QLQ Brokerage Introduces “Domain Guaranteed Buy-Back”

QLQ is a relatively new domain name brokerage that appears to primarily target Chinese domain name buyers. I have never done business with QLQ, but I am on the company’s email distribution list. Some of the domain names the company is promoting on its website are IO.com, FJ.com, and IB.com. Past sales mentioned on the website include QT.com, 732.com, and 793.com among others.

This morning, QLQ announced a unique “Domain Guaranteed Buy-Back” option. I am not familiar with any other companies making this type of offer before, and it certainly seems interesting.

As the operator of a US-based company, one major concern I have is that funds seem to be  held outside of the US.  If there are any issues, it could be more difficult to enforce the agreement.  I have not looked at the contract or spent much time thinking about this since I just received the email, so I would be interested in hearing what readers have to say about the offer.

Here’s the text of the email that was sent:

QLQ is proud to present you with our newest product offering, the Domain Guaranteed Buy-Back.

This is a safe and secure way for you to invest in a rare and valuable domain name with a high price tag. Here is how it works:
You find a name that you like in our list on the dlo.qlq.com micro site. Then you decide how you want to pay, either a direct deposit to escrow or we have banks in China waiting to accept your cash! At the same time you decide how long you would like to hold the lease of the domain name. Once you purchase the domain name your cash goes into a secure escrow account and is held there for the duration of the lease. During the period that you are leasing the name you may choose to sell it, develop it, trade it, etc. If you decide that at the end you don’t want to keep the name then no problem, you return the domain name to us and get your cash back.

There are so many incredible opportunities with this product. You can purchase a name now at today’s prices and hold it for a year just to sell it at a future rate and if the market turns back, no problem, you can return the name. Talk about limiting risk! You can purchase a name and develop it into a business and our partner Branded Holding Company can assist you and acquiring Visa’s to move to a location of your choosing. These are just a couple of idea’s but the sky is the limit so get in on this product today before you miss out!

Get these great 2L.com domains without any risk

RG.com, MB.com, JO.com, SU.com

Get them now!

If the buyer chooses to return the lease buy-back domain name, after the optional period of 100, 200 or 365 days, the seller will release the funds held in escrow back to the buyer less a transaction fee of 5%, 7% or 10% respectively. Additionally, any escrow fees will be covered by the buyer. To initiated the return the buyer will give notice of return and within 48 hours, return the domain name to the seller, the seller then has 72 banking business hours to return the funds to a bank of the buyers choosing.

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

17 COMMENTS

  1. So basically buy it means lease it with a down payment and option to buy with no mention of the lease amount required minus some fee’s if you end it.

    The only way anyone actually gives cash back is if they are killing you on these lease payments.

    The sellers up side of course is monthly income and potential sell.

    Would I trust a company in China to return my money down the road, no. If the lease payments were huge why not just buy it via escrow.com and make payments.

  2. Josh, you purchase the domain asset with an option to return it after a negotiated time period. There is no monthly lease payment. At the end of the time period, or before, you can decide to return the domain name and receive a full refund minus a small fee (% of the total sale). While QLQ is headquartered in Hong Kong we are able to paper the deal through the following laws firms in the following locations (buyer can choose):

    In Hong Kong, Singapore and China
    Albright
    Eversheds
    Bird and Bird
    DLH Piper

    In Europe and UK
    Hogan Louvells
    DLH Piper
    Osborn and Clark

    In the US
    Goodwin Proctor
    Latham Watkins
    Baker and Bots

    And we are able to use the following institutions to protect the money that is held in escrow. Again, the buyer may choose:

    Acceptable Merchant and Licensed Banks

    HSBC
    Orix Bank of Asia
    Bank of China International
    United Overseas Bank
    Shanghai Pudong Development Bank
    Societe General
    Escrow.com

    We have put forth our best effort to protect all parties wishing to utilize this form of financial instrument and we firmly believe that this is the direct that the domain market is heading.

    Our company, QLQ, is based in Hong Kong but is run by partners from the west. We decided to make our HQ in Hong Kong because we specialize in linking the Western and Eastern domain markets. If you would like some additional information you can reach us at Email: contact@qlq.com; Skype: QLQDomains; QQ: 2947115648

    Jason McArdle
    President of Sales at QLQ

  3. Great so lets see how this works….

    I want to buy X.com from you for $1.0M

    What is my minimum down payment?

    My monthly payments are what and over what time period based on the above amount put down?

    • Josh, you purchase the name x.com for $1M, therefore you pay the entire amount…you purchase the name. You then decide which option to return the name you would like by picking a length of time. Let’s say for the sake of argument you wish to have one year in which you are allowed to return the name. The $1M that you used to purchase the name is held in escrow in one of the partner institutions listed above. During this one year period you may choose to sell, trade, develop, etc the domain name. If you exercise one of these options then you inform us and the funds held in escrow are released to the seller of the name. If you do not exercise one of these options and wish to return the domain name before the end of the option then you inform us that you wish to return the name, the name is returned to the seller and your funds are released back to you minus a 10% fee (10% fee is what we charge for a one year option). The funds that are released back to you can go to any bank of your choosing throughout the world within 72 business hours of your request to return your funds.

      There are many different ways in which you can use this service depending on your intention. If you are a domain flipper then you can purchase a name and give yourself a year to resell the name without risk of being stuck with the name if the market goes south. If you are trying to start a business you can explore the business as an option knowing that you have a domain name to use and if the business cannot be set up, you can get the overwhelming majority of your money back. If you purchase one of these names in one area of the world and then move to another area of the world you may have your money returned to you where you are. There is a lot of creativity that can be used with this product and it gives an added layer of security when purchasing a rare and valuable domain name.

    • David, where do you see risk and could you please expand on your idea that this looks like a domain pawn shop? It is important to follow statements up with facts or you risk being misunderstood or not paid attention too.

  4. Man my head is spinning a bit, the wording and use here is not exactly clear I have to say. First I read it as a lease to buy then you said not a lease and now it s a full on purchase paid up front 100%. What you are offering is a money back minus 10%.

    I can actually see why this may interest smaller buyers with little to lose when returning a name but 6-7 fig purchases giving up 10 points to return a name…

    Also who in their right mind would sell a name like this knowing they have to give back the money in 100 days or 1 year, unless the sell price is so high it makes no sense and why not roll the dice and see if the buyer closes.

    I see why at first this looks good for a buyer but then I realize only a small timer and not the seller, sorry but as they say on the tank, I’m out.

  5. Years ago I saw that Huge Domains aka NameBright offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on every domain name sold via their site. Sold means outright purchase and not financed using a payment plan. A Buyer can return a domain within 30 days apparently for a full refund. You can only do it once a year and there are restrictions dealing mostly with domain misuse or if the domain is locked due to a Registrar transfer. They’ve been offering this guarantee for years and it’s certainly something unique.

  6. I stand by my thinking it only makes sense for small stuff and not the seller, here is why.

    As we all know a domains use is crucial in determining not just risk but future use. Why anyone would sell a name for a fair market sum and be willing to have it returned in 100 days or 1 year and its use be risked makes little to no sense.

    If the selling price is fair there is no need to even sell to a buyer with these conditions. My theory only greedy sellers and greedy buyers who will risk 10 points and hope it goes up will play this game.

    This service caters to the greedy and or under funded, great combo.

    • Josh, while I see your point I think you are misunderstanding market trends. If you understand the root cause as to why the Chinese investor market is the way it is you will understand why this product is unique and serves a need. I assume that you didn’t read the articles that I posted so allow me to summarize the main point. There is a law in China where their citizens are not allowed to move more than the equivalent of $50K USD cash out of the country on an annual basis. They are however allowed to purchase international technology assets. This is why you have seen a huge rise in the trading and valuation of short, liquid domain names. They are being used as a financial instrument and rarely being developed by end users. Their value is tiered, determined by their scarcity (LL.com – 676 total, LLL.com – 17,576, NN.com – 100 total, NNN.com – 1000 total and so on…) which makes them the perfect financial tool to move liquidity to different regions around the world, also because it isn’t a heavily regulated market. Think about how this product can actually be used and you will understand the value. It has nothing to do with greed, it is about movement and flow.

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