debate Ethical Domain Selling?

[DNWon]

I recently came across a person selling domains for 3 times their hand reg value on an auction site that were still available to hand register. Do you feel this is an acceptable and ethical business practice?

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I recently came across a person selling domains for 3 times their hand reg value on an auction site that were still available to hand register. Do you feel this is an acceptable and ethical business practice?

No. I'm surprised the auction site even allows this.
I was also very puzzled by some of the domain listings I saw on a major auction site, where sellers were trying to sell a domain name that "might" become available. The implication was that they didn't even own it, but were perhaps trying increase the amount of money they could get by frontrunning a backordering of the domain. It wasn't clear. Even if one could say that it wasn't unethical, it doesn't seem like a good business practice.
What if you were trying to sell the domains that you actually owned on that site, but had a large number of listings of the "frontrunning" variety that pretty much made your listing far more difficult to be seen?
One would hope that the folks doing such listings would voluntarily simply stop doing it, regardless of the ethical stance.

 

[Surya Giri Kurniawan]

That type of listing problem is, might be the seller will fail to deliver the domain when someone purchased it. The more failure auctions common will make the end user confuse to buy at that marketplace. And it will make bad situation to all domainers selling there too..

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

That type of listing problem is, might be the seller will fail to deliver the domain when someone purchased it. The more failure auctions common will make the end user confuse to buy at that marketplace. And it will make bad situation to all domainers selling there too..

Do you wonder how many more actual sellers, that have actually registered their domains, would be successful if such listings were prohibited? And, if those frontrunning sellers, trying to pawn off unregistered domains, were permanently banned from the auction site?

 

[Surya Giri Kurniawan]

Do you wonder how many more actual sellers, that have actually registered their domains, would be successful if such listings were prohibited? And, if those frontrunning sellers, trying to pawn off unregistered domains, were permanently banned from the auction site?

I don't know the numbers. But just 3 failed auction is enough to create a buzz that the auction site has a problem..

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I don't know the numbers. But just 3 failed auction is enough to create a buzz that the auction site has a problem..

Is there any domain verifcation system on the site? One wonders if that is the underlying problem.

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Sounds like ebay to me, how would they verify every listing anyways if i am wrong, or even if I am right

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Sounds like ebay to me, how would they verify every listing anyways if i am wrong, or even if I am right

From what the original poster indicated, perhaps they could start by checking the registry first? Simple screen for selling domains that aren't owned?

And note, I'm not sure if the original post was referring to that particular auction site. For myself, yes, I did see the peculiarities of the listings on Ebay, and really was puzzled why some of them were allowed. It was self-explanatory in various listings that the person didn't actually own them, but were effectively trying to sell a backorder.

If 22 million listings are cited on Afternic and Namecheap, for example, how many more exponentially could we add to the marketplaces if multiple independent sellers start selling backorders or do domain front running on all of these?

Is this really helpful for the domain marketplaces? The domain name actual current owners? For the actual owners, perhaps they need to start selling backorders, so they can get the sale....