Leasing a domain?

[Ray]

I contacted a domain owner because I was interested in his particular domain for use with my site. The domain is worth mid xx. He informed me that it is not up for sale but rather lease.. Anyone ever lease a domain to or from?

I don't know how I feel about it. I rater by the domain straight out but he is not interested. I'm worried that I would market my site and pay or all the advertising and blam.. He sells the domain with my stats.

 

[Mark Talks]

I've never heard of leasing a domain.. and you bring up a valid point.. you build up the value of the domain, what's to stop him from selling it?

Unless, prior to you leasing it, you both sign a legal contract stating that so long as you are "leasing' said domain, he is unable to sell the domain to any other than you, if he so chooses to sell it at all.

 

[SkyMan]

I've done both. I've been the lessor and lessee. With the price of premium names these days, leasing definitely brings down the risk of setting up a business while allowing you to start with a good name.

My current leases are mostly set up as a percentage of monthly sales. I've only got one where the lessee pays a monthly fixed fee.

See if you can get the lessor to build in an option to purchase after X amount of months.

Leasing is becoming more popular and as we go on I definitely see it increasing.

 

[verbster]

With a decent lease agreement that spells out the obligations of both parties, domain leasing is a good way to go. In essence, if you own the domain, there is no risk and money is made monthly.

If you are leasing, beyond the lowest terms you can negotiate, see if you can get a no-sell clause for the lease duration and/or a first right of refusal if you can't (with a price is better than without, otherwise you'll need to match the price). Beware of any "Late Payments" penalty clauses that charge fees or invalidate the lease agreement and stuff like that.

Also, depending on what you do with the site, some people "lease" for a percentage of the domain's revenue. Has its pros and cons.

However, for a domain that's only worth $xx, I'm not sure it's worth anything over $3-$5 per month.

 

[junosama]

Leasing a domain does not make any sense to me. Never understood the concept.