Inspection period

What it means

The inspection period is the window that opens once the buyer's money is held in escrow and the seller has transferred the assets. During it the buyer confirms that what arrived matches what was agreed. Accepting releases the funds to the seller; rejecting on grounds set out in the agreement unwinds the transaction. It is the last checkpoint in a sale, and the shortest.

What it is for, and what it is not

It exists to confirm delivery, not to reconsider the purchase. The buyer is checking that the domain is in their account, the hosting is accessible, the analytics and revenue logins work, and the content is present. It is not a second round of due diligence, and treating it as one is a common way for a deal to collapse at the final stage. Verification of the business belongs before the funds go in.

Setting the length

Match it to the assets. A domain-only transfer can be inspected in a few days. A site with hosting, a content management system, an email list, an ad network account and an affiliate program needs one to three weeks, because several of those transfers depend on third parties who work at their own pace. Too short a window forces a buyer to either accept blind or ask for an extension mid-deal, which unsettles both sides.

What to write into the agreement

Name every asset being transferred, state what constitutes a failed transfer, and say what happens if it fails. Ambiguity here is expensive: a buyer who rejects because revenue in the first week was lower than expected is usually outside the agreed grounds, but if the grounds were never written down, the dispute is real. Precision costs nothing at signing and settles the outcome in advance.