Reglikedomain industry desk

Lease-to-own is picking up

Lease-to-own is picking up

Regarding a quarter of my sales this year are lease-to-own transactions.

Picture of one hundred dollar bills with the words "lease to own"

This year has been a bit slow for me for domain sales. As of October 10, I’ve sold 27 domains in 2025 (excluding wholesale/liquidation transactions). Still, looking back at last year, I was actually a little behind this rate and finished with 41 sales, following a strong close to 2024.

One trend is unmistakable this year: lease-to-own transactions are on the rise.

Of my 27 sales, seven are lease-to-own transactions. Here are my thoughts on this development:

  • I don’t mind receiving money over time. I’m never in a cash-poor situation, so the delay in receiving cash from LTO isn’t a big concern to me.
  • Of course, I’d rather have the money upfront since then it’s guaranteed. Of the seven LTOs that started this year, one has been canceled so far. The buyer only made one payment. I was surprised regarding this one since the buyer developed the site. The upside is I got $400 and have relisted the name.
  • I’m not sure if LTO has increased my sell-through rate or my total realized prices. Of course, I can assume that the buyer who canceled following one month probably wouldn’t have paid the full $13k for the name upfront, but I have no way of knowing for the other domains.
  • The above example notwithstanding, I generally think a buyer is more likely to finish payments if they’ve developed a site on the domain. Of the seven LTOs that started this year, four have been developed.
  • I had five LTOs last year, so that makes 12 total at Afternic. Of these, only two have been canceled so far.
  • My LTOs range from 12 to 36 months. I’ve dialed that back and now typically set a max of 14 months.

One thing is for sure: I enjoy receiving payments every month, as it smooths things out during slow months.

Also on the wire

Other reporting from the domain desk.

ADomain SalesAuctions sold 32,767 domains in December, led by $50k Marchex deal — Go DaddyUser domain sales up to $45,000 — 13 endDomain SalesUser domain sales up to $45,000 — 13 endRevenue almost $2 million in first half of 2020 — Radix premiumDomain SalesRevenue almost $2 million in first half of 2020 — Radix premiumUDomain SalesUser Domain Name Sales — 22 EndSold on NameJet and SnapNames last month — Here’s whatDomain SalesSold on NameJet and SnapNames last month — Here’s what17 end user domain name sales — Capsules.com amongDomain Sales17 end user domain name sales — Capsules.com amongPortfolio is an anecdote — Your domainDomain SalesPortfolio is an anecdote — Your domainADomain SalesAnother great week for domain sales — Business.US topsLDomain SalesLuxury.net Luxurious at $40,000