An auction at Sedo

That's gotta be a fake - look at the "description" :!

-Allan :gl:

^ Yeah, description says "trsagdasdah" IMHO.

LOTS of crazzzzy stuffs on Sedo lately! :yell:
-Jeff

That 2 letter only, is it true?
why the seller write description "trsagdasdah". Alien Language.....

Hi All,

Thank you for bringing these auctions to Sedo's attention. I have asked our Quality Management and Fraud Prevention team to look into this. For the time being, please avoid bidding on this domain.

If anyone notices other suspicious activity, please send me a PM about it directly. Thank you!

Always,
Keith

Sedo said:

Hi All,

Thank you for bringing these auctions to Sedo's attention. I have asked our Quality Management and Fraud Prevention team to look into this. For the time being, please avoid bidding on this domain.

If anyone notices other suspicious activity, please send me a PM about it directly. Thank you!

Always,
Keith

Click to expand...

Thanks much, Keith ... specifically, what does Sedo do to prevent "fake bidders", "shill bidders", and the like AND what measures are in currently in place to ensure that Sedo can spot these folks proactively (in order to protect Seller's interests and avoid fraud / market manipulation in the reporting of "sales" that do not ever come to pass)? IYHO. :gl:

Appreciate your insight and candor!
-Jeff

Jeff said:

Thanks much, Keith ... specifically, what does Sedo do to prevent "fake bidders", "shill bidders", and the like AND what measures are in currently in place to ensure that Sedo can spot these folks proactively (in order to protect Seller's interests and avoid fraud / market manipulation in the reporting of "sales" that do not ever come to pass)? IYHO. :gl:

Appreciate your insight and candor!
-Jeff

Click to expand...

Hi Jeff,

We've been taking actions against trends we've seen with certain emails being used for account creations, shared login locations, and other patterns we've noticed with the accounts themselves.

In terms of marketplace fraud, we check all live auctions regularly for "red flags." Without giving out too much detail (we don't want to let people know how to work around these things), we compare various details between the seller and buyer accounts and also look at past activity. Almost all auctions suspected of fraud are cancelled immediately. From there, depending on the severity of the situation, other actions may be taken. It's a pretty good system, one which I've also used it to do my fair share of investigation.

All transactions are flagged if there is anything suspicious picked up by our system. Unfortuantely, there are too many offers at any given time to monitor all activity. But, at the very least, all of Sedo's transfer agents know what to look for in terms of fraudulent activity, and will take any actions necessary to protect the affected party.

In terms of domains being listed in a Sedo account fraudulently, that is something we're focusing a lot of our energy on. I don't work directly with the fraud teams, so don't have much information right now. However, I know that the (I will admit, imperfect) ownership verification process is under the microscope; hopefully, positive changes will come from that. Buckling down on sellers who try to list domains they don't own will surely help the marketplace and the chances of fraud on that side.

I would say that if you have any ideas, suggestions, or feedback on ways to help make the marketplace safer, feel free to send them to [email protected]. We always like to hear the constructive thoughts our community has. Also, if you notice anything that you think may be fraud, definitely let us know via that same email.

I hope that helps and was a bit of what you were looking for. Take care!

Always,
Keith

PS - I almost missed this one. Sedo does not report any sales that have not been successfully completed. Only successful sales are released (meaning the buyer has paid and the seller has released the domain), so fraud doesn't really manipulate the market in that sense.

Thank you for the response, Keith. You have always been very level-headed and straightforward here; my thanks :tu:

While I still feel uneasy about some of the goings-on, somehow your response does alleviate many of my uncertainties. Keep on top of those fraud-teams; don't let them think that they can ever outsmart the "baddies" - they are always one step ahead of us all.

-Allan :gl:

^ Thanks for the kind reply, Keith ... and I apologize that I'm just getting around to it now, as well! :red: :music:

Appreciate the detailed post, and as Allan states ... stay on top of those players and fraud-teams!

Sedo said:

PS - I almost missed this one. Sedo does not report any sales that have not been successfully completed. Only successful sales are released (meaning the buyer has paid and the seller has released the domain), so fraud doesn't really manipulate the market in that sense.

Click to expand...

Good "PS" here, as well ... and that is to mean that every sale that has been posted on the homepage of Sedo and released / reported (in the DNJ, for instance) has been verified as a completed sale -and- Sedo has been paid a commission for those transactions, as well. Correct? :gl:
Thanks again.
-Jeff

Hi Jeff,

That is correct. ONly fully completed sales are reported as such. Generally speaking, sales of less than $500 are not reported, as there are so many.

Take care!

Always,
Keith