Payment Plans

I've sold a handful of domains on payment plans over the years, but agreed to a new one giving me 3 current monthly payment plans. Of course cash up front is nice, but I don't mind the recurring income, especially if I could get the volume up 10x... It is a slight pain-in-the-ass though. Thankfully all 3 just e-transfer the funds each month, so its about as simple as it gets.

Anyone else having luck with leases/payment plans?

Dan.com does that seamlessly and if the lessee misses a payment the domain goes right back into your account.

I did a couple but it stretched the sale out over 5 years and quite honestly in the price range we are selling for there is no reason why the business cannot self finance so I decided not to do any more.

I hate having to do things more than once and even making monthly booking entries are too much of a pain in the butt for me. Get it done and move on is my philosophy.

I started listing on Dan around October last year, and since that time kept adding names in batches so now have just over 700 names on there, with probably 200 - 300 more I will add when I get to it.

In March I had two inquiries within a few days of each other, and both lead to quick sales.

That is the only action I've seen so far, no other inquiries yet.

I have the lease option turned on for most of the names, anywhere from 12 months to 60 months. More months for higher priced names. In theory I think it's a great option to offer and might lead to some sales you might otherwise not get, but so far pretty quiet all around.

While I 100% agree with your perspective of keep-it-simple, I also understand that domain pricing is something that might be more easily tolerated by smaller businesses given the payment plan option. By offering flexibility on terms rather than pricing, it certainly allows sales to happen that would not otherwise - and at my asking price rather than negotiating down. I currently have mid 5-figures in total on payment plans, so I think its worth the extra effort.

I've still not even sold a domain on Dan with roughly 10% of my portfolio there, but I still make steady sales through my direct contact form. I agree it _seems_ that a platform like Dan should help sales with its slicker landing pages, payment options, payment plans, trust of a larger business, etc... But why give up any percentage when they've yet to prove any increased sell through rate?

I do agree it would take less time/effort/skill to use dan than to DIY it for a large portfolio.

I had one set up and the buyer defaulted in the second month. Wasn't a great experience, but an option indeed. But I agree that it's a hassle. If the value is significantly high, it would make sense to have it stretched out for a few years.

Payment plan deals can be a great way to close a deal when Buyer can't make full payment all at once. I'd say that 10% of my Buyer Broker deals are payment plan deals, although I see it happening more on the $100K+ transactions, which are obviously not for .ca domains. Using DAN.com or Escrow.com for this is pretty easy and very safe for both parties. Very few buyers are aware of payment plans as an option, so I highly recommend suggesting it if you are OK with it on your end.

Timely, as I was just discussing this with a company that has been negotiating with me for several years. I'm reluctant to do them, for various reasons, but I sent them a link to Zak Muscovitch's podcasts:

https://www.domainsherpa.com/zak-muscovitch-leasing/
https://domainnamewire.com/2016/06/20/domain-leases-dnw-podcast-89/

on the topic, because you never know.....

GeorgeK said:

Timely, as I was just discussing this with a company that has been negotiating with me for several years. I'm reluctant to do them, for various reasons, but I sent them a link to Zak Muscovitch's podcasts:

https://www.domainsherpa.com/zak-muscovitch-leasing/
https://domainnamewire.com/2016/06/20/domain-leases-dnw-podcast-89/

on the topic, because you never know.....

Click to expand...

Yeah, Zak is a great!

I've received 4 inquiries from Godaddy brokers this week, quickly hitting a gap where they want to offer say around 25% of my asking price, then neither sides budge. It's the kind of situation where I think a payment plan might bridge that - but you know that's not an option with Godaddy. So I think what I'm going to start doing is, when a Godaddy negotiation feels dead in the water, I'm going to point the domain to Dan, then price it the same on Dan, but with the payment plan option. I figure maybe the buyer will eventually re-navigate to the domain, see the payment plan and be enticed, especially since the godaddy broker fee won't be on top. GoDaddy brokers might not like me for that strategy though.... But I figure if the negotiation is dead in the water anyways...

Also, have you noticed that certain GoDaddy brokers work to influence the buyer up in price, while others seem to pressure the seller down in price? In theory, if the broker is initiated by the buyer, they should be working FOR the buyer. But I sure do like it when certain brokers always seem to agree with my price, then convinces the buyer its a good price - especially since I tend to be stubborn on initial price quotes. But as you start to work with the same brokers over and over, you tend to see their personalities and strategies. Also, some brokers are always courteous, and others won't even bother to reply to you if they think a deal is out of reach, but that always annoys the crap out of me. I figure if you ask me for a price and I give it to you, effing have the courtesy to at least respond with something. I wish I could request a single GoDaddy broker to handle all my inquiries. I asked that, they said they couldn't, leads are randomly assigned I guess.

Anyway, I guess I got off on a tangent from the payment plan topic...

rlm said:

Also, some brokers are always courteous, and others won't even bother to reply to you if they think a deal is out of reach, but that always annoys the crap out of me. I figure if you ask me for a price and I give it to you, effing have the courtesy to at least respond with something.

Click to expand...

These are great insights about the relationship between a domainer and a buyer broker, and why it's important for the broker to be mindful of that relationship both for short and long-term reasons. As a buyer broker, I will say that this is a two-way street, which is why I appreciate (and remember and reward) domainers who respond to me and behave professionally. I try my best to comport myself in a professional manner, and I find that pays off in the long run for all parties in a deal.