Epic Domain Acquisition Quest

[Skinny]

So I increased an offer for a domain I was interested in and the owner accepted.

I was thrilled. I set up an Escrow.com transaction and thought that the transaction would be done relatively quickly.

However, a day later a received a voicemail from the owner explaining that there was a 'better' way to do the deal through Paypal.

I sent an email back explaining why Escrow's process is more secure for both parties, but he still didn't want to do it.

After calling him it seemed like he didn't like what he heard from Escrow.com support. He felt that I rejected the domain it would be problematic for him to recover the domain.

I followed up and asked Escrow.com support which was (quick) and clear on the matter, explaining that the domain and funds can never be in the hands of one party.

*sidenote*

I also contacted Paypal (for due diligence; I know Paypal is not good for transferring names) and got the following information (which might be useful for domainers):

Paypal doesn't offer protection on digital goods or intagiables (i.e. domains, websites, etc.)
If a dispute arose with the buyer there are 3 likely outcomes:

1) The seller refunds the money to the buyer (unlikely)
2) If there is no response to the dispute by the seller after the 10 days, Paypal would refund the buyer (this is what I was told)
3) The seller disputes the buyers claim in which case Paypal won't do anything for you.

It was hilarious where the person in the Paypal dispute department indicated that doing this transaction was risky for both parties. I almost laughed when she said that.

*end sidenote*

I then forwarded all this information to the owner (who is an older gentleman) and again initiated an Escrow transaction and it again expired.

Still wanting to own the domain, I called the buyer again and my gut told me that he too was trying to not get screwed in this transaction, but for some reason didn't trust Escrow.com

He then decided that he would send me an invoice through paypal and push the domain into a new account (the registrar for some reason doesn't support a push from one account to another; you can only log in if you have a domain with them).

After payment was sent he emailed me Username to the domain's account and FedExed (yes Fedexed) the password to the account to me.

He was fearful that email or phones could be hacked and he wanted a paper trail if I ever tried to dispute that I didn't get the domain.

So from Jan. 23rd till today (1 month and 4 days) after we agreed on a price I finally got the domain name.

I knew domain sales took awhile, but never imagined that domain acquisitions (after the price was agreed upon) would take so long.

Anyone else have any crazy acquisition stories?

 

[Shane]

Six oranges, twelve tranquilizers and seventy-two days of straight negotiation in Nigeria. :first:

 

[Jack Gordon]

Sounds like a real piece of work.

You can feel good about liberating a (hopefully) good domain from a crazy person.

 

[Shane]

Was the owner the original owner? He sounds so unfamiliar with the basics - so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if he inherited it.

 

[NameYourself]

Yes sounds like a case where the owner was not familiar with how domain transfers/sales are typically done. Perhaps someone more used to brick & mortar business/sales. Either way congrats on your purchase, mind sharing the name? Congrats!

 

[Stian]

After payment was sent he emailed me Username to the domain's account and FedExed (yes Fedexed) the password to the account to me.

Lol. Awesome! I will make sure to FedEx the AUTH key next time I have a slow paying buyer.

 

[Biggie]

Still wanting to own the domain, I called the buyer again and my gut told me that he too was trying to not get screwed in this transaction, but for some reason didn't trust Escrow.com

He then decided that he would send me an invoice through paypal and push the domain into a new account (the registrar for some reason doesn't support a push from one account to another; you can only log in if you have a domain with them).

After payment was sent he emailed me Username to the domain's account and FedExed (yes Fedexed) the password to the account to me.

He was fearful

Congrats on getting the name!

you see i highlighted some keywords/phrases of your details, but it was only done in an effort to illustrate the risks you took and were willing to take... to get that domain.

as some of the "red flags" that should/would typically deter a buyer, seemed to only make you more determined.


- only wanting to use paypal and a registrar that doesn't allow push from one account to another, but allowed him to push to a new account -


(makes me wonder to myself how can one create a new account, while still logged in, unless it's a sub-account?

or if logged out, how can he create a new account, with no domain in it... and if so, why can't you?)


thankfully it didn't happen, but had this been a set-up....


again Congrats!

 

[Theo]

Ah, the things I can't disclose! But let's just say that some domain sales involved suitcases of cash. It's the flip side of this very frustrating incident you described.

 

[hugegrowth]

That is so weird.

 

[Skinny]

The name is a niched generic descriptive domain, with about 9.9k global (1k local searches) with CPC of $10.58. There's high competition for this term.
The domain was registered in 1996 and taken in all major extensions and even some ccTLDs.

That's all I'm willing to reveal. Hopefully all the trouble was worth it.

The owner was the original owner and had never done a domain transaction before.

Biggie, you are spot on. This transaction was risky and those were all possible red flags.
At times I was very uncomfortable about it. I understood that I could lose what I was offering, and I was okay with that realization.

If I wasn't, I would not have proceeded further with the transaction.
I will likely never do a deal like this again, because I don't want to you get burned and Escrow.com is THE way to do domain transactions bar none.

Not too mention the hassle.

Theo, reveal! REVEAL!! I want to have those positive experiences you speak of. Especially the suitcases full of cash!!

Hopefully, someone can tell some crazy(ier) stories. I'd be interested in hearing them.

 

[Biggie]

Biggie, you are spot on. This transaction was risky and those were all possible red flags.
At times I was very uncomfortable about it. I understood that I could lose what I was offering, and I was okay with that realization.

If I wasn't, I would not have proceeded further with the transaction.
I will likely never do a deal like this again, because I don't want to you get burned and Escrow.com is THE way to do domain transactions bar none.

Not too mention the hassle.

Hopefully, someone can tell some crazy(ier) stories. I'd be interested in hearing them.

glad you took it in that manner Skinny, i had to point it cuz others who aren't as savvy, could fall right into a trap.


it's the same trap i fell in once as well

Ah, the things I can't disclose! But let's just say that some domain sales involved suitcases of cash. It's the flip side of this very frustrating incident you described.

i had a sale which involved cash

wasn't a suitcase full, more like a pocket full.


the buyer lives in a suburb of chitown and we talked on the phone.


the plan was for me to drive to his office, we'd do the transaction there.


but something came up where i couldn't leave home


so he drove to my house, with the cash and we did the deal there.


the site <geo> webdesigner com is now live and kickin!

 

[Skinny]

That sounds like a cool story. Sometimes, you gotta get creative in acquiring or selling a domain.

But like you mentioned, you can't be reckless or you can lose a lot of money.
Better to err on the side of caution than to lose hard earned money.

 

[mjnels]

i dont think he was really fearful of hacking by phone or email.. any paypal payment that doesnt have a tracking # attached to it can easily file an "item not received" dispute... even then it still isnt completely safe (for the seller that is)

 

[Skinny]

I think he felt more secure in this transaction because, he had never used Escrow.com. He also felt they wouldn't release the funds quickly after the deal was done.

I answered all his questions and even got Escrow.com support involved, but no luck. Obviously, the paypal route was less secure, but in his mind he felt it was more secure for some reason.

 

[mjnels]

Escrow.com isnt 100% safe either... he could push you the domain and you could just leave his old whois info there, making it look like you did not receive the domain - would at least delay the funds so he's right.

what im saying is by sending you a piece of paper (or even an empty envelope) he can add a tracking number to the paypal payment and it becomes physical merchandise. now you as a buyer cant file a dispute. ive done this before myself.. instead of the password though just was a piece of paper with the domain name on it (after i pushed them the domain of course)

 

[Skinny]

Yes, that's true. I've thought about that point mjnels. The fact that he wanted to send a physical paper was as you said to make it a physical good.

He seemed just as worried that I would burn him as much as I thought the he could as well.