Payment Plans (1.Viewing)

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.