Someone approached to sell me a grandfathered .EDU name. I never thought .EDU domain can be traded so I started to research a little bit. Ain’t they owned only by educational institutions of United States?
Turns out .EDU names in existence as of October 29, 2001 were more freely registered and thus many non-educational entities such as individuals and businesses owned them. However, after the management of the .EDU name space were transferred to EDUCAUSE and thus new regulations were introduced on and from October 29, 2001, .EDU names can only be distributed to certified higher educational institutions operating in the United States and cannot be traded or exchanged whatsoever. But the .EDU names created before Oct.29, 2001 remained in the hands of their original registrant. That’s why they are called “grandfathered“. They are out of the current rules but they can still exist.
While you cannot acquire a new .EDU name now – unless you purchase a small local college for couple of millions – can you get a grandfathered .EDU from its previous owner?
The owner / registrant name of the .EDU name must remain unchanged for its lifetime — no matter if it’s a grandfathered .EDU or a .EDU created after Oct. 29, 2001. So is this all a scam or is it really possible to buy a grandfathered .EDU name?
The way to trade a grandfathered .EDU is probably to trade the owner entity. You are not buying the name, instead, you are buying the business entity that owns the .EDU name. I never personally bought such an entity to get any .EDU name so I’m not saying this way would work. From my research, this is definitely a possible way. Quite a few domain name brokers said they knew such sales existed or even engaged in one.
To make sure, I approached the staff at EDUCAUSE.edu and these are the 2 official replies I got:
EDU domains cannot be given, sold, or in any other way transferred to another institution. EDU domains –even those grandfathered – must remain registered to the original registrant.
— Kate, Member Services Representative
Nothing seriously against the idea of obtaining the owner entity to obtain the .edu name. However the second reply from a Senior Policy Director comes much more serious:
Names in the .edu domain are made available to registrants under conditions and policies specified by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In particular they are not "owned" by the registrant and therefore may not be sold or otherwise transferred. The contract included in your most recent message is thus in error in stating "…that this Business Entity is the sole beneficial owner of the domain name xxxxxx.edu, that said domain name is not encumbered in any manner…".
In your original e-mail you said: "Someone approached me to sell me a grandfathered .edu name." Such a sale would be invalid regardless of any attempt to embed that sale within another transaction. EDUCAUSE will not hesitate to disable any .edu name we find to have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of policy.
— Steven, Senior Policy Director
If you are ever buying a grandfathered .edu name, better make sure to stay low and never let EDUCAUSE knows about the deal. 😉
.edu are great for backlinks since they are trusted by google. they are an SEO’er dream to own or get links from.
I’ve been researching this too and came across your blog. Unfortunately, it seems like the only .edu’s available are from foreign unregulated countries, which no doubt Google has caught onto an (mostly likely) penalized.
Ah well, it was worth checking out.
Ansar
No, there are top .edu available for purchase and you are buying the business entity that owns the name rather than the name itself. You just have to search hardly. I was approached by such brokers twice. But still, it’s rare enough.
it’s pointless to even try to buy a .edu. Even if you succeed and get a foreign one, google knows and won’t throw any juice towards it.
You can sure get a top .edu name that’s not foreign. Just have to buy the entity that holds it rather than the name itself.
There are a few hosting services that offer actual free .edu sub-domain’s and email’s as long as you host with them such as http://www.academicdesigner.com
That’s something new. Definitely trying it out!
Is it yours?
Yes. I have a ‘grandpa’.edu domain that is over 15 years old and also have access to another 4 LLLL .edu domain that I was developing for a school whixh has since been closed. Both domains are now only used for transcript purposes which is required by law even after the university closes. As long as the subdomains are offered as ‘free’, there is no breach of the educause TOS.
Daprof
i want to talk to you. you can reach me [email protected]
Daprof, I am interested in your edu offerings. Please contact me at
linuxedu @ gmail dot com. Thanks.
I am VERY interested in your .edu name. We are starting online university and this
would cut through lots of red tape. roger at revoked. com
Daprof, I am interested in your edu domains. Please write to drustvodpd @ gmail.com
Thanks
I, too, am interested in your .edu offerings. I would also be interested in subdomains or even hosting for an educational website offering free tutorials and webinars.