Escrow

Escrow is an arrangement where an independent, regulated third party holds the buyer's funds while the agreed assets transfer, then releases the full amount to the seller once the buyer has confirmed everything arrived as described.

How escrow works at $50k–$150k

The full purchase price goes in once, upfront, before any asset moves. Indiemaker is non-custodial: the escrow agent is an independent regulated provider, and the platform never holds or touches the funds. Once the money is confirmed with the agent, the seller starts the transfer. The buyer then has a defined inspection window to check each item against the schedule, and on confirmation the agent releases the whole amount in a single payment.

Where it bites

The word doing the work is "confirmed". If the parties have not agreed in writing what counts as a completed transfer, the inspection window turns into an argument. Every item should be checkable by someone other than the seller: the domain shows the buyer as registrant, the repository sits under the buyer's organisation, the hosting account accepts the buyer's login. Vague completion language is the single most common reason a clean transfer stalls.

A worked example

On a $120,000 close the buyer sends the full amount to the escrow agent. Over three working days the seller moves two domains, the repository, DNS, the hosting account and the customer records, ticking off a 19-item schedule as each lands. The buyer has five days to inspect, confirms on day four, and the agent releases $120,000 to the seller. Escrow fees at six figures are a small fraction of a per cent, and who pays them is settled in the letter of intent rather than on the day.

Why it matters

Escrow removes the awkward question of who moves first. It also sets the standard for the whole deal: one payment, upfront, against a defined list. Treat a buyer who wants to pay in parts as a signal to slow down and ask why.

Related: handover-period, due-diligence, stack-transfer