How long does an IP transfer take?

Are you wanting to buy or sell IPv4 urgently and worried about how long the transaction may actually take?

We understand that often with these transactions time is of the essence and we do our best to make sure that our deals move as efficiently as possible. There are however a few things that can hold up an IP transfer:

  1. Finding the buyer or seller – you either have a range or want to buy one. This is just like trying to sell property… finding the right buyer or seller with whom you can agree on terms can be a challenge.  Different people often have expectations that don’t align and it can take a while to find the right person.
  2. Negotiating – at the moment IPv4 seems to be more expensive than some are willing to pay for it. The range can be from $10-$20 per IP within the APNIC region depending on the size of the block with some other regions being cheaper while they still have v4 left – for now. So, a lot of time can be spent in emails trying to settle on a price and getting approvals.
  3. Approval – the buyer needs to have approval to purchase and own the proposed range. They will need to talk to APNIC or their RIR or NIR to ensure they meet the requirements to receive this range. They will need to justify the need and normally will (in APNIC) receive an approval code.
  4. The money – the buyer needs to have the required funds ready to make the transfer and the seller needs to be ready to receive it, including setting up any escrow services etc.  This is one of the sticking points.  We’ve been involved in many deals where the buyer was reaching too far and couldn’t actually afford what they wanted.
  5. The transaction – once you have all of these lined up you need to begin the actual transfer. This means doing the transfer in myAPNIC and with any other NIR or RIR involved. The funds need to be transferred via escrow and then the ranges received.

At v4Now we try to ensure that Steps 1-4 are ready to go before documents or agreements are signed. Once done and the transaction begins we ensure that the process happens as efficiently as possible.

We know each step of this process and have done this many time which is why we can usually get transactions happening sooner. However, we all know that there can be changes and hold ups at any stage. It is really in the hands of the buyer and seller, if they are ready to move they will move.  Click Here if you are interested in buying or selling IPv4.