Sedo now unable to sustain basic business functions. Circling the drain before flush?

[JuniperPark]

Sedo offers the domain industry 3 services:

1) Domain Sales

2) Domain Auctions

3) Domain Parking

I don't use Domain Parking, so I won't discuss it here, but it is discussed elsewhere on this forum.

Domain Sales:
We had hoped a few months ago when Sedo started asking for documents of identification before allowing bids, in order to combat the massive and rampant problems with rampant fraud by bidders. As best I can tell, almost 50% of sales were fraudulant and went uncompleted.

But the deadbeats were able to continue, under the protection of Sedo:
1) Sedo protects the identity of the deadbeats by refusing to release their identification documents

2) Sedo allows known deabeats to KEEP their Sedo accounts and victimize more sellers. Sedo both admits and denies this, and evidence continues to be published that Sedo is indeed allowing deadbeats to keep bidding on domains they will not pay for:

http://www.dnforum.com/showthread.php?t=204597&page=2


Domain Auctions:

I previously documented my auction purchase of VCT.info. I paid for the domain within hours of winning the auction, yet it took several weeks of emails, postings, and reminders before they transferred the domain to me.

I'm an optimist, and I really thought that Sedo would realize their incompetence was hurting them, and try harder to get the job done. I decided to put a name INTO the auction (rather than waiting for a bid). Their site says to contact them to list a domain in auction, so that's what I do.

Step 1) Submit request to auction domain name

Step 2) Several days later (1/30/07), I got an email from Eban:
Regarding your live auction request, I may be able to have a broker
initiate an auction for one of your domains, as well as do some other
sales-promotions if it's feasible for you to park your portfolio once again
with SedoPro.

I reply that my domain is developed, no need for parking. I just want to auction the domain.

Step 3) Several more days pass (2/5/07), and I get an email from Matt: "Your names do not have to be parked with us to go to auction. Once you receive an offer on your domains you can always push the domain to auction as long as you don’t counter offer first."

I reply that I am asking for a domain to be auctioned, without waiting for a bid, without parking, as described on the Sedo website. If parking is a requirement, that's contradictory to what the website says.

Step 4) Another email from Matt: Well yes, a broker can also sponsor your name and set it up for auction. Not a contradiction.

I reply -- YES, I am writing to submit a domain for auction!

Step 5) Another email from Matt: Duh…I am an idiot, I was actually unaware at first. I guess your right sorry. You can contact [email protected]

I reply - I *DID*! You and Eban are replying to that request!

Step 6) Another email from Matt: A broker should get back to you and hopefully review the domains you are interested in auctioning. Only the brokers have discretion over which domains they elect to sponsor.


My reply: (None.)

I'm done. Never mind, I'm not asking a 6th time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What an appalling chain of email between a customers of several years and over $100,000 of business transactions, trying to get them to perform one of their BASIC functions.

Apparently I am asking them some sort of "favor" by putting a domain name into auction, and the request has to be passed around the company (very efficient!) before "approval".

I've been in business a couple of decades,a nd experience tells me that this is the kind of exchange that usually preceeds a bankruptcy announcement.

Sedo is currenly unable to carry out even basic business functions, as detailed above. You might want to keep this in mind before sending money.