If you’re buying or selling a website or domain (primarily, this advice is offered for domain / website sellers, as these are the people who will be interested in the definition of the phrase “IES Reviews Terms”) and the money is being transferred by the US escrow service, Escrow.com, you might be wondering what the fourth step of the verification (prior to release of funds) means.
In Escrow.com, if you’re the seller, you doubtless can see that, after Buyer receives a domain, it goes into the “Inspection Period” after which either the buyer confirms the purchase, or the inspection period timeframe lapses. Either way, the sale is complete, but that is not the end of the story with Escrow.com, there is another buller point before the service releases funds to you: this is called “IES Reviews Terms”.
IES Reviews Terms? Huh! What Does That Mean?
It isn’t, thankfully as complicated as it might, at first, appear, though you won’t find this out until the inspection period is over, or your buyer confirms the transfer (at which point the IES Reviews Terms element kicks in!). Chances are, before then, if you’re like us, you’ll be Googling this phrase. This page is written for you!
IES – Internet Escrow Service – literally, the name of the business which owns and runs Escrow.com.
Reviews Terms – they check that everything has gone okay in the sale. This is more rigorous if the inspection period ended, rather than buyer saying “yes, this was okay!” by confirming the transfer. So be a good buyer and confirm your purchase at the earliest sensible time!
From the Escrow.com website itself, the explanation (which only displays AFTER the inspection period is/has ended):
Why is my transaction complete but the funds are not released? What does Pending Verification mean?
When a Buyer marks a transaction as accepted or the inspection period times out, the transaction status shows as complete. However, funds are still in escrow until the the transaction is closed.
Escrow.com starts reviewing completed transactions during our business hours. Our escrow team reviews the transaction information for security issues and tracking and then prepares the transaction for closing.
Escrow.com typically disburses funds the same or next business day. Things that may delay this release are:
- The Buyer or Seller did not participate in the closing of the transaction
- The transaction was funded by credit card or PayPal. Department of Business Oversight regulations require funds from these sources to be in our trust account before we can pay the seller, typically 3 business days from the date the payment was approved
- The domain does not appear to have transferred or has private registration
- The merchandise is shipped to an address other than the one Escrow.com provided
All funds are held in a non-interest trust account; Escrow.com is motivated to release funds promptly.
If the above has helped settle your fears, or confirmed something you wanted to know, feel free to leave a public comment below!