Marketplace

These are the terms of every domain rental on the Appraise.net Marketplace. The seller accepts them when they offer a domain for rent; the renter accepts them when they start a rental. Version 2026-11-12.

1. Who is who, and what a rental is

"The Marketplace" is the Appraise.net Marketplace, operated by Domaincracy LLC. A rental is an agreement between the seller and the renter. The Marketplace is not a party to it as owner or renter, except where it is itself the seller of the domain. It collects the rent, holds the deposit and decides complaints as set out here. The Appraise.net Terms of Service also apply, including their rules on eligibility, limitation of liability, governing law and where disputes are heard. Where the two differ on a rental, these rental terms apply.

The renter pays a monthly fee for the right to use a listed domain on their own nameservers, for example to try out a business idea before committing to the name. A rental does not transfer the domain and builds no ownership in it: however long it runs, none of the rent counts toward buying the domain. The seller remains the registered owner throughout.

• A month runs from the day of the month on which the rental started to the same day of the next month.
• Days are calendar days unless these terms say weekdays; weekdays are Monday to Friday. Deadlines end at 23:59 Arizona time (UTC-7).
• A complaint is upheld when the Marketplace finds that the domain was misused.
• The deposit is forfeited when it is kept and paid to the seller instead of being returned to the renter.

2. Rent

• Rent is 2% of the listing's Buy Now price per month, in whole dollars, fixed when the rental starts. Renting is offered only where that comes to at least $50 a month.
• Rent is paid monthly in advance by card: the first month when the rental starts, then automatically every month. Rent for a month that has started is due in full even if the rental ends during it. The renter may change the card at any time from their rental page.
• The seller receives each month's rent as it arrives, minus the Marketplace commission of 4%.

3. The deposit

• When the rental starts the renter also pays a deposit of 10% of the Buy Now price (at least $500). The deposit is the renter's assurance of proper use. The Marketplace holds it; it is not paid to the seller while rent is paid and no complaint has been upheld. No interest is paid on it.
• The Marketplace starts the refund of the deposit, less any unpaid rent (section 6), 30 days after the rental ends, provided no complaint about the use of the domain is under review or has been upheld. The 30 days exist because misuse of a domain can take time to show up on blocklists and in complaints.
• The refund goes to the card that paid the deposit and usually shows within 5 to 10 business days. If that card can no longer receive a refund, the Marketplace pays it another way agreed with the renter.
• A complaint may be filed while the rental runs and until the deposit is refunded. Once the deposit has been refunded, no complaint can be filed against it.
• If the renter buys the domain, the Marketplace starts the deposit refund as soon as that payment is confirmed, without the 30 day wait. If the renter switches to lease-to-own, the seller still owns the domain, so the deposit is refunded 30 days after the switch, on the same conditions as after a rental that ended. In both cases a deposit stays on hold while a complaint is under review.
• If a complaint is upheld (section 5), the deposit is forfeited to the seller, minus the Marketplace commission, as compensation for the harm to the domain. It is paid to the seller once the 7 days for a review have passed.

4. Using the domain

While the rental runs the renter may use the domain. The renter names the nameservers they want on their rental page. The seller must set them at the registrar within 2 weekdays and must leave them in place for as long as the rental runs. The Marketplace confirms the change with the registry. Where the Marketplace can reach the registrar directly, it sets them itself.

• The registrar account, the registration and all rights in the domain stay with the seller. The renter gains no rights in the domain from the traffic, reputation or brand they build on it. The seller gains no rights in the renter's trademarks, content or customers.
• The rental is personal to the renter. The renter may not rent out, resell or hand over the use of the domain, or of names under it, to anyone else, and may not transfer the rental.
• The renter may send email from the domain for their own business, provided the recipients have agreed to receive it.
• The renter is solely responsible for everything published, sent or hosted under the domain during the rental.
• The Marketplace does not guarantee that the domain will resolve without interruption.

5. Acceptable use and complaints

A domain carries a reputation that outlives any rental. The renter must not use the domain, or let it be used, for:

• phishing, fraud, impersonation or any deceptive scheme;
• distributing malware, or running servers used to control malware or to attack other systems;
• sending spam or other unsolicited bulk email, or anything else likely to get the domain or its mail blocklisted;
• trading on another party's trademark, or pretending to be another business;
• content or activity that is unlawful where the renter operates or where it is aimed.

Serious misuse. Phishing, fraud, impersonation, malware, attack servers and bulk spam are serious misuse. So is any use that gets the domain blocklisted, suspended by the registrar or registry, or made the subject of a formal trademark or domain dispute proceeding. A complaint of serious misuse that is upheld ends the rental and forfeits the whole deposit.

Any other breach. For a breach of this section that is not serious misuse, the Marketplace first asks the renter to stop and gives them 3 days to put it right. If the renter does so and no lasting harm was done, the complaint is not upheld. If not, the complaint is upheld and the deposit is forfeited.

How a complaint is handled. The seller may file a complaint from their rental page, saying what they found and where. The Marketplace may also act on a complaint it receives from a third party, such as a blocklist operator, a registrar or registry, or a trademark owner. The renter is shown the complaint and has 3 days to answer it, once and in writing, on their rental page; supporting files may be sent to support@appraise.net in the same 3 days. The Marketplace decides within 10 days of the complaint and gives both sides its reasons in writing.

• Evidence. The Marketplace upholds a complaint only on evidence it can check: for example a blocklist entry, a registrar or registry abuse notice, a filed trademark or domain dispute, a court order, or a dated capture of the page or message. An allegation alone is not enough.
• Complaint not upheld: nothing changes. A running rental continues, and after the rental the deposit is refunded on its normal date. A complaint that was not upheld may be filed again only with new evidence.
• Complaint upheld: the rental ends immediately if it is still running, no further rent is charged, the marketplace nameservers are restored and the deposit is forfeited as set out in section 3.
• Review. The side the decision went against may ask once for a review, within 7 days of the decision, from their rental page and with any new evidence. Until those 7 days have passed, and while a review is under way, the deposit is neither paid to the seller nor refunded to the renter. The review decision is final as far as the deposit is concerned; it does not stop either side from taking a claim to court. A rental that was ended does not restart if the decision is reversed, but the deposit is then returned to the renter.
• While a complaint is under review the deposit is on hold and is not refunded, even if its refund date passes.
• Ongoing harm. Where the use is causing ongoing harm to others, such as live phishing or malware, the Marketplace may end the rental and restore the marketplace nameservers immediately, without waiting for the renter's answer. The renter may still ask for a review.
• Domains offered by the Marketplace itself. Some domains are offered for rent by the Marketplace. On those rentals the Marketplace is also the seller. It applies the same rules and the same standard of evidence, and gives its reasons in writing.

The deposit is not a limit on the renter's liability. The renter must compensate the seller and the Marketplace for any claim, cost or loss caused by the renter's use of the domain, including the cost of answering a trademark or domain dispute proceeding and of getting the domain removed from blocklists. This applies even after the deposit has been refunded. The seller and the renter must each tell the Marketplace promptly about any complaint or legal notice they receive about the domain.

6. A missed payment

When a rent charge fails, the renter is notified at once and has 3 weekdays, to the end of that day, to pay by updating their card. The renter's nameservers stay in place during these days but cannot be changed. If the rent is still unpaid at the deadline the rental ends: the marketplace nameservers are restored, the listing returns to the market, and one month of rent is taken from the deposit and paid to the seller, minus commission.

If the renter disputes a rent or deposit charge with their card issuer instead of raising it with the Marketplace, the disputed amount counts as unpaid from that day and this section applies. Any amount the card issuer takes back is deducted from the deposit.

7. Buying or leasing the domain

• At any time during the rental the renter may buy the domain at its Buy Now price or, where the listing offers it, start a lease-to-own. That purchase or lease is governed by its own terms; from the moment it starts, the use of the domain is governed by those terms only.
• The Buy Now price shown when the rental starts is held for the renter for 12 months. After that the price is the listing's current Buy Now price, which the seller may change; the renter is told of every change, and the rent does not change with it. The hold covers the Buy Now price only: the 3% payment-method fee shown at checkout for card payments applies to a purchase as it does for any buyer, and lease-to-own plans are the ones the listing offers on the day the lease starts.
• Rent already paid is not credited toward the purchase or the lease. When the payment for the purchase or the first lease payment is confirmed, the rental closes and rent stops. If that purchase or lease is later cancelled or refunded, the rental does not restart.
• While the rental runs the domain is reserved for the renter: the seller must not sell, lease, transfer or pledge it to anyone else and must take it off sale everywhere else.

8. Ending the rental

• By the renter. The renter may end the rental at any time from their rental page. It then runs to the end of the month already paid for, with no refund of that month, and ends.
• By the seller. During the 12 month price hold the seller may not end a rental while rent is paid and no complaint has been upheld: it ends early only for non-payment (section 6) or misuse (section 5). After the price hold the seller may end the rental by giving the renter 90 days' notice through their rental page. The rental then ends at the end of the paid month in which the notice runs out, so the renter is never charged for time they do not get. The renter may still buy the domain at its current Buy Now price during the notice. Notice cannot be withdrawn.
• The seller's duties. For as long as the rental runs the seller keeps the registration renewed and in their own registrar account, and keeps the renter's nameservers in place.
• If the seller cannot provide the domain. If the renter's nameservers are not live within 5 weekdays of the request, or the renter loses the use of the domain because of something the seller did or failed to do, or because of a claim against the domain that the renter's use did not cause, the renter may tell the Marketplace. If the seller does not put it right within 2 weekdays, the Marketplace ends the rental. The renter is then refunded the rent for the time the domain could not be used and the full deposit, without the 30 day wait, and the seller repays to the Marketplace any of that rent already paid out to them.
• What happens at the end. The seller or the Marketplace restores the marketplace nameservers, usually within a day, so any site or mail the renter ran on the domain stops resolving. The renter is responsible for moving off the domain before then.
• Leaving cleanly. Before the rental ends the renter must remove the domain from every third-party service where they added or verified it, and must not use or renew any security certificate for it afterwards. The seller must not present themselves as the renter's business, or read, answer or forward mail addressed to the renter that still arrives at the domain.

9. Fees, refunds and taxes

• The Marketplace commission is 4% of each rent payment and of any forfeited deposit, borne by the seller. The Marketplace earns no more by upholding a complaint than that commission. No Marketplace fee is charged to the renter on rent or on the deposit.
• Rent is not refundable, except as set out in section 8 where the seller cannot provide the domain.
• Each party is responsible for their own taxes.

10. Acceptance and changes

By offering a domain for rent the seller agrees to these terms. By starting a rental the renter agrees to them for that domain. Acceptance is recorded with the date and version. The Marketplace may revise these terms. A revision never changes a rental that is already running. Sellers are told of a revision by email at least 14 days before it takes effect; a seller who leaves renting switched on after that date offers their domains on the revised terms. This is version 2026-11-12.