SedoMLS - Sellers Beware

[SJM211]

Just a quick note to all as I nearly got caught out - check how much commission you are paying on Sedo sales!

I just sold a domain for 3300 Euro and noticed that the commission was charged as 20% MLS rate rather than Sedo's (already in my opinion high) standard 15%. I queried this with the transfer agent and was told that all domains were automatically listed on SedoMLS and that the onus was on me to prove to them that my offer came directly through Sedo and not through the registrar that the domain was registered with:

Sedo Transfer Agent

Kindly note that all domains that are listed for sale at Sedo will automatically be part of our MLS basic program and therefore listed with our partner registrars (one of them is Moniker).
Please inform us how this auction was started and where you got the buyer's offer, through Sedo or directly through Moniker. If possible, you may provide a screenshot that will help clarifying this. If the domain was sold through Sedo we will be happy to adjust the transfer commission to 15%.

Thank you for your cooperation.

You'd think that their system should be able to track this.. Perhaps it conveniently doesn't so that we get charged the higher rate by default.

 

[htmlindex]

It could be funny if everyone takes their domains from Sedo & they have no domains to sell :D

How much is 20% of 0? I believe it is still 0! :sold:

 

[lincolndsp]

look like big guys are doing for example mostwanteddomains

sedo said advertisers didn't like traffic though i had no clicks at all mostly with very low ctr, so i had to make individual simple landing pages for the domains as they disabled parking for me and stole single-handedly 10 euros or so of parking revenue accumulated for over a year. well, more power to them!
i think it is for the better as i will be able to gather more info about the traffic.=)

 

[DnEbook]

I am considering a shift as i hate blantant greed i think they have forgotten who makes their business a success ????

I also hate the new search system ....if it is not .com don't expect to see your listings

 

[azwiz]

For clarification, the lowest commission rate Sedo now offers, applies ONLY for those that still have their domains parked going directly to Sedo *AND* have a "Make Offer" listing. Very foolish to narrow down your exposure like that.

Now you know why Sedo was pushing so hard this year for all of you domainers to change your listings to a "fixed price"! They advertised "increase sales by 3 times"... Ha, if that was true why did they have to raise their rates by 100%! The resulting triple sales numbers should have put them in a very profitable position.

Unfortunately, having a fixed price is now subject to a 15% minimum... BUT you better figure 20% since Sedo can arbitrary add that extra percentage without giving you any proof at all. None.

My inquires only got repetitive robotic replies from Sedo saying my domain was sold through one of their "partners". They would not even comment on the fact that the buyer contacted me twice before even using Sedo services.

This arbitrary extra "penalty" (what I'm calling it) was what started this discussion in the first place by SJM211. He was lucky. Sedo is now locking those out who dare question their additional "promotional" 5% add-on.

Wow, in only one month Sedo has DOUBLED their commission rate for most sales. Global economic indicators are pointing down, so why do they need TWICE as much now from us? I guess some posts here have answered that question.

Thanks for reading!

 

[twomoon]

I was reading this thread but still didn't get one thing.

My parking account is closed a month ago (my usual monthly revenue on around 250 domains was max 20 EUR). But Sedo thought that I'm doing something illegal and closed my parking. This is "great" practice but Sedo today is not Sedo 2 years ago, so I can live with that.

So all my names are not parked with Sedo and listed "make offer". And now, if I would have an enduser and I will ask him to make a bid via Sedo (cause I'm always use Sedo as escrow) I would need to pay 20%?

 

[Sedo]

Please understand that the SedoMLS program increases the promotional reach of your domain beyond the Sedo website. The 20% commission applies to both “Buy Now” and “Make Offer” domains that sell through the SedoMLS partner network.

Domains that are listed with a “Make Offer” setting will receive a notification informing the seller of the commission amount before they counter-offer, or accept the offer. “Buy Now” domains will have the commission fee applied once the buyer agrees to purchase the name. If the domain is purchased with a fixed price through a partner, the commission fee will be 20%.

The SedoMLS service is an advantage to sellers in that it promotes your listings across a large network, and customers receive increased exposure for their listings. Purchases and offers received through Sedo’s site still only require a 15% commission. Domains that are parked with Sedo and sell with a "Fixed Price" through Sedo's site are still eligible for the 10% fee. The 20% commission is only required of domains that benefit through their listing in the SedoMLS partner network. The goal of the partner network is to present your domain names to customers who may not have otherwise seen them.

Please note, minimum fees do apply in some cases, but we do not have a 25% commission rate as mentioned below.

 

[Domagon]

Three questions:

1. Can the seller completely opt-out of SedoMLS?
-as it stands now, for fixed price domains, the seller has no way of knowing the commission till after it's been sold; too late then.

2. Is the commission for a fixed-priced, parked domain always only 10%?
-or can those domains potentially be sold through SedoMLS too doubling the fee to 20% ... many here are saying that's the case!

3. How exactly are partner referrals tracked?
I get the sense that cookie-stuffing is all it takes (just visiting their site; viewing a specially crafted ad / email) - sneaky way for a partner to get credit for lots sales they never really helped with.

Ron

 

[SJM211]

Three questions:

1. Can the seller completely opt-out of SedoMLS?
-as it stands now, for fixed price domains, the seller has no way of knowing the commission till after it's been sold; too late then.

I'd also like to know this. Seems to me like Sedo are just trying to eek another 5% commission on each sale and justify it by saying that they are giving us more exposure, the fact is that I'm yet to see how my names are being promoted..

For example.. Most of my domains are at Moniker and are SedoMLS listed. I would have thought that when I try to register the MLS listed domain at Moniker instead of telling me that it's already registered it should point me to the Sedo link to buy my domain. It doesn't, same goes for the other few registrars I tried.

I'd really like to know how my domain is being promoted as I'm actively trying to find my domains at Sedo's partner registrars and I can't - the chances of a potential buyer finding my domains this way must be somewhere close to zero..

---------- Post added at 08:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 PM ----------

This arbitrary extra "penalty" (what I'm calling it) was what started this discussion in the first place by SJM211. He was lucky. Sedo is now locking those out who dare question their additional "promotional" 5% add-on.

I would keep chasing this - if they cannot prove that the sale originated through a partner then why should we have to pay. They should sort their tracking system out..

I'm now sorely tempted to pull all my domains from Sedo. The alternative as Brujah mentioned in a previous post is to hike the prices up to compensate for the extortionate commission levels..

One thing is for sure - I'm forwarding my "for sale" link on my parking page to a contact form rather than the Sedo page and I will deal directly with potential buyers in the future..

 

[azwiz]

The problem still remains, that we're all now FORCED to use Sedo's "partner network". NO option is available to have our domains simply listed with Sedo alone like it was before August 1st (unless you limit yourself by parking the domain directly with them).

There is also no proof given on Sedo's invoice when your name is sold that the sale really resulted from this sharing with partners!

Just a few weeks ago to be on this special "Partner Network" you had to "Activate" the domains you wanted to include. ONLY those activated domains that you personally signed up for got the high 20% commission rate.

Now supposedly, according to Sedo, millions and millions of domains are now all "promoted beyond Sedo". I personally do not see how so many domains can fit on a partner registrar site. Sedo has not explained the process of partners and what names get priority showings that I am aware of.

An additional 5% can be a considerable amount and some kind of proof or validation should be a normal request of the seller. This "partner" who is now getting a chunk of YOUR profit otherwise should have at least a name.

Be careful from now on how you refer an interested buyer. If they goof up and go to their own registrar (instead of Sedo's site) and type the domain desired in the registration box you will be paying MORE commission.

On the other hand, if you DO NOT have the domain listed with Sedo at all, you can use Sedo's 3% escrow service and keep all the rest for yourself.

Thanks for your time reading this!

 

[twomoon]

On the other hand, if you DO NOT have the domain listed with Sedo at all, you can use Sedo's 3% escrow service and keep all the rest for yourself.

Just have read at Sedo:
"A fee of 3% of the agreed price (a minimum fee may apply) is billed to the party who submits the order for the service. Sedo may assist the buyer and seller to each pay a portion of the fee upon request."

A minimum fee may apply - so it means that they could use the minimum fee in ammount of $50?

 

[lincolndsp]

^^ if the domain is being sold for a hundred bucks do you think it's interesting to handle the escrow for $3? lol

 

[Brujah]

^^ if the domain is being sold for a hundred bucks do you think it's interesting to handle the escrow for $3? lol

No, but there's quite a bit of difference between $3 and $50.

Escrow.com on a small amount like $100 would be $25, half of what Sedo is charging.

MiniEscrow.com may be even cheaper with a minimum of $10.