Offer an Installment Plan

I saw a NamePros post discussing the Huge Domains installment plan option. You can see an example of the installment plan option on this domain name I randomly found on the company’s home page. I think Huge Domains is one of the largest domain portfolio operators around. I recently wrote about its parent company, Turn Commerce.

Because I have a relatively small domain portfolio when compared to other domain investors and domain investment companies, I try to emulate what other, bigger companies do. My assumption is that larger companies have more testing and experience with their domain name sales, and they deploy landing pages and offers based on their experiences. I can try and glean insight from these other companies to help my company.

With Huge Domains’ presence, I am inclined to think that many domain name buyers come across their landing pages while searching for a domain name. When they do, they would see a buy it now price along with a payment plan option. This is great for Huge Domains because they control the whole ecosystem and can facilitate a sale or payment plan. Buyers who educate themselves via domain names in the Huge Domains portfolio could easily assume that a payment plan option is the norm.

This is something domain investors should know and understand when dealing with prospects. If they are shopping around, they may be aware of installment plan options and hope or expect to have that option with other domain names.

I have offered payment plans before. Escrow.com or a private attorney could help facilitate a payment / installment plan, and the added cost is not huge. The downside is that the funds from the sale of the domain name will not be realized right away and another entity will be using a domain name my company owns. On the plus size, making it easy to lock down a deal may make a buyer with cash-flow issues more willing to do a desirable deal. The other nice thing is that if the buyer defaults after a few payments, I keep the funds and get the name back.

In some ways, a reliable payment plan is sort of similar to a short term annuity. Money coming in at structured times can be good for a business.

While I would prefer a straight sale over a payment plan, I am aware that some people may expect a payment plan to be an option. I am almost always willing to explore this option with a buyer, and I regularly suggest it in a negotiation. As an observer, if Huge Domains is prominently offering a payment plan on its landing pages, prospective buyers may see it and expect others to offer it.

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

9 COMMENTS

  1. I’m always more than happy with payment-over-time for domain sales – gets the domain “in use” for the end user that much quicker, ownership transfers only at the very end, and although usually at higher than you’d take for just an outright sale, tends to mean a more regular cash-flow

  2. The feature for doing this at Epik appears to be great and topnotch. Never had a deal like that before, but I’ve been starting to offer things like that more and more, and would love to have one materialize via Epik. Another great thing there is you have space to add custom terms to the contract, which I’ve done for a few for which I offer leasing.

  3. Thanks for the reminder, lol. Just sent an email to a prospective recent buyer to whom I quoted mid six figures that leasing or pay plan is possible.

  4. Does hugenames offers pages, and installment plants for accounts, because if you look at the domain inthedrop.com, it goes to a hugenames landing page, with payment options, but it is registered to a private person Josh E

  5. I have offered payment plans through escrow twice. One time the buyer, paid their 6 payments and it worked out perfect. The second time was interesting. It was for a City(realestate).com name. The total price was 25K. He put 5K down, gave me one of his City(realestate).com names, which I loved his domain better than the one he was buying from me. I gave him a credit for that name towards the purchase of 7.5K. I gave him 6 months to pay the balance of 12.5K in a lump sum. He defaulted. In the end, I kept my name, kept the name he gave me and kept the 5K he put down.

  6. Unfortunately Huge Domains does not offer a seller listing service/brokerage at all.

    It is a shame because they have some of the best looking domain sales pages out there.

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