Am I going to get scammed?

[!LLu$!0N]

I received an email yesterday (in my inbox) saying that they were interested in purchasing one of my domains and asked me how much i was looking for it. I told them to make an offer and this morning i received a new email saying they'd pay 15,000USD for it.

They said they wouldn't make a payment until i got the domain valuated from an independent source his and his partners trust. They've put a link in the email to a blog which has reviews of appraisal services so i'm just assuming this is a scam, he said he would be able to pay for the domain via Escrow.com, International wire transfer, or PayPal.com.

Email is coming from theonlinebrokerage.com so i feel this is a scam to get my domain appraised lower than what he's offering or something, any suggestions? I'll send the full email to anyone interested.

Thanks for your help,
Jamie

 

[DN BROKER]

appraisal scam!!!

 

[!LLu$!0N]

appraisal scam!!!

I didn't get my hopes up thank god... :D Is that all this scam does though? Gets you to get your domain appraised at a fake appraisal and then pay you a lower fee?

Jamie

 

[-REECE-]

Yeah that's usually how it works.. Tell him you get a lot of timewasters and fake offers and that if he's genuinely interested he'll pay for the appraisal. Then you'll know for sure

I didn't get my hopes up thank god... :D Is that all this scam does though? Gets you to get your domain appraised at a fake appraisal and then pay you a lower fee?

Jamie

 

[Len]

I didn't get my hopes up thank god... :D Is that all this scam does though? Gets you to get your domain appraised at a fake appraisal and then pay you a lower fee?

Jamie

Not quite, they get you to pay for an appraisal and then you never hear from them again!

 

[Robin]

100% scam, if they are ready to pay $15,000 then they can also pay for the appraisal.

 

[mosilager]

Basically the scammers own the appraisal company, make you an offer, you get your domain appraised through their company and you never hear from them again!.

You could always ask them to pay for the appraisal and you'll give them a reduction in price for it, that'll keep 'em away!.

 

[bamaboy]

100% scam, if they are ready to pay $15,000 then they can also pay for the appraisal.

Agreed, same thinking here :tu:

 

[Michelle]

As above said scam sorry :td: But I really hope you get a great offer soon :tu:

 

[paskurica]

yeah, old appraisal scam

 

[ezimedia]

HI

They own the appraisal services... then you buy an appraisal from them and once they have your money they will reply we are no longer interested in buying your name... I always reply to these emails with you pay for the appraisal and I will take the cost of the price of the domain if you buy it.

Thanks
Tom

 

[NeoGen]

Ask them to pay for the appraisal and deduct it from their 15K offer.

 

[shlunk]

I got the same email, and told him I'd take the cost of the appraisal of the price he eventually paid for the domain.. After a few bounces back and forth with him refusing, I got the same email sent twice in a row. I think this is an automated thing. What can we do to stop them?

 

[exponent]

I always tell them that if they are willing to pay $15,000 for it, why do they need an appraisal? They either want it (and are willing to pay) or they don't.

 

[GiftedDomains]

Simply don't answer, delete such emails and don't waiste a second on them. All offers requiring an appraisal from "unknown" sources are 100% scams. Don't waiste your time.

 

[Grand Cross]

Here what i got 28/04/2009

From Email:
[email protected]

We were celebrating newborn child of my brother. I apologize for delay with my answer.

Can you accept 15,000 USD?

Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.

Have you had your domain names evaluated in the past? I mean domain appraisals. Without valuation we cannot be sure in the sale price. It's very important for me in terms of reselling too. But we must engage a valuation company with REAL manual service. So I will only accept valuations from independent sources I and my partners trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies.

Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and buyers:
Site Suspended

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price accordingly. It will be fair. I also hope you can give me 12% - 15% discount.

After you send me the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to obtain it) we'll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.

I just search this line on google:

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies.

And i got my answer...

Regards

 

[slbailey]

I actually engaged this guy in an email dialog for a while (why not have some fun with him?) and he eventually gets indignant and calls you names. I told him that if he was willing to buy for $15K if I got an appraisal I'd take $1K with no appraisal. He called me a moron.

Yeah, I think they get the hopes up of new investors and then take advantage of their desire for a quick buck.

 

[interestedenough]

Haha, yeah, tell them to go ahead and order the appraise themselves. I have been contacted by these scammers as well. Don't give any of your information even if it is a "free" appraisal service.

 

[arzulga]

I received an email yesterday (in my inbox) saying that they were interested in purchasing one of my domains and asked me how much i was looking for it. I told them to make an offer and this morning i received a new email saying they'd pay 15,000USD for it.

They said they wouldn't make a payment until i got the domain valuated from an independent source his and his partners trust. They've put a link in the email to a blog which has reviews of appraisal services so i'm just assuming this is a scam, he said he would be able to pay for the domain via Escrow.com, International wire transfer, or PayPal.com.

Email is coming from theonlinebrokerage.com so i feel this is a scam to get my domain appraised lower than what he's offering or something, any suggestions? I'll send the full email to anyone interested.

Thanks for your help,
Jamie

I got the same email ===============


from :[email protected] to me

Hello,

What is the price of your domain?

We are very interested in it. Good domains are wise investment in the
future. Our company is interested in easy-to-remember domain names.

If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.

Looking forward to do business with you.

Regards,
Andrew Weisberg
CEO
OB Real Estate LLC

I reply =====>
Thank you for interested my domains ( eu-retro.com )and if you buy if before May 31,you can get it at 450 USD.

If you want to buy it please offer via sedo.com.

And now i have many domains name for sale belows:

Domains Name Price(USD) PageRank

-all3gproducts.com 1250 2
-amazing-phuket.com 2250 3
-niche-keywords.com 1250 3
-redprotesters.com 1000 -
-shops4girl.com 2750 - (#1 google search result in "accessories women" keywords,# 1 google search result in "cheap women's accessories" keywords,#1 google search result in "women's goods" keywords and many other keyword)

-tradeder.com 1350 3
-tradevalues.biz 1250 3
-thailand-medical-tourism.net 1750 3

All abow domains you can by from sedo.com

Best Regards

Thitipath Khruthram

=====Then he reply to me again=============

450. Ok


I'm also interested in amazing-phuket.com


Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.

Have you had your domain names evaluated in the past? I mean domain appraisals. Without valuation we cannot be sure in the sale price. It's very important for me in terms of reselling too. But we must engage a valuation company with REAL manual service. So I will only accept valuations from independent sources I and my partners trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies.

Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and buyers:
Domain Talk

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price accordingly. It will be fair. I also hope you can give me 12% - 15% discount.

After you send me the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to obtain it) we'll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.

=============> I reply#2=====>
Dear Andrew Weisberg

How are you? Hope you are doing well.

I am glad to hear from you again, thank you for interested in my other domain. I would like to give you more details about the domain name “amazing-phuket.com”.

I have never valued how much my domain should cost. However, since I have been working in internet business fields, I think the selling price of domain name “amazing-phuket.com” should be around 2,500 -3,000 USD.
==============He reply :-->
It's a big risk to proceed without professional valuation. I already spoke
to industry experts and they prohibited me to do business without
valuation..

Without manual valuation nobody will buy. You'll sit on your domain for
years in this case, paying renewal fees to your registrar. Just think about
it. So sooner or later, you'll have to obtain an appraisal. Why waste time
now?

As a seller, you can use a valuation certificate to sell names to other
buyers. I cannot do the same because I don't keep control over your domain.

I'm still interested in your domain. Hope you'll change your position. I
simply don't want to take additional risks.

Thank you for understanding. I'm looking forward to do business with you.

====I told him,i want to appraisal via sedo.com but reply to me with below message:

Sedo is a good broker and we can use it for transfer/transaction.
Unfortunately , Sedo is not acceptable as an appraiser because your names
are listed with them and they are not independent. They are interested in
earning 10% commission on every sale. I need appraisals from a company
which is not interested in selling your domains.

I heard many appraisal companies often made inaccurate appraisals. So I
cannot accept appraisal from each and every site. I will only accept
appraisals from independent appraisal companies I know and trust.


I did not hear about Services for domain and web site sellers and buyers. before, but since they wererecommended by many people it's ok with me.

and finaly he email to me again:

No deal without appraisal from a trusted source. This simple rule has saved
me a lot of money and time. Feel free to contact me when you change your
position and let's do business the right way.

 

[zugzwang]

it´s a scam. The thing is that they are going to try to make you appraise the domain in a service "from their trust" (that´s a fake service... that you have to pay) when you do that, they will say that they are not interested anymore in your domain. Watch out, there r many pirates out there.