Is SEDO helping scammers with fake domains like wíne.com or físh.com ?

[Erdy]

I call domains like wíne.com and físh.com as fake since these are not true idn's. Köln.com is an idn since in German there is this word Köln and it is written with ö.

físh.com is like a counterfeit product. It is a copy of the original. Maybe you didn't understand what this topic is about. Look closer to físh.com and you will see that is not fish.com it has an í instead an i.

The main aim obviously is to trick unaware buyers making them believe they are buying the real thing while they aren't. There are many people out there who don't know much about domains let alone idn's.

Do you really think the poor guy, who has to pay 2250 usd for físh.com after yesterdays sedo auction, knew what he was buying? I don't think so. This is almost like ebay scams but with the exception that sedo makes it difficult not to pay when you get scammed. I think sedo should stop helping scammers.

Even I was almost bidding yesterday on físh.com. I knew 2250 usd was incredibly cheap but I expected the prices to go higher during the last few minutes. Then when the last 10 minutes came and the price was still the same I though, ok, just put $3000 and see what happens. From my ebay experience I know that bidding last moments can be fun. And there were so many bids which made the deal look like real. Only by chance I have realized it at the last moment that it wasn't the real thing. I could have been carried away by the last minute bidding race and excitement or whatever.

Then I wrote an email to my sedo representative and the respond I received is very disapointing. He says they made it clear in the description. On the other hand I don't care about the description. They must make it clearer on the main auction list as well.

Here is a picture on what I mean:

Edit:
Fake fìx.com went through for 46,001 USD. With ì instead i this domain is not even worth one dollar.
http://www.sedo.com/auction/auction...=us&auction_id=5400&tracked=1&partnerid=27222

Please let them know what you think on this issue. Their email address is [email protected]

 

[circa1850]

it is of no concern as long as they get their 10% ....
If the shareholders are happy thats all that matters....

What is 10% of nothing? Because that is what they got with fake fish. The buyer refused to pay. I would expect the same thing with the buyer of the fake wine. Ditto on fake fix.

This does nothing but damage to IDNs and for that reason I (and others I know of) are moving our IDNs away from them. And I am not talking about 3 or 400 names either.

Very encouraging to see these comments. It does nothing but create distrust for the IDN market and perhaps beyond to non-idn domains. With so much press lately regarding domain names and seen as a legitimate investment, when you have crap like this taking place, with the endorsement of a big player like Sedo, what in the hell is this telling people looking to get into domaining as an investment?

Okay, every one at once, all say "TRUST US" to our perspective buyers.

I’m sorry but we have made a clear description into the offer of the seller stating the following points:

“físh.com: IDN-Domain (International Domain Name), with logo, without content.

Please note that this domain is a simple misspelling of the English word "fish" and contains an international character/accent.

It may show up in your account or elsewhere as “xn--fsh-rma.com”.

Those of us that speak and write english, I am sure we make this common mistake all the time of the simple misspelling of the English word "fish".

It may show up in your account or elsewhere as “xn--fsh-rma.com”? What kind of BS is this? How else would it show up?

 

[CrazyHorse]

What is 10% of nothing? Because that is what they got with fake fish. The buyer refused to pay. I would expect the same thing with the buyer of the fake wine. Ditto on fake fix.

Very encouraging to see these comments. It does nothing but create distrust for the IDN market and perhaps beyond to non-idn domains. With so much press lately regarding domain names and seen as a legitimate investment, when you have crap like this taking place, with the endorsement of a big player like Sedo, what in the hell is this telling people looking to get into domaining as an investment?

Okay, every one at once, all say "TRUST US" to our perspective buyers.

Hence my question, why the hell would Sedo let it go on like this. It isn't logical, there is no way the buyer will pay.

Also, it will only create distrust amongst people who have no reason to use an IDN. How would it create distrust amongst people actually using the unique language script [AKA the core market]?

 

[Danny25]

SOLD $46,001

To somebody with more money then brains :hehe:

 

[circa1850]

Sedo, on the other hand, has an obligation to uphold a sense of decency and respectability in the domain industry and allowing such trickery to be part of the Sedo way of doing business is simply pathetic.

Cool...I'm quoting myself. But it is worth repeating.

Wake up Sedo. We are your core group. We are the ones that make you money.

SOLD $46,001

To somebody with more money then brains :hehe:

The buyer I am sure thought he was buying the real deal. The accent became part of the downstroke of the letter "f". Very convincing to the buyer and other bidders. Unfortunately, they are not member of this group or other forums discussing these matters.

And, unfortunately, this is the type of deception and bullshit that makes headlines in a very negative manner and creates distrust in the domain name industry as a whole.

Thanks Sedo! How about concentrating on making timely payments and timely transfers rather than ruining the name of the domain investors.

Interesting thread.

Although, I have to wonder if anyone protesting the questionable ethics of this practice secretly wish they were the ones selling the DN.

After all, is the whole point of domaining being opportunistic? I mean seriously, it's not really the most ethical way to try and make a buck now, is it?

Interesting point. But let's make it rather clear. No buyer will ultimately pay for these deceptive practices (such as the "fish" fiasco) so what is the motivation for even doing this. As Jethro Bodine used to cypher his math, " ought plus ought equals double ought". Anyone regging BS like this is paying reg fee and getting nothing in the end except alot of grief.

 

[Danny25]

Fíx.com's cousins wíne.com, bíke.com and credít.com are moving up the ranks.

We wil have to wait to see what they do

 

[circa1850]

I just discovered that a huge land rush started yesterday for many of these types of domains.

Is there a possibility that these domains are worth something just based on how close they look to their non IDN counterparts?

0+0=00. Not worth a penny. Worth quite a bit of money to the registrars.

Who is going to pay for these? Unsuspecting domain investors. Why face a law suit from the arrogant stance "buyer beware"?

If this trend continues and it is the newer domain investors that all hope to one day be our customers, the domain name industry is going to take a huge nose dive down.

This has no place being part of the industry standard for a large industry leader named SEDO!

 

[scandiman]

SOLD $46,001

To somebody with more money then brains :hehe:

Or just bad eyesight.

 

[circa1850]

I think there is a sedo employee behind this and he is rushing to get all fakes through before the party is over.

The reason why I think so is that I have seen domaín.com without any bid and it is impossible a domain will get into auction without an offer unless an employee thinks it is a good name.

Very good point. If it is not a Sedo employee, then it is a Sedo broker pushing these through. The only way a domain gets to auction on Sedo is either to have an offer made or a Sedo broker submits it with out any bids.

Looks like I'll be placing a call to Sedo on Monday as well as sending a link to this thread.

 

[mvl]

SOLD $46,001

To somebody with more money then brains :hehe:

And with enough money to hire a good lawyer.

 

[CrazyHorse]

Circa, dooms day scenarios for the domain industry are a bit extreme. I think with a little patience you'll see this issue get corrected fairly soon.

 

[circa1850]

And with enough money to hire a good lawyer.

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Wasting valuable space on an auction format with shit like this and creating massive distrust in the domain industry as a whole.

 

[mvl]

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Wasting valuable space on an auction format with shit like this and creating massive distrust in the domain industry as a whole.

Don't get me wrong. I agree with you, although I think this is hurting Sedo's reputation in the first place and not the whole industry.

 

[CrazyHorse]

How will a lawyer prove that this domain is worthless, the technology is way ahead of the law here? The domain was labeled, and then there is the contract issue. I think any lawyer involved in this would find himself out in Indian country.

I don't have much sympathy for the bidders, sorry. I spent $10K on a domain once, and it was the fruit of 8 months worth of research. How on earth would anyone spend this kind of money without due diligence, the concept is absurd. Clearly the bids were placed on impulse, and who spends that kind of money on impulse.

 

[Danny25]

I don't have much sympathy for the bidders, sorry. I spent $10K on a domain once, and it was the fruit of 8 months worth of research. How on earth would anyone spend this kind of money without due diligence, the concept is absurd. Clearly the bids were placed on impulse, and who spends that kind of money on impulse.

Somebody with more money then brains?

lol - I'm just playing around you do know that don't you guys?

 

[circa1850]

Circa, dooms day scenarios for the domain industry are a bit extreme. I think with a little patience you'll see this issue get corrected fairly soon.

I don't think its a bit extreme at all. The damage may be short lived but the damage is and will be done and can only cause a downturn in prices and trust until faith is restored.

All it takes is one highly viewed journal, newspaper, or online news source to pick this story up or the buyer to contact any of them and the damage is done.

This is not a doomsday scenario. This is fact. Look how many picked up the story of Seclists.org being pulled by GoDaddy. None domain related networks were discussing this matter. The point I am trying to make is spending $46K on a purposely deceptive name is quite a bit of money for what some would consider a scam. And the news agencies just love to report on scams.

Added to the simple fact that this has been going on for over a month now and Sedo has done nothing to curb this practice and they are just creating an even larger mess for themselves.

View yourself as the outsider. Many news stories very recently have heavily promoted investing in domain names as the "internet real estate". These same stories tell you what you should be looking for. Generic names (words) and three letter dot coms are the way to riches. These same stories reveal that Vodka.com sold for $3 million. So you, being the newbie and the uninitiated, see fix.com. You bid you win. You have just pulled a major upset.

So tell me, when do you think this buyer is ever going to spend $46K on a domain name again?

 

[CrazyHorse]

I think anyone bidding on this domain was border line retarded, and will find themselves up shit creek if money changes hands. Big time domain players with big time lawyers wouldn't have bid, it's that simple.

 

[circa1850]

Big time domain players with big time lawyers wouldn't have bid, it's that simple.

That's my point. These were the new customers that we, as domain investors and sellers, would like to have as customers. Now try to sell another domain name to this winner or any of the other bidders or any potential investor should this break into the news.

 

[mvl]

Big time domain players with big time lawyers wouldn't have bid, it's that simple.

That is right, but did you know everything you know now when you started domaining? At least Sedo must know there are quite a lot of people who think the way these domains are offered is somewhat misleading because a lot of people complained. I am not a lawyer but I know in some countries it is not only the buyers responsibility to investigate what they are buying but also the sellers responsibility to give clear and unambigious information about what is being sold.

 

[CrazyHorse]

Sorry Circa, I just don't think a botched Sedo auction is that influential, I really think you are way off base. Do you realize how much money this industry is worth? PPC + brand marketing is what drives this industry, prices follow. I also have confidence in my portfolio.

 

[scandiman]

Sorry Circa, I just don't think a botched Sedo auction is that influential, I really think you are way off base. Do you realize how much money this industry is worth? PPC + brand marketing is what drives this industry, prices follow. I also have confidence in my portfolio.

I agree. Click fraud is a much bigger problem and barely makes the news.

 

[circa1850]

Sorry Circa, I just don't think a botched Sedo auction is that influential, I really think you are way off base. Do you realize how much money this industry is worth?

Not A BOTCHED sedo auction. Now three and counting. Yes, I am quite aware of how much the industry is worth. Do we want to keep selling and trading amoung ourselves or do we want to attract new investors?

How many bidders were there? How many bidders got out at $1000, $5000, $10000, $15000, 35000, 40000 and on and on. How many of those prices would you have liked to have, at any of the price spectrum, for some of your domain names? How many were the new customers we would like to attract with legitmate quality domain names for sale.

Better yet, look how many of these fake names and IDN's are on sedo right now.

So tell me this is not damaging to Sedo and Sedo alone. Not sure why you want to claim that this is an isolated incident because it is not and there are others right behind it.

I think you are underestimating the power of the press and the influence. If one says invest in domain names but many say domain investing is becoming the new scam of the internet...

 

[CrazyHorse]

I think if anything could really shake the industry, it would have to do with PPC transparency issues. A bit off topic, but I think the day PPC companies are legally forced to start becoming more transparent with their pricing structures [and I believe this will happen eventually], is the day we all see how badly we got f#@cked by Google, Sedo, etc. Hopefully I've sold most of my generics by then.

Circa, this Sedo issue will get cleaned up, and in 2 weeks, most will have forgotten about it. THAT is how the media works.

 

[circa1850]

I just discovered that a huge land rush started yesterday for many of these types of domains.

Look at this statement. You think that this is good for the domain industry?

 

[GijsZePa]

WTF ?

Read the text : LINK

:td:

 

[CrazyHorse]

WTF ?

Read the text : LINK

:td:

Umm yeah........ WTF describes it pretty well.