"Leasing" domains, new alternative to parking

[bwhhisc]

http://www.leasethis.com/

QUOTE: LeaseThis.com has developed an innovative patent pending technology that makes available the Internet's premium domains to individuals and businesses around the globe.

Whether you are an individual, a small business or global conglomerate, LeaseThis.com provides you with the tools necessary to access the premium domain names that are essential to your online presence. What was once impossible is now within your reach. END QUOTE

[thegenius1]

http://www.leasethis.com/

QUOTE: LeaseThis.com has developed an innovative patent pending technology that makes available the Internet's premium domains to individuals and businesses around the globe.

Whether you are an individual, a small business or global conglomerate, LeaseThis.com provides you with the tools necessary to access the premium domain names that are essential to your online presence. What was once impossible is now within your reach. END QUOTE

Interesting Real Estate is the only section they have up now

[Olney]

Good idea,

Doing the contracts would be killer though, if it's a competitive keyword.

[domainguru]

Good idea,

Doing the contracts would be killer though, if it's a competitive keyword.

Not sure what you mean about the "contracts"? It's just a pay-up-front, for short term lease (max 3 months) kind of deal.

[bwhhisc]

Good idea, Doing the contracts would be killer though, if it's a competitive keyword.

Actually might be as simple and straight foward as "current parking revenue X multiple".
Gives the domain holder guaranteed income and the advertiser a site to try out for a period, maybe even with an "option to buy".

I think they are also thinking of putting multiple advertisers on a single site in some cases.
The options and possiblities are endless. Hope they are going to do IDNs. :)

[Olney]

Their idea is cool
But I'm talking about whole leasing in general (if you do it yourself).
If it's a lease for a great competitive keyword & you get a great buyout offer depends on the person but who do you play favorites to.
Leasing ads is cool, that's actually a whole lot simpler but the exclusive leasing is really good option in the beginning but there has to be some terms to buy after a period if the customer wants it.

But it is a way cheaper option.

[touchring]

Their idea is cool
But I'm talking about whole leasing in general (if you do it yourself).
If it's a lease for a great competitive keyword & you get a great buyout offer depends on the person but who do you play favorites to.
Leasing ads is cool, that's actually a whole lot simpler but the exclusive leasing is really good option in the beginning but there has to be some terms to buy after a period if the customer wants it.

But it is a way cheaper option.


Might work in the States, where the short term approach is used, but i doubt it will work in Asia where people like to think long term.

[Edwin]

The other problem is if the company leasing it "messes up" the domain name by using it inappropriately (sending spam, black-hat SEO, etc.) such that it can't easily be redeveloped/resold. Who polices that, and to what standard?

[Olney]

The other problem is if the company leasing it "messes up" the domain name by using it inappropriately (sending spam, black-hat SEO, etc.) such that it can't easily be redeveloped/resold. Who polices that, and to what standard?

That's something that HAS to be in a leasing contract. It's these little extra things that you really have to think out.

[bwhhisc]

That's something that HAS to be in a leasing contract. It's these little extra things that you really have to think out.

This seems like it could be the wave of the future for may domains.

I can see smart internet marketing/ advertising company lease a top name, then provide the content and
marketing services to get advertisers and traffic with revenue on a shared percentage to domain owner.

[LeaseThis]

Just wanted to let everyone know that if you have any questions comments or concerns, please feel free to post them or drop us an email at info@leasethis.com. I look forward to hearing from all of you!

[Fka200]

Just wanted to let everyone know that if you have any questions comments or concerns, please feel free to post them or drop us an email at info@leasethis.com. I look forward to hearing from all of you!


I would def. be interested in this. I have some domains that would be perfect for leasing, but they are IDNs.


So, if you somehow accept IDNs, let me know. Will read up on your website a little bit :)

[Lmg67]

I have several ASCII .com real estate domains that I emailed to LeaseThis.com. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes....I'll let you all know if they are accepted and if so, how it goes from there. And I agree, IDNs would be great!

For some reason I am not allowed to edit my previous post...

I wanted to add that it would be really cool with IDN's, because everything would be in categories according to language, like:

Real Estate - Hebrew Real Estate - Chinese Real Estate - Arabic

Real Estate - English

and so on.

[mdw]

The other problem is if the company leasing it "messes up" the domain name by using it inappropriately (sending spam, black-hat SEO, etc.) such that it can't easily be redeveloped/resold. Who polices that, and to what standard?

This is a key point - the lack of protection for the domain "owner" against the short-term use of the domain in a way that DIMINISHES THE VALUE of that domain.

Equally important I think is the prospect for the lessee to use the domain in ways that would incur some legal liabilities for the domain "owner". The owner has no way to protect himself other than being vigilant in monitoring the domain and trying to take swift action if something is amiss.

[LeaseThis]

Hello Everyone,
Glad to see some response to this. I am happy to see some excitement about this. I will be answering all your questions and emails as best as i can. If you can post questions, I will go through them and write up responses to them and post this once or twice a day as needed. I value all of your feedback.
Thanks,
Travis
LeaseThis.com

[Rubber Duck]

There is an interesting report on Davos which underlines the importance of the markets which IDN will come to dominate in the near future here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6294661.stm

[LeaseThis]

Okay, here is my first attempt at answering some questions that i have gathered throughout the day.

#1 How do we prevent advertisers from diminishing the value of a domain?

Answer: We have to approve the advertisers. In addition to this it is also a part of the contract that the advertiser can not devalue the domain. If the domain owner feels like the domain is being devalued, then they can contact us and we can resolve the issue or cancel the lease.

#2 Do we take steps to prevent UDRP legal problems?

Answer: We have 2 full time attorneys on staff to handle any legal issues that may arise from leases. Our contracts have also been written to circumnavigate most potential issues involved in leasing a domain.

#3 How do you handle outbound links to bad neighborhoods creating bad search problems for the domain?

Answer: Any time domain owners feel that an advertiser is misusing a domain, they can contact us and we will resolve it.

#4 How will this service be "potentially" better in terms of revenue vs participating in a regular * PPC program for a domainer?

Answer: Domain owners set the lease price.

#5 Is there a specific type of domain (theme) that could "potentially" benefit the most (again in terms of revenue) from your program?

Answer: Yes, Broad generic domains, Geo targeted, or high traffic volume domains.

#6 Are ( expired dead websites )domains with traffic accepted ?

Answer: Yes, there may be a slightly longer approval process to make sure the lease is done in good standing

#7 What should be a reasonable "timeframe" in order to see good results?

Answer: We will be launching an ad campaign in March. You should start seeing good results then, with continued growth.

#8 How are lease rates decided?

Answer: By the domain owner. Domains that have 100 unique visits a month and where they are willing to share statistical information we can offer pricing guidelines.

#9 Is the rate variable or flat fee?

Answer: Variable

#10 Do we support IDN?

Answer: In beta no, however we will be offering it in production, which we will launch April 2nd 2007

#11 Are advertisers just building someone else’s brand?

Answer: We provide the advertiser with two options. Billboard or Redirect.

#12 Will we focus on different languages?

Answer: Yes, as the demand grows we will add more language support to the system.

#13 What are the benefits of leasing a domain?

Answer: See the website

#14 What percentage of revenue does the lessor get and who audits the revenue?

Answer: No audit is needed since the domain owner knows the lease price and the percentage is in the contract. The percentage can range from 60% and up based on the total dollar amount of leases in a month.

#15 Who is the beneficiary of the invaluable user usage statistics?

Answer: Both the domain owner and the advertiser.

# 16 Will your program be focusing exclusively on .com domains?

Answer: No, we are accepting all valid TLDs. Keep in mind that most advertisers are still overly obsessed with .com, but as the market continues to mature I firmly believe we will see other extension domains begin to lease.

#17 How will LeaseThis.com handle spammers who are looking to use a leased domain?

Answer: Once a lease is agreed to by both parties, we collect payment from the advertiser and the DNS is changed to ns1.leasethis.com and ns2.leasethis.com. If at any point during the month there is abuse by the advertiser, we immediately terminate their lease. And if at any point the domain owner moves the DNS, we offer a full refund to the advertiser.

#18 As a domain owner, do I have to have a minimum amount of domains in my portfolio to be eligible to join LeaseThis?

Answer: Just one…initially we had a 100 domain limit, but we are shifting the approval process and lifting that limit.

#19 What are the increments of domains contributed that shift the allocated payout percentage?

Answer: It is based on total monthly lease amount. For example, someone who leases 100 - $20 domains would be comparable to a person who leases 1 - $2,000 domain. Once someone crosses the $500 per month in leases they should contact us for an increase in rev share.

#20 Is there a minimum amount that domains can be rented for? e.g, Minimum rental amount per month is: $xx/domain?

Answer: We are offering a “suggested minimum” of $20/month

#21 How will the payout take place? Check, Paypal, direct wire and in what time frame?

Answer: Any of the above and net 7 from the end of the month of the lease

#22 What information will you need from a domain owner, how will submitted domains be verified to actually belong to the person that offers it for lease?

Answer: User information will need to match the whois and for private registration email verification will be required. Once a lease is requested we contact the owner and thoroughly verify all elements of ownership. Keep in mind that the DNS will have been switched for 30 days before any payment is issued to a domain owner so collecting money from a fraudulent domain lease is impossible.

#23 What are the security measures in place to protect the domain owner and the leasing party?

Answer: As described above we collect the money at the beginning of the month and release it at the end of the month to the domain owner. The main security measure in place for the advertiser is that they receive a full refund if the domain owner moves the DNS during the lease. The protection to the domain owner is that the DNS never switches from our servers and you are guaranteed payment.

#24 Is there an internal interface that lets the domain owner check on the stats of the domain, or will it be completely hands off once the domain is rented?

Answer: The domain owner and lessee will have access to the domain stats for the duration of the lease.

#25 I got approved but don't see how to add domains?

Answer: Chances are you requested a lessee account. Contact Kristine@LeaseThis.com and ask her to change your account type.

#26 Does the current portfolio of advertisers only originate from the U.S. or other regions/countries as well?

Answer: Mostly from the US at this point although in the last 2 weeks I have started getting inquiries from other countries.

#27 Will potential advertisers be approached by LeaseThis?

Answer: Yes, we have a sales staff that we are continuing to grow. If you have lists of legitimate leads that would be interested in leasing your domains, we are more than happy to follow-up with them.

#28 Also the site seems to be only a skeleton at the time and needs much more navigation tools?

Answer: We are in Beta and have lots of additional features and some nifty tools already in production. We plan on launching the full version on April 2nd. 2007.

[thegenius1]

Okay, here is my first attempt at answering some questions that i have gathered throughout the day.

#1 How do we prevent advertisers from diminishing the value of a domain?

Answer: We have to approve the advertisers. In addition to this it is also a part of the contract that the advertiser can not devalue the domain. If the domain owner feels like the domain is being devalued, then they can contact us and we can resolve the issue or cancel the lease.

#2 Do we take steps to prevent UDRP legal problems?

Answer: We have 2 full time attorneys on staff to handle any legal issues that may arise from leases. Our contracts have also been written to circumnavigate most potential issues involved in leasing a domain.

#3 How do you handle outbound links to bad neighborhoods creating bad search problems for the domain?

Answer: Any time domain owners feel that an advertiser is misusing a domain, they can contact us and we will resolve it.

#4 How will this service be "potentially" better in terms of revenue vs participating in a regular * PPC program for a domainer?

Answer: Domain owners set the lease price.

#5 Is there a specific type of domain (theme) that could "potentially" benefit the most (again in terms of revenue) from your program?

Answer: Yes, Broad generic domains, Geo targeted, or high traffic volume domains.

#6 Are ( expired dead websites )domains with traffic accepted ?

Answer: Yes, there may be a slightly longer approval process to make sure the lease is done in good standing

#7 What should be a reasonable "timeframe" in order to see good results?

Answer: We will be launching an ad campaign in March. You should start seeing good results then, with continued growth.

#8 How are lease rates decided?

Answer: By the domain owner. Domains that have 100 unique visits a month and where they are willing to share statistical information we can offer pricing guidelines.

#9 Is the rate variable or flat fee?

Answer: Variable

#10 Do we support IDN?

Answer: In beta no, however we will be offering it in production, which we will launch April 2nd 2007

#11 Are advertisers just building someone else’s brand?

Answer: We provide the advertiser with two options. Billboard or Redirect.

#12 Will we focus on different languages?

Answer: Yes, as the demand grows we will add more language support to the system.

#13 What are the benefits of leasing a domain?

Answer: See the website

#14 What percentage of revenue does the lessor get and who audits the revenue?

Answer: No audit is needed since the domain owner knows the lease price and the percentage is in the contract. The percentage can range from 60% and up based on the total dollar amount of leases in a month.

#15 Who is the beneficiary of the invaluable user usage statistics?

Answer: Both the domain owner and the advertiser.

# 16 Will your program be focusing exclusively on .com domains?

Answer: No, we are accepting all valid TLDs. Keep in mind that most advertisers are still overly obsessed with .com, but as the market continues to mature I firmly believe we will see other extension domains begin to lease.

#17 How will LeaseThis.com handle spammers who are looking to use a leased domain?

Answer: Once a lease is agreed to by both parties, we collect payment from the advertiser and the DNS is changed to ns1.leasethis.com and ns2.leasethis.com. If at any point during the month there is abuse by the advertiser, we immediately terminate their lease. And if at any point the domain owner moves the DNS, we offer a full refund to the advertiser.

#18 As a domain owner, do I have to have a minimum amount of domains in my portfolio to be eligible to join LeaseThis?

Answer: Just one…initially we had a 100 domain limit, but we are shifting the approval process and lifting that limit.

#19 What are the increments of domains contributed that shift the allocated payout percentage?

Answer: It is based on total monthly lease amount. For example, someone who leases 100 - $20 domains would be comparable to a person who leases 1 - $2,000 domain. Once someone crosses the $500 per month in leases they should contact us for an increase in rev share.

#20 Is there a minimum amount that domains can be rented for? e.g, Minimum rental amount per month is: $xx/domain?

Answer: We are offering a “suggested minimum” of $20/month

#21 How will the payout take place? Check, Paypal, direct wire and in what time frame?

Answer: Any of the above and net 7 from the end of the month of the lease

#22 What information will you need from a domain owner, how will submitted domains be verified to actually belong to the person that offers it for lease?

Answer: User information will need to match the whois and for private registration email verification will be required. Once a lease is requested we contact the owner and thoroughly verify all elements of ownership. Keep in mind that the DNS will have been switched for 30 days before any payment is issued to a domain owner so collecting money from a fraudulent domain lease is impossible.

#23 What are the security measures in place to protect the domain owner and the leasing party?

Answer: As described above we collect the money at the beginning of the month and release it at the end of the month to the domain owner. The main security measure in place for the advertiser is that they receive a full refund if the domain owner moves the DNS during the lease. The protection to the domain owner is that the DNS never switches from our servers and you are guaranteed payment.

#24 Is there an internal interface that lets the domain owner check on the stats of the domain, or will it be completely hands off once the domain is rented?

Answer: The domain owner and lessee will have access to the domain stats for the duration of the lease.

#25 I got approved but don't see how to add domains?

Answer: Chances are you requested a lessee account. Contact Kristine@LeaseThis.com and ask her to change your account type.

#26 Does the current portfolio of advertisers only originate from the U.S. or other regions/countries as well?

Answer: Mostly from the US at this point although in the last 2 weeks I have started getting inquiries from other countries.

#27 Will potential advertisers be approached by LeaseThis?

Answer: Yes, we have a sales staff that we are continuing to grow. If you have lists of legitimate leads that would be interested in leasing your domains, we are more than happy to follow-up with them.

#28 Also the site seems to be only a skeleton at the time and needs much more navigation tools?

Answer: We are in Beta and have lots of additional features and some nifty tools already in production. We plan on launching the full version on April 2nd. 2007.

Thanks for taking the time to answer everybody's questions and concerns , speaks volumes on the company already

[rhys]

This is ambitious so good luck with it. My comments:

Protection for the domain owner: This is the key hurdle you have to overcome. Because it is only a loaner, the advertiser is not incentivized to treat the domain as carefully as his own property. I would recommend that the advertiser has to fully indemnify the owner against any legal action taken against him as a result of the advertisers use of the site. Consequently, this means that advertisers need to have some minimum threshhold of E&O insurance. I mean if motorola indemnifies me no problem but if Frank's hot dog stand does.......

Also if the site gets banned by a major search engine as a result of the activities of the advertiser, your company must assure the owner that you can make things right by: 1) getting such ban lifted on behalf of the owner through your ties with the SE 2) forcing the advertiser to pay compensation and damages to the owner.

Not fun clauses if you are in startup mode and trying to lure advertisers, but if they want quality domains, they will have to offer the appropriate protections to owners.

[LeaseThis]

I will post some more answers to questions later today, but if you are interested we have added some great information HERE (http://www.leasethis.com/?cmd=Page_Company_Owner). This is the quickest way to get your domains leased. We have created a temprary import process to respond to the overwhelming demand. We are launching all of our verticals (categories) Monday, January 29th.

Hello Everyone

Here are the answers to the questions people had today.
Question 1: Once domains have been submitted for lease, how long does it take before each name is moved from pending to approved?

Answer: Usually 24 hours. Due to the overwhelming response we are getting it is taking us a little longer. By the end of day tomorrow all submissions that qualify will be approved.
Question 2: Is there a contractual "time commitment"?

Answer: Three months currently is the longest we offer at a time. In the future the system will accommodate you if you wish to do longer leases on your domains.
Question 3: What if during the lease you get an offer from someone else to buy the domain?
Answer: The lease is a contract and we have safeguards in place to ensure the domain owner and the advertiser complete the lease. With that said, the domain owner is free to offer short term leases (month to month) on their domains.
Question 4: What about domains that don’t fit in main categories?

Answer: Sub Categories will be available for this and we are adding a miscellaneous category.

Question 5: Do you give guidance on what we should charge?

Answer: Rates are decided by the domain owner. Domains that have 100 unique visits a month and where they are willing to share statistical information we can offer pricing guidelines.

Question 6: What’s lease this cut/fees??

Answer: 60% owner and 40% LeaseThis. It is really based on the total lease amount per month. If a domain owner does 500$ or more a month in leases, then they can contact us to talk about an increase in the rev share.

Question 7: Any real lease names yet running?

Answer: YES


Question 8: Any commissions paid by leasethis to domainers when someone clicks on leasethis logo (on your banner template) and leases something?

Answer: The link on a leased site simply goes to the lease contract for your domain, thereby increasing the chances that your domain will be leased. If you are interested in promoting LeaseThis.com through other websites please contact us about our affiliate structure.

Question 9: Why the leasing rates are so low?

Answer: We really try to encourage attractive pricing for advertisers while at the same time increasing the domain owner’s revenue. As time goes on and advertisers begin to see the value of domain traffic we expect the demand (and therefore price) to go up. That’s why all prices are listed as beta prices. Keep in mind that we have to make it compelling enough for advertisers to try, much like PPC when it started with all bids at a penny.

Question 10: What if you get a serious client looking for a 1-5 and even 10+ year lease...how do you plan to accommodate these?

Answer: We have developed the system to anticipate leases beyond the 2 year period, with special approval.

Hope this helps. And remember there is more information for domainers here: http://www.leasethis.com/?cmd=Page_Company_Owner
Regards,
Travis
LeaseThis.com
Customer Support