I've made contact and am looking to buy a domain name from a private owner. I am not a techie. What's involved in the transaction, and how can I prevent myself from getting ripped off (I'm assuming many people do.) I'm dealing with a company out of IL called SiteLeader. As per WHOIS his ownership expires 10-05..is this when mine will expire?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Ckstr

You'll probably have something happen like this...

You will pay the private owner $X for the domain name, he should then transfer the domain to you via his registrar[this involves him changing the owner name, address, phone and email]... MAKE SURE HE DOES THAT PART. Then he will transfer Admin, Tech, and Billing contacts to you. At this point, YOU have control over the domain name, and you have ownership. With Ownership and Admin control, you can do anything to the domain name, its yours now.

As far as when it will expire.. Some registrar's will allow you to transfer ownership free of charge, some will force you into a renewal.

If you are using SiteLeader as a registrar, they are OVER expensive ($29.99/yr). Use a system like Godaddy or one of the other registrars that are under $10/year. They offer superb online tools for modifying your domains etc... Joker.com is who I've used for lots of years, only recently have I had an issue, they offer free owner transfer/change etc....

Hope this helps...

Jason