Escrow explained, and why you should propose it first

A domain sale has a gap: one side has to move first. Whoever moves first is exposed, and the gap widens the more documentation the transfer requires. Escrow closes it by putting a neutral party between the two.

The mechanics

Buyer sends funds to the escrow agent. Agent confirms receipt to the seller. Seller executes the transfer. Buyer confirms the name is in their control. Agent releases funds.

Four parties to notify, one point of failure removed. The cost is a small percentage, and both sides should agree who pays it before terms are settled.

What escrow protects against

The seller taking payment and not transferring. The buyer receiving the name and reversing payment. Both are real and both are common enough that the mechanism exists.

What it does not protect against

This is the part people get wrong. Escrow confirms a transfer happened. It does not confirm the asset is what you thought.

It will not tell you the name has a spam history, that it collides with a registered trademark, that it reads as something unfortunate in Vietnamese, or that the inbound links are a liability. All of that is due diligence, done before the money moves, and no escrow agent does it for you.

Structuring it for a slow transfer

A generic-extension push can complete in an hour. A country-code change of registrant takes several working days and involves documents from both sides. Escrow terms written for the fast case do not fit the slow one.

Agree explicitly: what counts as completion (the registrant record showing the buyer, not a promise that forms were filed), how long the seller has to execute, and what happens if the registrar rejects the paperwork. Build in more time than you expect to need.

Staged payment as an alternative

Where full escrow is impractical — small sums, cross-border friction, an agent neither side can use — a staged structure works: a deposit on written agreement, the balance on confirmed registrant change.

The deposit gives the seller confidence to start the paperwork; the balance gives you leverage until the record actually changes. What you must not do is pay in full against a promise to transfer afterwards. That structure is behind most losses in this market.

Cross-border specifics

Agree the currency and who bears conversion costs. Agree which party's banking delays count against the clock. If either side is a company, confirm the person signing has authority — an escrow release authorised by someone without it is a problem for everyone.

Choosing an agent

Use one that handles domains specifically and has done so for years. A general-purpose payment service is not escrow: it does not understand what completion means for a domain and will not hold funds against a registrant record changing.

Check three things before naming one: that both parties can actually open an account with it from their respective countries, that it supports the currency you agreed, and what its dispute procedure looks like if the transfer stalls. The third is the one nobody reads until they need it.

Propose it first

The single most useful habit: name escrow in your first substantive message, before price is agreed. Raised early it reads as professionalism. Raised after terms are settled it reads as distrust, and it has ended deals that were otherwise complete.