Over the weekend, I received a $1,000 offer for a $1,997-priced domain name via Afternic. After a bit of negotiating, I agreed to sell the domain name for $1,500 on Sunday and the buyer agreed but has not yet paid. Yesterday afternoon, I agreed to sell a different domain name via Afternic for $2,500, and the buyer immediately paid and that deal is done and dusted.

I am curious to know how long other people tend to give buyers to pay for a domain name once a deal has been reached.

There can be mitigating factors revolving around the length of time a buyer has to pay. With larger companies, the payment process can take quite some time. There may be red tape and various parties involved that will require extra time for payment. On deals involving Escrow.com, it might take additional time for the buyer to be KYC verified.

One thing I like to do before agreeing to a deal is stating something like, “I will agree to sell the domain name for $x if the buyer pays within 24 hours.” This ensures prompt payment and gives me an out should the buyer not fulfill that obligation.

In general, I try not to give a buyer more than a few days to pay to avoid cold feet and to prevent frontrunning as best as possible.

How long do you usually give a buyer to pay for a domain name after a deal is reached?

How long do you give a buyer to pay for a domain name after a deal is reached before retracting the offer?

— Elliot Silver (@DInvesting) August 12, 2025