How does Escrow.com work?

[Jingles]

I'm just about to make my biggest sale to date (woohoo!) and I'm going to be using Escrow.com for the sale, but I've never used it before. How does the process work? Do I take the first step or does the buyer?

 

[-REECE-]

Either can take the first step. Basically what you do is:

1) Start the escrow transaction. This involves logging into your Escrow.com account, indicating that you want to start a new transaction and then following the instructions carefully laid out on the screen. You enter a name for the transaction and then enter the domain names which will be included in the transaction, along with their associated price. You will have to enter the email of the other party and choose how you'd like to be paid. You'll have to wait for the other party to take action before going further.

2) The other party has now received an email from Escrow.com indicating that a new transaction has been started. They will have to log into their escrow.com account or create one at this time. Once logged into their account, they'll need to review the transaction and agree to the terms of the transaction (the price, who's paying the escrow fee, any other terms you've agreed to impose). Once agreed to, the buyer will be prompted to pay for the purchase. This is generally done by credit card, Paypal, (requires both buyers to be from USA), or wire transfer. In the event the buyer wishes to send a check, the process will take approximately 2 additional weeks (10 business days). Once payment is sent to escrow and confirmed good funds, it's time for step 3.

3) Upon Escrow.com's confirmed receipt of payment, it's now time for the seller to push the domain (or domain names) to the buyer. Once this is completed, log into your Escrow.com account and confirm that you have done this. They'll ask you to enter the name of one of your domains that was involved in the transation and the registrar it's now with.

4) Once you've pushed the domain and finished Step 3, ask the buyer to log into his Escrow.com account and confirm that he's received the domain. Once the buyer has confirmed that he's received the domain, Escrow.com will review the transaction (usually takes 1 business day) and send payment out to you as per the method you chose when originally starting the Escrow transaction.

I'm just about to make my biggest sale to date (woohoo!) and I'm going to be using Escrow.com for the sale, but I've never used it before. How does the process work? Do I take the first step or does the buyer?

 

[DotWeekly]

Use EscrowDNS.com and not Escrow.com imo.

The major flaw with Escrow.com is they DO NOT handle the domain at all. They just "verify" the domain has been transfered and with whois being so easy to change, that can cause a big headache.

 

[-REECE-]

It's still quite safe, but yes, there are safer alternatives. I've done 100k+ through Escrow.com this year without problems and most people still don't know about EscrowDNS or might not be comfortable using it.

Use EscrowDNS.com and not Escrow.com imo.

The major flaw with Escrow.com is they DO NOT handle the domain at all. They just "verify" the domain has been transfered and with whois being so easy to change, that can cause a big headache.

 

[Jingles]

Thanks, Reece..you explained the whole process perfectly, +rep given. I actually am one of those people who didn't know about EscrowDNS before, but it's something I will keep in mind for future transactions. I feel fairly safe with this buyer because he has made 2 other much higher purchases with users of this forum recently.

Once everything is cleared and payment has been received I'll give the GOOD details (domain name and price)

 

[DotWeekly]

It's still quite safe, but yes, there are safer alternatives. I've done 100k+ through Escrow.com this year without problems and most people still don't know about EscrowDNS or might not be comfortable using it.

I agree.

Justin Godfrey is a domainer and EscrowDNS.com ONLY does domain escrow transactions. Speed and Security are two major factors for me and that's what I like about EscrowDNS.

I do think Escrow.com is safe, but there are things that "could" really draw out the process since they do not handle any part of the domain transfer.

 

[Malaysia]

Sorry to sway away from the topic title but its of relevant.

is escrowdns.com safer or better than moniker escrow?
among all escrow
escrow.com
escrowdns.com
moniker escrow
sedo escrow..

which do u all think is the safer or best to use?

 

[-REECE-]

Hi Joey,

Sedo/Moniker/EscrowDNS are all true escrow services. Sedo/Moniker aren't exactly well known for their speed. EscrowDNS is new and while I haven't tried it yet, I've only heard good things.


The major risk with Escrow.com is that someone could change the whois and pretend they didn't receive the domain. Your registrar can fix that for you, however it can be troublesome. That's the only scam I'm aware of which plagues Escrow.com and not the others.

None of the escrow services cover stolen domains unfortunately and I'd be willing to bet a large majority of the scammers trying to defraud sellers by changing the whois during escrow transactions are the same kind of people who'd hack someone's domain account or buy a domain with a stolen credit card and try to resell it on to someone else, in which case you're likely in the same boat (the screwed boat) regardless of which you use.

To a certain extent, the incompetence of many of Sedo's transfer agents might actually be beneficial -- if the transfer takes 2 weeks to happen, that gives you 2 weeks to find out if your domain was fraudulently obtained or not.

Sorry to sway away from the topic title but its of relevant.

is escrowdns.com safer or better than moniker escrow?
among all escrow
escrow.com
escrowdns.com
moniker escrow
sedo escrow..

which do u all think is the safer or best to use?

 

[Jasonn]

Can the buyer pay with euros with escrow.com?

 

[-REECE-]

All transactions are in US dollars, however if you have a European credit card, it should be able to convert to USD the amount owed (will likely incur a 2-3% fee and then the day's current exchange rate).

Your bank can send a USD wire transfer if that's easier. I live in Canada myself and have been doing enough business with Escrow lately that I found it beneficial to get a US dollar bank account setup just to send/receive their payments.

Can the buyer pay with euros with escrow.com?