Am I allowed to do this on Ebay?

[sidekick_33]

Hey guys,

I have a quick question about what I'm allowed to do on Ebay. Here's the background story.

I sold a domain on Ebay on August 4th and it is set to expire on August 9th. It is hosted at GoDaddy. I received payment for this domain on August 5th.

I have attempted to email the buyer, and message him on Ebay a combined amount of 4 times, so pretty much every day, I have attempted to get in touch with him. I am in need of his username or account number and his email to push the domain to him.

If I do not hear back from him within one day, the domain will expire at GoDaddy. This forces me to renew the domain at a cost of ~$7. My question is, can I hold the buyer responsible for this charge?

At the bottom of my auction I put this little disclaimer:
"Payment is expected within 24 hours of auction closing. The domain will be pushed to your GoDaddy account for free, within 48 hours of payment receipt. The winning bidder will have all transfer/push details provided, and the responsibility falls to them to follow the necessary instructions. The seller's obligation is to give the buyer all possible/reasonable assistance in tranferring the name."

So what happens if the buyer does not get back to me before the domain expires? Anyone out there have any suggestions or ideas? I have thought of personally calling the guy to ask for his info.

 

[syntheticrhyme]

you've more than done what is required. When people do not include their account info, I simply initiate the account change to their paypal email address (they can complete it manually)

By doing this, you have completed your obligations. You can let the name expire, then a few days later you can still renew it if you wish or let it drop

 

[Fork]

As syntheticrhyme said, I'd initiate the transfer to their PayPal email address to fulfill your obligations as the seller.

Also, keep in mind that even though the domain may pass it's expiration date, it's got a month or two before it actually disappears from your account. You'll have several chances to renew within the next month for the usual renewal cost. During this time, you may be able to work out something with the buyer to cover the cost of renewal.

 

[domainsusi]

Well, since he did not give you his Godaddy ID and contact email, just refund his paypal payment. See what happens ...

 

[Archangel]

You've done what you were required to do. The buyer will likely leave you negative feedback if you walk away but since the problem is the buyer's fault, eBay will likely remove the feedback.

---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:11 PM ----------

Well, since he did not give you his Godaddy ID and contact email, just refund his paypal payment. See what happens ...

But yeah, you should give a full refund.

 

[sidekick_33]

Thanks guys!

I just got an email from the buyer:

"I am currently aways on holidays with no internet. I will send you the info within a couple days when i return. thanks for you patients."

However, I took syntheticrhyme and Shockt's advice and pushed the domain already to his account using his PayPal email. I replied to his email and told him this and told him that from here on out, the domain is out of my control.

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[namenut]

SR and others have covered most bases but one I would include is to
not sell names that close to expiration. It is bad business. Trust me on
this. You either renew it, drop it or list it with at least 30 days on it.

Hope it all works out for you. "FeeBAY" is the problem. They needs to
really deal with E-merchandise differently. Currently the seller is
exposed unnecessarily.

I've all but stopped selling on "FeeBAY" because of the fees and the RISK.


NN

 

[mibworld]

I agree that you shouldn't sell a domain with such a few days from expiring (though I've bought several in that situation). Now, I think your best option was to refund the payment. I thought you needed both an email and ID to push a name at Godaddy. Isn't that the case?

 

[dnpimping.com]

Definitely a sticky situation here, once the buyer returns from the vacation he might actually have an issue with the fact that the domain more or less expired. As it is not your fault, you should think about contacting the buyer again and ask him if he would like you to renew the domain for another year and just tack that price onto his total invoice. Best of luck to you.

 

[tech4]

You should refund him and drop the domain or renew it.

It will be bad business, better to avoid an angry customer when you can and be more responsible. As the email indicated, buyer is away. You have nothing to lose except to renew the domain or drop it.

I have learned, no matter how right you are, technically, but ethically, you can be in trouble. Treat all customers as if they are your best friend in business. That will help alot. You wouldn't do this to your best friend would you? if not don't let the domain expire and take his money. It is bad business.

 

[sidekick_33]

Thanks for all of your advice into this matter!

As previously mentioned, I was able to push the domain to his GoDaddy account using just his email address. I was able to do this by entering his ID(such as name, address, city, etc...) and his email address when I pushed the domain. I just didn't enter his GoDaddy username or customer number and it allowed me to do this.

I will see when he gets back from vacation and see how this plays out. I will wait a few days to make a final decision. Thanks again for everyone's advice!

 

[DomainSupermarket]

I believe that youre ok, after all a domain backorder is $18.99+ at godaddy, what he is really buying are the rights to the domain name NOT the time on it, after all domains do expire and need to be renewed anyways.