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question Selling Domains Direct, Straight To Bank, No Escrow, No Marketplace?

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Has anybody sold a domain that way? I usually do it thru a Marketplace or Escrow. I have a buyer that said:

"This whole escrow thing doesn’t work at
all.

I run a company with $6.5billion
in transactions and it is the worst payment
site I’ve come across.

"If you can send your account details, we will transfer the funds to you and you can transfer the URL us."

It's a big company, I've checked them out.

Any downsides to that? I guess they would just need the same info the Escrow sites need, routing number and such, right?
 
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None. I've never got paid like that, but I'm fine with trying it out. Have to wait to see what route he wants to take. Could be asleep, might have quit the deal, might be talking to Escrow on the phone and go that route, might take the direct/wire route. I'm sure I'll know more tomorrow.

You should always offer the option of a wire transfer on your landers and/or marketplace.
 
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You should always offer the option of a wire transfer on your landers and/or marketplace.

I need to look into that, how to do that. That would be a good thread if you have knowledge on the subject. To this point my sales have been thru various marketplaces, Namejet, Afternic, GoDaddy, Sedo, Paypal, Escrow. Need to expand the options, don't want any more sale killing hoops.

Need to know which ones throw up any roadblocks.

Escrow throws up one for sales over $3,000

Is that an issue with credit cards, wire transfers, yes or no based on a certain amount?
 
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I need to look into that, how to do that. That would be a good thread if you have knowledge on the subject.

It's actually pretty straight forward. We allow wire transfer as a payment option on marketplaces using our platform.
 
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Sorry, I responded before I saw your edits.

Is that an issue with credit cards, wire transfers, yes or no based on a certain amount?

You will need to talk to your bank. That's the safest way to go. Get a good relationship/communication going with your bank.
 
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Selling domains is all about making it as easy as possible for the buyer to purchase. Offering a wire option definitely takes away a hurdle for a lot of CEOs who are accustomed to approving payments for a couple of K.

Most of my sales are done by wire. I send them the invoice with a direct link to make an instant payment, funds are added to my bank account in seconds depending on what bank they're using. Doesn't get any smoother than this if there's a mutual level of trust.
 
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Doesn't get any smoother than this if there's a mutual level of trust.

This is the key. If you treat your domain sales as a real business then you will be taken seriously by potential buyers.
 
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one of my first $x,xxx sales was by cheque, he mailed it to me and after it cleared i sent him the name
 
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Selling domains is all about making it as easy as possible for the buyer to purchase. Offering a wire option definitely takes away a hurdle for a lot of CEOs who are accustomed to approving payments for a couple of K.

Most of my sales are done by wire. I send them the invoice with a direct link to make an instant payment, funds are added to my bank account in seconds depending on what bank they're using. Doesn't get any smoother than this if there's a mutual level of trust.

This is the key. If you treat your domain sales as a real business then you will be taken seriously by potential buyers.

I'll contact my bank about it tomorrow. But just curious about some details.

I understand banks my be different but does yours have limits? Where if it hits a certain limit, does the KYC stuff kick in? You mentioned couple of K, What about 20K, 50K, 100K etc.

Sending invoices, is that thru something like Quickbooks, or just one grabbed off the internet and sent thru email. And direct link to?

And like you said there has to be a level of trust for wire transfers, some are just going want to use an Escrow, so if they do, then they'll just have to send the info in.
 
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I understand banks my be different but does yours have limits? Where if it hits a certain limit, does the KYC stuff kick in? You mentioned couple of K, What about 20K, 50K, 100K etc.

Sending invoices, is that thru something like Quickbooks, or just one grabbed off the internet and sent thru email. And direct link to?

Great questions. As far as I understand, all the bank cares about is that the money is transferred.

In any case of large amounts, you want to have a contact person at the bank that checks to ensure everything goes smoothly and gives you guidance. They will be more than happy to help.

How you send the invoice is up to you. There are invoicing software or you can use a template. Send it as PDF.

Include instructions of where to transfer the funds. Your bank will give you the specifics.

DMP allows you do electronically send the instructions as soon as the buyer checks out.
 
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I'll contact my bank about it tomorrow. But just curious about some details.

I understand banks my be different but does yours have limits? Where if it hits a certain limit, does the KYC stuff kick in? You mentioned couple of K, What about 20K, 50K, 100K etc.

Sending invoices, is that thru something like Quickbooks, or just one grabbed off the internet and sent thru email. And direct link to?

And like you said there has to be a level of trust for wire transfers, some are just going want to use an Escrow, so if they do, then they'll just have to send the info in.

There are a lot of different 'rules' depending on your Bank and country you reside in I guess. Best would be to have a business bank account as they're usually tailored for bigger transactions.

I don't have a cap on incoming funds (as far as I know) but my limit of sending funds by wire is capped at €14K a day so I guess the same limit could be an issue for the buyer if they want to make a bigger purchase (Mind you I'm by no means a big player so I'm sure multinationals don't have much of a limit :) ). I can up my cap easily when needed so if that's the case I just log in and temporary adjust the amount to be able to make the payment.

I wrote my own invoicing software as I wanted to tailor it so that it fits my books correctly so I don't need to worry about tax filings etc ( don't know what the heck I'm still paying my account for :) ). But yeah, you could just pull something off the web and send them a PDF or something and do it manually. Depending on how much invoices you usually need that's an easy fix.

Make sure to lookup what info should be on it as for legal reasons some things are mandatory.

I include a link in the PDF and email to my banks payment processor so they can just click it and make the wire. There are loads of solutions for this, some take a small fee. Most of my sales are to national companies and we have a national epayment system that works with all banks so that's a bliss.

You could also just include your bank details in the email and request them to make the payment. They're probably used to make payments that way anyway.

When there are concerns about trust, sure an escrow service is the way to go. For a sale with a high amount it makes sense to do so ofcourse. But you know, on a smaller sale using escrow is a lot of hassle to go through for a buyer if it's an impulse purchase and he never used escrow before.

Look at it this way, when you buy a car you pay up and get the car afterwards right? I don't mind paying the dealer 30K. I trust him to deliver. (I'm not sure how this works in the US but let's say you don't need a loan etc.).

Anyway, loads of angles have been covered by others already but to conclude; if someone trusts me enough to make a wire I see no reason not to accommodate that wish :)
 
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Has anybody sold a domain that way? I usually do it thru a Marketplace or Escrow. I have a buyer that said:

"This whole escrow thing doesn’t work at
all.

I run a company with $6.5billion
in transactions and it is the worst payment
site I’ve come across.

"If you can send your account details, we will transfer the funds to you and you can transfer the URL us."

It's a big company, I've checked them out.

Any downsides to that? I guess they would just need the same info the Escrow sites need, routing number and such, right?


that's what I most often do in Germany
there is no risk to you
as far as I know of
 
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I don't have a cap on incoming funds (as far as I know) but my limit of sending funds by wire is capped at €14K a day so I guess the same limit could be an issue for the buyer if they want to make a bigger purchase (Mind you I'm by no means a big player so I'm sure multinationals don't have much of a limit :) ).

Any large transaction, close to and upwards of six figures the bank will want to be manually involved in. You will not get a mortgage for a new home or a car loan unless there is an individual assessment. You can't automate this level of purchasing. And it is partially why you have such red tape when going through escrow. I don't know how Epik is able to expedite such high transactions in minutes.
 
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Any large transaction, close to and upwards of six figures the bank will want to be manually involved in. You will not get a mortgage for a new home or a car loan unless there is an individual assessment. You can't automate this level of purchasing. And it is partially why you have such red tape when going through escrow. I don't know how Epik is able to expedite such high transactions in minutes.

True, but talking about loans and mortgages is an entirely different thing. When paying with your own money you should be able to fast track things.

I get banks want another step to verify payments this large to protect themselves and the customer though. I guess depending on what your agreements are with your bank it can differ.

If you need to make these kind of payments more frequently I'm sure there are banks that can accommodate you.
 
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I have purchased about 5 domains that way. I have received invoice and made the wire and then received the domains. Recently added this option to my own domains for sale.

Has anybody sold a domain that way? I usually do it thru a Marketplace or Escrow. I have a buyer that said:

"This whole escrow thing doesn’t work at
all.

I run a company with $6.5billion
in transactions and it is the worst payment
site I’ve come across.

"If you can send your account details, we will transfer the funds to you and you can transfer the URL us."

It's a big company, I've checked them out.

Any downsides to that? I guess they would just need the same info the Escrow sites need, routing number and such, right?
 
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Then I'm looking at Sedo Escrow again. I used to have parking pages going to Sedo to buy the domain. Never had issues. Escrow is 3% but if you have domains there, they charge you the 15/20% or whatever. So I guess I would have have to delete all my names or something.

I don't think you would have to remove all your domains from Sedo. Remove just the one domain and you should be eligible for 3% escrow fee.

I don't have a cap on incoming funds (as far as I know) but my limit of sending funds by wire is capped at €14K a day so I guess the same limit could be an issue for the buyer if they want to make a bigger purchase

All or most of the European banks has the option to set your own daily, weekly and monthly limit for ATM withdraw, wire or withdraw from bank for security reason, but I never seen the option to set limit for income wire or deposit.
 
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True, but talking about loans and mortgages is an entirely different thing. When paying with your own money you should be able to fast track things.

That sounds reasonable. I would imagine that the bank would still want to do their due diligence that the money comes from a legitimate source and is not laundered or anything like that.

It’s like when you want to make a large ticket purchase you still have to let the bank know so they can prepare the money and know where to send it.

It would be easier than getting a mortgage or a loan but still would take more time than just a few minutes.

Also some buyers do get a loan or take out a mortgage to buy that perfect domain.
 
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All or most of the European banks has the option to set your own daily, weekly and monthly limit for ATM withdraw, wire or withdraw from bank for security reason, but I never seen the option to set limit for income wire or deposit.

Yeah I was just thinking about that. Me and my partner sold some property some weeks ago and that was about €240K and the bank processed that without even bothering to ask.

Might depend on who's sending the funds. I can imagine if a large payment from some obscure country comes in it'd raise some flags.
 
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The bank should just receive the funds. Problems with large amounts are probably mainly for you being checked up on, or money sent from suspicious countries could bring you under suspicion. I would not accept transfer from some countries, not worth it. In the UK this can get your bank account locked and closed with no explanation, in fact they are not allowed to explain.

BUT a known scam - not by the buyer - is for hackers to hack an email account or business computer, watch silently, then when an invoice is to be sent, send one with incorrect bank details. Or follow up with another email saying bank details have changed. The money is almost impossible to recover and this mainly targets big transactions like housebuying, building work etc.

The only way to really protect against this is before paying, ring a known telephone number for the payee and get them to tell you over the phone just what the actual bank account number is.
 
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It’s like when you want to make a large ticket purchase you still have to let the bank know so they can prepare the money and know where to send it.

It would be easier than getting a mortgage or a loan but still would take more time than just a few minutes.

Also some buyers do get a loan or take out a mortgage to buy that perfect domain.

Lol, yes that can be a pain. I remember a couple of years ago when I had to make a significant downpayment in cash. The bank wanted a notice in advance for a big cash withdrawal but I wasn't gonna make the deadline that way.

I ended up having me and some friends maxing out all of their ATM withdrawal limits at every bank in town to raise the cash :)
 
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Lol, yes that can be a pain. I remember a couple of years ago when I had to make a significant downpayment in cash. The bank wanted a notice in advance for a big cash withdrawal but I wasn't gonna make the deadline that way.

Yes, in large sum cases you have to work closely with the bank and within their operating schedule.

But in the majority of domain sales XXX to XX,XXX range, wire transfer is very quick and saves you a lot of headaches.

The key is developing trust with the buyer. And that comes down to how you present yourself and your quality of communication.

As mentioned by @MapleDots, here in Canada there is a super-easy way to make direct payments between bank accounts called Interac e-Transfer. Even between accounts in different banks. This would suffice for majority of domain sales. Quicker still than wire transfer. All you need is an email address and create a security question. Looks like now Canadians can send money internationally as well.

https://www.interac.ca/en/interac-e-transfer-goes-international-in-collaboration-with-nanopay.html

Surely there must be equivalent or compatible systems in the US, Europe and elsewhere to send money internationally as well.
 
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Yes, in large sum cases you have to work closely with the bank and within their operating schedule.

But in the majority of domain sales XXX to XX,XXX range, wire transfer is very quick and saves you a lot of headaches.

The key is developing trust with the buyer. And that comes down to how you present yourself and your quality of communication.

As mentioned by @MapleDots, here in Canada there is a super-easy way to make direct payments between bank accounts called Interac e-Transfer. Even between accounts in different banks. This would suffice for majority of domain sales. Quicker still than wire transfer. All you need is an email address and create a security question. Looks like now Canadians can send money internationally as well.

https://www.interac.ca/en/interac-e-transfer-goes-international-in-collaboration-with-nanopay.html

Surely there must be equivalent or compatible systems in the US, Europe and elsewhere to send money internationally as well.

That may be Zelle here in the USA. https://www.zellepay.com

Is there a limit on the amount of money I can send and receive with Zelle?
Your financial institution determines this. Please reach out to your bank or credit union directly to find out what specific limits they have for their customers.


So you still need to discuss with your local bank what the limits are but who knows, maybe a combination of credit card payment + this method + another method... it gets the job done, the domain sold and then transferred..

I found my bank's limits and terms by searching google "my bank name" + zelle limit
 
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I think the Direct Deals were much better possible at the pre-GDPR era. (Buyer contacted directly through Whois)

I am sure many here would agree things have gone worse because the buyers now don't have any option except for making offers through marketplaces or the landing pages now.
 
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This deal is still up in the air. He asked for my bank account details for the wire Friday night, then the next morning I get a 3 way email, where somebody from Escrow wrote, that it was their pleasure to help, how did they want to proceed with the transaction. Which reads to me, maybe they finally got him authenticated. I'll touch base with them again Monday.

So I think he was getting frustrated with first having to send info in. Then waiting to get authenticated. And he also wasn't to happy with the site, he apparently was having issues.

So with sales. First you have this trust thing. And if you do, then you pretty much have to use an Escrow. Then if you use Escrow, then at a certain amount, with Escrow.com it's $3,000, then you have to do a little extra. Send in colored scans of this and that. Which is a pain. Not sure if this has to be done with every Escrow company, but if so and if it is the law, KYC law, there isn't much you can do about that. And if you really want the domain, then you gotta do what you gotta do.

So if trust is not an issue. Then it's how to move money with hopefully no roadblocks being thrown up. Looks like wire transfer is the fastest way most people do it. Of course depending on the amount there is Paypal, Credit cards, what was mentioned about Zelle, then you have all kinds of other things, like Venmo, CashApp, some other mobile way etc. Trying to find out which is the most popular way, which are the ways I can't get screwed where they take their money back somehow etc.

But with large amounts, I think buyers want some type of protection So not sure how you get around not using some Escrow. So maybe the Escrow sites can work on making people having to send info in, as smooth as possible.
 
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Has anybody sold a domain that way? I usually do it thru a Marketplace or Escrow. I have a buyer that said:

"This whole escrow thing doesn’t work at
all.

I run a company with $6.5billion
in transactions and it is the worst payment
site I’ve come across.

"If you can send your account details, we will transfer the funds to you and you can transfer the URL us."

It's a big company, I've checked them out.

Any downsides to that? I guess they would just need the same info the Escrow sites need, routing number and such, right?


The great thing about a wire transfer is that you can forego all of the fees associated with escrow services and the like. For the most part, it's probably the best option for domain investors, but I'm sure most buyers wouldn't feel comfortable doing it this way.
 
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Just don't transfer the domain first. My first real sale in 2004 was to one of the largest gaming companies in the world.

They convinced me it would be too much trouble for them to go through escrow, and they would send it through their account payable department and they'd send me a check.

I agreed, transferred the domain and they had it live within a week. Yet my payment took about 2+ months to receive after spending hours sending emails to all 5-6 people in the company that the transaction was routed through.

Never again. But if they pay by bank wire first, that would be fine.
 
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