Sedo's Domain Acquisition Service ?

[fischermx]

I have a domain that I'd like to aquire from a person who has an abandoned site on it. Other who just aquired the name a month before I was tried to register it, so it has just a comming soon page.

Is the sedo's domain acquisition service for this kind of situations ?

If someone used it before, could you share your experiences ?

Today I was on the order page for this service, but I could not find boxes to fill important stuff like "initial offer", "maximum offer", so that's makes me confuse more about how does it work, or what do they do ...

 

[Domagon]

Contact the registrant/admin shown in the Whois for the domain - that's basically all Sedo does ... why pay for something you can do yourself.

With that said, it may desirable to use a third-party, such as Sedo, to make the contact if you want to remain more anonymous initially and/or don't feel comfortable making the initial contact yourself.

Ron

 

[namestrands]

SEDO are in a better position to negotiate, as they are an established and respected company who are also qualified to appraise the domain at a fair value based on their years of experience in this industry. Unless you are confident enough to blindly approach a company and pitch them on why they should sell the domain to you at a price you can afford, I would have to recommend that you use the SEDO option, because from experience you can potentially get the domain at a lower price than if you went all Gung Ho at it yourself.

It also shows the domain owner that you are a serious individual, and you both are protected from SEDO's escrow services.

 

[Domagon]

Good points ...

However, keep in mind that Sedo has an incentive to get the HIGHEST price possible since that equals more commission for Sedo - not a desireable thing for the buyer; conflict of interest.

Sedo isn't the only company that offers escrow - escrow.com does and is what many folks here use when dealing direct.

Sedo acquisition service may be fine for some transactions, but one should be selective in using it - many times dealing direct may work just as well, and even save one money.

Ron

 

[fischermx]

Good points ...
However, keep in mind that Sedo has an incentive to get the HIGHEST price possible since that equals more commission for Sedo - not a desireable thing for the buyer; conflict of interest.

Exactly !
I saw that conflict since the beginning and that's my doubt about to use it.
That's what I'd like to hear some real experiences from people who actually used them.

 

[namestrands]

They also have a reputation to uphold. Over selling or in this case over buying is not in their interests. Buying 100 domains for $1000 is more profitable than Buying one domain @ $10000.

Its a numbers game, they are in this for the long haul.

The fact is that any company that is on a commision will have a conflict of interest. The mere fact that SEDO posts on here and addresses issues of concern is an absolute plus in my opinion, I get to know the people who are dealing on my behalf, I learn of others experiences also.

It comes down to who has to be more transparent and who will work in my best interests? and Its in SEDOs best interest to look after you.

 

[dotNetKing]

How does this sound for a fair method for working in the purchaser's best interest?

Commission = flat fee of US$49 plus (25% of (purchase budget - purchase price))

If your budget is $2000 and the name is obtained for the full $2000 you would only pay $49. ie a total of $2049

If the name is obtained for just $400, you pay commission of $49 plus 25% of $1600,

ie $49 plus $400 in commission. and a total of $849. You save $1200 and the broker earns an extra $400 due to the lower price. You both win. The only person who loses is the seller!

If you want to know the website offering this service (not mine) PM me.

 

[fischermx]

Sounds great !!
Actually an incentive to get you a lower price and still winning more.
Who offers that service ?

How does this sound for a fair method for working in the purchaser's best interest?

Commission = flat fee of US$49 plus (25% of (purchase budget - purchase price))

 

[dotNetKing]

sounds great !!
Actually an incentive to get you a lower price and still winning more.
Who offers that service ?

.
.

if you want to know the website offering this service (not mine) pm me

 

[SedoCoUk]

Hi there,

I just thought I'd give my two cents here.

The domain acquisition service is extremely popular and we have a success rate of over 70% when it comes to getting our customers the name they want.
As someone who has only recently registered my first domains, I was amazed to see how many people were contacting me through the admin-c within days, even hours of registering. I'm sure many of you have experienced the same and it is no surprise that domain owners become extremely cynical extremely quickly of anyone contacting them via their whois entry. You probably all saw last week's post about a scammer who was forcing people to get domain appraisals before he would consider 'buying' their name.
As the secondary market grows and grows and becomes more accessible to more people, Sedo's name is becoming better known around the world and domain owners are happier to do business with a reputable company rather than an unknown individual.
Unlike many other domain acquisition services out there, we do a great deal of work to get in contact with elusive domain owners. Many companies who offer this service, such as Verisign, simply send three emails to the admin-c and give up if unsuccessful. In contrast, we actively do all we can to find the unfindable - whether they are in Tahiti, in prison or no longer in the land of the living - all of which we've experienced. Obviously, years of experience in this means we know all the tricks of the trade and it is very rare indeed that we do not manage to get in contact with the owners.
High prices obviously mean high commission, but, as Namestrands said, we have a reputation to uphold. We are providing a service to our customers and we try to find a fair market price for the name. This is why we carry out a premium appraisal before proceeding. I know some of you as sellers are not particularly happy with the low nature of bids made to you by our brokers but this surely proves the fact that we don't try and get a high price for the domains. We act try to act in the best interest of both buyer and seller to find a fair price as the market currently stands. Obviously, it's hard to keep absolutely everybody happy, but we do have a lot of satisfied people using this service.
Just thought I'd give you our side of the story. Let me know if you have any thoughts at [email protected]

Ed

 

[RatherGood]

Just my 2 cents on SEDO.

I was certainly happy with the fact that SEDO could actually find the registrant while I didn't have any luck in my attempts. Thats the only reason I used SEDO in the first place.

I did find the "appraisal" unnaceptable. Middle $xxxx range for an obscure name (ie, no searches or overture at all). All domainers out there wise, and not-so-wise agree that it really isn't worth over the reg fees, if even worth the reg fees. I do own the .net and singular .com and I'm not holding my breath to see a mid xxxx offer on them and they are not currently listed as $xxxx assets on my balance sheet. Anyway, the domain in question was "worth something to me" so I figured $1000 max should do it for the sake of getting the deal done worst case scenario.

The registrant would only speak through their "liaison/ associate" for "unknown reasons". The SEDO broker said its against their practices to negotiate with anyone other than the domain owner. This is a big ethics plus in my book for them, even though it blew the deal if any could have been made.

So, my only problem is the appraisal requirement and the appraisal itself. My offer is what it is regardless of SEDO's opinion on the matter. I'd rather pay a minimum first offer price across the board in the event of success rather than pay for a worthless appraisal.