The other checklist on this site is about not unlocking the domain when you change hosts. This URL is the twin: do not delete MX “to finish the migration.” Buyer mail is how offers arrive. An MX record is only a pointer to a mail server; Cloudflare’s note on MX records is enough. RFC 2142 even reserved role addresses such as hostmaster@ and sales@; useless if you pointed MX at a dead host.
I’m Mostapha; I buy and sell names from Morocco. I have migrated a lander and only later noticed offers had bounced for a week. Score the name in the Domain Value Checker before you spend the weekend on mail. Weak letters: no migration. FAQ.
While the name is for sale
Publish an address you actually read. Leave MX on the provider that receives it. Change A/AAAA for the lander if you must; do not “set nameservers to the new host’s defaults” if those defaults nuke MX. The lock stays on; moving hosts is not a reason to unlock. Price the string, not the mailbox: before you sell.
If mail lives at the registrar and the website at a host, that split is healthy. Default “email + hosting together” is how one cPanel move blinds you. Same idea as not parking the lander in a cloud login you do not control: that page.
If you are buying
Do not cut the seller’s MX before the push unless you have another path to them. After the name is in your account, you may point MX wherever you want. Until then, their inbox is the deal. Checker before you buy.
A small move that keeps mail
- Screenshot current MX (and TXT if you use it).
- Move only the website records, or copy MX onto the new DNS before you switch nameservers.
- Send yourself a test from a phone network, not from the same host.
- If the test fails, switch nameservers back. Do not unlock anything.
Experiments off the public hostname: don’t test on the domain you want to sell.
Decision
Website down for an hour is awkward. Mail down during a negotiation is a lost buyer. Keep MX boring. If the checker already said leftover, skip the move and skip the host bill.