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Epik.com is probably the leader in doing Domain Leases -- we started doing it in 2013 and were the first to combine automated domain leasing with an accredited registrar.
In the meantime, since we get a lot questions about how to succeed with Domain Leasing, I thought it would be good to start a thread to discuss best practices, whether on Epik or elsewhere.
To kick things off, I will start by explaining that Leasing is actually in two main forms:
1. Passive Leasing -- "Making money in your sleep"
In this case, the domain owner is setting their domains for lease and implicitly inviting the option of a lease, e.g. like this example:
https://laptopcomputers.com/
In this case, the seller is actively inviting someone to immediately go the route of leasing or financing the domain as a way to take delivery of the domain.
It is possible to set domains up for lease and go on a year long cruise, and come back to find money in your account. It is completely automated and passive.
For folks who have day jobs, are dealing with other commitments, have poor communication skills, or want recurring income but have no bandwidth to react to inbound inquiries, this is a good way to go.
2. Active/Dynamic Leasing -- "Calling the Audible"
In this case, the domain is listed as just "Make Offer" and inviting someone to Contact you. For this situation, you can evaluate who is contacting you and make assessments about whether their financial capacity might be. For branded .COM domains in particular, this is an opportunity to swing for the fences where a two-word non-hyhphenated name goes for $200,000 or more simply because the domain owner asked for that much.
In some cases, the domain buyer needs the domain badly enough that they have little choice but to negotiate. The UDRP route would be an alternative, but if they are on shaky ground there, they just dig a deeper hole for themselves, and risk annoying the seller to the point that the price goes up even higher. I have seen that scenario play out many times particularly for veteran domain investors.
Personally, I prefer the Make Offer route. The big domain marketplaces will press you hard to list with Buy Now pricing, and I have generally recommended doing that for the MLS marketplaces like Afternic and Sedo. However, for your own personal landing pages, if there is any subjective basis for valuation, you would do very well to use Make Offer and test the boundaries on pricing.
In other words, for the Active Seller, Leasing is the fallback plan!
Baiting the Hook
Regardless of whether you are active or passive, the lease is the chance to "Bait the Hook". The end-game is to sell that domain for full retail. The lease locks in your logical end-buyer at a price where you more than cover your maintenance costs while the buyer adds value to your domain through organic traffic and SEO.
In the meantime, since we get a lot questions about how to succeed with Domain Leasing, I thought it would be good to start a thread to discuss best practices, whether on Epik or elsewhere.
To kick things off, I will start by explaining that Leasing is actually in two main forms:
1. Passive Leasing -- "Making money in your sleep"
In this case, the domain owner is setting their domains for lease and implicitly inviting the option of a lease, e.g. like this example:
https://laptopcomputers.com/
In this case, the seller is actively inviting someone to immediately go the route of leasing or financing the domain as a way to take delivery of the domain.
It is possible to set domains up for lease and go on a year long cruise, and come back to find money in your account. It is completely automated and passive.
For folks who have day jobs, are dealing with other commitments, have poor communication skills, or want recurring income but have no bandwidth to react to inbound inquiries, this is a good way to go.
2. Active/Dynamic Leasing -- "Calling the Audible"
In this case, the domain is listed as just "Make Offer" and inviting someone to Contact you. For this situation, you can evaluate who is contacting you and make assessments about whether their financial capacity might be. For branded .COM domains in particular, this is an opportunity to swing for the fences where a two-word non-hyhphenated name goes for $200,000 or more simply because the domain owner asked for that much.
In some cases, the domain buyer needs the domain badly enough that they have little choice but to negotiate. The UDRP route would be an alternative, but if they are on shaky ground there, they just dig a deeper hole for themselves, and risk annoying the seller to the point that the price goes up even higher. I have seen that scenario play out many times particularly for veteran domain investors.
Personally, I prefer the Make Offer route. The big domain marketplaces will press you hard to list with Buy Now pricing, and I have generally recommended doing that for the MLS marketplaces like Afternic and Sedo. However, for your own personal landing pages, if there is any subjective basis for valuation, you would do very well to use Make Offer and test the boundaries on pricing.
In other words, for the Active Seller, Leasing is the fallback plan!
Baiting the Hook
Regardless of whether you are active or passive, the lease is the chance to "Bait the Hook". The end-game is to sell that domain for full retail. The lease locks in your logical end-buyer at a price where you more than cover your maintenance costs while the buyer adds value to your domain through organic traffic and SEO.
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