Bait & Switch from Sedo....

[subject66]

Got all exited and wind-up (yeah i know to good to be true)

So i visited a lander from sedo on a domain.
Clicked the link and saw a reasonable listing price of:
Listing price: 200 EUR*
Currency conversion based on today's rate. 262 USD / 167 GBP
or best offer.

Okey thought i buy it !
within 5 minutes i get an email from sedo for 4.500 wtf.......

Why sedo has to go so low......

08.03.12 Desired Price: 200 EUR
08.03.12 Your Offer: 200 EUR
08.03.12 Seller´s Counter Offer: 4.500 EUR

Yeah i know, been around for a while, but thought this type of tricks where 10 years ago....

Peter

 

[ninjadomain]

Seems like a bad seller practice to me.

 

[subject66]

Ummm No,
This is a Sedo thing, on the lander they also displayed this:
This domain is for sale, for further information please contact Dave Thomas 00 44 (0)20 7067 2495

I do have a couple of domains listed with sedo but not have that type of header....

----
Okey, traced the seller, and sent him an email...., to not waste other peoples time.... yes he is in the business as well (more or less high profile i think) ...
Will try to catch one of my contacts @ sedo but its all a waste of everyones time....
Name was worth probably between 800-1800 Pounds (it was a co.uk)

 

[ninjadomain]

Strange. I would call Sedo and express my concerns.
Best of Luck!

Ummm No,
This is a Sedo thing, on the lander they also displayed this:
This domain is for sale, for further information please contact Dave Thomas 00 44 (0)20 7067 2495

I do have a couple of domains listed with sedo but not have that type of header....

 

[premiumtap]

Bait & Switch from Sedo....

Hate to hear that Peter but I would try contacting Sedo, while this practice is fairly common it's still very disappointing. I would simply ask why matching their desired price was not acceptable.


Best wishes

 

[MAllie]

. . . while this practice is fairly common it's still very disappointing. I would simply ask why matching their desired price was not acceptable.

I'm puzzled as to what happened. Are you saying that the price was changed from the very low one to a much higher one after you clicked the Buy Now? How could the seller have known that you were about to buy? Or are you saying it's something that Sedo arranged for the moment of purchase? If so, it's definitely not something to be expected from a reputable company.

But could it have been an honest mistake in pricing, and you just happened to arrive at the moment it changed to the correct one? I've just spent the last ten minutes changing down a lot of my domain pricing on Sedo, but I might just as well have been upping them. If someone had happened along at this time, I wonder what would have happened.

By the way, I'm wondering now if it's not counterproductive to change my prices downward. Might there be a perception the domains are only worth the amount being asked, while I in fact believe I'm offering a bargain?

 

[subject66]

Okey, iam not very familiar with sedo, but it seems that a seller in sedo, can set a minimum price, as an 'offer' price. Just a fake price to get eyeballs i think.
Its not a Buy Now thing. But the lander suggest that you can buy the name at the offered price or eventual lower.

Talked with Sedo as well with the seller, the seller is in the game, and he just says that it is to much work for him to price the domain accurate. And sedo like this type of sellers as it looks like people are interested in domains....

My to cents on it:
If a normal person (not a domainer) sees this stuff, he will direct back off and will never return to sedo. They will see it as a pure scam, not knowing the difference between a 'buy now' or 'offer' lander.

If i buy clothing online and see a price i expect that i can buy it for that price and not that some sucker comes to me with a new price.... sorry sedo.....

example of a 'offer' lander... here

http://www.sedo.co.uk/search/detail...d=14456&et_cid=13&et_lid=17473&origin=parking

(sidenote, this was not the name i was interested in but has the same guys phone....)

 

[Theo]

That's why I don't set a minimum or a BIN; negotiation is the key. From a buyer's perspective, some want a BIN.

 

[airmax]

I have seen this on many sedo ads, and it is not something new, it says something to the effect of buyers expected offer range, then it has a make an offer box. It could just be a way to get a negotiation going. If you jumped at $200, do not valuate it simply on the merits of the actual price box, as it is not a BUY IT NOW price, but on the merits of the actual domain. As we have seen many times, if it is to good to be true, it usually is.

 

[subject66]

Yes i agree but from 200 to 4500 has nothing to do with 'expected price'
The point try to make is following:
This is the link to:
2. How do I purchase this domain?
If the seller has set a fixed Buy Now price, simply accept their offer and a sales agreement will be reached. If domain is listed with a suggested price, you can submit your offer to the seller. In this case, a sales agreement will be reached if the seller accepts your offer within seven days of when your offer was first submitted.
Learn more about the options sellers have in replying to an offer.
Before finalizing your offer or purchase you will be asked to either log in or create a new Sedo account. The purchase of each domain includes Sedo's Transfer and Escrow Service at no charge. This means once a sales agreement has been reached Sedo will assist with the transfer of the domain and payment to ensure both are securely and efficiently exchanged.
For further details, please check out our Customer Support Center: http://support.sedo.com

Now Sedo is suddenly talking about a 'Suggested Price' domain.
Nowhere is Sedo telling that a domain with 'Listing Price' is equal to a domain with 'Suggested Price'.

So in my opinion false advertising.

I had thougth that sedo, had passed this level 5-6 years ago.... seeminly not... :uhoh:

 

[David G]

Agree, it looks like a bait and switch and most everyone visiting the page would think by offering 200 Euros in th example link below that wouild also be a BIN price. Even many experienced domainers would be mislead, imo.

It's very deceptive and misleading to say the least. Possibly even fraudulent for Sedo to do that and certainly not the sellers fault since Sedo is the one doing it.

http://www.sedo.co.uk/search/detail...d=14456&et_cid=13&et_lid=17473&origin=parking

 

[airmax]

Agree, it looks like a bait and switch and most everyone visiting the page would think by offering 200 Euros in th example link below that wouild also be a BIN price. Even many experienced domainers would be mislead, imo.

It's very deceptive and misleading to say the least. Possibly even fraudulent for Sedo to do that and certainly not the sellers fault since Sedo is the one doing it.

http://www.sedo.co.uk/search/detail...d=14456&et_cid=13&et_lid=17473&origin=parking

How can it not be the sellers fault, they set that price range, then they replied with the $4500 counter? There should be maybe a 20% variance of your range set within the sedo software?

After checking the above link, it seems the seller is very active, and has a high activity rating, so they are aware of what they are doing...

This option is different than the actual buy it now, only way to purchase the name, is to agree on a common price with the seller.

I have no idea on the name, but if you are jumping in at 200EUR, and they are at 4500EUR would seem to be a decent name, possible a 3L, I have no idea. It is your choice to choose to use the platform going forward, if you do not like the practice of this offer system. I have come across this myself many times, some decent names are priced very low, they want to get offers flowing, communication, it leads to deals. It did not surprise me because the caliber of the names did not match the low price, so I did not waste my time with it.

 

[David G]

Because Sedo is the one who decided to do it that way. They are the sales venue and the sales professionals. If Sedo sets it up and condones doing it that way the seller will determine the actual price which may be far beyond the stated price since Sedo does not require a sale at that price but set it up without limits allowing for the bait and switch no matter its magnitude. Naturally the seller wants top dollar and Sedo condones him seeking top dollar regardless of how misleading the sedo system is. Seller may not even realize how dishonest it appears.

How can it not be the sellers fault, they set that price range, then they replied with the $4500 counter? There should be maybe a 20% variance of your range set within the sedo software?

This option is different than the actual buy it now, only way to purchase the name, is to agree on a common price with the seller.

I have no idea on the name, but if you are jumping in at 200EUR, and they are at 4500EUR would seem to be a decent name, possible a 3L, I have no idea. It is your choice to choose to use the platform going forward, if you do not like the practice of this offer system. I have come across this myself many times, some decent names are priced very low, they want to get offers flowing, communication, it leads to deals.

 

[katherine]

I think of one the aims that sellers are tying to achieve, is to get many offers so their names get pushed on top of search queries.

 

[subject66]

Umm, the name was....
Pattaya (dot) co.uk, yes i would have forked over 1500 Euro direct. So thats why i got all exited.
I have seen names going via sedo, at very good prices so i thougth... bingo !

The blow off is, now i not want it anymore even for 200 euro, they can shove it up in their brown place.

 

[airmax]

Because Sedo is the one who decided to do it that way. They are the sales venue and the sales professionals. If Sedo sets it up and condones doing it that way the seller will determine the actual price which may be far beyond the stated price since Sedo does not require a sale at that price but set it up without limits allowing for the bait and switch no matter its magnitude. Naturally the seller wants top dollar and Sedo condones him seeking top dollar regardless of how misleading the sedo system is. Seller may not even realize how dishonest it appears.

I agree, maybe sedo did not intend for sellers to abuse this system, that is why they need to setup a % variance to have this aftershock on the counter, but at the end of the day, the more money the seller makes, the more money the house makes, and sedo is corporation, and if it yielding results, with end users, not the average domainer, I don't think they are going to change it. Age old questions, ethics before profits?

 

[MAllie]

Well, I'm with the OP. I didn't know you could set your pricing this way, but I would be ashamed to. I'm still pretty much a newbie and I could easily be sucked in by this. I understood that the choices for pricing on Sedo were BIN or Make Offer, and that there was a minimum offer of around $60. I must be on a different page.

Anyway, goodness, pattaya(dot)co.uk - what's so good about that? Presumably it gets traffic or something, but it's no dotcom, is it?

 

[airmax]

Well, I'm with the OP. I didn't know you could set your pricing this way, but I would be ashamed to. I'm still pretty much a newbie and I could easily be sucked in by this. I understood that the choices for pricing on Sedo were BIN or Make Offer, and that there was a minimum offer of around $60. I must be on a different page.

Anyway, goodness, pattaya(dot)co.uk - what's so good about that? Presumably it gets traffic or something, but it's no dotcom, is it?

How would you get sucked in, the seller as no intention at selling for 200 EUR... You would have just wasted your time, making a offer, they had no intention of being accepted. This has been around for years, not sure how this was just discovered today. I have no idea what it means, but it is taken in every possible extension, so it has some meaning, somewhere in the world. For the OP to say it was worth $1500 EUR to them, gives it value. We all know how much it sucks to be in an auction, or a purchase situation where in the last minute a bidder swoops in and can take a 3 digit deal, into 4 figures. The potential buyer feels let down, there are so many domains out there, he will forget about it soon enough, and not everything in this business is how we like it, or would conform it to be, he learned something, now time to move on.

 

[MAllie]

How would you get sucked in, the seller as no intention at selling for 200 EUR... You would have just wasted your time, making a offer, they had no intention of being accepted.

Well, I don't know about you, but my time is very valuable to me. Not to mention the emotional stress of being annoyed is something I'd rather do without. Maybe this has been around for years, but I haven't been domaining for years, nor have most newbies.

 

[airmax]

Emotional stress, lol, I can refer you to attorney Gloria Allred, this sort of stuff is right up her alley.

You make an offer, it gets countered, or rejected, move on, this is a business... newbie, or not, same rules apply...the buyer is trying to spend the least amount of money, the seller is trying to obtain the most amount of money, this is what negotiations are all about... not everything is point, and click.