@21x29 - The supported methods of sending and receiving funds to/from Epik for an escrow transaction are:
Credit Card
PayPal
ACH
Wire
Bitcoin
Paper check
Western Union
If the seller chooses to use funds within Epik, there is no fee. The proceeds are deposited to the seller's Epik balance without fee. If funds are disbursed, then the fee depends on the transaction size and the payment method that was used. It is never more than 5%. For a wire transaction, it is 1.5%, and can be even lower for a large transaction.
For smaller transactions, e.g. under $2500, most folks will simply use our domain marketplace. In this case, the domain is on Epik registrar. The buyer is able to then purchase (or lease) the domain from our marketplace at which time (1) the domain instantly moves to the buyer's Epik account, and (2) the proceed from the sale are instantly deposited to the seller's Masterbucks account. Once funds are deposited, these funds are instantly available for use from within the Epik account without fee.
Specific to China transactions, our marketplace is busy with China transactions all day long. The interface does have a Chinese language version and support is 24/7. We are looking to add Chinese native staff in the next few months, or potentially a China-based acquisition. In the meantime, we have had no problem processing marketplace and escrow transactions for Chinese customers. If someone needs something special, they should contact us to discuss.
Since I also received other questions via email, I will go ahead and address those here as well:
Why does Epik offer this service?
We have offered this service as a convenience for customers for years now. We have done some fairly exotic transactions, combining payment methods, structuring payments, splitting disbursements, bundling domains and websites, etc. Many people who come to us have reported that Escrow.com was not flexible, too slow, or unable to process an escrow transaction in the manner that buyer or seller needed.
What is the benefit for Epik to complete an escrow transaction or marketplace sale without a fee?
The main benefit for Epik is that it is what in marketing language is called a "Point of entry". When a domain owner sells a domain to a new end-user, we gain a new (retail) client. Since domain investors generally get everything from Epik at or near cost, our margins have to come from serving
end-users, typically through a bundle of services such as domain, hosting, development, SSL certs, etc.
Why can buyer and seller trust Epik?
Escrow transactions are fundamentally a trust issue, so it is a fair question. After all, both buyer and seller are depositing assets with a 3rd party intermediary who will facilitate a fair exchange. To date, I have personally coordinated all of our escrow transactions, managing the dialog with buyer and seller, providing assurance and clarification where needed. We get it done.
What about Purchase and Sale Agreement?
Most escrow transactions don't require one. However, to the extent that a legal agreement is needed, beyond Epik's standard terms, we provide templates which can be used as needed. If a custom agreement is needed, we can prepare one. Though I am not an attorney, I believe most would advise that for large transactions, e.g. $100K+ a purchase and sale agreement is advisable.
Does Epik disclose sales via escrow or marketplace?
We rarely do. In fact, the branding language of "The Swiss Bank of Domains" and "Legendary Support" were both cases of
customers coming up with the language. In the process of time, we simply adopted those terms, and then have worked hard to operate in a way that aligns to the promises made in that branding. There are some great testimonials
here. On a related, WHOIS privacy is always free at Epik.
Are there transactions that you don't do?
We are generally not the market-maker to choose when buying or selling adult domains. We know nothing about the market for those domains and prefer not to do them, and generally drop them. I am happy to discuss the reasons for this one on one with anyone who needs to understand the reason. If you check out our
daily diamonds list of names being dropped, you will often find traffic names there. It is a reverse auction, running for 24 hours. The prices drop to as low as $19.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you need more.
