So I received an email offering to buy one of my .net for $xxxx. This was, in my opinion, a domain that was worth a high $xxx at most. So I knew something was wrong but I played along and said 'yea sure, I'm interested to sell'.
Lo and behold, they replied:
"My client offers a sum in $10,000 - $30,000 range. The exact figure will depend on the appraisal results (see below).
Before we go further we need only one thing from you:
My client is a professional investor and he buys certified domains only.
If your domain has been certified, please email me the certificate and we will proceed with the sale. If you don’t have a certificate it’s not a problem. I may send you a link where you can obtain it. Please don’t worry. It takes 1-2 minutes to order it. The results will be sent to you within 24 hours. Then you send me the certificate via email and we’ll proceed with the sale
The certification includes the following:
1. Independent valuation of the market price. It will show your domain name is not overpriced. On the other hand if the valuation comes higher we will increase the price accordingly.
2. Trademark infringement verification. It proves your domain has no trademark problems.
3. Verification of the owner. It proves you are a legitimate owner and your domain has no any obligations and restrictions. I’m sure that you are a legitimate owner so it will be only a formality.
As a broker I’m very interested in a good valuation part of this certificate because my client pays me a commission (10-15% of the sale price) on every domain purchase. So I’m not interested in a low price too.
You can read about the certificate agency at http://answers.google-answers.net/archive/threadview192705.htm (“Domain Broker” is my nickname).
The process is very easy:
1. Go to the certificate agency site and order a certificate. Just submit your domains and let them know you have a buyer with $X,XXX offer and need a valuation near this value. After several hours you will get the results. If the price in your certificate comes higher we will increase our offer accordingly.
2. Then send these results via email and we’ll proceed with the deal.
If you are new to the certification process I can help you with the step by step instructions."
Guess what? In that fake link that is created to look like Google, they have a link to said website which offers *gasp* certification!
Reporting this to Google for obviously masquerading that site as Google's. Everyone else...beware!!
Lo and behold, they replied:
"My client offers a sum in $10,000 - $30,000 range. The exact figure will depend on the appraisal results (see below).
Before we go further we need only one thing from you:
My client is a professional investor and he buys certified domains only.
If your domain has been certified, please email me the certificate and we will proceed with the sale. If you don’t have a certificate it’s not a problem. I may send you a link where you can obtain it. Please don’t worry. It takes 1-2 minutes to order it. The results will be sent to you within 24 hours. Then you send me the certificate via email and we’ll proceed with the sale
The certification includes the following:
1. Independent valuation of the market price. It will show your domain name is not overpriced. On the other hand if the valuation comes higher we will increase the price accordingly.
2. Trademark infringement verification. It proves your domain has no trademark problems.
3. Verification of the owner. It proves you are a legitimate owner and your domain has no any obligations and restrictions. I’m sure that you are a legitimate owner so it will be only a formality.
As a broker I’m very interested in a good valuation part of this certificate because my client pays me a commission (10-15% of the sale price) on every domain purchase. So I’m not interested in a low price too.
You can read about the certificate agency at http://answers.google-answers.net/archive/threadview192705.htm (“Domain Broker” is my nickname).
The process is very easy:
1. Go to the certificate agency site and order a certificate. Just submit your domains and let them know you have a buyer with $X,XXX offer and need a valuation near this value. After several hours you will get the results. If the price in your certificate comes higher we will increase our offer accordingly.
2. Then send these results via email and we’ll proceed with the deal.
If you are new to the certification process I can help you with the step by step instructions."
Guess what? In that fake link that is created to look like Google, they have a link to said website which offers *gasp* certification!
Reporting this to Google for obviously masquerading that site as Google's. Everyone else...beware!!
..
