Follow up contract!

Ari Goldberger? They're bringing some heavy artillery there.
I think the buyer is BS'ing you with his "personal project" story.

What I don't like is the following in the contract:

"The Buyer is under no obligation to complete the purchase, however, the Seller is obligated to transfer the Domain Name upon receipt of the Balance Due from the Buyer."

TM issues?..
Again, use common sense and you'll be fine

Bizarre...

I will watch this thread with interest Wisconsin as, from what you said earlier, the buyer was strapped for cash and wanted the domain for a private project and then WHAM in comes Ari Goldberger... Who will also act as witness...?? Something smells fishy and its not the contents of my missus's apple crumble....

Ari Goldberger is not chicken feed and if i was a betting man, he is not only involved in this domain purchase, he is giving counsel to the buyer... My guess, and dont hold me to this, is that there is something in that contract that means something, the rest is just padding.. Again, just an opinion but I bet its the clause that you cannot sell this domain to anyone else.. Thereby creating a legally binding contract that ensures you have no comeback when you sell and find out 2 weeks later that its been bought by Intel or microsoft and its the name of their new product...

But dont take my words verbatim, this is just my opinion... People with no funds DO NOT use Ari Goldberger....

EDIT** Mind you, its a nice cheap way to acquire a domain for re-sell purposes, obtain the rights for $150 and then look to sell it on to someone they know will/might be interested. No TM violation on their behalf, as theyre not the owner, you are.. And if things dont pan out, they dont exercise the option.. Wow.... If TM owner is allerted to the fact that this domain is up for sale, who they come looking for.... YOU... So, might wanna add a clause in the contract that says they cannot look to resell the domain and if they do and it causes you legal grief, they accept liability for your legal costs..Try mentioning that and see what the reaction is...

vip-ip said:

TM issues?..
Again, use common sense and you'll be fine

Click to expand...

You're correct! There is a trademark side to it. I just checked and there are 2 live trademarks already registered an another 1 waiting!

I had no clue! Thank you!

Wow what to do now?

I just sent an email saying that I don't like the fact that buyer is under "no obligation" to buy the domain and consequently, I am passing on this opportunity unless they can pay in full!

Don't pass. Take the offer. You remain a legal owner until the domain is paid off.

Midano said:

Don't pass. Take the offer. You remain a legal owner until the domain is paid off.

Click to expand...

Yes, but you are basically locking up the domain for 4 months, during which the buyer can decide if he wants to buy it. He could just be fooling with you, having no interest in purchasing it, and then you have just lost 4 months of the price you paid to buy it. Personally, I would let this offer go, unless he is willing to pay at least 75% up front. Otherwise, it sounds like he is basically getting full rights to the domain for a little less than a year, for only a little bit of money. Good luck!

Tom

This is an option

This appears to be a 4-month Option to Purchase for which the buyer is paying $150.

If they excercise the option you have a sale. If they don't you have $150, and the name.

Don't know the laws in Utah (or in Wisconsin in any detail for that matter) but if I wanted to sell the option I'd look at jurisdiction being in our home state.

Another consideration is to increase the price of the option to $500 (or whatever you wish). Gives them more incentive to purchase and you more $ if they don't.

Finally, yes - they could be looking to get the name for $2k and resell it for more. I wouldn't let that bother you...after all, isn't that what we're all doing?

Good luck.

Regards,
Keith

wisconsin said:

What I don't like is the following in the contract:

"The Buyer is under no obligation to complete the purchase, however, the Seller is obligated to transfer the Domain Name upon receipt of the Balance Due from the Buyer."

Click to expand...

That's just an option contract (In its most plain form), nothing strange about that at all...

I think you might be wise to seek counsel, as right now it's fairly obvious you're in over your head on the contract/agreement/option side of things.

-Allan

Warning!

The odds are that this is a scam whereby, the so-called purchaser will eventually prise the domain away from you claiming that he is the true owner/user. You should totally shut down on this offer, and ONLY sell your domain name through the usual escrow services. You have been warned! :td:

Appreciate all the replies and feedback! Thank you!

I have decided not proceed with this sale as it is not worth while, for me, to lock the domain for several months for $150 knowing that the buyer has no obligation to complete the sale. I have asked the buyer to change some of the wording in the contract, however, he declined.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and help!

Hmm interesting outcome. I never use any forms like this when selling a domain. It is strictly an agreement made over MSN or through email. Mind you I haven't sold THAT many domains.

yoshiwara said:

The odds are that this is a scam whereby, the so-called purchaser will eventually prise the domain away from you claiming that he is the true owner/user. You should totally shut down on this offer, and ONLY sell your domain name through the usual escrow services. You have been warned! :td:

Click to expand...

You mean they will "pry" the domain away?
This option agreement will not give them any more standing to pry it from you than if they had never even spoke with you, IMHO.
Unless I'm totally missing something, which wouldn't be the first time.
-Allan

wisconsin said:

Appreciate all the replies and feedback! Thank you!

I have decided not proceed with this sale as it is not worth while, for me, to lock the domain for several months for $150 knowing that the buyer has no obligation to complete the sale. I have asked the buyer to change some of the wording in the contract, however, he declined.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and help!

Click to expand...

My guess is, he'll be back.....

Do some research on the buyer, find out who he is and discover any link between him and his business... You might find some interesting info that may get you to revalue your name... Might not of course, but worth it for interests sake...

PM the email header, i'll tell you who exactly he is...

hmmm realy unuseal

If Ari Goldberger is the one doing the escrow, I'd imagine the price should be a
wee bit higher than what's stated. AG wasn't born yesterday.

Ari is a real shark.
As you might have noticed, he runs his business off ESQUIRE.com. WHICH IS A TRADEMARK of Esquire magazine. Which had filed all imaginable complaints with UDRP and whatnot. Nevertheless - he repelled all attempts to take this domain away from him. Kinda speaks about his abilities, doesn't it?
The offer of $2000 is at breaking point - that's what the buyer will roughly spend going UDRP route (if he owns the trademark) with no guarantee. Trowing $2000 at you is common sense - no hassle. So, if you crank up the price - they can start playing hard and try other options. Ari knows what he's doing.

Midano said:

Ari is a real shark.
As you might have noticed, he runs his business off ESQUIRE.com. WHICH IS A TRADEMARK of Esquire magazine. Which had filed all imaginable complaints with UDRP and whatnot. Nevertheless - he repelled all attempts to take this domain away from him. Kinda speaks about his abilities, doesn't it?

Click to expand...

Minor point: he runs it off of "esqWire.com". A play on words of sorts.
See: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=Esquire
Abbr. Esq. Used as an honorific usually in its abbreviated form, especially after the name of an attorney or a consular officer: Jane Doe, Esq.; John Doe, Esq.

And the "wire" because he's somewhat tech oriented. And since he's not selling women's clothing... well...

-Allan

If they are getting a lawyer involved, yeah, there' more to this than they are mentioning. Hey, there's nothing wrong with getting on a phone and talking about their intentions and such.

You don't want to miss out on a sale by ticking off a customer, but at the same time you don't want to be taken advantage of.

It does not sound like a scam, though, a lwyer is not going to involve himself in something that could cause himself legal embarrassment. I'd figure there's just some money in there somewhere. I mean, come on, to say you don't have any bucks at the moment, and then to mention you've gotten a lawyer involved in the deal......