Ethics

[domainduck]

Company contacts you to buy a domain name.

Negotiations go for two weeks.

Price of $700.00 is agreed.

Payment is made and domain name is transferred.

Customer contacts you and says, 'domain name is mispelled, did you know that?'

What would you do?


quack

 

[system0]

panic first

was the customer the company of the domain seller?

 

[Jack Gordon]

we need more information

was seller aware of the misspelling?

did seller in any way, shape or form misrepresent the domain?

how bad is the misspelling? would anybody accept the spelling as accurate? for instance, color vs. colour

 

[Fearless]

Originally posted by domainduck


Customer contacts you and says, 'domain name is mispelled, did you know that?'

What would you do?

Answer the question.

 

[NamePopper.com]

Originally posted by domainduck
Company contacts you to buy a domain name.

Negotiations go for two weeks.

Price of $700.00 is agreed.

Payment is made and domain name is transferred.

Customer contacts you and says, 'domain name is mispelled, did you know that?'

What would you do?


quack

I was going to answer - and I knew immediately what my answer would be - but then something very important occurred to me......You didn't mention whether or not we (as the seller) were aware of the name being misspelled ourselves. So without that critical information - it is impossible to give an accurate reply. How can we either confirm - deny - or defend - when you haven't told us what we (as the seller) knew to begin with?

*EDIT* - By the way you misspelled the word - 'mispelled'.

 

[domainduck]

I'll tell you the domain name..

It is Netreprenuer.com

Neither myself nor the customer was aware that the correct spelling should have been Netrepreneur.com

ie - Entrepreneur

me be dumb...


quack

 

[NamePopper.com]

Well in that case - I would think that most people would just say too bad for the buyer. He had 2 weeks (during negotiations) to check the name - and I'm sure he must have seen the name many times with his own two eyes - in the correspondence with you. Plus since you honestly didn't even know it yourself - it would be hard to fault you.

For me personally - I would probably feel bad and offer to take the name back. After all - I wouldn't want an unhappy customer - and my sales reputation would be more important than losing one sale. However - I would secretly be hoping that the buyer would admit that it was as much his fault as mine - and maybe be willing to split the cost.

 

[chatcher]

I have two answers.

The first is how can a made-up word that isn't in any dictionary be misspelled?

The other answer is that I would give a refund if the buyer wants one, because that's just good business. Even if I am not personally at fault for any misrepresentation.

 

[bidawinner]

Refund.. $700 is significant amount to show that THEY understood they thought they were buying one thing and ending up with another....

That said I did NOT refund someone one time..3 years ago I had Milli0naire.com .I sold it for $40 ..

The reason I didnt refund is he REALLY thought he had scammed ME !..He thought he just pulled a fast one and bought Millionaire.com for $40 :laugh:

 

[Gail]

Originally posted by NamePopper.com
...For me personally - I would probably feel bad and offer to take the name back. After all - I wouldn't want an unhappy customer - and my sales reputation would be more important than losing one sale. However - I would secretly be hoping that the buyer would admit that it was as much his fault as mine - and maybe be willing to split the cost.

Yes!

I would probably point out both sides of the situation and then ask the buyer what they thought was a fair resolution. Experience has shown me that very often when you offer the choice to the other party that they are much more generous than you might be. Something about giving them the power to decide the outcome neutralizes their feelings of being aggrieved and they go to an extreme in order to appear fair.

And if they aren't - you have learned something important, too - that they probably wouldn't have been satisfied no matter how much you tried to offer a fair resolution.

Good luck,
Gail

 

[Mr Webname]

I have to say that if the customer contacted you for the name, how were you supposed to know that the name was not the one they wanted?

They asked for a specific name which they saw the spelling of! They bid for it, paid for it and NOW they say it's spelt wrong?

If someone approached me to buy a name that they clearly saw the spelling of, I would take a dim view of them subsequently saying it was spelt wrong UNLESS I had purported it to be the correct spelling of the name (though even then parting with $700 without checking the spelling would mark them as being not a little on the stupid side!).

 

[draqon]

Mr Webname is correct

A couple months ago a gentleman inquired about one of my domains that was mispelled. I sold it fairly cheap because I was glad to get it off my hands. It turns out that he owned a restaurant whose name was the same as the domain, including the mispelling, and therefore had purchased the exact domain he wanted.

 

[domainduck]

I would like to thank all the pro domainers, who answered my question. Also, thanks to gregr for putting us on track.

In the final analysis, the best path for me is; 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'

This is not just a statement of ethics or even religion, it's good business. I can take the disappointment.

Even if I eat refried beans for the next few days, at least I will sleep... Mrs.Duck may not ( phew ), but I will. :laugh:

Thanks again, everyone.


quack

 

[Biggie]

With most registration companies,they state that purchases are final. ie;Enom. therefore it is the responsibility of the buyer to check the name before purchasing. However if a seller mistypes
a domain with the correct spelling of the name, that in itself is incorrectly spelled, then the seller is fraudulant. just imo.

ie:amateur amatuer

 

[airnike764]

I would not give back a refund. I do have "some" (very little) ethics but the buyer had ample time to figure out what he was buying. You learn from your mistakes and move on. I have made a lot of them and learned something new from each one.

 

[Fearless]

Duck maybe you didn't quite grasp what I was saying. All they're asking is did you know it was a misspelling. That requires a yes or no answer.

You didn't say they want their money back. If they do ask for their money back and you decide that's what you want to do, I'd charge a restocking fee. You're gonna have to clean that name up and put it back on the shelf. Not to mention all those missed sale opportunities you missed while it was off the market.

 

[Manic]

Originally posted by gregr
Duck maybe you didn't quite grasp what I was saying. All they're asking is did you know it was a misspelling. That requires a yes or no answer.

You didn't say they want their money back. If they do ask for their money back and you decide that's what you want to do, I'd charge a restocking fee. You're gonna have to clean that name up and put it back on the shelf. Not to mention all those missed sale opportunities you missed while it was off the market.

Gregr has said what I was thinking...

From the information you have given, they are simply asking a yes/no question. Have they requested a refund? I would be assuming that they knew it was mispelled, bought it anyway, and then were curious as to whether or not you had realised it was mispelled when you originally registered it.

"Just answer the question, Claire!"

 

[domainduck]

Sorry for the delay... I have been away.

To conclude..Gregr, yes, I misunderstood your response.

I don't know why a satisfied buyer would have asked the spelling question in the first place, and I should have noted that her letter began with, 'I feel like such an idiot'.

I refunded her money and she told me that I was a good duck.

finished....

 

[Bob]

You are in fact a good duckie. Better than how this eBay auction ended:

http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/ps2box.html

After you read the description, make sure you click on and check the feedback for "tru2dis2k"! :laugh:

BTW -

http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/

Has tons of hilarious classic eBay auctions. Whoever has this site has done a good job.

-Bob

-Bob

 

[TexasFilly]

Originally posted by domainduck
I'll tell you the domain name..

It is Netreprenuer.com

Neither myself nor the customer was aware that the correct spelling should have been Netrepreneur.com

ie - Entrepreneur

me be dumb...


quack

it's a difficult name to spell correctly..

try to sell the name for 1/2 price/quoted/ageed'

so "all win"......

and it'll work out okay.