.uk	£500
shffld.co.uk	£500

What factors affect the value of a domain name?

There are several features that contribute to the value of a name:

• It is short
• It is a single word
• It is a dictionary word or a proper noun
• It is memorable
• It is in a widely recognised core TLD (Top Level Domain, i.e. .co.uk or .com) See the note below...
• It has positive connotations
• It has no negative connotations
• It is relevant to the purpose and content of any associated web site

The names listed here fulfil more than two of those criteria.

The situation is comparable with UK car number plates, the shortest consist of one letter and one digit like X1. The price of such exclusivity can be well into six figures.

Unregistered domain names in core TLDs might only cost £15-25 p.a. but all the most useful names were sold years ago. Your choice is to buy a name from the current owner, use an inferior name or even one from a non-core TLD (see below).
Domain names are subject to annual renewal fees, in the .uk and .com registries that fee is in the region of £15-£25.
Names are sold "as seen" with no warranty. The purchaser should undertake their own due-diligence to avoid any potential conflicts of interest such as unauthorised use of a registered trade mark.

Why are these names available for sale?

Could be any of several reasons including:

• It was previously in use but is no longer required.
• It was bought speculatively or for a future project that was subsequently dropped.
• It is similar to the primary domain that is in use but the variant has been bought "defensively" to avoid confusion (like example.com and example.co.uk). In that case the name probably fulfills many of the criteria listed above but if it's to be used in a manner that doesn't conflict with the primary name then an offer may be considered.
• The name may be in current use but the owner is ready to dispose of it.

How would I pay?

It's understandable that you would be concerned at paying a significant amount in advance to an unknown third party for a digital asset.
The vendor has the same concern, delivering the asset to an unknown third party on the promise of payment.
The solution is to use an escrow service. That is an intermediary who holds the payment only releasing it to the vendor once both parties confirm the transfer has concluded successfully. It is an inexpensive service.
An escrow service we have used in the past is www.transpact.com, their website explains in some detail the processes and protections.
If you prefer a different escrow service then, subject to due-diligence on our part, that should be fine.

Core TLDs (Top Level Domains)

There are now hundreds of TLDs, that gives the illusion that a name buyer has more choice, unable to secure tesco.com or tesco.co.uk you might think tesco.shop (if that were not held by Tesco) would be an acceptable alternative, however you would soon hear from tesco's lawyers!
Core TLDs The core set of TLDs is ccTLDs:("country codes" like .fr France, .de Germany) and gTLDs like .com, .net, .org, these are intended for companies, telecoms/networks, organisations where the other categories are inappropriate. Their usage is advisory rather than enforced.
There are also some grTLDs (generic reserved TLDs) reserved for specific uses, .mil is only available to US Military organisations, .gov (US government), .edu (US educational). In UK we have our equivalents such as .gov.uk.

Purchase and annual renewal prices for ccTLDs and gTLDs are usually relatively low (£15-25) and not subject to significant change, even inflationary increases are uncommon.

Domain names and renewals are commonly offered at a very low introductory price, even ccTLD and gTLDs at below the wholesale cost.
There are always strings attached, usually a requirement to pay for two years with the second (and subsequent ) years at a much higher price.
Another variant is that the renewals is free but conditional on paying for a web hosting package the cost of which is inflated to cover the cost of the name. That's not what I consider "free"!

sTLDs (sponsored Domains)

Next we come to sTLDs. These are the "poor relations" of core TLDs. sTLDs are commercial and, essentially, in the hands of speculators who own the sTLD. Examples are .biz, .shop, .ai, .xyz
The cost of an sTLD can be very little (probably an introductory price), others are $thousands p.a.
Prices of sTLDs can increase at the whim of the owner, sometimes significantly.
sTLDs are riskier than the core TLDs, the TLD owner sets his own price and can arbitrarily increase it.

The cost of owning and operating a TLD name registry is high, as a result uneconomic TLDs may be withdrawn.
That risks those who "know" your web & email addresses using the old domain name and losing contact, perhaps concluding that you've ceased trading.
Any advertising materials that use the name will be out of date. A hard-earned prominent position in search results will be lost.

Not found a good name?

It's difficult, so many desirable names have already been sold, about 160 million .com, even the .uk registry holds about 10 million.
sTLDs are one way forward but even the more widely recognised names mark you out as a "second class citizen"
With 30 years experience in sourcing domain names for all kinds of businesses and other organisations we can help you find something suitable.

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