Understanding GoDaddy Auctions® payment transactions
Paying for a domain you’ve won on GoDaddy Auctions® depends on the domain's selling price. If the domain sells for less than US$5,000 we process the transaction in-house through Transaction Assurance. If the domain sells for greater than US$5,000, we may process the transaction through Escrow.com, an escrow service that subtracts processing fees from the seller's proceeds.
Transaction Assurance verifies the funds within 5 days after the buyer pays for the domain at GoDaddy Auctions®.
After verification, it's time to transfer the domain to the buyer. How the domain is transferred depends on where it is registered.
- Domains registered somewhere else: Seller initiates the transfer by logging into their Auctions account then Selling List, then Sold, then Begin Transfer and enters the domain's authorization code obtained by the domain’s registrar after having it unlocked. You'll need to update the IPS tag on your .UK domain to GoDaddy before you begin transferring the domain to the buyer.
- For domains registered with GoDaddy: Domains with domain protection enabled, you'll need to downgrade to no protection before transferring to another account. Once that's completed, the domain should be moved to the buyer automatically.
When Escrow.com processes the transaction, the following steps occur:
- The buyer completes a $0 USD transaction on GoDaddy Auctions® to start the process.
- Escrow.com emails the buyer and seller with instructions to complete the transaction.
- The buyer makes a payment and Escrow.com verifies and holds the funds in a non-interest-bearing account.
- The buyer and seller’s auctions account status will display as Buyer’s funds secured by Escrow.com in the Sold or Won section.
- The buyer and seller then work together to transfer the domain. The process depends on where the buyer plans to register the domain:
- The seller initiates a transfer from their GoDaddy account to the buyer’s account.
- The seller provides the authorization code to the buyer and then they initiates a domain transfer from their registrar.
If the buyer doesn’t receive the domain within 10 days, please reach out to Escrow.com to follow up on the transaction. Domain delivery isn't guaranteed and if the seller is unable to deliver a domain, we may issue a refund to the buyer.
You must make a payment within 48 hours of the auction closing when you win an expired domain. After that time, you’ll be automatically billed for the domain and its renewal fee using the payment method in your account. If we are unable to collect payment for any expired domains you’ve won, you'll forfeit any rights to the domain and your auctions membership will be suspended. After you pay for your domain, we can typically move it to your account within 7-10 days.
The current domain registrant may renew the domain at any time during the registrar's renewal grace period. If this occurs, the domain won’t be available to win via auction anymore.
Related step
- Set up your GoDaddy Auctions® payee account to make and recieve payments for your domain.
More info
- Set up my 2-step verification for the best security on your domains and account.
- What happens after an auction ends?
