Safe to use PayPal for transfers?

[polyromcom]

Ive agreed to purchase a few domains from someone for a total of a couple hundred dollars. Safe to use paypal for this kind of transaction? Am I putting myself at risk in any way?
Any better suggestions?

Thanks for any help!
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[Brujah]

I've done it many times before, just make sure you get the names in your registrar account first.

At least a few things could go wrong if you don't. If they withdraw the money before you complain about it to Paypal, they won't be able to get it back for you. If they get you to masspay the money, you won't be able to get a refund. This is my understanding of how it works anyway.

 

[polyromcom]

Thanks, Brujah, I asked them to send to my gd acct first. Thanks so much for the advice.
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[Erdy]

If I was the seller I wouldn't give you the domains before I get paid. In my opinion the correct way is to use a third party such as godaddy marketplace, if the domains are with Godaddy. The seller can list a domain for sale at Godaddy in a few minutes. The buyer makes the payment to Godaddy.

Similarly, Namecheap and Dynadot have their own marketplaces if the domain is registered with one of them.

 

[polyromcom]

Good suggestion. Never thought of using the GD marketplace after an agreement has been reached. Thanks for that suggestion.
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[Brujah]

If I was the seller I wouldn't give you the domains before I get paid. In my opinion the correct way is to use a third party such as godaddy marketplace, if the domains are with Godaddy. The seller can list a domain for sale at Godaddy in a few minutes. The buyer makes the payment to Godaddy.

Similarly, Namecheap and Dynadot have their own marketplaces if the domain is registered with one of them.

I usually don't transfer my names first either.
What are the costs to use these methods?

 

[Erdy]

Godaddy and Dynadot charge the seller %5. Namecheap charges %10. With Godaddy and Namecheap the seller can transfer the money to paypal. With Dynadot he has to spend on the site.
Godaddy requires a yearly membership that costs $5 USD for the marketplace. Godaddy takes about 20 days to pay the seller.

When the domain is within the 60 day transfer lock I usually list it at Godaddy marketplace. I also forward the domain to its listing page. When I try to sell those domains at sedo the buyer sometimes asks for a transfer and then we end up waiting over a month for the 60 day lock. It gets annoying. I'm tired of sedo with transfer locked godaddy domains.

The 20 day waiting to get paid is far too much but I guess it makes up for it when you pay only %5 commission to godaddy instead the regular %10 to sedo. About %70 of my sales are at sedo and the rest at godaddy.

Edit:
When I list a domain at Godaddy, I create a list of potential buyers and email them the price and the auction link. I also give them Godaddy's phone number and tell them to call Godaddy if they have a questions about the payment or transfer.

Godaddy.com 24/7 Sales & Support
+1.480.505.8892 (USA)

I called Godaddy myself as a buyer and they do assist you with marketplace sales over the phone.

 

[Brujah]

Very helpful and informative, thanks Erdinc.

 

[Bram C.]

If someone makes an offer on one of my domains i would normally never transfer the domain before I actually get paid for it. (unless it's a well-known company)

I guess it also depends on who initiated the interest in the domain. If someone comes to me and wants my domain they will have to take the risk (paying first), not me. If I come to them first then I'm willing to do it the other way around and transfer the domain prior to payment.

I prefer using paypal without a middleman. Since then you pay zero commissions (only a paypal fee). Frankly I have sold and bought tons of domains through Paypal and never had any issues. But for bigger purchases (over $2,000) I tend to use Escrow so both the buyer and me are better protected.