Dynadot: new payment plan for marketplace & auctions

Dynadot recently launched a Payment Plan (Installment Plan) for its marketplace and auction orders.

What this means is you now have the opportunity to pay for valuable domain names in monthly installments.

See how it all works:
Dynadot Payment Plan
Setup monthly installment payments for new buying and selling opportunities.

Your Flexible Payment Solution
Buying and selling domain names from our domain aftermarket just got easier. With our domain name payment plan, users will have the opportunity to pay for valuable domain names in monthly installments. These monthly payments will help alleviate the brunt cost of a domain, so domain buyers have more flexibility building their domain portfolio and domain sellers will have more opportunities to appease potential prospects – our optional domain name payment plan is beneficial for all parties involved.

How It Works
Regardless of whether you are buying or selling using our domain name payment plan, the process is easy to understand and simple to use.

As a domain seller, you will have the option to include the payment plan on any of your user auction or marketplace domain listings that have a price of $100 or more. This allows your buyers to pay for the domain using monthly installments, providing flexibility by splitting the full cost into separate payments. It’s as simple as clicking a checkbox option available when you are listing a domain name for sale, followed by selecting the maximum number of payment installment months you’d like to allow buyers to select from.

As a buyer, if the listed domain has the installment payment plan included, you will have the option of either choosing to complete the full payment at purchase OR proceed with setting up the payment plan to pay in monthly installments. If the payment plan is selected, you will be able to choose the number of monthly installments you wish to pay, up to the maximum amount set by the seller. Once finalized, you will be required to make a 15% down payment and pay the first monthly installment to kick off the payment plan.

Payment Plan Details
The goal of our payment plan is to make our aftermarket domains more accessible and affordable for everyone. The option to pay in installments is available on select marketplace, user auction, expired domain auction, and backorder auction listings which are identified by the ‘Pay in Installments’ option found on the individual listing page. For more specific details on our payment plan, see below. To learn how to pay in installments, please visit our help page.

Buyer’s Lock
With the initial down payment made, the domain will be placed in the buyer’s account under a “buy lock”, allowing the DNS settings to be adjusted but preventing transfers. This lock stays in place until 30 days after the installment plan payment has been paid off. After this point, the buyer’s lock is lifted.

Installment Period
The payment plan can range from 2 to 12 months, and the maximum number of months is decided upon when the seller lists the domain name on our aftermarket. When the buyer chooses to pay using the domain name payment plan, they can select between 2 and the maximum number of months selected by the seller to determine the total number of installment payments required.

Down Payment
In order to begin the payment plan, the buyer must put a 15% down payment on the domain name. This 15% payment is used towards paying off the installment plan. It is non-refundable. There is no additional fee if you choose to pay by installment.

Dynadot Commissions
Our aftermarket listings have a commission fee and, with our payment plan, that commission is deducted from the initial payment.

Minimum Purchase Price
For a domain listing to be eligible for the domain name payment plan, the minimum price must be $100 USD. Any domains under this amount cannot utilize payment installments.

Payment Defaults
Payment issues occur on occasion, and the following system is in place when a monthly installment payment is missed. Buyers have 3 days after a payment due date to pay for that monthly installment. If this 3 day deadline is missed, that domain name will be disabled and put on hold, though it is still under the buyer’s account. 14 days after the initial missed payment date, the domain will be pushed back to the seller’s account. All payments made by the buyer are non-refundable and the seller keeps all proceeds up until this point.

Domain Renewal
As a seller, the number of maximum installment months you can select when listing a domain is impacted by the expiration date of that domain. The maximum number of installments is one month less than the domain’s expiration date, to a maximum of 12 months total. For example, if your domain expires in 3 months, you will be able to select 2 months as the maximum number of installments available for buyers. To allow for more installments for your potential buyers, consider renewing your domain prior to listing as the added flexibility may increase your chance of selling.

Payment Plan Timeline
To assist with explaining the payment plan system, below is a timeline outlining the payment process if an installment payment is missed.

April 1, 2021
Buyer purchases a domain name with a total cost of $100 and decides on a 5 month installment plan. They pay the 15% down payment ($15) and the first installment ($17).
May 1, 2021
Second installment due. Buyer makes second payment ($17).
June 1, 2021
Third installment due. Buyer defaults on payment (missed payment).
June 4, 2021
Three days after missing the due date, the domain is disabled and put on hold.
June 8, 2021
Buyer pays the third installment ($17). Domain is re-enabled and the hold is removed.
June 15, 2021
If the buyer had not made the previous payment by this date, the domain would return to the seller. This occurs 14 days after missing a due date.
June 1, 2021
Fourth installment due. Buyer makes fourth payment ($17).
August 1, 2021
Fifth and final installment due. Buyer makes final payment ($17).
August 31, 2021
30 days after the final payment, the domain ‘buy lock’ is removed, and the buyer has full ownership of the domain.