I don’t like to share my domain name sales. Strategically, I think it’s unwise to report what I am selling and for how much. I’d rather use this confidential information to buy domain names at prices that make sense. Beyond the strategic reasons, I don’t think it’s right to share sales without permission from the buyer.

I regularly see sales reported on NamePros, Twitter, and other venues. People have different motivations for sharing sales. It can help raise awareness of domain name values. It can help drive up the profile of domain investors looking for positive feedback from peers. It can act as a motivational tool. There are many reasons for why people share their sales.

One thing that is pretty clear is that many of these sales reports aren’t done with the permission of the buyer. At Dan.com, once a price is agreed upon, the Dan.com transfer agent becomes the intermediary. There isn’t really an opportunity to ask the buyer about sharing the sale publicly. At Sedo and GoDaddy, there isn’t much interaction between parties at all. This indicates that getting consent to share sale data is not something many people do.

When a buyer purchases a domain name at Dan.com, they are given the option to keep the sale private or have Dan.com report the sale publicly. For whatever reason, Dan.com does not tell the seller which option was chosen. A seller reporting a Dan.com sale could be explicitly violating the buyer’s request. At least with a sale on GoDaddy or Sedo, I don’t think the buyer is asked about confidentiality.

As a domain name buyer, I don’t want the seller to reveal the price I paid to privately buy a domain name. If I saw someone report a sale and price without asking, I would be upset. I have a confidentiality clause built into my purchase agreements. I don’t always include one in my sales agreements, but I make it a point of not sharing sales unless the buyer specifically asks for the sale to be reported.

I like reading about domain name sales, but I think sellers should understand that buyers may not want their acquisitions to be shared publicly.