How to maximize your profit on a sure fire sale...

[Vito]

Big ticket domain... $xx,xxx

Taxes are a huge hit already but what about sales fees? How do we get the most profit from a sure fire sale? What is the Cheapest way to sell a domain other than flying someone in, to have cash placed in hand (wouldnt that be nice) - lol.

Sedo = 10-20%

GoDaddy = 10%

Afternic - not sure.

Broker, usually 10% and up.

Not sure about escrow.com either.

another route...

lets say buyer is ok with not proceeding with the purhase thru an auction/escrow houuse...

PayPal fees = ?

Or any other suggestions out there?


Thx,
V

 

[iowadawg]

Never use paypal or other online payment service like alertpay for high ticket items.

There is the option of wiring you the money, buyer has to pay those fees.
Should be no fees on your end.

Direct deposit to your bank account.
Again, should be no fees on your end.

Certified check. No fees to you.

 

[Vito]

Never use paypal or other online payment service like alertpay for high ticket items.

There is the option of wiring you the money, buyer has to pay those fees.
Should be no fees on your end.

Direct deposit to your bank account.
Again, should be no fees on your end.

Certified check. No fees to you.

I dont like the Cashiers Check idea, Not sure if a check that large thru the Mail would be a great idea...plus it would take too long.

As for the wiring of the money, not sure where it would be wired to...Western Union?

I think the best, quickest, and safest option out of those 3 choices would be to have them Direct Deposit it into a bank account.

Yeah, you're right about the fees, should def be on them. I always pay the fees when I purchase domains so, makes sense.

Thx Dawg.

 

[DU]

Cashiers Check idea

Biggest fraud ever. Do you know what a valid cashiers check looks like? Banks don't either.

The bank credits the seller’s account before the funds have actually arrived from the paying bank. Therefore, it looks like the funds have cleared.

Four weeks later? Guess what....

Afternic/Escrow publish their rates quite visibly. You should put them here. Huge difference at Afternic if the name was NEVER listed at the Afternic.

 

[Vito]

I did have an Afternic account but dont believe I ever added my domains there. I have to chek on that.

I wonder if I added a domain to Afternic today, then sold it on Monday...

I will have to read up more on them, and actually use them since I am becoming less and less of a Sedo fan lately.

 

[mhdoc]

The buyer can wire directly into your bank account. You provide them with your account number and the bank routing code. They go to their bank and tell them to send the Money. Worked like a charm a few weeks ago when a guy in Switzerland sent money to me here in the USA. No fees to me. He emailed a copy of the confirmation in the afternoon (my time) and the money was available in my account the next morning.

And spent by that afternoon

 

[Vito]

The buyer can wire directly into your bank account. You provide them with your account number and the bank routing code. They go to their bank and tell them to send the Money. Worked like a charm a few weeks ago when a guy in Switzerland sent money to me here in the USA. No fees to me. He emailed a copy of the confirmation in the afternoon (my time) and the money was available in my account the next morning.

And spent by that afternoon

Thx alot Doc. I was thinking the same thing, but I just had a phone onversation w/a friend who has sold tons of big dollar domains, and he said absolutely not...to the bank account idea.

I did check escrow.com and I cannot believe how incredibly dirt cheap their service is. They BLOW away Sedo with Sedo's assinine 10-20% fees.

Just checked the info on their HomePage and used their "Fee Calculator"

At Escrow.com
A $10k sale w/them is only $175 service fee.
A $50k sale w/them is only $445 service fee.

That seems very well worth the small fee for the feeling of security for both buyer and seller.

Just for my own curiosity's sake...
Does anyone know of any reasons to NOT use Escrow.com that I may not be aware of???

 

[DU]

Just for my own curiosity's sake...
Does anyone know of any reasons to NOT use Escrow.com that I may not be aware of???

It's not a real escrow service. They hold the money but they don't hold the domain. They verify a change in whois. I don't know how unlikely/likely that is to cause a problem but if a company claims escrow they should escrow: that is hold the domain AND the money so there is never any question of transfer.

They don't payout to paypal..

 

[Vito]

Thx John.

I cant see Afternic being any cheaper then that!

Does anyone else know of anything that could potentially be bad with using Escrow.com?

IMHO, It sounds perfect so far but wtf do I know?

 

[garptrader]

With Escrow, the domain needs to change hands. What happens if the buyer buys privacy registration right after the domain is transferred into their account but while the transaction review period is still open. I had this happen on a recent sale and was thinking oh no. They have the domain but I cannot prove it because the Whois now shows privacy registration. I still received the funds but wonder if a buyer with fraudulent intentions could attempt to use privacy registration as a means to claim the domain was not transferred.

 

[Vito]

With Escrow, the domain needs to change hands. What happens if the buyer buys privacy registration right after the domain is transferred into their account but while the transaction review period is still open. I had this happen on a recent sale and was thinking oh no. They have the domain but I cannot prove it because the Whois now shows privacy registration. I still received the funds but wonder if a buyer with fraudulent intentions could attempt to use privacy registration as a means to claim the domain was not transferred.

Holy Crap - that could be a Terrible Nightmare!
If that is a remote possibility I would never even think of using them.

Thx for the warning/concern Garp.

Can anyone out there respond to that concern?
or share any others???

 

[mhdoc]

Thx alot Doc. I was thinking the same thing, but I just had a phone onversation w/a friend who has sold tons of big dollar domains, and he said absolutely not...to the bank account idea.

Did he give you any specifics as to why he thought that. I can see why the buyer might worry some, but not the seller. Is there some way to claim fraud and reverse the transfer?

 

[Vito]

Did he give you any specifics as to why he thought that. I can see why the buyer might worry some, but not the seller. Is there some way to claim fraud and reverse the transfer?

No.
I did try to pin him down on specifics but one point that he reiterated a couple of times was fraud/scams are way too easy with depositing money straight into ones personal bank account.

Im very happy for you that all went well with your sale though.

 

[DU]

I still received the funds but wonder if a buyer with fraudulent intentions could attempt to use privacy registration as a means to claim the domain was not transferred.

You could just change the email but leave the name and everything else intact - this would leave things in a questionable state for buyer AND seller. In fact the seller could change everything.

How would escrow.com know if the seller did transfer it and changed incompletely or if the buyer didn't transfer it and changed the whois?

It's totally unsafe for buyer in my opinion.

As expensive as Sedo is (it's cheaper if the name is NOT at Sedo at 3%) for most registrars they DO actually take an internal registrar transfer and escrow the domain and hold the money. Seems a better solution to me... but what do I know?

As a BUYER I know which I would prefer.

 

[alien51]

They have the domain but I cannot prove it because the Whois now shows privacy registration. I still received the funds but wonder if a buyer with fraudulent intentions could attempt to use privacy registration as a means to claim the domain was not transferred.

With Sedo, you don't need to worry about this. Once you have released your domain, it's now between the buyer and Sedo. The buyer can't run away from Sedo with your domain, they can reverse the process and not return the money to the buyer if it's a fraud attempt. Sedo's wide industry relationship with registrars will ensure that transactions will always remain legal.

 

[Vito]

As expensive as Sedo is (it's cheaper if the name is NOT at Sedo at 3%)

Im lost...Sedo-3% ??? They are not that low. I believe 10% is the lowest possible percentage they charge

With Sedo, you don't need to worry about this. Once you have released your domain, it's now between the buyer and Sedo. The buyer can't run away from Sedo with your domain, they can reverse the process and not return the money to the buyer if it's a fraud attempt. Sedo's wide industry relationship with registrars will ensure that transactions will always remain legal.

Yeah, hence the higher fees.
I guess you get what you pay for.

I have had a lot of experience with Sedo. Now I just have to researh Afternic to be a little more well-rounded.

And I still want to get in touch w/Escrow.com and bring up Garps concern. I am very interested in their reply to that potential scenario.

 

[DU]

Im lost...Sedo-3% ??? They are not that low. I believe 10% is the lowest possible percentage they charge

http://www.sedo.com/us/services/domain-escrow/

This is for EXTERNAL sales - i.e. the name is not for sale at Sedo.

 

[Vito]

http://www.sedo.com/us/services/domain-escrow/

This is for EXTERNAL sales - i.e. the name is not for sale at Sedo.

Nice link. Thx. Never seen that feature before.
Always just parked it there previous to sale. Ya learn something new every day.

So Sedos 3% of $10k is $300. Thats not too much different than Escrows $175. fee for a $10k sale especially for the added Security.

I still like learning about all the different options we have as sellers and the risks and Pros and Cons of any of those options.

 

[cache]

1. if the buyer trust you and can go first, ask him to wire transfer to you first.
2. if the buyer does not trust you, then use escrow.com

For xx,xxx sale, the above should be OK. However neither of the above is bullet proof though they are good compromise and common practice. The rare but possible problems:
1. with many banks allowing on-line wire transfer for xx,xxx amount, the criminal could get hold of a bank user name and password of someone and transfer money to you. When the real customer realized that and tries to reverse this transaction, then that is the risk for the buyer.
2. escrow.com has its own problems as discussed from other posts and other threads.

 

[Name Trader]

There have been a few tales of being scammed using Escrow.com. I's suggest googling "escrow.com scams" or similar. Moniker would be a better choice because they get both the domain and the money before they disperse funds.