Over the weekend, I received a $1,000 offer for a $1,997-priced domain name via Afternic. After a bit of negotiating, I agreed to sell the domain name for $1,500 on Sunday and the buyer agreed but has not yet paid. Yesterday afternoon, I agreed to sell a different domain name via Afternic for $2,500, and the buyer immediately paid and that deal is done and dusted.
I am curious to know how long other people tend to give buyers to pay for a domain name once a deal has been reached.
There can be mitigating factors revolving around the length of time a buyer has to pay. With larger companies, the payment process can take quite some time. There may be red tape and various parties involved that will require extra time for payment. On deals involving Escrow.com, it might take additional time for the buyer to be KYC verified.
One thing I like to do before agreeing to a deal is stating something like, “I will agree to sell the domain name for $x if the buyer pays within 24 hours.” This ensures prompt payment and gives me an out should the buyer not fulfill that obligation.
In general, I try not to give a buyer more than a few days to pay to avoid cold feet and to prevent frontrunning as best as possible.
How long do you usually give a buyer to pay for a domain name after a deal is reached?
How long do you give a buyer to pay for a domain name after a deal is reached before retracting the offer?
— Elliot Silver (@DInvesting) August 12, 2025
What an awesome and pefectly timed post! I am literally kicking myself for not putting in a time frame on an offer yesterday. I was asking $2,500 they offered a 1K. I countered at $1,750. I wish I put $1,750 but payment within the next 24 hours. Now I am casually giving them a few days before I even reach out. But yeah anything more than 24-48 hours on an agreed price the deal should be off the table. I had a deal with Afternic last week for 3K where we waited for the person for like 6 or 7 days for payment. After 5K, I think I understand needing a couple days because you can’t always just slap it on a credit card. Under 5K it really should be 24 hours.
After another prompt from Afternic, the buyer paid a little while ago and the transfer was completed.
Knowing how long transfers and the like can take, I always say 48hours if duing the week or 72 hours if a weekend.
Very few are “non-payers” at the 6k+ range in my experience, but > 50% never pay after negotiating at less than that figure.
If the domain’s priced at $2,500 and you accepted 1,000 let’s face it you don’t have other buyers, what’s the rush? Setting a random 24-hour deadline for a big company or anyone really is pointless, especially when they don’t even know Escrow.com or understand how this process works.
Give them a real shot—minimum 7 days, but 14 is better. Pick up the phone, walk them through the process, and ask, “When can you make payment?” If it sells in the meantime, too bad for them.
The goal is to set deadlines that actually make sense and give them time to act. If the deadline passes or they disappear, call them and figure it out. The empty threats don’t work. And remember, whatever you say or deadlines you create still have to fit the platform’s rules.