Does Leasing a Domain name EVER make sense?
 

Does this make sense?

You know how to generate traffic. However, all the domain names in a very lucrative niche are taken. Sadly, almost all of them are just parked pages. You decide to enter into a LEASE TO OWN system with the best domain in the category.

Advantages:

You get to test out the domain to see if, with a set amount of work and traffic, it can live up to its potential before you buy it outright.

Disadvantage:

Benchmarks can be slippery or set too high, you just end up watering someone else's garden.

kind of cool to get in without throwing a ton of cash. If the domain sucks you are out less.

Anything that gives you more options and makes it a lesser risk must be good.:thumbsup

So I would say Yes for domain lease to buy if you plan it correct. :)

True. But through your efforts, a domain that had minimal backlinks now has thousands and gets a lot more traffic than just type in. The counterargument would be: that's the price you pay for testing.

It can still be a win win... both sides are taking risks.

How good would the contract be?

Chances are if you make the domain work the sleazebag you leased it from will really have you over the barrel. You will pretty much be in the worst position to negotiate. But like I said, if you have a contract with someone in your own country that states all the outcomes, you should be good.

I guess i was thinking the leasing would just allow you to test the traffic and make a better decision. Why create tons of backlinks etc as you can do that for any domain.

You left out the option of leasing a domain to solely utilize it for the type-in or other already generated traffic. You don't have to lease a domain and build on it.

I'd never lease a domain unless I got some part of a great type-in domain or a really good brandable one.

If it's a honest deal that you know will go thru then it's a good idea.

Regarding traffic/back links you build :

If it aint worth paying for the domain after you work on it then it aint worth paying for
the domain after you work on it. :1orglaugh

interesting stuff indeed

leases have been awesome for HuntingMoon's customers. 30+ active right now...

Dude, we need to talk. And since I've known you since 1990, you'd be an ideal lease provider.

So long as you have a way to guarantee continued control, or an option to buy it, it can make alot of sense. Just like making the payment on a rental property.

Just don't end up developing something that's going right back to someone else.

contract is a contract
seller cant back out of it, if its written the right way
you can also place a leased domain into escrow

what niche or industry are all the good domains taken in ?

While most domains in a niche are in fact taken, there are always domain options available to register or to buy for short money. I have 400+ domains, all registered for some project that I wanted to do at some point.. Id never consider leasing a domain because as you said, once you are done with the lease, ALL of the work you did is now gone and you start over wherever you go. The best case scenario is you end up with a mailing list you can use, worst case scenario you start over.

You mentioned branding, a generic word is a lot harder to brand than a made up word or phrase, look at google.com askjeeves.com, mapquest.com, gofuckyourself.com etc etc. If you need help finding domains let me know if im around I dont mind poking through some available ones for you.

Id rather promote a mediocre domain with a keyword and keep the links, PR, and traffic, when im done.

-Lou

Yes but lease to Own gives the buyer the chance to make staged payments and obtain ongoing income straight away without a huge one off payment.

It works well for some depends on the plan/deal.

Ah.. Sorry, I didnt catch the lease to own portion id just call that financing a domain. I still say on most products Id just go with something I could find. The adult industry is an amazing one in that its one of the only industries you can make a ton of money with a domain like xxx12345y.com. In this industry so much of it is about link exchanges, and otherwise just getting users to click on things. Then you get into paysites and they are mostly traffic'd by affiliate programs so really dont need a great domain either. Of course it depends on the project. $5 im still up for helping you poke around for domains if you ever want some help, im usually pretty good at finding them. you have my ICQ

I cant seem to find it at the moment (icq number) can you email me or hit me up on 494318698 :thumbsup thanks

Somewhat related, www.digipawn.com is an interesting concept. Instead of leasing to develop the domain, you're pawning it for fast cash, then paying back the loan. The domain is collateral, if you default then they change name servers and take it over.

I have no idea whether the interest rate is reasonable or something ridiculous like 150% annualized... but I thought I'd mention it...

poker.com was leased. Went from parking page to fully functional poker site(live games/real money 10k+ users etc..) During the lease they done agressive link building and got it to #1 on google for poker, now its a poker portal and the person that leased it created carbonpoker.com and everyone moved there.

but the name will still be making the owner millions, helped a lot by the branding work the previous guy did

you had me with " watering someone else his garden "

I'd never lease a domain. What happens if the person leasing it gets it blacklisted?

That's the single biggest problem I've encountered, that and emailers.

Yet to be technical we all sort of just lease domains anyways. I am just glad I went with the 10 year option on most of mine before the yearly price hikes.

Anything can be negotiated to make it make business sense.

Depending on the domain I would not be averse to leasing.



I don't know if most people know this but as a real world example know that some major corporations and residential buildings in NY are not owned but are on 100+ year leases instead.

Also keep in mind that in 10 or 20 years no one will probably give a shit about a .com. We'll be doing this differently.

Good point bringing up real estate leases. There's some strong parallels between domain names and real estate.

I hear you but if I could lease SEX.com I would do it.

So it might depend on the name he's actually looking at.

I would only ever lease out a domain, never lease a domain.

If you have domain you can lease out the benefits are a hell of a lot more than the other way round.

Yep, it's based on an old Chinese saying.

Yes if you get to try before you buy, or intend to burn it.