Transferring YouTube Ownership — The 7 Day Rule

Excitement!

  • That’s the feeling that comes over us when we find the 200K subscriber YouTube channel in our niche.
  • The price is right, and all of the stats check out.
  • It’s the one.

A message is sent, the deal is in place and immediate plans go into motion.

In our minds we think things like:

  1. I should be able to recoup my investment really quickly.
  2. I already have a buyer lined up!
  3. This is going to be great exposure for my personal brand and my new video is going to fit in perfectly.

NOT SO FAST!

A few months ago, all of these things would have been fine because only 24 hours was needed for a newly added member to become eligible for the Primary Owner position, but things have changed. These were in fact, the good times. Planning was easy, flips were quick, and the overall process was relatively easy.

The change!

As of early June 2020, it was confirmed that Google (YouTube’s Owner) implemented a 7-day wait requirement before an added member can become eligible for the Primary Owner position.

This means that during the purchase process, the property would go into escrow and the buyer would be added to the account as a member. After seven full days, the buyer would become eligible and moved into the Primary Owner position and the seller would be removed. Once all of this is accomplished, both the buyer’s property and the sellers’ fund would be released, and the transaction would be complete.

As of now, there are no workarounds and it appears that this is going to be the way are for the foreseeable future. As you may know, Google has cracked down on security over the past few years. The days of a 24-hour transaction for a YouTube channel are over.

It’s likely that Google has implemented this precaution due to the number of hacked accounts they have experienced. In the future, don’t be surprised to see this number increase from seven to fourteen days and potentially even thirty, if they continue to have a problem with hacking reports.

Plan for the future, but not the immediate future

If anything, this is just a hiccup in the road.

Purchasing a YouTube channel is still something that can be easily and safely done. It’s even alright to be excited about the purchase of a new channel, but it’s important to know and understand the new process. Patience is going to be a key factor during the purchase process. Enjoy it and make plans, but plan realistically. To be safe, don’t invest, make promises or even plan content until at least 7 to 10 days after the purchase process has started.

Planning realistically will take much of the stress out of the purchase of a YouTube channel.

– An article by @austinlawson.

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