Glad This Sale Wasn’t an LTO

Sometimes, the most obvious use for a particular domain name is in a manner that would either be offensive, controversial, or negative. This will probably be common sense for most people, but it is a good idea to keep the lease to own option off for domain names that could be used in a way that could damage its future usage.

I recently sold the a two word .com domain name that was acquired by a political campaign. The domain name was first used as a forwarder to a YouTube video, but it now hosts a landing page with that video. The title of the video matches the domain name without the extension. I would classify this as a way to cast an opponent in a poor light.

Fortunately for my company, the domain name was sold in a single installment after a negotiation with an Afternic broker. Had it been a lease to own deal, I would be concerned about the impact the current usage would have on the future usage of the domain name had an LTO deal be canceled before payment in full was submitted.

While there should be some TOS protections regarding the usage of a domain name, people using domain names to exercise their first amendment rights likely wouldn’t run into TOS issues. A leased domain name could be used in a legitimate manner that could damage its ability in the future should the LTO be canceled.

When I acquired this domain name, I recognized its potential usage, and I had the lease to own option turned off. I tend to keep the LTO off on domain names that could conceivably be used in a negative but legal manner. All domain names could be used in a harmful but legal way, so domain investors need to take this risk into consideration when pricing their LTO domain names and setting the maximum term length.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

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