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Epik Escrow and Fee Comparison

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Rob Monster

Founder of EpikTop Member
Epik Founder
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I lose $42,000 on an escrow.com transaction as pdd.com, help please.
It is hard to believe that we are still talking about this case, but indeed $42K is life-changing money for many people. NetSol was once a mighty registrar. Those days are long-gone and I find it hard to believe that there are NamePros members who still use them, other than for promo domains where they probably hope to not get abused on the way out. However, there are some really old domains on NetSol. Some of us remember paying $70 per year for a .COM back when NetSol had the monopoly. Things changed.

As for this specific case, this is case where any competent escrow agent would have fully insulated the buyer from getting defrauded. There is actually a very major design flaw in how most escrow transactions are conducted in the domain name industry. The typical counterparties are:

Buyer
Seller
Escrow agent
Broker
Registrar


That is a total of up to 5 counterparties, each of why can be declared liable to each other in the course of a transaction. In most cases, there is no purchase and sale agreement, nor a posted Terms of Service governing the relationship with one or more counterparties. It is of course a recipe for chaos in the event that there is a perceived default by one of the counterparties. I have seen cases, including Gab.com, where there was also a Domain Lender with a partially paid off leaae in the mix of a transaction.

At Epik.com, we designed the "escrow" process around the registrar. There is essentially no counterparty risk assuming the buyer uses a bank transfer or major crypto to complete their purchase. For domains registered at Epik, we can even do these escrow transactions without fee. Why? Because there is no risk. The risk comes in when the domain is at another registrar, or where the buyer is using a credit card or PayPal where there is a chargeback risk. In this case there should also be a fee to underwrite that risk.

For anyone not aware, Escrow has become a material business for Epik. The buyer and seller are both contracting with Epik. The seller provides the disbursement instructions, which can be multi-party, e.g. broker, lender and registrant. And for the moment, Epik.com is still the only escrow agent -- which is legally defined as a neutral, trusted 3rd party -- to serve as trusted intermediary. Proceeds from sales can also be held at Epik and spent tax-free on like-for-like domain assets.

More here: https://www.epik.com/services/escrow/
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I hope I'm wrong in this, but if I use Epik for Escrow my funds are being received in Masterbucks. This is $1usd : 1 Masterbuck but the main point is to transfer this out of Masterbucks to my account I have to pay 5% commission.

So basically my fee's as a seller are whatever Escrow fee's incurred through Epik Escrow + 5% cash out fee from Masterbucks to USD.
 
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I hope I'm wrong in this, but if I use Epik for Escrow my funds are being received in Masterbucks. This is $1usd : 1 Masterbuck but the main point is to transfer this out of Masterbucks to my account I have to pay 5% commission.

So basically my fee's as a seller are whatever Escrow fee's incurred through Epik Escrow + 5% cash out fee from Masterbucks to USD.

For the nth time, there is no cashout fee for NamePros members.

You can choose to hold escrow proceeds as tax-free Epik account credit or redeem without fee from Epik.

It is a thing of disruptive beauty. Our core business is REGISTRAR. We happen to also be good at ESCROW but can afford to give pro domain investors free escrow. Why? Because our end-game is to help escrow customers use tax-free proceeds from domain sales to consolidate domains they have elsewhere at Epik. It is elegant, sustainable and win-win.
 
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Why do you keep mentioning tax. That’s our problem and not your concern. Escrow.com doesn’t withhold any tax on payouts to us, does Epik?
 
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please note that taxes are specific to each country. in mine, if i sell i have to book it and i will be tax liable. there is no re-investment way out of it
 
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please note that taxes are specific to each country. in mine, if i sell i have to book it and i will be tax liable. there is no re-investment way out of it

Carefully research your country's laws on like-for-like exchanges. In the US, there is a 1031 like-for-like exchange. Of course if you receive national currency to a bank or PayPal, that is going to be a taxable event if your gains exceed your losses. However, very simply described, if you harvest potatoes and re-plant some of them to grow more potatoes rather than sell them, it is a non-taxable event until you sell your harvest at the market and receive national currency.
 
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All that is our problem. Technically receiving "Disneyland Epik dollars" if they are something of value is just as taxable an event as receiving ACH to bank. And if we spend the ACH on renewal fees that is deductible too as an expense or cost against income.

Anyway all I am asking is, does Epik withhold funds for tax on outgoing ACH. I would think not but just asking.
 
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All that is our problem. Technically receiving "Disneyland Epik dollars" if they are something of value is just as taxable an event as receiving ACH to bank. And if we spend the ACH on renewal fees that is deductible too as an expense or cost against income.

Anyway all I am asking is, does Epik withhold funds for tax on outgoing ACH. I would think not but just asking.

No, we do not withhold. We provide registrants with online tools for reporting their year-end activity.

We also allow anonymous domain registrations so long as the registrant uses our WHOIS privacy in order to be compliant with ICANN.
 
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For the nth time, there is no cashout fee for NamePros members.

You can choose to hold escrow proceeds as tax-free Epik account credit or redeem without fee from Epik.

It is a thing of disruptive beauty. Our core business is REGISTRAR. We happen to also be good at ESCROW but can afford to give pro domain investors free escrow. Why? Because our end-game is to help escrow customers use tax-free proceeds from domain sales to consolidate domains they have elsewhere at Epik. It is elegant, sustainable and win-win.

Was not aware of this. Will make you aware of our Epik account for future payouts.
 
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We provide registrants with online tools for reporting their year-end activity.

For anyone that does their own taxes, Epik's financial reporting tools are some of the best I've experienced at any registrar. I have a little more than half my domains there, close to 4,000. And they make accounting for that many names a breeze.

You'd be surprised how many major registrars completely ignore usability of their reporting tools. Especially bulk reporting and downloads.
 
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Epik is making a lot of concessions for namepros members but unfortunately they are being put under the microscope of some of namepros more analytical members. I have found that some of theses members to be quite vocal but in the end they are more than willing to help another domainer if one requires it.

So it's Rob's turn to be put under the microscope, he is responding to all questions and clearly laying out the rules of Epik Escrow. As trust builds for this new service I think we will have a winner on our hands.

I don't see a problem with asking the purchaser to open an Epik account.

Personally I think having a prepared statement (link) by Epik showing why Escrow for Domains is the most secure when done by a registrar would be ideal. This way you give the link to the client and the client sees all the benefits of Epik Escrow and I can go on processing the deal without worrying about having to explain the entire process to the client.

It will be interesting to see actual cases posted by members to gauge the feedback.

PS. I cannot comment on tax issues outside of my home country and this is not part of my comment.
 
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In the US, there is a 1031 like-for-like exchange.

Yes, there is a section 1031 of the IRS code.

No, it does not apply to domain names under any stretch of the imagination.

Please stop telling people that they can apply IRS section 1031 to domain name transactions. It is not true.

https://www.accountingweb.com/tax/individuals/tax-code-eliminates-personal-property-exchanges

Tax Code Eliminates Personal Property Exchanges

May 22nd 2018

The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) contains a number of significant changes which will have an impact on businesses, individuals and families. Prominent among these changes is the elimination of Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges involving personal property.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/smal...oyed/like-kind-exchanges-real-estate-tax-tips

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Section 1031 now applies only to exchanges of real property and not to exchanges of personal or intangible property. An exchange of real property held primarily for sale still does not qualify as a like-kind exchange. A transition rule in the new law provides that Section 1031 applies to a qualifying exchange of personal or intangible property if the taxpayer disposed of the exchanged property on or before December 31, 2017, or received replacement property on or before that date.

Thus, effective January 1, 2018, exchanges of machinery, equipment, vehicles, artwork, collectibles, patents and other intellectual property and intangible business assets generally do not qualify for non-recognition of gain or loss as like-kind exchanges.
 
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Hello,

Does anybody here have experience of selling a hand reg via epik escrow that required just a push with same registrar where the domain name was registered,instead of pushing to epik, due to the 60 days lock?

I am requesting for Epik's godaddy account details so i can push to their godaddy account and have them push to the buyer's Godaddy and they have been silent.
 
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Hello,

Does anybody here have experience of selling a hand reg via epik escrow that required just a push with same registrar where the domain name was registered,instead of pushing to epik, due to the 60 days lock?

I am requesting for Epik's godaddy account details so i can push to their godaddy account and have them push to the buyer's Godaddy and they have been silent.

We can typically waive a 60-day lock so easiest to clear the transaction at Epik.com. Transfers out of Godaddy can be done in minutes.

If you need to do a push to Epik, our holding account email there is [email protected].
 
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We can typically waive a 60-day lock so easiest to clear the transaction at Epik.com. Transfers out of Godaddy can be done in minutes.

If you need to do a push to Epik, our holding account email there is [email protected].
I just replied your email now. Is
[email protected] your Godaddy email? I need customer number to complete the transfer. Please check your email.
 
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Thanks Rob for their great escrow services. I used the service twice and very happy that I chose to use Epik escrow.
 
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Thanks Rob for their great escrow services. I used the service twice and very happy that I chose to use Epik escrow.

We are working on a lot of functionality in the escrow area in terms of software and workflow.

In terms of payment processing, we are particularly excited about the capability for empowering emerging markets. For example, we can pay out to places like Nigeria in an hour and Philippines overnight with no fees and good exchange rate. We see this as being very helpful for a lot of folks who are selling domains but where buyers would want a comfort level that there will be no problems.
 
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What about extended payments. I have a potential deal involving 36 payments.
 
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What about extended payments. I have a potential deal involving 36 payments.

We treat those as domain leases and financings. Typically the buyer here will fund via credit card or PayPal. If they are funding via ACH/eCheck, it could be done at as little as 1% assuming the domain is at Epik due to the monthly payments and related transaction support. We charge the fee as it is collected, not up front.
 
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Which is typically....

Credit card is 5%

Paypal is 6.5%.

Which is fine for small lease payments but for larger transactions, most folks will go for wire or crypto. Wire and ACH are free for NP members where the domain is at Epik. Crypto is 2.5%.
 
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So, a buyer will pay with echeck and seller will be getting direct deposit once a month for free. Is that correct?
 
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So, a buyer will pay with echeck and seller will be getting direct deposit once a month for free. Is that correct?

With recurring payments, it works like this:

- Buyer is responsible to have funds on deposit monthly. The grace period is typically 5 days though you can configure the grace period.

- Seller gets funds deposited to their Epik account balance. Seller can redeem to ACH without fee or spend on Epik. Other payment methods are supported and done at cost.

- We have not yet automated direct deposit. Mainly because payment fraud does happen. Over time I expect we will be fully automating disbursement for whitelisted accounts.

For your specific case, as you seem to ask a lot of questions, I suggest just contact our live support or request a phone call to go though all your questions to see if Epik is right for you. Perhaps not.
 
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Posting details here will save countless calls to your business. Transparency is essential. Your answers are vague. For instance, you dont tell me that buyer funds go into my account as bingo bucks which will lose value when they are converted into hard cash.
 
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Posting details here will save countless calls to your business. Transparency is essential. Your answers are vague. For instance, you dont tell me that buyer funds go into my account as bingo bucks which will lose value when they are converted into hard cash.

My answers are transparent and complete. In fact, most details are covered here:

https://www.epik.com/services/escrow

Other than the escrow fee itself for covering payment processing, there are no additional redemption fees. For NamePros members whose domains are at Epik, and whose buyers pay via wire, they pay zero fees.

Epik has an excellent escrow product, with competitive fees, fast closing and no-nonsense. We are working to add a dashboard for escrow transactions and automated disbursement for verified customers.

As far as I know, we are still the only escrow platform clearing domain transactions with cryptos, including on weekends as we did earlier today for a mid-5 figure intercontinental transaction that will not be disclosed.
 
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You dont mention anything about seller redemption fees for monthly payouts.
 
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