an_ignorant_boy

I have never registered a domain name before but I have researched a bit and learned that there are several registrars out there, and several resale venues for parked domains. There is a domain name I want, which is taken. I used the "certified offer service" on networksolutions.com and never received a reply to my offer. So I went one step further and called the number listed on the WHOIS. It was the father of the person who used the site, and he said to call his son. I called the son and he said he would be open for negotiations but was busy and I need to call back in a few days. Here is my question. If the son agrees to hand the domain over for a certain price, how do we actually handle the technical details of the sale/transfer? The only methods I can find are the "aftermarket" resale sites, and I would not want him to put his domain on there, because then it would open him to offers from other bidders (not a good thing for me). I guess if he accepts my offer I can just send ANOTHER certified offer through networksolutions.com, but that will cost me another $19 flat fee and a percentage of the transaction. Just curious if there is any way to handle this transfer privately. I did notice on networksolutions there seems to be an option to "transfer domain from one networksolutions account to another". This seems like it might be what I'm looking for. I guess in the case of a "private sale" though, there needs to be trust between seller and buyer for transfer of funds and doman to both occur. ~Jaye Autism Speaks -It's time to listen. (I've lost 17 1/2 lbs since 6/6/07! ) "breaks out huge ass padlock" -skybytch