GoDaddy monthly payment plan for aftermarket domains

[hookbox]

If Godaddy were to implement a payment plan on domains I believe our sales would go through the roof. Not everyone has a few thousand dollars to spend on a good domain name but they do have a couple hundred bucks to spend monthly. What holds back most domain buyers is upfront cost. They may feel the domain is worth what we are asking but may not have the upfront money to buy it but easily can and will spend a couple hundred on a payment plan.

Let's be realistic, most live their life on payments and don't even care what the total amount of something costs but only care how much it costs monthly. Not only will a payment plan help to increase the likelihood of a sale but it will help increase the amount of a sale. A buyer may not spend $1,500 upfront but would easily spend $2,500 or more if the cost is spread out over a twelve month or more timeframe.

I personally believe this would blow the roof off of domain sales. @Joe Styler why has this not been done yet and is there any plan for it in the future? We are about to begin the year 2017 and every aspect of our life can be payed monthly. Hell, you can even buy a new smartphone for 5 bucks a month. Times are changing and payment plans are the future of all commerce. Why not domain sales? It's time!

 

[Joe Styler]

It is done on high value names. So 50K up I believe is our threshold. It is not something we advertise. You would have to contact us and it is done through escrow.com. We test many things and do not think that there is enough demand for the lower value names. We see many go through as impulse buys which might not complete on the flip side of the coin. If you are interested in leasing a domain with an option to buy or something similar there are other places you can go to do that. I believe escrow.com has an option anyone can use but they also may have a minimum amount they will take payments on.

 

[usernamex]

I agree it would be convenient to have this at GD @hookbox

Since @Joe Styler mentioned other places that do lease to buy, another one I know of is epik. I have not personally used them yet, but their escrow service is what got me to set up an account there. So far I like the UI very much.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/epik-announces-escrow-service.895046/

A few members have done it successfully
https://www.namepros.com/threads/renting-domains.957495/

 

[hookbox]

It is done on high value names. So 50K up I believe is our threshold. It is not something we advertise. You would have to contact us and it is done through escrow.com. We test many things and do not think that there is enough demand for the lower value names. We see many go through as impulse buys which might not complete on the flip side of the coin. If you are interested in leasing a domain with an option to buy or something similar there are other places you can go to do that. I believe escrow.com has an option anyone can use but they also may have a minimum amount they will take payments on.

I think there are many buyers that would like payment plans even on lower priced names. HugeDomains has a payment plan option and the majority of their inventory is under $5,000. If Godaddy could create a system that sells domainer inventory and charges a fee I think many of us would opt into it. The name would stay locked into a Godaddy account that the buyer would have access to so the buyer can run their business with the name but it would be locked from transferring to another registrar. If a payment is missed Godaddy automatically shuts the domain down until the monthly payment is made.

Once all payments are complete the name can be transferred to whatever registrar the buyer would like. Godaddy manages the process for a monthly service fee. Impulse buys would still occur but I believe they would happen more often because it's less money upfront for the buyer since the cost would be spread out over time. It would cost Godaddy nothing accept creating the system that automates it. The seller would pay a fee to be part of the system or a percentage of whatever the sale price of the domain would be. Seems a bit complicated but it's really not.

 

[garptrader]

In theory this idea could work for those domains held at Godaddy. Godaddy retains the domain in a holding account but the buyer is allowed to change the nameservers if they need to. The buyer makes monthly payments, Godaddy takes its commission and pays the remainder to the seller. After the final payment the domain is transferred. If the buyer fails to make timely payments (with a reasonable grace period), the domain reverts back to the seller.

The problem is that most people come to Godaddy with the expectation of

"...get your .COM domain for $2.99 for the first year at Godaddy.com"

Then the domain they want is either not available or priced for five figures. We are nowhere near mass market acceptance of paying a premium price for a domain name - even in .COM. Godaddy has the stats but probably 99.9% of buyers are paying no more than $XX for a domain. Until domains are viewed as brands valuable for promoting products and services (internet real estate), GD will be reluctant to implement such a service.

 

[hookbox]

In theory this idea could work for those domains held at Godaddy. Godaddy retains the domain in a holding account but the buyer is allowed to change the nameservers if they need to. The buyer makes monthly payments, Godaddy takes its commission and pays the remainder to the seller. After the final payment the domain is transferred. If the buyer fails to make timely payments (with a reasonable grace period), the domain reverts back to the seller.

The problem is that most people come to Godaddy with the expectation of

"...get your .COM domain for $2.99 for the first year at Godaddy.com"

Then the domain they want is either not available or priced for five figures. We are nowhere near mass market acceptance of paying a premium price for a domain name - even in .COM. Godaddy has the stats but probably 99.9% of buyers are paying no more than $XX for a domain. Until domains are viewed as brands valuable for promoting products and services (internet real estate), GD will be reluctant to implement such a service.

If you hold some inventory at Godaddy and elect to sell it through Godaddy to a buyer that you have already connected with who understands the premium price then this idea to can easily work.

 

[Blessed70x77]

It is done on high value names. So 50K up I believe is our threshold. It is not something we advertise. You would have to contact us and it is done through escrow.com. We test many things and do not think that there is enough demand for the lower value names. We see many go through as impulse buys which might not complete on the flip side of the coin. If you are interested in leasing a domain with an option to buy or something similar there are other places you can go to do that. I believe escrow.com has an option anyone can use but they also may have a minimum amount they will take payments on.

Joe Style good day to you. I need your help please Sir, I need to buy a Premium Domain name for $1,799 and I don't have the cash up front, please Sir can I get a payment Plan, so that I can move forward with my dream name. please assist Thank you.

 

[Name Trader]

GoDaddy should meet their competition with the same feature as HugeDomains has. Where you can buy a domain, at any price level, over a 12 month period. FREE OF CHARGE.

 

[Kate]

I don't think there is much demand for this really.
Because:

• for large transactions ad hoc arrangements can already be made either through escrow or otherwise
• for lower value transactions: the majority of people (in America at least) have credit cards, not just charge cards where you have to settle the bill in full every month, but credit cards with revolving credit so they can spread the amount of purchase in monthly installments. Afaik you can pay up to 5K with a credit card at escrow.com.
  How many credit cards do Americans own on average ? Four ?

So I am convinced that credit cards already fulfill the need much more often than you think.

And such a system will inevitably increase administrative overhead.
Even if you automate the whole process, you will still have to deal with a certain percentage of delinquent accounts. That means:

• declined credit card payments for whatever reason
  
• wire payments that do not arrive
  
• sending reminders to buyers
• buyers who didn't receive the reminders because they went to spam folder
• chasing buyers by phone
• etc

I am not sure the projected increase in sales volume will make the effort worthwhile.
It sounds like a good idea in theory, but I think there is a reason why such a service is not widespread. I think it doesn't scale well.

 

[creataweb]

Other places offer payment plans, use them instead.

 

[korganian]

Joe Style good day to you. I need your help please Sir, I need to buy a Premium Domain name for $1,799 and I don't have the cash up front, please Sir can I get a payment Plan, so that I can move forward with my dream name. please assist Thank you.

Why don't you contact the owner of the domain directly.

 

[Blessed70x77]

Why don't you contact the owner of the domain directly.

There is no contact for the domain name, I guess the owner have pay to keep their info private or maybe I don't know how to find their info.

 

[Blessed70x77]

Other places offer payment plans, use them instead.

Thanks, yes I know, But it look like it's only GoDaddy have access to this '"name" I seek

 

[Blessed70x77]

Please tell me of the other place I can try to see if the name I seek will pop up there. thanks

 

[Name Trader]

There is no contact for the domain name, I guess the owner have pay to keep their info private or maybe I don't know how to find their info.

Do a whois lookup at GWhois.org. This will either show the owner or the privacy service used. I know for my registrar, they go thru each contact received and pass along to the owner, anything as important as a domain offer. Not all privacy work the same. Fortunately/Unfortunately.

 

[Name Trader]

..

 

[Blessed70x77]

How did you find this domain you are looking for? Was it listed on GoDaddy?

Its the name I'm using for business, I type it in the search engine and it lead me to: Afternic. I also search on GoDaddy and it is also there too

 

[Name Trader]

@Blessed70x77 Sent message via PM.

 

[korganian]

There is no contact for the domain name, I guess the owner have pay to keep their info private or maybe I don't know how to find their info.

You can just type who.is into your browser and then search for the domain.

Caution: Do not click on the "buy it now" button on this page. They mark up domains by an extra 15% without the domain owner's permission and they pocket that money for themselves.

Just scroll down and view the Registrant Contact Information to see if the owner's contact info is public

 

[Blessed70x77]

@Blessed70x77 Sent message via PM.

No it's not at Sedo

 

[Joe Styler]

We do not have a payment plan perhaps you can use a credit card as someone else suggested in the thread.

 

[NickB]

I list my domains on GoDaddy auction site and use them as my main registrar but I prefer to use Undeveloped for my landing page as I find the the option of monthly payments on sales over £1,000 (correct me if i'm wrong on this figure) is as suggested a good way of conducting business and offers clients/customers the option. As a consumer you want to have a variety of options to pick from and will tend to end up with the one which gives value, flexibility and ease of use - branding and trust also help!

Just my 2 cents but at the end of the day it boils down to personal choice.

NOTE: I have no affiliation with Undeveloped in any way!

 

[Blessed70x77]

We do not have a payment plan perhaps you can use a credit card as someone else suggested in the thread.

Mr. Joe Styler I'm using a Visa-Debit-Card. Meaning: I'm using my own money, so i'm right back at the "beginning" again. I don't have the cash to pay upfront, Sir please Help.

 

[Chris Hydrick]

@namesilo offers payment plans

https://www.namepros.com/threads/namesilos-new-payment-plan-option.999887/#post-5985432

 

[Joe Styler]

We do not offer payment plans. I am sorry to hear that you cannot pay. We do not have any other option I can think of.