Forum Sales

[MDA]

I'm new to the forum and forum sales are a bit of a mystery right now.

I've read the annoucements by the admins regarding them, but there are still a few things which I haven's fully understood.

For one it seems that Paypal is the prefered method of payment. I'm from a Paypal send only country and haven't so far used Paypal, but I understand that payment is instant and can see how that would be a big plus.

However how does that protect the buyer? What's to stop the seller from simply retaining the domain for himself?

Or is Paypal without the use of an escrow service only used for small value transactions?

Also I'd like to know starting from what sum is the use of a specialized escrow service such as Moniker recomended?

About NP$ I understand they are supposed to be an alternative to escrow for small value forum sales? But I noticed that a lot of members dislike dealing in NP$. Why is that and what are the pros and cons of using them? Also what percentage of the members would you say would accept being paid in NP$?

I hope I haven't asked too many questions at once... Please feel free to answer any of them.

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

I can't answer your questions about selling in a forum as I'm a newb too, but I can tell you that PayPal has protections in place for the buyer (more than for the seller). A buyer can always file a dispute, and it would be pretty easy to see that someone selling a domain did not do the transfer. So paypal would refund the buyer the money in most cases.

I'm not the biggest paypal fan for several reasons, but most people do prefer to use them for online sales transactions for the above mentioned reason.

 

[MDA]

OK.

Thanks for setting me straight about Paypal DomainMayhem. As I said I've never used it.

Do you have any opinion on what sum would be a good threshold over which to use a specialized domain sales venue?

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

Hmm, well I have a few ideas, but since I'm very new to this myself, I would hate to point you in the wrong direction. Just hang on for a bit, and I'm sure some pros will be along to help you out. I do know that alot of people use a variety of venues to sell their names, and don't stick to just one or two. Of course the more places you try, the more success you'll most likely have.

 

[midnight251]

MDA, there are many places to post your names for sale, Sedo, Afternic, Moniker, forums, etc. Post them anywhere you can to get the exposure. As far as value for Paypal, everyone is different. For high dollar values, I would definitely us an escrow service. for smaller dollar amounts (500 and under) I use paypal (unless I really know the person).

 

[Mark]

IMO : Paypal is mainly used for smaller transactions - And as far as Domains (Non-Tangible Items) go , There is little protection really. I personally use it alot , but I look at each Buyer's Trader ratings and past here (As well as other forums and Business sites). If the buyer is not a member of any sites or listed in a Business Bureau - I ask for personal details about them .... If they can't prove who they are to me - I move on.

If it's someone I already know or have dealt with - I'll accept Thousands of dollars through paypal ... otherwise I try to place a 250 to 500$ limit on what I'll accept through paypal.

For Higher amounts of money - Many use and suggest Escrow.com


I base sellers pretty much the same way - Reputation.



There is risk in most any Business Industry though when it comes to accepting payment. Even cash only Businesses take a risk of receiving counterfeit funds ..... You will never get away from Risk

 

[Spade]

Mark brings up a valid point. With paypal, there is no protection. Which is why most experience domainers will accept paypal or use paypal for smaller transactions, but guage their "risk" based on the other persons reputation.

For example, I wont buy domains from Mark... hes just not trustworthy... (jk!)

For example, see that Green Bar below MArks name? Thats his reputation score. It means hes been around the block and is very respected by Forum members. Not to mention hes "Management".

Anything over $500 and I dont know the buyer - Escrow.com is my preffered method. Its simple, safe, and although its not instant (3-7 days) Ive found that escrow provides piece of mind...

Justin

 

[Mark]

Exactly Justin

 

[MDA]

That has been very helpful guys. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

So PayPal will not help with a "digital" sale if the buyer gets screwed? That doesn't really surprise me too much. Thanks for the heads up on escrow.com, I will keep that in mind.