Domains for sale on eBay for $.99 - Is this a scam?

[clemdane]

Hi everyone, I am new here. I've spotted some good pronounceable 4 letter, 5 letter and 6 letter domains for sale on eBay for much less than it would even cost to register on Godaddy. Why would they sell them that low? Are they hoping by pricing it under cost it will start a bidding war? Or is there a catch that I am too naive to see? Thanks for your help.

 

[Name Trader]

That's only the starting price. If the domains are any good they will sell for more. But most domains for sale on ebay are crap.

 

[hopkism]

Buying domains on Ebay can be dangerous but also rewarding. Often I use this protocol for searching to buy domains on Ebay:

• If it is worth something why is not on Sedo or Godaddy?
• Is the auction misleading? - Advertising .com in the listing head and then revealing .info in the auction text
• Where is the seller from and what kind of feedback do they have
• Do they load the auction description up with how hot or valuable the domain is?
• Why is no one else bidding on this? Or why are so many bidding on this?

These are just some general questions. All in all there are a lot of favorable prices on Ebay either because sellers are done with domains or they are trying to unload a bulk amount. Most of them are junk but every once in a while there are some nice keywords and some favorable extensions.

$0.99 starting bids are nothing to worry about. i have always started my auctions for items that low even if they are worth several hundred dollars. If they are worth that much, people will likely find them and drive them to the appropriate price. Besides that it keeps costs low for the seller.

Best of luck with your Ebay buying.

 

[2knew]

A couple things I'd add to Hopkism's good points, if you're new to this and looking to buy from eBay:

1. Always check whois data matches what the seller is presenting as fact.

2. watch for numbers or IDN characters "camouflaged" in the middle of a name.

3. Watch expiry dates - those 99 cent domains may well be close expiry - you might get stuck renewing them where ever they are held before transferring to your registrar.

I've bought a couple "OK" names off eBay and ran into a couple scams as well. - Once being a seller that did not actually own what he was selling and the second time some jackass that refused to follow through on the sale. Both had good feedback, so take eBay feedback with a huuuuge grain of salt, imho


edit: spelling

 

[clemdane]

Thank you both so much!

Yes, I've already ruled out several shady sellers by excluding them from my search. One of them has 5 auction listings for the same domain. Another one said the domain was one thing but the IDN was another. A lot of the shadiest ones give extravagant Estibot estimates, like they're selling a $2300 domain for $5.99.

I checked a guy with 98.8% positive feedback and I looked at his negs. They all said that he sold the same domain to multiple buyers, so I excluded him.

I didn't even think to check Whois - I will do that now.

But once I've excluded all those I'm still not sure why no one else has bid on them.

Thanks again.

 

[ommedu]

I don't ever buy domains on ebay but I have had some success selling there before. When you're buying you should always make sure you check the sellers feedback make and sure their description is accurate. A lot of times sellers will say a domain has 50,000 exact monthly searches, but when you go check on google that number will be under the broad search. I have even suspected people getting friends or using other accounts to up the bidding price to make it seem as if a domain is in high demand to get more bids on it. With that all said just be careful, I wouldn't advise making any big purchases on there but see if you can snag some good names!

 

[clemdane]

Thanks, Ommedu! Yes, the tempting thing about the eBay ones is if I pay $1.00 I haven't lost much if it doesn't work out.

 

[.X.]

That's only the starting price. If the domains are any good they will sell for more. But most domains for sale on ebay are crap.

I agree, Mostly crap names, Especially these days. There used to be a decent name on there now and then, Back in the day.

 

[zoomactive.com]

Starting bids and often times the domainer is unable to move them. If they sell for $1 the odds of it being worth anything goes down the toilet unless you develop.

 

[tony5885t]

Go easy it is final-do not do e-bay

 

[clemdane]

Thanks, Tony

 

[katdan]

Is it possible to filter auction domains by page rank in paypal?

 

[Nem0]

Plenty of good names on eBay still, and buying them is totally safe and secure with the right seller

 

[GiftedDomains]

I sold a lot of Domains on ebay. No problems at all.
Also bought a couple on ebay. Again, no problems.
If you know what you are doing, ebay can be a good alternative to Sedo.
Minimum Sedo price is 60. So a lot of lower priced domains can't be bought there.
Ebay rating (one or two negatives from 100 or more is ok, sometimes you get negative from crazy buyers and can't do anything about it).

Forget those who include crazy high appraisals from shady sources. Estibot is ok to check the domain data.

 

[GiftedDomains]

Example of Shill bidding. Crappy .co domain with 6 bids ,price over 30.000$-. If you look at the bids, all bids from new members with 0 feedback

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LoanCentral...885891215?pt=Domain_Names&hash=item1c255c508f

 

[johname]

Example of Shill bidding. Crappy .co domain with 6 bids ,price over 30.000$-. If you look at the bids, all bids from new members with 0 feedback

Agreed, but what do they get out of it shill bidding it so high even a "pigeon" wont bid on it.

Sell it on a forum saying "it sold on ebay for 30k" maybe lol

 

[-Adam-]

I sell on eBay often because many times I have more names and ideas than I do the time to properly invest in them. Choosing the right seller however is paramount in not getting ripped off.

 

[Nem0]

I sell on eBay often because many times I have more names and ideas than I do the time to properly invest in them. Choosing the right seller however is paramount in not getting ripped off.

Is that Eddie under your avatar smiley?

 

[GiftedDomains]

Is that Eddie under your avatar smiley?

Some cool LLLL.coms on ebay you have

 

[eurorealtor]

I usually check 3 letters domain on ebay browser, but the only I can see, is about 50 crappy 4 to 100 letters domains posted 100 times... Anyway as someone already mentioned here, 99c domains are mostly expiring and the seller doesn't want to spend buck for renewing, because mostly the names doesn't worth to renew IMO.