Careful with TDNAM auctions

[estibot.com]

Hi All,

Of late, there have been many occasions on TDNAM auctions where the "seller" is not the owner of the domain they are supposedly selling.

I noticed a nice name, ghostrider.com selling for a very low asking price, so I (like an idiot) I made the bid and "won" the domain. Next I get an email from TDNAM telling me to send my personal data to the seller so the transaction could proceed.

I was an idiot because I bid and paid before doing any research. One of those momentary lapses of reason. I was bidding on several active auctions simultaneously so my focus was off. I wasn't aware that ghost rider is in fact a marvel comics character, I learned that post festum when I did a google search, and then a whois search, which revealed that the domain is in the possession of Marvel, Inc.

OK so obviously this was not right, so I emailed TDNAM and suggested they look into this. Much to their credit they responded within 24h and confirmed my suspicions. The deal is off and they said they'll look into refunding my payment.

I was obviously careless so my bad, but I wanted to post this for the benefit of those who may be inexperienced and are thinking of dabbling with TDNAM auctions so they could learn from my mistake instead of having to learn from their own.

So: Do a google search, and a whois search before you buy, and don't send your personal info to the seller before you know it's a straight deal. They may just be phishing for your personal and account information.

TDNAM does not verify ownership of the domains that are being auctioned. Neither does SEDO but at least they handle the communication and escrow anonymously so it's safer for you.

Josh

 

[The Stealthy One]

Hey, thanks for sharing. To be honest, a scenario like that had never occurred to me as being possible (Ok, so I can be naive at times!).

 

[Spade]

The problem is, its nearly impossible to verify the person who is listing it for sale as a person who has the authority to do so. Often times domains will be sold, but are still listed for sale with original buyer at sites like Sedo and Afternic. I think the next generation of Domain Auction Houses should find a way to resolve this issue, perhaps by confirming domain registrant emails.

 

[accent]

The next generation of auctions (please come soon) will take possession of the domain, verify there are no major trademark issues or other problems, prevent shill bidding and sniping, and on and on. There is a nice niche there, it is a needed service.

BTW, SEDO does verify ownership when the domain is first listed - I have gotten several emails due to slow DNS. SEDO does not verify again after the name is listed, and that causes problems.

 

[cache]

right, I got similar email from sedo verifying owership.

The next generation of auctions (please come soon) will take possession of the domain, verify there are no major trademark issues or other problems, prevent shill bidding and sniping, and on and on. There is a nice niche there, it is a needed service.

BTW, SEDO does verify ownership when the domain is first listed - I have gotten several emails due to slow DNS. SEDO does not verify again after the name is listed, and that causes problems.

 

[estibot.com]

SEDO doesn't so much verify ownership as just verifies that the nameservers are set to SEDO. If they're not - then they verify by other means. There are thousands of domains listed on SEDO not by the owner because they only check once. If the domain changes hands, they don't verify again, as Accentnepal said.

GreatDomains verifies ownership by sending an email to the whois email address.

Josh

 

[cache]

recently if you try to add names, they really compare the whois info with you
sedo account info.

SEDO doesn't so much verify ownership as just verifies that the nameservers are set to SEDO. If they're not - then they verify by other means. There are thousands of domains listed on SEDO not by the owner because they only check once. If the domain changes hands, they don't verify again, as Accentnepal said.

GreatDomains verifies ownership by sending an email to the whois email address.

Josh

 

[YesBrilliant]

recently if you try to add names, they really compare the whois info with you
sedo account info.

Yes, happened to me as well.

It is not only eBay...

 

[bobdigital]

I snagged a sweetie the other day and was told the owner renewed it and now I don't get it

 

[cache]

at "my account", you should see the date that you can acquire it, if the
current owner renew it before that date, then he still can renew it.

I snagged a sweetie the other day and was told the owner renewed it and now I don't get it

 

[shockie]

The problem is, its nearly impossible to verify the person who is listing it for sale as a person who has the authority to do so.

can't tdnam/sedo provide a code that the supposed owner has to put on his/her website? i believe that google/yahoo and other websites use this little trick too to verify that the person actually owns the domain.

 

[creekway]

Check out this auction for a name that is not even registered:

the domain is a typo - "domainame4sale.com"
https://www.tdnam.com/trpItemListing.aspx?miid=1702836&

 

[tfking]

I thought you had to have the domain registered with GoDaddy before using TDNAM. I only list my GD domains there, and if I misspell the domain, the system tells me I don't own it. I would have thought that Sedo would be much more prone to fraud since they only verify the domain once when you list it, and you could sell it well before any offers come in.

I have also had the situation where someone bought a domain from me, but never registered it or accepted the transfer. This domain stayed in the TDNAM system until someone else tried to buy it and I recognized the problem. I had to track down the original buyer and get him to accept the transfer.

I have had more problems at Sedo where the buyer simply doesn't pay than with TDNAM.