I lost $5805usd through PayPal scam by Shane Bellone

[12no3]

Many of my friend suggested me to post this on namepros so others will less likely to be scamed by shane.

So on 2016-09-26 and 2016-09-27 he bought 374 cvcv.in names and 471 cvcv.in names all together 845 .in names together. (these are random cvcv.in)
together he paid me on paypal 5805 usd.

I pushed the domain to him, then everything is fine. the deal was made through whatsapp chat.
deal closed.
then I saw him selling them on .in markect group, flipped some for higher price.

until 27the decenmber when i log in to my paypal to make another purchase, i see paypal refunded 5805 back to him, then i look up my email, i saw paypal disput which i completed missed.
buyer claim reason: NOT AS DESCRIBED! (this is after he sold and transfer out some of those)

I did not know paypal had this 3 months rules where buyer can claim the money back, and becuase i do not log on paypal so often and get xxx amount of emails every days, so i missed the window that i could have argued with paypal. but well lesson learned.

Some infomation of shane so other can avoid being scamed by him
http://this_username_was_banned.com/
http://www.domainsherpa.com/shane-bellone-itmagazine-interview/
http://tldinvestors.com/2016/05/shane-bellone-saying-goodbye-to-domaining.html
http://omarandwill.com/interview-with-the-expert-volume-2-featuring-shane-bellone/
https://www.facebook.com/app_scoped_user_id/10154332611129273
https://www.linkedin.com/in/this_username_was_banned
https://twitter.com/this_username_was_banned


good news is after I provided all the evidence to the registrar, the registrar moved the remaining (ones he did not sold or transfer out) to my account, so at least i got something back.

Becuareful when using paypal,and becuareful when you trade any domain that was processed by shane.

During the process of getting the unsold domains by shane, I had great help from .in whatsapp group, so special thx who provide information and also special thx to shiva , kemji, alexa and indy who tried to contact shane for me, but he went dark, not picking his cell phone, does not respond back on whatsapp nor linkedin.

 

[aceeca]

@domainpundit thanks for posting the timelines and facts from .in WhatsApp group.

I've known and chatted to Shane many times over WhatsApp and sometimes here on NP too. I was very surprised to hear the accusations against him when it first surfaced. Like others in the group, I asked the OP to have patience and wait a few days for Shane to respond.

I also know the OP from the domaining scene and know him to be a reputable domainer. Whether you believe he is a millionaire or not is irrelevant. As someone has mentioned, not everyone who domains is a member here or shouts out about their dealings. But again, all that is irrelevant.

The fact is, the two of them made a deal for 900 domains. Shane was the buyer and as outlined in the attached PDF (post above), he was very happy with the deal and shared it with a group of over 200 people. He contacted several people over the next few weeks trying to sell some of the domains for a profit. Myself included. I have messages here on NP as well on WhatsApp along with the PDF or TXT file he sent across.

This file also contains the 42 domains which he later sold to other members (who I also know and if they wish they can come forward and verify this - although not really necessary). So this proves that he bought these domains as part of that deal and also shows that they were sold on.

I am also aware that about two months after buying the domains, Shane was having issues with transferring domains out of West.xyz - but it's not impossible... it's just a pain since the site has very poor flows, bad English and poor user experience. I can relate to this since I've also used the registrar. However, the support staff were extremely helpful and it took 2-3 days to begin a transfer-out process for my .in domains from there.

That said, what I find odd is that despite doing the deal via WhatsApp and being very active there, Shane didn't manage to raise the issue with the seller directly. Furthermore, we have several Chinese-speaking investors in the group as well as people who have used West.xyz in general and Shane could've asked openly for help.

Another point is that he bought the domains at that registrar and there is nothing to say that it's the sellers responsibility to inform anyone of the simplicity or complexity of transferring domains out. The transfer-out process being complex does not render the domains useless. He could use them (change setup, nameservers etc.), he could sell them and push them at that registrar etc. So using that excuse in the PayPal claim indicates negative intentions imo.

My assumptions (not facts) are that he bought the names to do a quick-flip. He started sharing the names out trying to sell the them within a day or two of buying them. His pricing was quite high to start with but eventually started reducing to try and get a sale. He sold only a few (42) and realised it'll take too long to shift the rest and renewals were fast approaching. Maybe he panicked, maybe he needed funds quickly... whatever the reason, he claimed a refund (wrongly imo based on the facts).

He was active several times a day, having general conversations in the WhatsApp group about all sorts of things - then just as this happens to goes completely silent. If he is innocent then he could've stuck around and discussed this or tried to resolve it. To me it appears as though he had no itentions of doing that so went off-the-radar.

Now, trying not to judge here - but it's hard not to. For the 200+ people involved in these groups, it likely points to the same thing for us after witness these events. It's really sad, because I thought Shane is one of the good guys (despite his abruptness sometimes). Especially after the Adam Dicker thing he exposed... it seems absolutely crazy that he would be the one involved in something like this.

This pretty much sums up my sentiments about the issue too. If there was an issue about names NOT being able to be transferred out, the buyer had several ways to remedy the issues, using chargeback on PayPal should have been the last resort, not the first.

 

[domainpundit]

SHANE YOU ARE AT FAULT. Be a good man and apologise..we all do mistakes, no one is perfect.

I have an extra piece of evidence to prove you are at fault , its the PDF document you have submitted to me for requesting my review on your purchase and the 42 names in question by the seller are clearly in your PDF list and the fact is they are transferred out from west.xyz. Its proven those names are not defective.

I am really shocked to realise this and still cant digest you are involved in this one. I still hope you made a genuine mistake (however you are not accepting your mistake ) come forward and apologise. As said earlier no one is perfect. Be a good man.

 

[slader23]

SHANE YOU ARE AT FAULT. Be a good man and apologise..we all do mistakes, no one is perfect.

I have an extra piece of evidence to prove you are at fault , its the PDF document you have submitted to me for requesting my review on your purchase and the 42 names in question by the seller are clearly in your PDF list and the fact is they are transferred out from west.xyz. Its proven those names are not defective.

I am really shocked to realise this and still cant digest you are involved in this one. I still hope you made a genuine mistake (however you are not accepting your mistake ) come forward and apologise. As said earlier no one is perfect. Be a good man.

Case Closed.

 

[Duomain]

@RicoShay My assumptions (not facts) are that he bought the names to do a quick-flip. He started sharing the names out trying to sell the them within a day or two of buying them. His pricing was quite high to start with but eventually started reducing to try and get a sale. He sold only a few (42) and realised it'll take too long to shift the rest and renewals were fast approaching. Maybe he panicked, maybe he needed funds quickly... whatever the reason, he claimed a refund (wrongly imo based on the facts).

IMHO, very close to the truth!

 

[gilescoley]

I hate to post in threads like this but some people on this forum seem to think and act like Namepros is the centre of the domaining world. There are many many successful domainers who have nothing to do with this forum or the people that use it. You have to consider the possibility that the reason he does not reply here is because he doesn't give two sh it's about what anyone here thinks and thinks he doesn't need this forum or anyone in it to be successful. I enjoy reading the threads here but sometimes I can only cringe at how a lot of users on here conduct themselves.

Well said, I still find it sad that this thread has even got to 12 pages without knowing the facts and only hearing 1 side of the story. People are turning on each other without knowing for certain who is in the wrong and without having all the facts. People are just siding with whoever they think is more likely to be at fault. I notice a lot of people are being influenced by old threads involving either party, twitter feeds, .in groups, etc

I am not on Shane's side here, I don't know him, don't communicate with him and have never had any dealings with him..

 

[Casey L]

This does not surprise me the slightest as something Shane would do. The people who call themselves "no BS" tend to be the ones who BS others to get by. Best of luck @12no3

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Giles, everyone has to pick sides when you have civil war

 

[gilescoley]

Giles, everyone has to pick sides when you have civil war

True, but at least in a civil war, you know what you're fighting for...99% don't know either party in this case

 

[Internet.Domains]

GoDaddy made a horrible decision buying MostWantedDomains and Marchex then.

You write an entire article on your blog about this subject, but you can't say a word here?....You got some explaining to do and all you comment about is an irrelevant purchase?.....C'mon man, you are running, stand tall and defend...

 

[slader23]

 

[aceeca]

True, but at least in a civil war, you know what you're fighting for...99% don't know either party in this case

I can easily count atleast 7 folks who are 100% aware of both buyer + seller. If you include who know only of them (buyer or seller), the count will be lot higher.

 

[gilescoley]

I can easily count atleast 7 folks who are 100% aware of both buyer + seller. If you include who know only of them (buyer or seller), the count will be lot higher.

People who know them personally, I doubt that, maybe they have dealt with them online, and as you can see, that means nothing these days, you don't really know someone just from doing a few domain deals with them. These are also the people who will often side with them, even if the odds are stacked against them..

 

[Sterling]

All I know is this is some funny shi*! A little karma coming around to bite someone in the as*. lol

I have been at this for 20 years and no complaints. You get some kids in here who like to run they mouth and they have demons of they own.

#PopcornWorthy

 

[Sterling]

 

[aceeca]

People who know them personally, I doubt that, maybe they have dealt with them online, and as you can see, that means nothing these days, you don't really know someone just from doing a few domain deals with them. These are also the people who will often side with them, even if the odds are stacked against them..

How is this relevant ? I'm sorry I fail to understand this, even in real life, if you know someone well, they maybe not act the way you expect them to act.

 

[gilescoley]

How is this relevant ? I'm sorry I fail to understand this, even in real life, if you know someone well, they maybe not act the way you expect them to act.

ok, lets leave it at that, there is enough of this rubbish going on here.

 

[mad409]

It's been shown he did the PayPal charge back, can't be disputed.

My question is what about those 40+ domains the OP said he sold, was never returned to their account?

He says all domains returned, OP says that isn't the case...

@12no3 If you would/could provide some kind of documentation that these 40+ domains were never returned this whole thing would be crystal clear.

I want to know who sold the 40+ .in domains, then check mate to this thread IMO...

 

[168]

Shane has come to NP. Last I posted w/ S-B was Dec 7th on
The future of .COM after new gTLDs boom! Big DROP?!

RicoShay - brings factual interaction and valid points.

Where's the beef DomainVP?

 

[dnk]

Online there are many frauds who have a good reputation on some websites, many friends

 

[dollarfield]

I HAVE NO GOOD OPINION ABOUT SHANE. HE PROMISE TO COME UP WITH ADAM DICKER EXPOSE PART 2. BUT NEVER PUBLISHED. SEEMS MATTER SETTLED INTERNALLY.

 

[domainpundit]

Well said, I still find it sad that this thread has even got to 12 pages without knowing the facts and only hearing 1 side of the story. People are turning on each other without knowing for certain who is in the wrong and without having all the facts. People are just siding with whoever they think is more likely to be at fault. I notice a lot of people are being influenced by old threads involving either party, twitter feeds, .in groups, etc

I am not on Shane's side here, I don't know him, don't communicate with him and have never had any dealings with him..

Will you say this if you are the victim? Imagine someone taken away 42 domains from you and will you not expect community to support you.

 

[mad409]

Way to much silence from Shane and company. Trying to weigh the facts but silence isn't good IMO..

 

[ison]

From West.xyz.

 

[gilescoley]

Will you say this if you are the victim? Imagine someone taken away 42 domains from you and will you not expect community to support you.

The OP is 1 of only 2 people that know how it unfolded. You cant support someone without knowing the facts, thats just ridiculous. The people supporting him or Shane don't know what happened? how does that work? I could never comment seriously without knowing both sides, you'd be guessing. This can be dangerous on a public forum and seriously damage a person's reputation. I certainly wouldn't expect anyone on here to support me without knowing the facts.

 

[mad409]

The OP is 1 of only 2 people that know how it unfolded. You cant support someone without knowing the facts, thats just ridiculous. The people supporting him or Shane don't know what happened? how does that work? I could never comment seriously without knowing both sides, you'd be guessing. This can be dangerous on a public forum and seriously damage a person's reputation. I certainly wouldn't expect anyone on here to support me without knowing the facts.

Shane is aware of this thread, silence isn't good.

I personally take no stand other than what I'm seeing/reading...