advice Seller wants domain back. What would you do?

[draco]

I bought a domain for mid 4 figures from someone here on NamePros. Transaction went fine. After they were paid and the domain was transferred, they messaged me asking for the domain back. They said they sold it on GoDaddy auctions and didn't get notification until after they sold it to me. They seem to have also spent the money, as they asked me to wait for a refund until after they get paid from GoDaddy. They do have a good reputation here.

What would you do in this situation? Keep the domain, give it back and wait for your money back, insist on your money back right away, something else?

Thanks in advance.

 

[deflee79]

You bought it fair and square. Keep it.

 

[gemstar]

Interesting topic, lots of good answers.

But is it fair to consider that since the sale between the ex-owner and @draco was finalized, now the domain name increased its value? So theoretically, there should be a new deal with a higher price or at least a renegotiation between the brand new owner and the interested buyer? Of course, with GD's brkers to assist for the tasty 20% chunk. Of course, if the current sale price is satisfying then go for it but a try for more should be legit based on the above.

Must be a very nice name



What a nice idea Totally doable if you ask me

But who will take care of the people on the bottom? Thats why its called a pyramid.

 

[Edward Smeu]

Imagine a reseller marketplace where you can sell domains to other people and still keep small 'equity' in case of another sale happens later on. This way the 'people on the bottom' will be taken care of and most likely every domainer can benefit from an end-user sale on one of the names he once owned.

 

[Billy Wagner]

Personally I would keep it. I've sold domains and the next day received offers double what I sold it for. I didn't ask for the domain back. It's part of the business.

 

[DnEbook]

I have had a number of names I purchased on Godaddy "fall through" ... some were sold on the same day and I missed out, just the way it goes sometimes. Offer the previous owner a sellers commission or just wait for the buyer to find you. The problem with listing names "for make an offer" is that many buyers walk away. So that means that we do end up listing on a number of platforms with buy now prices and sometimes stuff like this happens. No-ones fault, just the way it goes.

 

[DnEbook]

The second you sell a name it's up to you to remove it from all sales platforms, i guess you would then find out if there were any issues .......straight away

 

[scithe]

Honestly, if I bought a domain name for say $1,000 and two days later the seller writes me to say John Smith wants to pay me $2,000 for the domain name, I'd be really scared they were in cahoots and it was some sort of scam. I would definitely insist on going throw escrow/sedo/godaddy or some other middle man service to know the money coming for the domain was legit.

 

[james haw]

You own the domain name, legitimately, so you are not "giving it back" you are "selling it", and back to the seller for the same price means only they win out!
It's yours to sell now, so if someone else wants it, albeit through the seller, then you are entitled to put your price on it, even if just a split of the new sale profits.

If the seller is not just wanting to get as much cash as possible, and are just concerned about the mistake they made (we all make 'em), then they should have no issues with splitting the profit of the sale to the other buyer. The percentage should be 50% at least as you own the domain and are selling it, and they are just rectifying a mistake - and still making more money. If they haggle at all or too much then they're perhaps just being greedy.

If I was that seller who made a mistake and saw you were even thinking about trying to sort this out I'd be willing to give you 100% profit from the resale if this was only about sorting a problem! If it's about making more money then that's their issue and they should not have sold to you!


Look, if you bought a car from a dealership, and on your way out the manager comes up and asks you to give the car back and you will get a refund, as someone else has offered more for it. Your response is...?

Of course it is, second word is "off"...
And a domain name sale is different because?



Without more info (the sellers attitude etc) it's hard to give an accurate response as to what I would do personally. With the info I have, I'd probs allow them to make the sale on Godaddy so they keep face on Godaddy and not cause issues etc, and take a percentage that pays for time dealing with research, the purchase, etc. So a quick flip.

And of course, Escrow all the way. (I guess they would handle the sale in Godaddy, but give your Escrow details, you transfer, get the money, and give them the agreed amount - you are already trustable as you paid for it once )



_____________________________________________________

All that said, the domain name is yours and entirely fair and square, and what you do with it (give back, keep, sell and split profits) is entirely up to you and carries no negative moral implications.

 

[AuctionBio]

It happened to me on flippa, I won an auction there @ mid xx, but the seller refused to transfer the domain, and told me that he sold it at some other forum (i searched and it was sedo) @ 10,000. He was a good seller, but the domain I was was also very good. so i Made complains and he is suspended there,
The same guy is also active here on NP,
One thinking is that every body has to play fairly, even if he/she has a good reputation or not. every forum has its own terms and conditions and if any body doest follow that, means he is doing wrong, and has to pay for that,
If I were you, I would have put my own price tag for him, because now it your property, you have a right to put your own price tag. Because at the end of day you are giving it a time and searching searching and then pick on domain for buying.

 

[golan]

Even though I feel with the seller and believe that was his honest mistake, still I would not "give the domain back", even with a profit share, as some folks here suggested, not in these terms; I would sell it to him instead. Want to buy? This is my price.

 

[Haroon Basha]

If I were in your place, I will follow the simple rule. Once the money is paid and got the domain into my account. The domain belongs to me alone. FULL STOP.
If the buyer has committed another contract somewhere else, it is not my mistake. If the buyer wants the domain, I have the right to ask some profit over the price (this will be the maximum generosity that I can exercise).

If the said name is still in your account, please push it to another account, because, the seller do not have the option to request the Registrar to not to transfer or transfer was done by mistake.

 

[Joe Styler]

I have followed up with both partied so I wanted to set out what happened here for the record. We did receive a purchase for the domain name right before the original seller moved the name to Draco. We did not however, clear the funds for the purchase. We do not count a purchase until we know the money is good and will not be refunded, there is no fraud, etc. We typically do this very quickly. If we do not clear the funds then we cannot proceed with the sale and finalize it.
There are various details that I am purposefully leaving out, we I do not want people to know the ins and outs of our fraud checks. I also do not want to discuss specifics of the sale that took place between people outside our system.
Big picture, the sale did not complete at Afternic until after the name had already changed hands.

 

[Archangel]

Why are you contemplating? You bought it. It's yours. There is no reason to debate anything.

 

[Billy Wagner]

Why are you contemplating? You bought it. It's yours. There is no reason to debate anything.

I'm assuming he's contemplating for morality reasons, which is always a good thing. But there's a fine line between acting morally and getting taken advantage of.

 

[Archangel]

True. Yet he bought it legally. Any further implications pertaining it should be addressed to the seller. He should have looked everything through--his errant selling is his irresponsibility.

I'm assuming he's contemplating for morality reasons, which is always a good thing. But there's a fine line between acting morally and getting taken advantage of.

 

[BrandZen]

I would give him a 15% commission but only if you are willing to sell to his buyer. If not then keep it. Transaction is complete.

 

[draco]

Yes, I was considering giving it back for morality reasons. But ultimately nothing done was my fault. The issue was the non-timely notification by GoDaddy / Afternic.

I had a buyer agree to purchase a domain from me on GoDaddy auctions awhile ago. They immediately notified me of the pending sale and delisted the domain so nobody else could purchase it. This was before they were paid, so it wasn't a matter of verification of funds. The buyer never paid, but the sale was still pending for a couple weeks, so I couldn't sell it elsewhere. They should do the same thing for Afternic and their partner network sales. Maybe also shortening the time a buyer has to pay, unless they request an extension with a very good reason.

I decided to keep the money from the sale. While I do feel bad about the situation, as I told the buyer, I can't pay for Afternic's delay. Thank you all for your opinions. Very much appreciated.

 

[Bean]

It would depend on how much you want the domain really. If I was the seller and it was a legit mistake, first of all I would offer you a money bonus for the trouble. But under no circumstances would I ask you to give me back the domain first, it doesn't even matter that I have no intention to scam. If I can't refund you immediately, it won't even occur to me to ask for the domain back. I would simply face the consequences at Godaddy. But that's just me of course.

 

[woofard]

Gotta give the previous owner credit for having the guts to ask for it back without the refund immediately ready. The truth is however, both of you seem to be in the domain business to make money... so keeping it is absolutely justified. As was said in The Godfather - "It's just business"

 

[NPer]

Exception, a prominent member, who has earned the right to make a error.

If a "prominent" member who shows greed, and was not honest about the real situation to someone that gave him business, then he has also earned the right to be viewed as untrustworthy.

"Prominent" members often use shady practices to benefit themselves financially. It could be with talking down a seller's domain (and asking others to do the same), all in the hopes of buying the very domain that they claimed was a POS, for peanuts. And trust me there are plenty of other things too.
Safe to say, I do take note of unsavory behavior and wouldn't deal with these so-called "Prominent" members.

 

[TopJimmy]

Sell it on GoDaddy Auctions!

 

[easternaga]

You are the owner now.

 

[Weber]

Time to add "All sales final. No returns" to your sale terms.

 

[Brandon.Domains]

I bought a domain for mid 4 figures from someone here on NamePros. Transaction went fine. After they were paid and the domain was transferred, they messaged me asking for the domain back. They said they sold it on GoDaddy auctions and didn't get notification until after they sold it to me. They seem to have also spent the money, as they asked me to wait for a refund until after they get paid from GoDaddy. They do have a good reputation here.

What would you do in this situation? Keep the domain, give it back and wait for your money back, insist on your money back right away, something else?

Thanks in advance.

That's a perfectly legal sale. If they want to buy the domain back, great!

Add a 20% or 30% margin and sell it back to them. If the domain is worth more, set the sales price higher.

Thanks,
Brandon

 

[offersity]

How is this your problem? Keep the domain, and let that seller learn from this, simple as that.

I would only consider helping if hes like a close friend, someone you know well and have done lots of business with.