Does this sound ethical ?

[gafadi]

I posted this in another forums and i am starting this topics here too.

What is ethical ?

1. Of, relating to, or dealing with ethics.
2. Being in accordance with the accepted principles of right and wrong that govern the conduct of a profession. See synonyms at moral.
3. Of or relating to a drug dispensed solely on the prescription of a physician.

n.

And my discussion topic for you ?

Lets say there is a domain called xxxxxxxx.com ( its a average kind of domain , market reseller value is about 1-2k )

So lets say that domain is owner by domainer A and you are domainer B. You as a reseller are very interested in that domain and you are offered $500 for it .

He write you back with lets say with $3k counter offer.He also ask along with the counter " what is it that this xxxxxxxx.com to you ?

You are a domainer and your sole reason for trying to buy this domain is to buy it and try to flip its value but lets say you wrote back to him saying -

"i am just a regular internet fella and i am looking to build a blog/site (whatever ) , and i am very much interested in your domain but your price seems very high and all good domains are gone for some reason, it came to my surprise that all those domains are registered "cybersquatters" ( this may tease him a little bit, get him angry ) but i can only pay $900 max for this domain"

The domain owner writes back saying he is in need of the money so he is going to sell the domain for $900 and you do the deal and pay and get the domain - fair and square.

But about few weeks or month later lets say you put the same domain in sale on forums and market place. And he see it ? so what do you think ?
what do you say ?

1. Business is business, you gotta do whatever to get it cheap ?
2. this is wrong ,I would have revealed myself as domainer and give various reason stating his domain price value is worth how much i am offering .
3. I dont get a crap , i got the domain, i will sell it and get rich . Suckerss !!
4. Ethical ? what ethical , there is no ethics and limits in domain business

So lets see what you respected domianers/forums readers have to say on this ?
so lets talk !!

Disclaimer : This thread is made on purpose of discussion and views , i havent done this or advice you to do this. And my english is little bit rusty sorry about that

 

[Theo]

Deception is non-ethical. Also, signing a contract under "extreme duress" is grounds for nullifying that agreement. However, post-sale there is little one can do.

 

[draggar]

I believe in honesty. If people tend to get the impression that you do business unethically (in their eyes) then they'll stop doing business with you or charge you more for their services.

The seller would have no grounds for a complaint unless there was a contract (could the emails be considered a contract? I'm sure someone could easily get around the "email contract" if it was an issue). They sold the domain at a price they wanted to (or else they wouldn't have sold it). The worst they could do is call that person a liar.

But now, the seller has friends and a big mouth. "Buyer" bought the domain with the promises he'd develop it and is now trying to sell it for what I initially wanted to sell it for - he tells his friends this and now the buyer is interested in their domains. I'm sure they'll think twice when they get the "Oh, I'm Joe Average and want to put up a blog" email.

On the other hand, if the buyer was honest up front "Hey, I'm a domainer and I think i could resell it". Maybe the buyer would agree to letting the buyer sell it (broker) - the seller keeps $900 and they split anything over it. Little risk to the buyer *and* he now has a business partner if the transaction(s) went well. The seller now tells his friends that the buyer brokered his domain.

Which impression is more valuable?

 

[gafadi]

I just wanted to discuss this topic because it recently happened to me , a domainer pulled such story , well the price he paid was decent reseller value so i am not worried or sad about that but it seemed very low life domaining style to me. And what do you think ? I think this happens everyday , now and then in this field , only very few in this business are for full time but most of us are for part time, time pass or extra income source.

If he had revealed himself as a domainer , i would be more than happy to sell it at that price because it was a decent reseller value .

 

[draggar]

To some people that is their strategy and they feel they are doing it to get bargains - even if they don't get one. I put them in the same class of person who peels off all the peel-off coupons from a (or all?) product at the grocery store.

The domaining community is not as tight-nit as many hobbies and businesses. There is a much larger percentage of people out there who are in it just for themselves and don't care about the others. It is business and to them it is cut-throat.

You sold the domain at a price you were happy about, this should be your most significant issue with this. He didn't scam you in any illegal way (I'm assuming he didn't use a hacked Paypal account or other means / you still have the money).

Eh, live and learn. Move on, it's not worth stressing over. Write the person's name (and other information) in your black list and think twice about how they do business next time they contact you.

 

[gafadi]

well i am not stressing or locking myself in a dark room but i just wanted to have professionals and old users opinions to know if this goes on now and then and they are ok with it . Like you gave your opinion about it .

 

[INFORG]

Why would you ask what they are going to do with the domain? Maybe because you wanted to adjust the price depending on the answer?

What if you went to a store, where you wanted to buy a jacket, and this store doesn't have prices, but rather makes a deal at the counter. From past experience, they use the discussion and this information to determine the price. You plan on wearing this jacket to a job interview for a six figure gig, or to the MTV music awards, where you are up for an award.

When they ask you what you are going to do with the jacket, do you tell them the truth and have them price it based upon what they think it is now worth to you? Or maybe, you tell them that it's to attend the funeral of your homeless friend and you think it would also be warm to sleep in since your cardboard box is getting a bit chilly?

Just my humble opinion, but you stepped over the line first by asking what he planned to do with it. It is none of your business and the value of the domain should have been set based upon what you wanted for it, not how deep the pockets of your buyer.

 

[gafadi]

The value of the domain was given first ans then asked what is it to you

 

[Poohnix]

I keep getting emails from "high school students" wanting to buy LLL.com domains for $50 for their "School Project"... Very believable, especially when getting several from the same one for different high-end domains...
But perhaps that's not unethical, because no one believes a word, anyway... :?:

 

[cooa]

I belive you CAN use some tricks,if it is not getting too far~