How a domain escrow transfer works

A domain sale should feel boring. The interesting part is the name. The money and the auth code should move like any other high-value online purchase: through a third party whose only job is to release one when the other arrives.

You write. We answer with availability and, if the note is serious, a price and a proposed path. There is no auction clock on this page and no “12 people are viewing” counter. Those are retail tricks. This is one name.

When terms are agreed, the buyer opens escrow with a service built for domains. The buyer funds it. The seller starts the transfer — either a push inside the same registrar or an auth-code transfer to the buyer’s registrar. Escrow releases funds when the name is in the buyer’s control, on the schedule that service uses.

What you should never do: wire a personal account because a landing page said “bank transfer only,” share an account password, or assume a logo on a page means that company is the broker. SDL Domains, in Scottsdale, is the seller. Escrow.com, or a service of similar standing that both sides accept, holds the funds. The registrar moves the name.

Most clean transfers finish within a few days of funding. Some registries add a lock or a waiting period. We will say so before you pay, not after.