The $5k Limit

I have been in a negotiation with a buyer, and it seems like we are close to an agreement on a domain name sale. The domain name is priced at $4,999, and I sent the buyer a GoDaddy checkout link to help expedite the sale. That’s where we ran into a payment snafu.

The buyer needs additional levels of authorization to approve a purchase above $5,000. With GoDaddy and its checkout link, the $21.99 domain name renewal is tacked on to the $4,999 purchase price, bringing the total amount over the $5,000 level. After a phone conversation, I understood the buyer could seek that approval, which would take an unknown amount of time, or the price could be modified. I opted to reduce the purchase price to get beneath the threshold.

Someone might suggest that Escrow.com could have been a better option to avoid this issue. I disagree. When doing deals with Escrow.com, I almost always split the escrow fee with the buyer. This, too, would have taken the total purchase price above the $5,000 amount. This is in addition to the personal KYC process the employee would have to undertake to acquire the domain name on behalf of the company.

I would bet other companies and organizations have limitations like this. The approval process could go unseen to investors who rely on inbound deals, and prospective buyers may look at other domain names to buy if the total price goes over that $5k threshold. It could be a source of lost deals that aren’t heard about.

I don’t think I’ve heard about this issue before, but I bet there have been other deals lost because of it. Charm pricing is a marketing tactic, but if there are fees added onto the purchase price, it might cause the domain name to become just out of reach.

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

3 COMMENTS

  1. I’d like GoDaddy to explain why it tacks on a renewal for these checkout link purchases. I imagine there’s some technical reason, such as getting a registration in its system for when it renews. But given the headaches it causes, I’d really appreciate an explanation.

    • My guess it is because some non .com domain names have exorbitant renewal fees or some people price their domain names so low, the renewal cost would eat too much into GoDaddy’s commission.

      I would love to hear their rationale though, but I doubt they will give it.

  2. setting asside the renewal fee,…..and whoever pays the transasaction fees in the godaddy link……

    on a $4999 strike price for a domain escrow.com charges $130 if a wire is used and $280 id a credit card is used..
    What does godaddy charge in a similar $4999 transaction.

    that should set the stage for comparison

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recent Posts

No Nameserver Change ≠ Fake Sale

1
A few years ago, I privately closed a very substantial domain name sale. Following the sale, the buyer did absolutely nothing with the domain...

GoDaddy to Launch “Premium Domain Marketplace” on DomainNames.com

6
The Afternic X account posted a link on X without much context that caught my attention this morning: 👀 https://t.co/JL8P45lRng 🔜 — Afternic (@afternic) October 3, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Visiting...

Have a Real Presence Online When Selling Domain Names

1
When it comes to selling domain names via outbound marketing, credibility is very important. If a prospective buyer receives an unsolicited and unexpected email...

2021 vs 2025 – % of .coms in my Portfolio

1
I don't closely track the percentage of domain extensions in my portfolio. I could have 75% .com or I could have 99% .com domain...

Nominations Open for 2026 ICA Awards

0
The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) is now accepting nominations for two domain investing community awards. Domain investors may now submit their nominations for the...