Escrow.com is a leading online escrow service, designed to facilitate secure transactions, particularly for high-value assets such as domain names, vehicles, and luxury items. Founded in 1999, the platform acts as a trusted third party to hold and disburse funds according to transaction agreements, ensuring that both buyers and sellers are protected from fraud and disputes.
For domain investors, Escrow.com offers a highly secure and efficient means of buying and selling domain names. The platform ensures that the seller only receives payment once the buyer has confirmed receipt of the domain name, verifying the legitimacy of the transaction and reducing the risk of scams.
Escrow.com is a premium sponsor of DomainGang.
In recent weeks, Escrow.com performed price adjustments to its fee table and presented a new structure; while the cost of some services increased, the expanded fee structure is now easier to understand and well within the expectations of the economy.
We reached out to Escrow.com CEO, Mr. Matt Barrie, to talk about these pricing adjustments and how domain investors, eager to utilize Escrow.com, should view these changes.
DomainGang: What led to the overall decision to adjust pricing?
Matt Barrie | Escrow.com: We get it – our pricing was overdue for an update. It’s been over 20 years since we last made changes, and our customers let us know that our price bands needed some work.
As the world’s first online escrow company, we know we haven’t always kept up with the times. Our services, the market, and our customers’ needs have all changed, and our prices should reflect that. We took a long, hard look at what we offer, what makes us stand out, and how we can do better for our customers.
The bottom line is, we want to give you the best possible service, and that means having the right resources, product, and people in place to make it happen. To do that, we needed to rethink our prices.
We also want to make sure our prices make sense in today’s market while still giving you the exceptional, secure escrow service you expect from us.
By updating our pricing, we’re making sure we can stick around for the long haul, keep improving, and be there for you as the online world keeps changing. We’re in this together, and we’re always here to help you navigate the ups and downs of buying and selling online.
DomainGang: There are now 9 pricing tiers for Standard Escrow vs. 3 before. Again, what led to the added “complexity” in pricing?
Matt Barrie | Escrow.com: You’re right, we’ve gone from 3 pricing tiers to 9 for our Standard Escrow service. We know it might seem like we’re making things more complicated, but there’s a good reason behind it.
Back when we first started, our pricing table only went up to $25k. But as time went on, we found ourselves handling bigger and bigger transactions. Nowadays, it’s not unusual for us to deal with transactions worth $30 million or more, across all sorts of assets – cars, boats, planes, businesses, real estate, domain names, IP addresses, art, jewelry, antiques, industrial equipment, you name it.
With such a wide range of transaction sizes, our old 3-tier system just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Customers with smaller deals were often paying more than they needed to, while those with really big transactions didn’t have enough options.
So, we expanded to 9 tiers to better accommodate the diverse needs of our customers. Whether you’re buying a piece of jewelry online or negotiating a major business acquisition, there’s now a pricing tier that fits your specific situation.
We get that it might seem a bit more complex at first glance, but we truly believe this new structure is fairer and more flexible for everyone. And even with more tiers, we’re still committed to keeping things as straightforward and easy to understand as possible.
At the end of the day, our goal is to make online transactions safer and smoother for all our customers, whether they’re dealing with a few hundred dollars or tens of millions. If you have any questions about the new pricing or need help figuring out which tier is right for you, just let us know – we’re always here to help!
DomainGang: Which is the sweet spot / median tier for the average domain transaction on Escrow.com?
Matt Barrie | Escrow.com: When it comes to domain transactions on Escrow.com, the sweet spot for volume is typically in the six to seven-figure range. While we handle transactions across all price points, many of the most significant domain deals fall within this tier.
Premium domains trade upwards of seven or even eight digits. We did an eight digit transaction over last weekend, for example. Domain names will continue to see tremendous price appreciation until they harmonize with commercial real estate. We even know of a transaction in negotiation with a nine-digit price tag.
To put this into perspective, consider a scenario where you’re launching a new payments company. Would you rather invest in a commercial retail building in downtown Chicago or secure the payments.com domain? For many businesses, the choice is clear – a premium domain can provide instant credibility, brand recognition, and online visibility that physical real estate simply can’t match.
When Facebook decided to go all-in on the metaverse, they didn’t just buy a domain – they acquired the best possible digital real estate in meta.com and even rebranded their entire company around it.
DomainGang: Thank you for sharing all this valuable information and insight with our readers!
Matt Barrie is an Australian entrepreneur and the CEO of both Escrow.com and Freelancer.com. He founded Freelancer.com, a leading freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace, in 2009. Barrie is known for his expertise in technology and business innovation. He holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and has a background in venture capital and academia. Under his leadership, Freelancer.com and Escrow.com have grown significantly, becoming prominent platforms in their respective fields.
