discuss Have you ever been scammed by a domain broker?

[mr.mu]

For example:

A broker comes to inquire about one of your domain names and closes the deal for $5,000 (and takes your 20% commission)
In reality, the buyer paid $10,000 for the domain
You end up netting $4,000 and the broker gets a $5,000 difference and a $1,000 commission.

Several friends around me have personally experienced this kind of thing. After the transaction was completed,
They found the contact information of the buyer, contacted the buyer and learned the amount the buyer finally paid for the domain name, and found that they were scammed by the broker.

This may be the rule of the game in the domain name industry.

May I ask if you have encountered or heard of similar things, welcome to discuss.

 

[oberheimer]

Some might even list your name for sale without your permission and send out sales newsletters before they make an offer on your name.

 

[oberheimer]

You used to be able to settle deal with a handshake and that was it. Now that's the least thing you need to worry about. Some broker just contacted me. She only has her name in the email. No information about the brokers in the webpage. Only 3 deals they have supposedly done. I can verify 2 of them. According to ** journal. Why are the brokers hiding?
It says butique broker, like a small personal broker I guess. But there is nothing personal if they hide.

 

[equity78]

My company insists on "principals only" to avoid this potential situation (and for other reasons).

You can see what transpired in the VPN.com / Dikian (ongoing) lawsuit, see:

https://onlinedomain.com/2022/07/28...s-26-million-lawsuit-against-domain-investor/

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63559525/vpncom-llc-v-george-dikian/

https://www.namepros.com/threads/vpn-com-llc-has-filed-a-multimillion-lawsuit.1279551/

for a public example of the inherent problems of "dual agency". See the response in the lawsuit:

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.855964/gov.uscourts.cacd.855964.33.0.pdf

which mentions it.

Why is dual agency illegal in some states?


This is known as dual agency, when one real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller in a house sale. In some states, this isn't allowed because a real estate agent can't effectively represent the best interests of both sides of a real estate sale.


https://www.quickenloans.com/learn/dual-agency-is-illegal-in-some-states

Dual agency is illegal in the following eight states: Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont, Colorado, Flroida, Maryland, Texas, and Kansas. All the other states and the District of Columbia, permit dual agency. Even so, dual agency is not dominant in these states.

Of course this pertains to Real Estate which is much more highly regulated.

 

[equity78]

Now a place like Heritage Auctions gets paid both by the buyer and seller. The buyer pays a buyers premium and the seller a commission.

 

[DomainRecap]

In my opinion, this is not a scam

It is certainly a scam on the seller as the "broker" is not fully disclosing the actual purchase price.