advice Buyer does not wish to pay through PayPal

[tomzilla]

I sold a domain for about $400 through outbound and I've already transferred the domain to their account. I sent a PayPal invoice but he said " I am having an issue with making a credit card payment through PayPal. It is requiring me to setup and account and that isn’t something we wish to do nor am I authorized to do so. Please provide me with a different PayPal link that doesn’t require me to create an account.".

So what other payment options do I have?

 

[alcy]

In a year this kind of stuff will be a thing of the past when crypto goes more mainstream, thankfully.

you mean like escrow services with cryptos?

cause otherwise it will be hard for buyrs to trust strangers and send them crypto first..

your talking zero protection in those cases.. without escrow.

now with paypal, and doman not delivered, buyer gets his money back easy. proof is on seller he delivered.

 

[wwwweb]

you mean like escrow services with cryptos?

cause otherwise it will be hard for buyrs to trust strangers and send them crypto first..

your talking zero protection in those cases.. without escrow.

now with paypal, and doman not delivered, buyer gets his money back easy. proof is on seller he delivered.

This seems to be a payment option issue, more options on the table

Blockchain integration will take time, but better methods will arise.

 

[alcy]

This seems to be a payment option issue, more options on the table

oh yes.. true.. more options.

but we shouldn't get our hopes too high imo that without escrow our buyers in future will just blindly pay us in crypto before getting domains. casue they get zero protection when they do it. cheers

 

[tomzilla]

Just an update guys.

They paid today via payment request.

IMO I never really thought that I will get scammed because I always first send the domain and so far nobody scammed me. These people own businesses and have a reputation to keep clean. They have way more to lose then I have. All I would lose is that $9 reg fee investment, whereas they could potentially lose $400 if I don't send the domain. In order to gain their trust I send the domain first and it works fine. There was a time when I waited almost 2 weeks to receive the payment from the end-user who already had received the domain from me. Apparently, he was out of office and sick but he paid as soon as he got back in. One day I guess I can get screwed over, but I'm just speaking from experience.

Anyways, thank you everyone for your help It's good to know I have a community that I learn from everyday and can turn to in times like these.

 

[Nem0]

because I always first send the domain

Congrats. But sorry, I still gotta headpalm ya

 

[accent]

It is legit. There is a rare stamp co that will send you stamps for free, pay if you don't send them back. Most people paid. The cost of the losses was more than repaid by the gain in trust.

 

[james haw]

Glad to hear you got paid, but really you should be more careful as there are so many scammers out there, and they're good at appearing to be legitimate and fool you - it's what their skill set is about.

These people own businesses and have a reputation to keep clean.

What if it wasn't who you thought it was? Someone pretending to be that legitimate business? Even then, legitimate businesses often can be shady, or just drag their heels with payments etc. When you hold the thing they want they'll pay up quicker and you don't risk losing out.

They have way more to lose then I have. All I would lose is that $9 reg fee investment, whereas they could potentially lose $400 if I don't send the domain.

This doesn't make sense, because with you they have nothing to lose as you are legit and will always transfer when they have paid. So, you are protecting someone else from a problem that doesn't exist while putting yourself at risk.

Also, you say you would only lose $9, but as you sold this name for $400 you've already proven it's worth $400, so you'd actually lose a $400 domain name. Your invoice was $400, not $9, so $400 is your loss if not paid.


I think I understand why you do it, as it helps avoid losing out on a sale due to people not having trust, but if you don't transfer and they don't pay and end up not wanting the domain name, then you move on and sell elsewhere. You've already proven the name has value by someone having interest in it.


Each to their own tho

 

[Joe N]

Have to say I fully disagree with the people on here who are insisting that you must always get payment first.

For inbound enquiries: yes, always insist on payment first, or on using an escrow service. Absolutely agree here.

For outbound sales: You are the one sending unsolicited emails to legitimate companies. In this situation, they are in a much more vulnerable position. The onus is on you, as the initiator, to prove good faith.

 

[james haw]

For outbound sales: You are the one sending unsolicited emails to legitimate companies. In this situation, they are in a much more vulnerable position. The onus is on you, as the initiator, to prove good faith.

I mostly agree with you, but there is no automatic onus on us as initiators as we know we will transfer the domain. I agree that the company has to trust us otherwise they wouldn't engage, but that's where Escrow comes in and the problem completely solved.

 

[Joe N]

I mostly agree with you, but there is no automatic onus on us as initiators as we know we will transfer the domain. I agree that the company has to trust us otherwise they wouldn't engage, but that's where Escrow comes in and the problem completely solved.

That's true, but asking a buyer to go through the process of doing an Escrow transaction for a sale of a few hundred bucks seems like overkill to me. And honestly, if I'm the buyer then it feels a bit insulting. "What, so you reached out to sell me something and now you're saying you don't trust me to make payment?"

I'm the one sending you unsolicited emails.
I'm the one trying to sell you something.
I'm the unknown; the person/business you've never dealt with and know nothing about.
So, I will take a small risk to show good faith and get the deal done.

It's a give and take. I always start under the assumption that they will send payment first, but there have been a few times that the buyer has asked me to send the domain first, and I've done so without hesitation. I have yet to regret it.

 

[james haw]

That's true, but asking a buyer to go through the process of doing an Escrow transaction for a sale of a few hundred bucks seems like overkill to me.

Yeah it is arguably not necessary, and payment depends on the company, how well they're established, how big, etc.

But, we were talking about initiator has to earn trust, so I don't think in the context of discussion it's "overkill" - it's a perfect solution for both parties.

And honestly, if I'm the buyer then it feels a bit insulting. "What, so you reached out to sell me something and now you're saying you don't trust me to make payment?"

We already established this is for the buyers sake, you are the one who said you didn't trust me, I have to show you I am trustable, Escrow solves that instantly. Which was my point within that context

Also, if they don't want to make the deal straight forward and use some Escrow I'm not sure about trusting them. Of course it could just simply be they can't be fussed with Escrow, but they could also be swaying me away from a safety net that protects us both so they can get the domain name and disappear.
Again, depends on the business, who they are etc, but trust requirements is both ways.

I'm the one sending you unsolicited emails.
I'm the one trying to sell you something.
I'm the unknown; the person/business you've never dealt with and know nothing about.

But they replied, they're the one wanting the great domain name that is good for their business.
They're also unknown as just because you know a business you reached out to does in no way at all mean they'll pay up when the time comes. Just as they don't know you wont transfer.

Both parties are running a business and have only just met with no trust either way. You say "I know them because I emailed them" but doesn't that work both ways? You have emailed each other now, both businesses know each other. Unless you operate only from emails, which even a basic website can help with.

 

[PreciousNickia]

In cases of outbound marketing, most buyers will want the domain first before submitting payment. The internet is a wonderful invention yet a perfect place for scammers to swindle innocent people out of their money. For that reason, I can understand their apprehension. Why should they trust me? Anyone can purchase a domain, throw up a website and create a professional email. For some end users, having a reputable online track record is important --- meaning that when they search my site's name, they should be able to automatically see some form of legitimacy behind my business IMO. The same way that I can search their company's name and see Yelp reviews, Facebook pages and linkedins, they would like to see the same for me if I'm going to be calling myself a business and I think most people who send outbound emails don't have that. I could be wrong, but anywho. This is why sometimes I ask my buyers for character references (at least the ones who I got friendly with). Luckily, most end users don't think that deep but I have had one or two cases like that. Anyways, I don't want to trail on but my point is that their unwillingness to pay first is understandable and if sending them the domain first will ease their fears, then so be it. That's okay with me if it's a small sale. I'll take the L if they don't follow through but that's never happened before so... I'll just be grateful that I've only dealt with honest people so far.

Your invoice was $400, not $9, so $400 is your loss if not paid.

He loses a potential $400 sale. IMO The only thing he loses is time which could've been used to contact another prospect.