status-resolved Is an asking price the same as Buy It Now?

[Keith]

Hi all,

Just what the title says. If someone says they’re asking $10 for a domain and you agree to pay $10, is it binding per NP rules?

 

[Keith]

From Flippa - an ask is a buy it now.


Summary:

• Sellers: Place a Buy It Now at your desired asking price to enable an immediate purchase at that value
• Buyers: Make an offer via a Buy It Now to purchase the listed asset or business immediately at that value

 

[Keith]

Now they’re deleting my posts. From the PM that they didn’t show

 

[Keith]

@jberryhill I’m a hair away from legal action against this forum and the seller.

 

[Samer]

@jberryhill I’m a hair away from legal action against this forum and the seller.

Fight for our rights, Keith!!

Dont feel safe meet ANY “ask” in “make offer”
(if allowed, after this) -Lot can fall on guy who offered 11k after ur post, should also discouraged, since you met seller’s “ask”..

Prohibit any "ask price" in MAKE OFFER!
Now think “make offer” as broken as “request”

 

[cuni.co]

This is interesting, hopefully @Keith gets the deal honored. Clearly accepted what the seller was asking ...

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

asking price for me is price I am willing to sell at. So answer to Keith's question imo and world is yes
Just because it is in wrong section? Guy was asking 10k and willing to accept offers.
Asking means bin, call should be reversed. First down Lions. Oh wait, this isnt a game, this real money.

 

[SirDrago]

@Keith
I posted that you should be focused more that the O.P of that thread only had 5 post.

Which you replied "We're beyond that".

Now you have that thread for ownership verification?

Looks like you're playing victim...

You could have done that yourself and not waste everyone's time with this. Mods here shouldn't do spoon feeding

 

[Samer]

@Keith
I posted that you should be focused more that the O.P of that thread only had 5 post

Which you replied "We're beyond that".

Now you have that thread for ownership verification?

Looks like you're playing victim...

You could have done that yourself and not waste everyone's time with this. Mods here shouldn't do spoon feeding

It’s a moot point.

Although i despise Escrow.com; Seller clearly accepted Escrow; neutralizes those concerns.
Keith, and seller accepted Escrow as form pay.
I dont like Escrow.com, but they minimize this. Hate Escrow fees, but Escrow protects both.
There may superior options, but Escrow works.

Keith, any not engage, if escrow not accepted.
We’re past concerns due to new NP account.
We’re at the “honoring agreement” part.

 

[karmaco]

$10K is not even that low in the current market for high-end names. Seller needs to honor the deal, and NamePros mods needs to enforce it.

I don’t think there is a person here who isn’t aware this name is worth far more than 10K even among cheap domainers. Its a steal of a price. If the mods said this is not a binding agreement because of the forum and the wording I think everyone needs to accept that and move on.

 

[Keith]

I don’t think there is a person here who isn’t aware this name is worth far more than 10K even among cheap domainers. Its a steal of a price. If the mods said this is not a binding agreement because of the forum and the wording I think everyone needs to accept that and move on.

The mods aren’t lawyers as far as I know.

 

[karmaco]

The mods aren’t lawyers as far as I know.

And you aren’t going to get the name by bullying and causing a scene In the public square which you seem to like to do alot. Its clear from the pms you decided to post publicly the guy does not know its true worth and made an error. If someone started a big stink about a name I owned I would not sell it to them either. At least one person the 11K offer took the wording differently.

 

[Keith]

And you aren’t going to get the name by bullying and causing a scene In the public square which you seem to like to do alot. Its clear from the pms you decided to post publicly the guy does not know its true worth and made an error. If someone started a big stink about a name I owned I would not sell it to them either. At least one person the 11K offer took the wording differently.

You’re in the minority.

Also -

 

[Samer]

Thanks Keith, and i’m sure this well prevent future problems, caused by ambiguity in “Offer”

And You arent “bullying” it’s your right.

Samer

 

[Josh R]

I don’t think there is a person here who isn’t aware this name is worth far more than 10K even among cheap domainers. Its a steal of a price. If the mods said this is not a binding agreement because of the forum and the wording I think everyone needs to accept that and move on.

It's not a steal in today's high-end market climate, but it is a decent deal based on search volume.

I'm not going to discuss the value of this domain but given that it's a pure EMD with almost zero companies using it in their brand I can tell you that $10k wholesale is not a steal.

I wasn't aware that you buy at the high-end of this market, and I would assume that these "cheap domainers" you refer to probably don't buy at the high-end of the market either.

This would be a steal if it sold to an end-user but Keith is just an investor buying a domain at wholesale on a forum full of investors.

 

[equity78]

At least one person the 11K offer took the wording differently.

I get where you are coming from Karma and maybe @Domain Truth thought that. But I modded here for many years and there were a couple occasions where a member thought a name sold cheap in a FIXED PRICE thread where after someone posted sold say $500, someone would post I'll give you $600. Now it was deleted because it was a violation the name was already sold. It was done to stir the pot and test the seller's integrity.

And while real estate does allow for certain things, that's real estate. This forum has never operated on those kind of real estate rules, anyone saying otherwise is a liar or misinformed.

 

[equity78]

Now one thing to note, it's tricky to go after someone legally because what actual contract have you entered into here?

Look @Sedo tells all customers a transaction is binding and they don't sue to get their commissions feeling the juice is not worth the squeeze.

This focuses on real estate https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/...remedies-and-real-estate-sales-contracts.html

Don't Sue Unless You Can Collect the Judgment

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/dont-sue-unless-you-can-30009.html

Emails can be legally binding in the right circumstances but it can start to get very complicated very quickly.....

https://businessadvice.co.uk/business-development/business-planning/are-emails-legally-binding

@xynames provided a good answer in this thread

In the U.S.: you may sue for specific performance but you may have to show that you somehow relied on the offer to your detriment. If both you and buyer are merchants other U.S. laws may apply and the detrimental reliance may not need to be demonstrated.

Realistically though unless you and buyer are local to each other and at a minimum in the same country such proceedings would be a waste of time. There’s also the issue of whether buyer has assets to perform.

 

[Echo Mod Team]

For clarification purposes:

Thread: https://www.namepros.com/threads/melatonin-com-asking-10k.1186787/
Forum listed in: Make Offer
Title statement: "Asking $10k"
Moderator actions: The thread originated in the make offer forum and was not moved there by a moderator.

Conclusion: Make offer Forum coupled with the word "Asking" provides context that the seller is open to negotiation.

Seller rejected your negotiation offer:

I'm on with Dotster's tech support now as to why my contact information isn't showing up. Yes, I'd use escrow.com. Thanks for the offer on the amount. I'd like to hold and see if I can get a higher amount.

2nd negotiation rejection by seller:

Sorry for all the trouble. I'm a mess at this. I just noticed this morning that I can get appraisals on it, which I then paid for, and I'd like to see what they think.

Once a negotiation is terminated, all offers are no longer binding. Which means that anything offered after the last rejected offer is a new negotiation.

Unfortunately, the seller is no longer bound to sell, however, we do require that they provide proof of ownership for the domain now, for security reasons.

Added note:

Melatonin Purveyor, Yesterday at 9:33 AM CT- Thanks for the offer on the amount. I'd like to hold and see if I can get a higher amount.

Keith, Yesterday at 2:54 PM CT - Ok, $10,000. What is your email so I can start the escrow transaction? Please edit the title of your thread to say sold.

As we can see from the time-stamps in this conversation by scrolling up, the seller rejected your offer and clearly stated they want to hold it for a higher amount. That means that your $10k offer after the fact they rejected the offer before it and stated they want to hold it now, is not a binding agreement to sell to you. It was the beginning of a new negotiation attempt.

We can certainly understand the frustration of the buyer hoping to acquire an asset like this for $10k, however, there was no clear and solid agreement. The seller rejected multiple offer attempts by the buyer. Once the buyer realized the seller was not going negotiate that low and after the seller made it clear they wanted to hold off to see if they can get an even higher amount, the buyer came back to renegotiate at $10k, which the seller never acknowledged or agreed to after terminating the negotiations previously.

After the fact, the new member/seller (Not familiar with the domain industry or the value of their asset) did verify they are the owner of the domain name in question.

We hope that helps clarify a bit more.

For internal use only: https://www.namepros.com/conversations/melatonin.3097150/
For internal use only: https://namepros.reamaze.com/admin/conversations/1698?id_type=ref

 

[Samer]

For clarification purposes:

Thread: https://www.namepros.com/threads/melatonin-com-asking-10k.1186787/
Forum listed in: Make Offer
Title statement: "Asking $10k"
Moderator actions: The thread originated in the make offer forum and was not moved there by a moderator.

Conclusion: Make offer Forum coupled with the word "Asking" provides context that the seller is open to negotiation.

Seller rejected your negotiation offer:

2nd negotiation rejection by seller:

Once a negotiation is terminated, all offers are no longer binding. Which means that anything offered after the last rejected offer is a new negotiation.

Unfortunately, the seller is no longer bound to sell, however, we do require that they provide proof of ownership for the domain now, for security reasons.

Added note:

Melatonin Purveyor, Yesterday at 9:33 AM CT- Thanks for the offer on the amount. I'd like to hold and see if I can get a higher amount.

Keith, Yesterday at 2:54 PM CT - Ok, $10,000. What is your email so I can start the escrow transaction? Please edit the title of your thread to say sold.

As we can see from the time-stamps in this conversation by scrolling up, the seller rejected your offer and clearly stated they want to hold it for a higher amount. That means that your $10k offer after the fact they rejected the offer before it and stated they want to hold it now, is not a binding agreement to sell to you. It was the beginning of a new negotiation attempt.

We can certainly understand the frustration of the buyer hoping to acquire an asset like this for $10k, however, there was no clear and solid agreement. The seller rejected multiple offer attempts by the buyer. Once the buyer realized the seller was not going negotiate that low and after the seller made it clear they wanted to hold off to see if they can get an even higher amount, the buyer came back to renegotiate at $10k, which the seller never acknowledged or agreed to after terminating the negotiations previously.

After the fact, the new member/seller (Not familiar with the domain industry or the value of their asset) did verify they are the owner of the domain name in question.

We hope that helps clarify a bit more.

For internal use only: https://www.namepros.com/conversations/melatonin.3097150/
For internal use only: https://namepros.reamaze.com/admin/conversations/1698?id_type=ref

Forum listed in: Make Offer
Title statement: "Asking $10k"

“Asking 10k” in Make Offer is no negotiation.
Ban this lingo in “Make Offer”
doesnt honor spirit “Make offer” while ignoring explicit title “Asking $10k” Somehow, why?

Hawkeye said it best;
if u wont disallow “Ask price” in “offer” section,
Need more “offer” type rhetoric; u wronged OP

if it's proceeded or followed by 'offers from' or 'offers starting at'. Just 'asking', is 'asking'.

“Asking” is straight-up.
Glad the domain owner is no thief, or scammer but you still stole from Keith,
ban ambiguity in “Make Offer” titles; they go against the spirit / meaning of “make offer”
why allow domain owner get away technicality.
Require “range” any price givin in “make offer”

 

[Echo Mod Team]

Forum listed in: Make Offer
Title statement: "Asking $10k"

“Asking 10k” in Make Offer is no negotiation.
Ban this lingo in “Make Offer”
You aren't honoring the spirit of“Make offer”

Hawkeye said it best;
if wont make against rules have “Ask” in “offer
Require this type of rhetoric; you wronged OP
“Asking” is straight-up.
Glad the domain owner is no thief, or scammer but you still stole from Keith,
ban ambiguity in “Make Offer” titles; they go against the spirit / meaning of “make offer”
why allow domain owner get away technicality.
Require “range” any price givin in “make offer”

Keep in mind, the buyer offered $6k, then $7k, etc... not $10k and after the seller rejected them all and stated they decided to keep the domain for more money, the buyer then came back at $10k, hoping they didn't already lose the deal in negotiating the price, they and another member posted in the make offer listing as well, after negotiations and rejections started.

The chain of events changes things a bit.

 

[hawkeye]

WTF??? - Make offer Forum coupled with the word "Asking" provides context that the seller is open to negotiation. ???

Wow. Comes across as a "uhh, let's see if we can justify it this way" answer/decision.

Also this logic can mean if the OP had 'accidentally or mistakenly' listed this in the 'Bargain Basement 'or any other 'wrong' section, then that section title (BargainBasement) coupled with the word 'Asking' would provide context of 'negotiation' or something related too??

As I noted prior - 'Asking' if it's proceeded or followed by 'offers from' or 'offers starting at' is a setup for negotiating. Just noting 'asking', is 'asking' - as in the price they'd like to get!

And sorry echo, but none of this doesn't really matter in relation to the 'fact' that the OP titled his post - Title statement: "Asking $10k"!!! As I understand the 'rules' here, and elsewhere', a seller can't decline someone meeting their 'asking price', to see if they can get more. Or maybe now they can.

No matter the seller will be vindicated to not sell the name, but the sad justifying of such is just that.