Not cool.

[sasan]

Was browsing Flippa last night and came across a domain I liked. Hit the BIN button and started an Escrow.com transaction.

Woke up this morning to a message from the seller:

Googled his name only to find out that he’s a domainer, runs a website for domainers, has been a speaker at NamesCon, etc. Basically: should know better.

I get it. Sometimes you list a domain and forget to update its price. It’s happened to me. But that’s on the seller, not the buyer. And in these cases, I’ve always honoured the transaction without question and quietly given myself a talking-to after.

It would also be another thing if he had let the domain expire or no longer owned it — but he does.

Honest mistake or not, responses like this really paint our industry in a negative light. In this case, I hit BIN – that’s pretty cut and dry. But also, if you’re going to negotiate with someone (as a buyer or a seller), keep your word. If we want the industry to be respected in the mainstream, it’s our responsibility to make that happen.

Anyway, getting off my soapbox now. This was my reply:

Haven’t heard anything back yet but have no qualms about naming or shaming if the seller doesn’t follow through with this transaction.

 

[Samer]

Buy domains from marketplace sections of registrars. Registrars automatically transfer domains after payment.

Then by that logic; You should avoid DAN?

DAN; all about priorities and excellent service; unlike Flippa; no idea why people still use...

 

[poweredbyme]

Then by that logic; You should avoid DAN?

DAN; all about priorities and excellent service; unlike Flippa; no idea why people still use...

Yes. You should avoid DAN and all marketplaces that don't have any control over the domains listed for sale. DAN, Sedo, NP forums, etc may provide an excellent service but without controlling the domains they aren't a true marketplace. They are just advertisers that provide more exposure to the domains.

 

[lock]

There is a strong opinion from some that think he should have shrugged shoulders and moved on as happens to everyone. The customer should wear it but just opposing it isn't a resolution. The buyer didn't come to rat out seller the crowd called for it the gladiator style but what other option if any would you offer. Everyone knows until money is in bank isn't a sale blah blah. Good luck settling law suites between people in other countries. Look at companies that pay for tm's from squatters in dodgy locations they can't get at. I am not out to discredit anyone as regularly use their resources but this is how it went down. Buyer asks crowd what do to crowd says name them buyer again wants to offer opportunity first for resolution after no resolution crowd not happy with that result. Catch 22 wear it like everyone on chin as laws have limits.

 

[poweredbyme]

Seller has to honor BIN strictly even if BIN was set accidentally. Setting BIN is optional, is not mandatory. When sellers are not sure they can list their domains without BIN.

In business world "I set the price accidentally, sorry I forgot to update the price" arguments have no place. For instance, assume I take something in supermarket with $1 price tag. Cashier says it's $100 not $1. I say no, its price tag is $1. Cashier goes to the roof with me, I show him/her the price tag on the roof. Cashier verifies I tell the truth, removes the wrong price tag from the roof and then gives me that product for $1. I am sure, even if it's a $1000 product they will give it to me for $1, will probably take their $999 loss from the staff who are responsible for that mistake. In the end, I am buyer. I don't set prices in the supermarket. This happened to me for several times. I only need to show them their price tag on their roof.

This is related to business ethics. I avoid doing business with entities/individuals who don't know or don't care business ethics.

 

[TheBuyerz]

Location: United Kingdom | Active: Yesterday | Member since: 10 years ago
9 transactions totalling $1,584

• 1 dispute lost (Dec 2020)
• 49 comments placed
• 484 bids placed
• 14 completed listings, 29% sold

Had you ever considered to contact him before processing with the transaction? I noticied that he wasn't been active this last year, if I were you I will contact him first to check if the deal holds. Because there is a possibility that he didn't made changes on domain's prices and as we are all domainers here, we know that this kind of things happens? Especially if you manage multiple accounts (Afternic, Uniregistry, Dan etc...) ... today or tomorrow you will skip one of them for sure... without talking about accidents related to the marketplace itself.

I don't agree with you on sharing publically his name even before the dispute was completed ! it's kind of threatning for me, and if I were him I will not complete the deal just for this action (I always honored deals even when listing domain auctions here and gone for 1$), I think you didn't choosen the right path to follow.

Last year I was about to BIN for a domain name "Crypto///Exchange///com" that was listed for 10000$ on afternic, I was lucky to change my mind and look for informations firsts before following on my action... I found that the domain name is already sold and the seller forgot to remove it from afternic ... what if I passed the transaction and the supposed seller do not own the domain name? It will be the same case as you right now, I will criticize the seller and Afternic in the same way even if they are not related to all this and are only an intermidiary!

So the next job now, is to spot the lack of attention of domainers and buy their best domain names for a few bucks ! (Not for the OP but for some people here) do not forget that he put efforts, money and time to reserve them just like you do right now to find a gem.

Now that the seller is exposed and someday will see a good deal coming from him just right to my face? I jump on the deal without thinking a second.

I understand your frustration and feel sorry that the deal didn't passed, there is for sure a reason for this ... and happy that you got refunded.

 

[sasan]

Had you ever considered to contact him before processing with the transaction? I noticied that he wasn't been active this last year, if I were you I will contact him first to check if the deal holds. Because there is a possibility that he didn't made changes on domain's prices and as we are all domainers here, we know that this kind of things happens? Especially if you manage multiple accounts (Afternic, Uniregistry, Dan etc...) ... today or tomorrow you will skip one of them for sure.

I don't agree with you on sharing publically his name even before the dispute was completed ! it's kind of threatning for me, and if I were him I will not complete the deal just for this action (I always honored deals even when listing domain auctions here and gone for 1$), I think you didn't choosen the right path to follow.

Last year I was about to BIN for a domain name "Crypto///Exchange///com" that was listed for 10000$ on afternic, I was lucky to change my mind and look for informations firsts before following on my action... I found that the domain name is already sold and the seller forgot to remove it from afternic ... what if I passed the transaction and the supposed seller do not own the domain name? It will be the same case as you right now, I will criticize the seller and Afternic in the same way even if they are not related to all this and are only an intermidiary!

Now that the seller is exposed and someday will see a good deal coming from him just right to my face? I jump on the deal without thinking a second.

I understand your frustration and feel sorry that the deal didn't passed, there is for sure a reason for this ... and happy that you got refunded.

It’s not the responsibility of a buyer to have to seek out and verify with a seller if their pricing is up-to-date. That’s the whole point of a BIN price. This is especially true when it comes to domains. I don’t know about you but I have a lot of domains that I haven’t changed or updated the prices of in 2+ years. We are very much in a set-it and forget-it business. If you don’t want to be worried about someone hitting BIN on an outdated listing, don’t use BIN. If you use BIN, stand by your pricing. This isn’t a difficult concept.

Also, I mentioned that this isn’t the case where the seller no longer owns the domain or let it expire. They still very much own the domain, just chose not to honour the BIN price they set.

 

[nhauctions]

Totally out of order. I'd contact flippa support and get them to sort it out. I don't know if they will though.

 

[maya-zir]

some people is very quarrelsome and bilious. mostly we have something to do: work, home, family, entertainment .. a lot of small and big joys .. imagine that you won a million or your dream has come true and now you are jumping in euphoria, and feel happy.. would you spend this happy time in squabbling? Of course not..
the author of the post, apparently, has nothing more interesting in his life than generating negativity and bile to a person who does not even know him .. it is probably hard to live like that in negativity and bile .. the life is going on and all these haters are focus on the guy who has no idea about this thread and doesn't care about their opinions..
i just wonder how much time they will dedicate to this simple episode of their life?
guys, is it your more outstanding episode of the life to dedicate to it all your time?
you dont have nothing better to do with your life but thinking in this domainer you even doesnt care about this thread?

 

[TheBuyerz]

It’s not the responsibility of a buyer to have to seek out and verify with a seller if their pricing is up-to-date. That’s the whole point of a BIN price. This is especially true when it comes to domains. I don’t know about you but I have a lot of domains that I haven’t changed or updated the prices of in 2+ years. We are very much in a set-it and forget-it business. If you don’t want to be worried about someone hitting BIN on an outdated listing, don’t use BIN. If you use BIN, stand by your pricing. This isn’t a difficult concept.

Also, I mentioned that this isn’t the case where the seller no longer owns the domain or let it expire. They still very much own the domain, just chose not to honour the BIN price they set.

Agreed with you all the way but only for some points:
- The public exposure
- No efforts before the BIN; Which means, you didn't tried to contact the seller before making the transaction, no even tried to make an offer and try if he accept lower price for the domain name, personnaly as reseller I will never hit the BIN button until I will try a negociation before in the hope to get it cheaper (even if the price is surreally cheap) ... like I said before it was probably an accident or lack of attention ...

Here come my next question: What if he already got better offer from another platform or direct email before you (or actually in negociation with another buyer?), In another terms, during this whole year of inactivity on Flippa, he got many offers from buyers higher than 1000$, who has the right to acquire the domain name, you or them? Friendly question.

Other than this, I approve completly the fact that the seller have to honor the transaction even if the BIN price is sub-zero, and only if the problem comes from him and no third party involved, but also limited for some conditions described above.

 

[Windoms]

some people is very quarrelsome and bilious. mostly we have something to do: work, home, family, entertainment .. a lot of small and big joys .. imagine that you won a million or your dream has come true and now you are jumping in euphoria, and feel happy.. would you spend this happy time in squabbling? Of course not..
the author of the post, apparently, has nothing more interesting in his life than generating negativity and bile to a person who does not even know him .. it is probably hard to live like that in negativity and bile .. the life is going on and all these haters are focus on the guy who has no idea about this thread and doesn't care about their opinions..
i just wonder how much time they will dedicate to this simple episode of their life?
guys, is it your more outstanding episode of the life to dedicate to it all your time?
you dont have nothing better to do with your life but thinking in this domainer you even doesnt care about this thread?

Above all, dont appear as someone who'll leave the business table to go chasing after flies, if you should be serious about business or your reputation. Your manners speak for you.

And although you might bother seller's reputation, it won't help with people trusting you either because your standings grounds are not as serious as they could be..

 

[sasan]

- The public exposure

This is someone who has pushed themselves as a sort of leader in the industry, has spoken at NamesCon, etc. You can't promote yourself publicly and expect your misbehaviour to be kept private.

The seller had an opportunity to do right before their name was put out there. They chose not to.

- No efforts before the BIN; Which means, you didn't tried to contact the seller before making the transaction, no even tried to make an offer and try if he accept lower price for the domain name, personnaly as reseller I will never hit the BIN button until I will try a negociation before in the hope to get it cheaper (even if the price is surreally cheap) ... like I said before it was probably an accident or lack of attention ...

I really don't understand this point. There was a BIN. That's the whole point of BIN, so you don't have to contact the seller.

I've hit BIN plenty of times on other domains. Sometimes I can't be bothered to negotiate, especially if I'm okay with the price.

Here come my next question: What if he already got better offer from another platform or direct email before you (or actually in negociation with another buyer?), In another terms, during this whole year of inactivity on Flippa, he got many offers from buyers higher than 1000$, who has the right to acquire the domain name, you or them? Friendly question.

To be clear, the seller was not inactive on Flippa for more than a year. Not sure where you're getting that info from? Also, the seller was very quick to write back to me after I bought the domain at BIN to say he wasn't going to honour the BIN price. This wasn't some forgotten about account.

A BIN price is not a suggestion. Regardless of other potential offers, the person who hits BIN gets the domain. It's up to the seller to maintain their BIN prices, not the buyer, not the platform.

Flippa got some flack in this thread but I should be clear: they did as much as they could and this issue is 100% on the seller, not Flippa.

 

[TheBuyerz]

This is someone who has pushed themselves as a sort of leader in the industry, has spoken at NamesCon, etc. You can't promote yourself publicly and expect your misbehaviour to be kept private.

The seller had an opportunity to do right before their name was put out there. They chose not to.


I really don't understand this point. There was a BIN. That's the whole point of BIN, so you don't have to contact the seller.

I've hit BIN plenty of times on other domains. Sometimes I can't be bothered to negotiate, especially if I'm okay with the price.


To be clear, the seller was not inactive on Flippa for more than a year. Not sure where you're getting that info from? Also, the seller was very quick to write back to me after I bought the domain at BIN to say he wasn't going to honour the BIN price. This wasn't some forgotten about account.

A BIN price is not a suggestion. Regardless of other potential offers, the person who hits BIN gets the domain. It's up to the seller to maintain their BIN prices, not the buyer, not the platform.

Flippa got some flack in this thread but I should be clear: they did as much as they could and this issue is 100% on the seller, not Flippa.

I looked for the last comment and deal closed by the seller and got the latest date ... it seems that since the account is now suspended, I can't list all the domains again (it is not possible and restricted by flippa).

I follow your logic and 100% agreed with you at this point (except the public exposure and the way you managed to do it - "Personally" which is only my own opinion and personality), the other side have to clear things and gives his version. It worth to note that when you deal with Buyer/Seller there is no "spoken at NamesCon" "USA President" "Or anything", seller is seller, buyer is buyer no matter how he is ranked. I will not sell my domain for 100000$ if it was a company and 10$ for my friend. Business is business and should be applied and same for everyone.

As buyer, you did the right thing anyway and it's clearely unprofessional to react (for the seller) like that, but there is always "BUT" which can be cleared only by the other party, this is it.

Anyway, good luck for other deals ... you lost nothing - it's just another experience as domainer, you will probably buy better one than this, keep going

 

[maya-zir]

Above all, dont appear as someone who'll leave the business table to go chasing after flies, if you should be serious about business or your reputation. Your manners speak for you.

first of all my manners do talk for me, thats, why I will never chase the domainer who never damaged me and caused me lose my money and the only fault of him, was not update the price.
My time worth much more than creating bilious threads and throw the mud somebody's name just because I lost 5 mins of my time clicking on BUY IT NOW and lately discover it was not for sale or not updated price

 

[sasan]

first of all my manners do talk for me, thats, why I will never chase the domainer who never damaged me and caused me lose my money and the only fault of him, was not update the price.
My time worth much more than creating bilious threads and throw the mud somebody's name just because I lost 5 mins of my time clicking on BUY IT NOW and lately discover it was not for sale or not updated price

Ignored. Life's too short to read any more of what you have to say.

 

[maya-zir]

Ignored. Life's too short to read any more of what you have to say.

i don't write for you.. I realized how cheap is your time if you are spending it on a bilious claims

 

[lock]

This thread really shouldn't be dragged on it has no positive outcome. The crowd shouted name so he did and perhaps both suffering from it. End of day nobody was out of pocket so all perhaps a bit unjustified. I do strongly feel BIN is a buy it now but feelings aren't solving this. Thread was pushed on by crowd and then defending actions. Sometimes the popular decision isn't right . Don't let the crowds always influence if you didn't name and discuss it 7 pages the outcome may have been different. I often see crowds wrong eg: backlinks are bad from sites owners with none. Others will agree on silly appraisals without history or real reason to speculate also. Forum is for a debate and try and right the wrongs but it really hasn't panned out this way.

 

[Kingslayer]

I've not read all the thread, but I've this done to me before.

As much as you are disappointed, best thing is to just move on, end of the day if the person who had a BIN doesn't own the domain anymore, they don't own it, it's as simple as that, so it’s a waste of time making demands that they send it if they can't.

I know forgetting about a listing is quite easy to do, i know I've left domains that i dropped on marketplaces, they had no BIN but I left them for sale and I'm sure many other people have too, it can happen.

 

[equity78]

I've not read all the thread, but I've this done to me before.

As much as you are disappointed, best thing is to just move on, end of the day if the person who had a BIN doesn't own the domain anymore, they don't own it, it's as simple as that, so it’s a waste of time making demands that they send it if they can't.

I know forgetting about a listing is quite easy to do, i know I've left domains that i dropped on marketplaces, they had no BIN but I left them for sale and I'm sure many other people have too, it can happen.

I believe they still own it

 

[sasan]

I believe they still own it

Can confirm, the seller still owns the domain.

 

[aliweb]

That was an interesting read. Notice how when you posted on 2nd page that you have sent this thread's link to Mark Kychma, his shills started appearing in thread and throwing mud at you.
By the way his account has been reinstated by Flippa.