Question for Domain Sellers
 

Just curious. When you sell a domain for a significant amount of $$, do you always require that all the funds be paid immediately?

Are you ever willing to accept monthly payments and transfer the domain when the balance has been paid up? For example, you sell a domain for 10k, accept monthly payments of 1k from the buyer over 10 months, and then transfer the domain?

yes. sure. done it many times before. even spread it out over years for one client.

Only you can decide what's good for you. Give the buyer multiple options. for a situation like that, obviously don't give the buyer control or use of the domain until paid in full. have an ironclad contract, and tell the buyer that if he defaults, you...

a) either return the payments
b) loses 50%
c) loses 100%
(you decide and include in contract)

if another buyer comes along and can pay immediately, you can offer him first right of refusal (pay in full) or you will return his money and sell to new buyer. mix & match, or DIY, but consult a lawyer and google for FAQs, escrow services, contract suggestions, etc. you can use lots of tactics to qualify the buyer to make sure he's not wasting your time. too many people fishing for prices, so you need to have a strategy to weed them out.

good luck.

Thanks for the great info, as always. From the buyer's perspective, two things would worry me about a contract like this:

(1) the possibility that you could just lose the domain after paying in possibly several thousand. You might get all your money back, but none of that money would have collected any interest.

(2) If the domain suddenly rises in value, what is to stop the seller from suddenly raising the price. The market fluctuates, sometimes significantly over a short period of time, for some domains.

If I am buying a domain, the OPTIMAL type of arrangement I would like is for the seller, assuming he is not doing anything with the domain presently, to make it active on the buyers server and let the buyer 'rent' it, if you will. He still owns the domain so there is little risk to him. He can switch servers whenever he wants.

How do you feel about the whole idea of domain renting? A lot of people own domains that get a lot of type in traffic. A lot of potential buyers don't have the kind of $$ it would take to buy the domain outright.

Renting a domain would benefit the renter since it would be a good source of traffic that he can profit from. It would also benefit the seller since he would be collecting a monthly fee and the domain would be developed by the renter, thereby making it even more valuable in the long run.

Different strokes: Unlike Taboo, I never do leases or long term stuff. Was approached recently about it, and it was pretty sweet, but I hate having entanglements.

I think when you start turning on the taps, what you really want is freedom from stuff like that, so it has to be pretty sweet to dive in.

Another thing is that you can measure an enterprise's level of committment by whether they're willing to pony up for a domain on the frontside. If they're worried about $10k here, $15k there they aren't really together, and I don't need that.

:2 cents: :2 cents:

You can make a lot more money by structuring creative deals.

Its called leveraging your capital if you are a buyer. And facilitating a higher return on your sale if you are a seller, since you can derive long term income.

True, but those kinds of buyers are only interested in ultra-premium domains. I'm sure you also own a lot of second and third tier domains. Buyers interested in those kinds of domains may not have the funds available to purchase outright. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are bad risks. As KRL just said, you can optimize your profits by structuring creative deals.

if they wanted interest, they would put their money elsewhere.


contracts.



different clients have different needs. judge accordingly.

:)

One of my ventures launching next year is DomainLicensing.com, so I firmly believe in the concept. I prefer to JointVenture, CoBrand/Private Label, License over selling, unless selling is the only option a buyer is looking for. all comes down to negotiating for a win-win deal. never get too greedy that the buyer will avoid doing future business with you.

Hey, different strokes for different folks. If KRL really paid $1.3 million for men.com, props to him. If he didn't props to him. ;)

I have learned that those who write business plans write in the domain name's full value from the get go. If they don't, there's already trouble. Yes, there are exceptions, but that's why they call them exceptions. I'm interested in sure things.

:2 cents: :2 cents: :2 cents:

Use the strategy that works best for you. Tailor each deal to match the client's needs/budget. Look at KRL & DomBuyer, differently strategies, but both play the game successfully. Obviously with large domain deals, a payment plan works if you're happy with it. One of my most creative deals included a 4 year payment schedule, but the client could always pay me off earlier and receive a discount. They ended up closing the deal after the 3rd year because they wanted to save money. :) I was happy with both scenarios and it was win-win all around, except that they still haven't done anything with the domain name. (?) I even had to remind them to renew it. insanity.

i got burned once doing the 50/50 thing, now i collect 100% before i transfer

Taboo, when you sell a domain on payments do you give the buyer access to the domain in the meantime? If so I'd love to see what type in domains you have for sale. :Graucho

Really paid???

It was $1,320,000.00 to be fucking exact.

:321GFY

It all depends on what makes everyone happy. I'll have a complete list ready in a few weeks. I'm sorting through all of them and tracking new stats, etc... we can chat when I'm done. :)

I am sure you would . . . don't count on it.

I broker the sale of domains and sites and my primary obligation is to the seller. There is no way that I would encourage the seller to accept that type of arrangement.

Maybe the current market is such that it really isn't necessary to lease domains. But people are investing in these things like real estate. A lot of them want to hold the domains they buy for an extended period of time and bank on them increasing in value (like real estate).

A lot of these people do nothing with quality domains. It is amazing how many premium domains there are out there that have had 'under construction' signs on them for years. Why not rent them out and make additional $$ on your investment? How many people buy appartment buildings and leave them empty for three years?