You’ve Sold Your Domain. Now How Long Does It Take to Get Paid?

I’ve now sold a domain on almost every platform except Afternic.  I thought I would share my experiences on how long it took to get paid from each platform.  These results are mine and may not be typical.  Many times the time to payment length is dictated by the buyer and how long they take to make their payment.  Here are my experiences with each.

Godaddy.com

1. Selling a Premium Domain through Godaddy:  This is when you sell a domain through their listing that show up next to the search results.  Plain and simple it takes a while.  Payment is made within 45 days after the last day of the month in which the sale occurred.  If you sell a name on the first day of the month it can take 75 days.  Last day, 46.  Combine it with the 30% commission and you can see why I keep my prices very high here.  BUT…..I did sell a domain and got a good price so not complaining too much.

2. Selling a Premium Domain through Godaddy Auctions:

Depends on if the sale is over $1000 or not.  Under $1000 you have to wait 20 days and then approximately another 5 for the transfer of funds.  So essentially a month.

If its over $1000 then it goes to escrow.com and is exactly the same as below

3. When a buyer uses Godaddy to approach and buy a name from you.

This is my favorite because the buyer pays all the fees for this so you get all the money.  Secondly, it goes to escrow.com so it moves at the pace of escrow which can be quick. I had a very slow buyer but again, the price was good so it was worth the wait.  As soon as the buyer makes payment the transfer of the domain begins.  If its a push its practically instant and then the buyer has 3 days to “inspect”  Depending on the payment method you choose, the whole process could be done in less than 4 days.  Mine took two weeks but Godaddy had a little trouble with the push.  It all worked out fine.

Sedo.com

Sedo pays quickly, you just have to pay attention to the process and hope the buyer pays quickly.  If they do, you can have your money in your pocket in 10 days.  If they don’t then it can take up to a month.  I looked at all my sales and they usually take 2 weeks.  Shortest was 10 days and longest was 35.

Afternic.com

I have no experience with Afternic so I can’t speak from personal experience.  You can only list your domains at so many places and Afternic drew the short straw.  Here is a synopsis of the process according to their website

“After an auction is won or a sale is agreed upon, the transaction will close by sending payment through Afternic.com’s secure escrow service. Once the funds have cleared, Afternic.com instructs the seller to transfer the domain name. The buyer’s funds are held in the escrow account until the domain transfer is complete. On the business day after the buyer has confirmed the transfer, Afternic.com sends the payment to the seller via PayPal, check by mail (first class) or wire transfer”

Seems like it would be similar to Sedo in time.  If anyone has more detail to share, please do.

 Snapnames.com 

Unfortunately the Snap market is falling hard but they pay pretty well.  The buyer has 7 days to pay and once domain is transferred to buyer the payment they pay out twice a week.  Its been a while since I’ve sold there but I had payment in less than two weeks when I did.

Pro Tips on Getting Your Money Faster:

Make sure to have you domain in a Major registrar.  If you have a domain in a major registrar, especially Godaddy, you have a better chance of having your buyer agree to a push of the name, speeding up the process.

Pro Tip to Not Embarrass Yourself:

Make sure your name is eligible to be transferred.  Don’t assume your buyer will push. We all still have to wait 60 days to transfer a domain.  As many as we buy and sell we often forget when that 60 days is over.  Your domain registrar should have that listed for you.  Make sure to pay attention to that date.  Nothing worse than selling a name and then asking the buyer to wait.  I guess there is something worse, being the buyer.