What an IPv4 broker
actually does.
Address space has been traded on a secondary market since the registries ran out. A broker sits between the two sides of that trade. This is what the job involves, how brokers are paid, and what to ask before you appoint one.
Four jobs, and only one of them is finding a block.
Sourcing
Most address space never appears on an open market. It moves through people who know which holders are willing to sell, which is why inventory a broker can reach is usually larger than anything published.
Diligence
Whether the registration is clean and transferable, who is announcing the space, whether the announcement validates, and what the blocklists remember about the previous holder.
The registry process
Preparing and driving the submission, and dealing with the registry directly. This is where deals stall, and it is the part a buyer and seller are least equipped to do themselves.
Holding the money
Funds sit in escrow until the registry records the transfer, so neither side is exposed while the registry is reviewing. Nobody sends money to a stranger on trust.
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Read more →Ask this first, because it decides whose side they are on.
Our commission is between 3 and 8 percent of the sale, paid by the seller and only on completion. Smaller blocks carry the higher rate, because the paperwork and the registry process are much the same whether the block is a /24 or a /16.
Buyers pay us nothing. That is deliberate rather than generous: a broker paid by both sides has an incentive pointing in two directions at once, and it puts a line item on the table that a buyer will argue off the seller's price anyway.
There is nothing upfront on either side. No listing fee, no valuation fee, no retainer. If the space does not sell, nobody owes us anything.
And what it does not.
Prefixx is a registered broker with ARIN, RIPE NCC and APNIC, and we act as a facilitator in the LACNIC region. Registration means we work inside each registry's transfer process rather than around it, and that the registry knows who we are.
It is worth being precise about the limit of that, because the term gets used loosely. Accreditation does not mean a registry vouches for any particular deal, guarantees a block, or underwrites anything. It means the process is one the registry recognizes.
The questions actually worth asking a broker are narrower. Who pays you, and when. What do you check before you show me a block. Where does my money sit while the registry reviews. What happens if the transfer is refused.
Buying, selling or still deciding?
We are a boutique brokerage and selective about counterparties, which is a large part of why the space we place carries the routing and reputation history that it does.
Explore related services
Buy IPv4
Source vetted IPv4 blocks with zero buyer fees. Prefixx manages the entire transfer process across ARIN, RIPE, APNIC and LACNIC.
Learn more →Sell IPv4
Monetize unused IPv4 address space. We connect you with qualified buyers and manage the transfer from start to finish.
Learn more →Our Process
Learn how Prefixx guides every IPv4 transaction step by step, from initial consultation to final transfer.
Learn more →Contact us to discuss your IPv4 needs today
No hidden fees, free consult. A broker replies within one business day.