My situation and a couple of questions

[brax]

I've been approached by someone that wants a domain that I own. He asked if I would be interested in selling and I replied with 'yes, make me an offer'. He replied with $15,000 but then stated that he wants me to get the domain valuated first, pointing me to Domain Services as the place he trusts.

I understand the valuation request but I don't understand two things and am hoping to get some advise.

1) Is the seller usually responsible for the valuation? That seems odd since when you're buying a house you wouldn't want the seller to appraise it for you. You'd want to do that yourself. But I also know the net is a crazy place full of even crazier standards.

2) Does this smell like a scam to anyone else? I did a WHOIS on namesaleshop.com and the domain itself is only a few weeks old and they don't list their company info within the WHOIS.

Sorry if these are newbie questions but that's what this forum is all about, right?!

 

[bmugford]

Sorry to break the bad news to you but this is a well know Appraisal Scam. They just want you to pay for an appraisal to a company which they also own. Then you will never hear from them again.

Brad

 

[brax]

Hey, don't be sorry! You're just reaffirming what I figured was a scam. Just for giggles I asked for his phone number so we could discuss it over the phone.

On the other question -- who is usually the one expected to provide a valuation of a site?

 

[dtagr]

Appraisal Scam!!!!
This one is actually quite funny if you keep it going. He gets really insistent "we must have manual valuation!!"
Food for thought:Since he agreed to your $15000 price in a written e-mail, that may be a legally binding contract. If you ever find him sue him.

Never pay for an appraisal - your instincts are correct.

 

[clickk]

oo it's a good thing I did a quick search on Google first! I was approached by someone (probably the same guy) last night offering to buy a domain that I just put up for sale. He asked me for a price so I just threw some number out there (honestly, I don't even know what the market price for domains are) and he replied with, "Can you accept $15,000?" which was completely different from what I had quoted =.= Similarly, he wanted me to do a valuation, and it would've cost me $200 for appraisals for 3 domains... Glad to know that my instincts were also right about it being too good to be true! Anyhow, I'll reply and see how long I can keep this guy going for!

 

[jkliuy]

SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got spam too.

Hello,

Are you interested in sale of your domain? Please name your price.

We are in hosting and domain business. But we are very interested in
Internet names and web sites too.

If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.

Looking forward to do business with you.

Regards,

Daniel Whitham

CEO

Net Invest LLC

 

[El Bandolero]

They can change the name all they want but method is the same. It's a scam I'd report it to whoever their domain register is.

 

[Trickac14]

Yea I just like to mess with them when I know it's someone doing an appraisal scam lol

 

[kimkiroo]

In my opinion in that price i would be surprise if my domain sells with that price. first is you must think how valuable your domain to be sold in $15,000. and What is the plan of the buyer for the domain? Why would they such offer in my domain name with $15,000? Then I am sure you will end up with "Appraisal Scam". If they are willing to buy then they will do the transfer first.

 

[tricolorro]

Hey, don't be sorry! You're just reaffirming what I figured was a scam. Just for giggles I asked for his phone number so we could discuss it over the phone.

On the other question -- who is usually the one expected to provide a valuation of a site?

Brax,

Of course the Buyer would order and pay for an appraisal
same as if you were buying Real Estate.

---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 PM ----------

Food for thought:Since he agreed to your $15000 price in a written e-mail, that may be a legally binding contract. If you ever find him sue him.

:hi: dtagr

Actually to have a binding contract you need an Offer and Acceptance.

Just because $15,000 was offered does not make it a Contract.

Seller has to agree to the sales price.

Even if the Seller accepts by email, the scammer can just say no such email
was ever received so I thought Seller was not interested.

 

[SherryP100]

dalex, if you just ignore the email he will leave you alone and move on to the next person !

 

[Dhaval]

Yes, just ignore this spammer. its wise choice.

 

[zero7starz]

I agree, this definitely sounds like a scam to me, if he were serious he wouldn't of had you go appraise it at another site he would have already knew the value before making an offer.

Lots of employment companies are doing this with credit reports- they want you to do sign up for a free credit report, and they make a commission off of it.

Just tell him you're no longer interested.

 

[austinsellers]

Dear Austin,

Can you accept 250,000 USD?

Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.

Have you had your domain names evaluated in the past? I mean domain appraisals. Without valuation we cannot be sure in the sale price. It's very important for me in terms of reselling too. But we must engage a valuation company with REAL manual service. So I will only accept valuations from independent sources I and my partners trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies.

Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and buyers:
Domain Talk

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price accordingly. It will be fair. I also hope you can give me 12% - 15% discount.

After you send me the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to obtain it) we'll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.