> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.stargaze.zone/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.stargaze.zone/stargaze-names/buying-and-selling-names.md).

# Buying & Selling Names

Names are NFTs, so they trade on Stargaze exactly like art does — listings, offers, and reserve auctions. Two characteristics distinguish names from an ordinary collectible, and both are covered on this page.

Browse them all at [stargaze.zone/m/names](https://stargaze.zone/m/names).

## Buying a name

### Buy a listed name

1. Open the [Names collection](https://stargaze.zone/m/names) and find the name — use the search and the collection filters.
2. Open the name's page and check its **expiry** (see below).
3. Click **Buy Now** and approve the transaction.

The name lands in your wallet immediately.

### Make an offer on any name

A name doesn't have to be listed to receive an offer:

1. Open the name's page.
2. Click **Make Offer**, enter your amount and expiry.
3. Confirm.

Your offer sits there until the owner accepts it, you cancel it, or it expires. You can see all your open offers under **Profile → Offers**.

### Bid in an auction

Some names are sold by **reserve auction** instead of a fixed price. Place a bid and it's held in escrow; if someone outbids you, you're refunded automatically.

## Checking the lease before you buy

{% hint style="danger" %}
**A name that has expired is still tradeable.** The marketplace can only see who holds the NFT — it cannot see the lease. So an expired name can be listed, bought and paid for, and then **re-registered by somebody else**, and there is no refund. Always check the expiry before you buy or bid.
{% endhint %}

Before you commit to a name, confirm which state it's in:

| State                 | Safe to buy?                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Registered**        | Yes — you inherit the remaining lease. Renew it when you're ready.                                                                                                                                   |
| **Grace**             | Risky. The name has expired and stopped resolving. It's still renewable, so renew it *immediately* after buying — you have until the grace period ends.                                              |
| **Premium / Expired** | Not advisable. Anyone can register that name directly from the [Names page](https://stargaze.zone/names), and doing so takes it out of the buyer's hands. Register it yourself instead of buying it. |

The quickest check is the owner's profile: open **Profile → Names** for the wallet selling it and read the **Expires** column and its badge. A **Grace** or **Expired** badge is your warning.

The same applies to bidding. If a released name is re-registered while your bid is live, the auction is cancelled and **your bid is refunded in full** — you lose no money, but you don't get the name.

## Selling a name

### List it for sale

1. Go to **Profile → Names** and open the name.
2. Click **List for Sale**, set your price, and confirm.

The name appears in the Names collection for anyone to buy.

### Accept an offer

Open the name's page, review the offers, and click **Accept**. Funds arrive in your wallet and the name goes to the buyer.

### Run an auction

Create a reserve auction from the name's page if you'd rather let the market find the price. You set the reserve, the duration, and optionally a buy-now price.

## Listing clears your records

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Listing a name moves it into escrow, and moving a name clears everything attached to it** — the address it points at, its profile picture, its banner, and all five links. Cancelling the listing returns the name, but not those settings. You'll have to set them up again.
{% endhint %}

Listing is therefore reversible for the name but not for your profile setup. Take that into account before listing a name you use as your identity.

While a name is listed or in a live auction its **Edit** button is disabled — the chain won't accept edits from you while the marketplace is holding it. **Renew** still works throughout, so a listed name can never expire out from under you for lack of access.

## Transferring without selling

To send a name to another wallet — a gift, or moving it to your own hardware wallet — open the name's page and use **Transfer**.

A transfer clears the same settings as a listing. The new owner gets a clean name and sets it up themselves.

## What a sale costs

Fees are the standard Stargaze marketplace fees, paid by the seller:

| Fee             | Amount              |
| --------------- | ------------------- |
| Marketplace fee | 2%                  |
| Royalty         | 5%                  |
| Gas             | fractions of a cent |

On a 100 ATOM sale the seller receives 93 ATOM.

The lease itself is untouched by a sale — no fee, no reset, no renewal. See [Renewing a Name](/stargaze-names/renewals.md).

## What makes a name valuable

The market decides, but the usual drivers are:

* **Length.** 3- and 4-character names are scarce, and priced that way at registration too.
* **Memorability.** Real words and clean handles beat random strings.
* **Relevance.** Project names, ticker symbols, community terms.
* **Time left on the lease.** A name with eight years on it is worth more than the same name with three weeks.

Check comparable sales in the collection's activity feed before pricing anything.

## Next steps

* [Renewing a Name](/stargaze-names/renewals.md) — the first thing to do after buying
* [Managing Your Name](/stargaze-names/managing-your-name.md) — set it up once it's yours
* [Fees](/collect/fees.md) — how marketplace fees work generally


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.stargaze.zone/stargaze-names/buying-and-selling-names.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.