Scam with Namejet ?

[Johnjackgill]

Hello, I'm a Spanish user. I've been contacted by someone by email to ask me if I was interested in purchasing a name in .COM because I already possess this name in .NET
I answered yes, and asked the price. This person told be it would cost 450 USD.
Then I wondered how this person knew this price and started to search on the web for the domain in question.
And yes, I found it. It was available in backorder auction on the website Namejet.
There was still only 1 day before the end of the "backorder auctions", and zero bidder until now. Then, I created an account, giving my banking details (credit card number). I started to bid at 69 USD, which was much less than the requested 450 USD. Then, a few minutes before the end, someone else bid 80 USD, I tried 80,5 USD, but HORROR, the comma was not taken into account in the system, and then I bid 805 USD ! Far much more than I would ever agree to pay for this ! Immediately I interpreted a scam operation from the website, but after small investigation, it seems that Namejet is a reliable tool for professionals, isn't it ? Though I'm still not sure, and I find this comma trick unbelievably unfair and abusive ! In Spain one use comma for decimal numbers, but I think in the US one use a dot. However I don't know if a dot would have been accepted by the system, or if it would lead to the same error of 805 USD instead of 80 or 81 ! Now I'm a bit in panic. Hopefully my bank will not accept to pay such a big amount without calling me by phone for an explicit confirmation, but it's uncertain, and with this completely new story, I fear being pursued by the auction company, with fee, penalties, and everything extra I can imagine. Since this happened, I removed (sucessfully ?) my payment details from my profile, but this name I won is still in "pending auction" in my Dashboard ! What is going to happen, next ? The "terms and conditions" of the website I've just read say I have to pay and will be charged, in case I win the (next) auction (as for now, it seems that the name has expired, and my bid was only for backorder auctions). But with such a high price, I may be the first bidder and the seller may be incitated to call me back to purchase... right ? What shall I do ? What do I risk ? Does anyone have a clue about how it will process ? What do you guess ?

 

[NoBS]

Contact Namejet support. If their system is unable to reject a bid containing a comma they should reduce or remove your bid.

 

[BrandVenue]

Namejet sends a popup alert when you enter more than minimum bid before auction starts. like the image below. didn't you see that?

contact their support maybe they can help.

 

[guilty]

Don't take my word for it but I believe whoever contacted you about the domain doesn't really own the domain. He/she contacted you to see if you're interested in purchasing. If you accepted, he/she would place a bid to buy it for cheap and sell it to you for the agreed price.

Now considering your matter, I advise you to contact Namejet and inform them that you meant to put $80,5 including a comma instead of $805. They might understand your confusion since it's your first time using Namejet, and therefore, they might reauction the domain again. I've had the same thing happening to me when I placed a really high bid on a domain by mistake and I contacted Namejet. They didn't charge me for the domain, and I believe they reauctioned the domain again.

 

[Mahouni]

These spammers are contacting people before owning the domain and bidding in the auction if they have a sure deal.

It seems you thought the back ordering process, where you place a minimum bid and if there are at least two bidders it goes to a 3-day auction, is the actual auction. If you would have placed a bid of 805 in the actual auction it would have been a proxy bid and the lowest possible bid to win the auction would have been the final bid. Now you placed the bid on the back ordering process so that is not a proxy bid, that is the starting bid.

You need to contact the support and explain the mistake to them and that you want to switch to 80.5 or minimum bid. But be sure that when you answered yes to these guys that they are going to be bidding until 200 USD at least.

 

[Johnjackgill]

Hi everyone ! Thanks a lot for the answers, very instructive and helpful.
Yes, I'm going to contact the support. As the company seems reliable. But now they're closed, it's night in the USA, I hope I'll manage to solve the problem by phone early morning.
To answer Sweetdomains, sure I saw this big red alert, saying it's not a proxy bid. And thanks for the screencapture. But the price 805 was not displayed in this message box ! And I am 100% sure of the comma, I checked it twice before sending. Then I think there really is a problem with their system. It's not like eBay, maybe they just don't allow decimal prices. But where is it specified ? And why no error alert ? I find this incredible, because this can happen to many other people.
80,5 USD as a starting bid was no problem for me, then OK, I pressed "Place Bid", and only then did I realized the new price, passing from 80 to 805 USD, wow !
Also to answer Mahouni, yes I was perfectly aware that these "spammers" contact people before purchasing the domain. But actually, I consider them more like businessmen. In the past I managed to buy a great name that I really wanted for only 70 USD, thanks to someone who contacted me like that for a similar name. And today I am so happy to own this great name that costed so little. So I expected such opportunity when I discovered the backorder auction on Namejet, though I thought it was a real auction actually, and not a backorder (I'm not familiar with this process, as a non-professional, just a little bit skilled). But after saying "yes, interested" to the person by email (more to learn his price), he told me 450 USD, then I answered "Sorry I don't have the money", so that to deceive him, and he doesn't bid, and I could get the name more easily at a low price directly on the platform (what happened actually in the beginning). Actually, if I can get this name for as little as 81 USD, I must say I would be rather happy.

 

[NoBS]

You can also submit a support ticket through the website. It's confusing, but the link is there somewhere. Follow up by phone if you don't get a response by tomorrow.

 

[stewmath]

Why would you put in a comma anyway? 80,5 isnt a correct currency value. Namejet operate in whole dollars so the next bid from $80 should have been $81. They would automatically strip out any text that isnt numbers so the comma would have been stripped out meaning it got submitted as $805.

 

[xeroox]

Is there any auction site that accept decimals?

 

[Johnjackgill]

Is there any auction site that accept decimals?

Of course, there are. Ebay, for example. You can bid for a tea spoon or any other object and place 6,73 $, then if someone else gives only 5,13 $ you win the tea spoon, and pay exactly 5,13 $ but no more, this is a proxy bid, but working with decimal value. Thus, when you're used to this system like I am, it seems logic that a decimal value would be accepted also on other websites. It's not, no problem, but they should inform the bidder, and detect the number/caracters filled in the box ! I would find normal to see an error message like "this number is invalid". I find crazy that the technicians didn't foresee this eventuality ! I studied computer sciences when I was younger and this just the basic in creating a program / interface. Incredible.

 

[Kuffy]

The world standard for separating a tenth of an integer from the integer is the decimal point ( full stop or Dot), the comma is used to split an integer into groups of three digits to make the number easier to read. Until the EU starts to adopt world conventions it is unlikely to become the major world financial centre, and it will create misunderstanding like this. It would be safer if you started to use the international standard.

Having said that, I think it was wrong for NameJet to have ignored the non-numeric character. They should either have rejected it in the box verification script, or have taken it as a delimiter for the integer.

 

[xeroox]

Of course, there are. Ebay, for example. You can bid for a tea spoon or any other object and place 6,73 $, then if someone else gives only 5,13 $ you win the tea spoon, and pay exactly 5,13 $ but no more, this is a proxy bid, but working with decimal value. Thus, when you're used to this system like I am, it seems logic that a decimal value would be accepted also on other websites. It's not, no problem, but they should inform the bidder, and detect the number/caracters filled in the box ! I would find normal to see an error message like "this number is invalid". I find crazy that the technicians didn't foresee this eventuality ! I studied computer sciences when I was younger and this just the basic in creating a program / interface. Incredible.

Probably they never thought it should even needed with domain that sell for hundred and thousand that someone will bid with decimal

 

[Johnjackgill]

From Wikipedia, article "Decimal_separator" paragraph "#Current_standards" :
"The 22nd General Conference on Weights and Measures declared in 2003 that "the symbol for the decimal marker shall be either the point on the line or the comma on the line".

 

[Johnjackgill]

I've contacted them by email, and waiting for a reply, but they are unreachable by phone during their so-called "standard support hours" (7:30 am supposed to be open since 6:30 am) this thursday.

 

[Kuffy]

From Wikipedia, article "Decimal_separator" paragraph "#Current_standards" :
"The 22nd General Conference on Weights and Measures declared in 2003 that "the symbol for the decimal marker shall be either the point on the line or the comma on the line".

What a stupid ruling, and one that most people don't seem to use. For example what is £1,000 is that one pound or a thousand pounds?

 

[NoBS]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_separator and scroll down to Examples of use

 

[Johnjackgill]

Hi eveyone, and thanks again for the many messages.
I've finally managed to reach a man by phone from the company NameJet in the USA, and the problem is now fixed. My bid has been removed, so it looks like there is no problem anymore. Conclusion : Not a scam company. Not a good experience, but one have to be fair and honest.

However, I have to say the communication was quite difficult because the person on the phone was not comprehensive at all (and not only because of my bad English). He insisted on the fact I made a mistake, and could not accept his system was unperfect.
But the main thing is that I don't have any backorder anymore, so that's good.
I told him that there is no indication about this non-decimal value on the website, and no further assistance related to the entry from the interface, but the man said it works like that in America ! Full stop. Well... Seemed not to be ready to adapt to other parts of the world. Though, it's not said on the website that European countries should not participate. Then, I find it quite rude.
But well. Will be aware next time.

 

[tonyk2000]

@Johnjackgill - please do not forget that you may also be bidding against this guy or gal who sent you an original email. Which a common type of fraud - offering something they do not have, and may never have, but still trying to sell. Should they win, they may not pay namejet immediately (or at all), trying to receive the $$$ from you first.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

The world standard for separating a tenth of an integer from the integer is the decimal point ( full stop or Dot), the comma is used to split an integer into groups of three digits to make the number easier to read. Until the EU starts to adopt world conventions it is unlikely to become the major world financial centre, and it will create misunderstanding like this. It would be safer if you started to use the international standard.
.

I am not an expert on this, but it is my understanding that even though North America, and much of the world, use the decimal point, it is over stating to say that the decimal point is the world standard. It is true that in certain fields the decimal point is the only convention, but the comma is also widely used. It would be nice if there was one universal standard on this!