Afternic announced today that the NameFind portfolio of domains has gained a lease to own (LTO) option.
NameFind is the registrant of record and manager of the GoDaddy-owned domain portfolio of approximately 1 million domain names. How did NameFind acquire these domains?
Very simple: Through private acquisitions of domain portfolios from several companies, such as those of Vertical Axis, Mike Berkens, and Frank Schilling. These portfolios ensure quality and you can rest assured that the asking prices aren’t low.
Which is why GoDaddy does not list its NameFind portfolio alongside the plebes of Afternic! That’s right: GoDaddy wants you to quickly sell your domains via Dan & Afternic but is safeguarding its NameFind portfolio which is open to direct inquiries only.
Ever since Lease to Own was launched, GoDaddy, via its NameFind portfolio, has analyzed the potential opportunity that enabling the payment over time feature could bring. At the beginning of September 2023, GoDaddy began the process of enabling Lease to Own on the majority of domain names in its in-house NameFind portfolio. Providing the option of payments over time opens aftermarket names to a wider group of motivated buyers, and so far, GoDaddy’s NameFind portfolio team has found enabling Lease to Own to be beneficial.
The LTO feature does not exist as a buy option for domains listed on NameFind.com; only the BIN price is shown.
Adding an LTO option is basically a method of attracting buyers that want a particular domain but aren’t willing to pay the lump sum involved. As others commented, what’s the point of announcing to the domain community about the service’s availability when it’s not available to the public?
