We're selling our business and the domain is a big part of the deal. It's a short .com that we've owned for over a decade. Buyer is asking to do the transfer before final payment clears. That sounds risky to me. What's the safe way to handle this? Escrow? Push? Auth code? I want to make sure we don't hand over the name and then get stiffed.
Domains
How do you safely transfer a valuable domain name to a buyer?
Do not transfer before funds clear. Use a domain escrow service. Escrow.com handles domains, and there are others. Buyer funds escrow, you push the domain to the escrow account, escrow releases funds once the buyer confirms control. It costs a fee but its the only sane way with a valuable name.
Push vs transfer matters here. If both registrar accounts are on the same registrar, a push is fast and usually reversible if something goes wrong, but not always. An auth code transfer can take days and is harder to unwind. Which registrar are you on?
We're on one of the bigger registrars, buyer says they have an account there too. So a push is possible. i just don't know if push plus escrow is overkill or if it's the standard.
Escrow with same-registrar push is common. Escrow gives you an address to push to, you push, they hold it until payment conditions are met. Ask the escrow service whether they support registrar push specifically. Some do, some only do auth-code transfers.
One more thing. Change the domain lock and get the auth code only after escrow is funded, not before. And keep the whois cnotact email current. I've seen sellers miss the verification email and stall the whole thing.
Also, don't let the buyer talk you into a "good faith" partial transfer. If the deal is big enough for a lwyer, get the domain listed in the asset purchase agreement with a specific transfer date and escrow terms.
We did this last year. Escrow held funds, we pushed to their holding account, buyer confirmed, funds released next day. Took about a week total. The fee stung but no drama. I'd do it again.
Good to hear a real example. I'll check whether our registrar and escrow provider work together for a push. Thanks for the lock and auth auth code tip, that's the kind of thing I would have fumbled.