Newbie questions about domain brokerage

[Alex]

Hello,

I would like to know from your experiences what does a domain brokerage contract suppose.

Somebody wants to sell his domain with me but I do not know how to proceed. Is there any contract sample?

If somebody buys the domain will he pay me and then I have to pay the owner or vice-versa?

any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you,

Alex

 

[Kate]

Simply put the broker will usually act as escrow. The buyer pays the broker, then you release the domain when the funds have been secured. Then the broker will pay you after retaining their fee (usually in the 10% range).

 

[Brad|E]

Hi Alexsimon,

From your remarks above, I'm guessing you will be acting as the broker in this case. Several things to consider here. Here are a few related to your questions:

1. Commission: what do you want to charge the owner for the closing price if the domain sells? Generally, commission fees in the industry start at 10%. This needs to be clearly stated in the contract, as well as the owner's responsibility, if any, for your costs incurred for work associated with the sale (e.g. Copies, phone calls, etc.).

2. Exclusivity: is the seller willing to grant you the sole right to sell the domain? If not, are you willing to spend the effort trying to find a buyer only to have the domain owner find one on his or her own. Can the owner list the domain on Sedo or Afternic, for instance? This should be something addressed in the contract.

3. Transfer of ownership and escrow. In your contract, specify that you will be handling the transfer of the domain and the exchange of funds through a trusted escrow service (Moniker, Escrow.com, etc.). Be clear on who is responsible for the fees associated with escrow and the transfer.

Hope that's a start. For contracts, search for "broker contracts" and "domain sales contract". You'll get a lot of real estate samples for the former search, but they can be a valuable resource for drafting a domain broker's contract.

Brad