So you THOUGHT Flippa was shady?

[S-B]

Sorry in advance, Kevin. Should have had your people leave me alone.

Flippa has been the subject of much controversy over the last 6 months. Speculative talk has ranged from shill bidding to bloated sales reports. Most of the accusations are pure garbage but the company is sketchy as hell.

While you might be thinking that I’m bitter because I haven’t any luck there, you should know that I moved $75,000 of domains in 6 months. At one point, I was the first to go to bat for them all because I try to show some loyalty when someone is taking care of me.

However, I recently had my Super Seller status revoked “due to comments made towards other users.” In fact, this is due to my response to the auction where an individual claimed to have an offer on a 3 day old domain of 10,000 bitcoins — that’s $2,500,000. Apparently, calling out a scammer is grounds for retaliation from the business.

I suppose this is because Flippa values net revenue more than customer satisfaction.

Now that you know my motivation I will move on and share a little bit of insider information.

If you’re paying full price for listing fees and upgrades you have been scammed.

They have gone on the defensive in the past by saying that they “subsidize” upgrades for their top sellers. Subsidize is a cute word for giveaway.

I received somewhere between $3,000 to $5,000 in “subsidies” — as a private seller — over 6 months. At one point, I received $2,000 in credits at one time.

Now I won’t lie, sometimes I had to pay for listings. When I did, I still got hooked up. For every upgrade or listing I purchased I received 2 free.

So when I paid, which was rare, I paid 1/3 of what you’ve been paying. I’m sure you now see why some people make a killing off their platform while others have lost hundreds of dollars per listing.

Oh you thought Editor’s choice was for good domains? Nah. It has been a filter for friends of Flippa.

When I sold on Flippa’s platform, I was given Editor’s Choice for nearly all of my domains. Why? Because I asked.

I know some of you noticed that only 3-5 people showed up when visiting that page. Some might not care but others might understand the value of this.

Domains at Flippa sell for much more when given the Editor’s Choice designation.

Oh so you suspect shilling? I’ve known many users who have shilled their way to a profit. It doesn’t benefit Flippa to eliminate shilling. High sales mean higher success fees.

Simple as that.

Straight up scamming? Yep.

I’ve reported verifiable scams to customer support and I didn’t hear back until after the auction closed. They stated that it was now the buyer’s responsibility to report the sale if something fishy occurred.

Hmmmm.

Would the buyer receive a refund? No. Would the seller be suspended? Yes. Would Flippa still profit? Damn right.

At the end of the day, you can choose to use their platform of boycott them.

I will choose the latter.

P.S.

Have you been curious about what Flippa has been doing?

They are working on adding small business to their platform.

Yeah. Dump money into selling physical business without verifying any of their claims.

That should work. Everyone is honest. Right?

 

[The Grinch]

Even if Shane took part in shady listing practices, he didn't rob anyone, nor steal their money. They freely bid and bought domains that they wanted.

So weird seeing hypocrites act like they arent here to make money.

 

[RU]

 

[iowadawg]

Shane, they have a blog section here.
Rant away!!!
Love to read what you rant about.

 

[S-B]

Shane, they have a blog section here.
Rant away!!!
Love to read what you rant about.

I enjoy a plate of cursing with my side of rants.

 

[Domain Shane]

I'm officially changing my name to Dakota Greywolf to avoid any confusion. Starting soon DomainDakota.

It's been an entertaining few days here on the thread. Of all the threads I've read on Namepros this certainly was the most recent.​

 

[S-B]

I'm officially changing my name to Dakota Greywolf to avoid any confusion. Starting soon DomainDakota.

It's been an entertaining few days here on the thread. Of all the threads I've read on Namepros this certainly was the most recent.​

Thank god.

I'm tired of people referring to me as "that pompous prick."

Seriously though, it's happened.

 

[JamesCrew]

Sure, you're a business man, okay, I'll play along. Nope, I don't think Flippa give a f*ck about anyone's emotions. I don't either. I give a f*ck about ethics and the law, period. Oh yes, I do give a f*ck about my neighbors and the overall perception of the domain aftermarket business. Any negative stigma or crimes not prosecuted only diminish the value of my portfolio, and yours.

There are lots individuals with their own businesses picking pockets and purse snatching at the county fair. Most get away with it. Congratulations, you and they may have something in common.

Now that's what MAN do exactly, they prefer doing ethical business and care for others. Can't agree enough with you mate.

But just what someone said above, some people do have funny logics here, thry can't understand your logic or anyone who value ethics and rules in a business. To them, business is like stealing from their customers, and when a person fights back or points out the issue, many comes along and tell them to be MAN enough. What a crazy world we live in!

Flippa does have many issues that needs to be taken care of, but now that Shane has brought few cats out of the bag, Flippa may require some extra time to clean things up for theirselves. And so far I am confident that they will. Let's wait and watch.

 

[Domain Shane]

Thank god.

I'm tired of people referring to me as "that pompous prick."

Seriously though, it's happened.

Yeah that's certainly me they're talking about when they say pompous prick. I also answer to "thinks he knows everything" "feels he is better than single and divorced guys that live alone with cats" , "asshat" and of course "cocky little bitch" . Just happy to have the attention.

Glad you're now part of the club

 

[DomainGist]

I personally think that Shane Bellone needs to drop his full name going forward and adopt a new username.

What about...... Shane Domain.

I like it, highly unique, and it rhymes.

 

[briguy]

Not at all. This has actually motivated me to start a blog where I can freely rant (stay tuned).

I'd say after ~10,000 views, ~200 replies, and ~75 likes on the original post that I've succeeded.

Makes me wonder if that was your plan/agenda from the start of this thread. Start a controversial thread about a site that you had good/bad experiences from (probably made some good money from this site)..let human nature take over (liker/haters of this site and you clashing), fuel the fire, let human nature take over..more fuel..then subtly mention a upcoming blog....(something that a exprience promoter would do)
Anyway just my opinion..

 

[S-B]

Makes me wonder if that was your plan/agenda from the start of this thread. Start a controversial thread about a site that you had good/bad experiences from (probably made some good money from this site)..let human nature take over (liker/haters of this site and you clashing), fuel the fire, let human nature take over..more fuel..then subtly mention a upcoming blog....(something that a exprience promoter would do)
Anyway just my opinion..

I suppose we will never know.

 

[briguy]

I suppose we will never know.

Ah,,but you are a smart man, think you know, pretty sure you don't do most things on impulse.

 

[domainer111]

I must say, I am completely shocked, horrified and in fact, I'm running out of synonyms for the appalling news being released in this thread.

A few of us know what's really going on - and I'm sorry, but I'm now going to reveal it to you all.

@KevinFink - can you please confirm the fact that yourself, Ali Zandi and the founding alien - Flippa herself - landed on Earth a few years ago, and are now going to turn the world into domainers.

Yes that's right - there wasn't enough domain sales in the world, so 'Flippa' just had to correct that. You've explained your Flippa plans here - but you missed the big one.

Ok, maybe I'm being a bit paranoid about that last bit. But you're not going to fool me on your purpose here.

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you. Oh and please - ...downloads.net and TopCars.com for the editorial section how about it..

[Note to self: never ever ever visit NamePros on returning home, Saturday night Dublin.]

 

[tld_org]

I understand that. We may do away with this altogether.

Sound off.

If you want to sell on Flippa think twice because they "may" care if they treat you right or not.

Anyone ever go to a club and you have to wait in line and then pay the $20 cover charge to get in. Then you see the bouncer let his buddies cut the line and go right in without paying and you say to yourself "that's some bullshit". Now what if that cover charge is $350, but don't worry, now that they've been called out on it they "may" change it.

 

[sofiapartner]

@FlippaDomains , I understand that this is your job and actually you are doing it soooo good. Soon I will be imaged as a paranoid conspiracy theorist, hater with mental problems.

Once again, and let me actually be bold and close this down now -- for the last time:
Ali was not created by us; he made his own way.

When you give all your "subsidies" to a new domainer with average sale history, put his listings at the top of others for free, give him ultra premium upgrades for free for domains like cupcakefrosting.com , provide him with leads, make him a senior broker giving him more leads, contacts, insider information, when you promote his story and share with all your subscribers, etc, etc

How you call this? Why don't you do this for other guys that are starting domaining now and had no success with your platform - loosing a lot of money , after you hooked them up with Ali story? And don't tell me that they haven't asked. If you provide free ultra premium upgrades for anyone with similar domain to cupcakfrosting.com, you won't have a business at all.

Actually, it was Ali who arranged the interview himself: we didn't know about it until a week before.
(Sidenote: I think insinuating that Michael Cyger could be bribed like this would offend him.)

First - who says that paying for promoting your platform and your already senior broker is a bribe? It is paid promotion. And I don't believe that somebody who has watched the interview will argue that this is a promotional video of Flippa and Ali. As i stated - it is interview full of lies and manipulation. This is a fact.

Ali paid for upgrades, just like Shane did.

Surely they did. Could you please go to the first post of this thread? Read it.

I can't speak of his earlier sales, although he may have wanted to delete them because they looked bad.

Yep. They look bad. And you started to give him ultra premium upgrades for free , "subsidies" and make him a senior broker just a few weeks after that.

This brings me joy to mention an oversight that you have remarkably left out, but I'll just sum it up with two words:
"Private Sales"He has had many of them. Private to you. Private to DNJournal.

Sure - but these "private sales" can be $500K, $4 Mil. or whatever. And nobody will ever know. We discuss facts.

but feel free to speak to the other four people who believe the lies and misinformation you're typing.

Lies and misinformation? How you came with this conclusion? Show me where I am lying. I am making statements based on facts and asking questions.

About ITmagazine sale:

Actually, that's pretty normal when the buyer contacts the seller, asks the reserve price, and they negotiate a quick(er) sale.

There was no reserve price. If you think that is pretty normal for someone to pay $10K for a domain auction with no reserve, with new buyers bidding for it, that is stalled at $3750 with couple of days left - then we have different view on what is "pretty normal".

 

[DomainGist]

There was no reserve price. If you think that is pretty normal for someone to pay $10K for a domain auction with no reserve, with new buyers bidding for it, that is stalled at $3750 with couple of days left - then we have different view on what is "pretty normal".

I partially agree with a lot of what you have said sofiapartner, particularly the way that these people were touted on industry blogs as having been really successfully, without disclosing that they'd achieved as such with a lot of assistance rather than 'organically'.

But I disagree with what you have said here, it is perfectly normal / typical behaviour for bidders to withhold bids until late into an auction when there is a specified end time, the exact same thing happens on ebay, people don't want to drive the price up too early or draw attention to how much they want a domain and 'sniping' is a common tactic.....

... having a flurry of activity at the very end of the auction running time is precisely what I'd expect to see on any auction platform.

 

[sofiapartner]

I understand that.
But, honestly, - would you pay $10K BIN for a domain with no reserve in this situation? I won't.
I am just saying that it is not "pretty normal". Nothing more. Shane made a great sale. The buyer made a bad decision. And the fact that he is trying to sell the domain 6 months after that - unsuccessfully - proves it.

 

[S-B]

would you pay $10K BIN for a domain with no reserve in this situation?

Bro, I wasn't willing to pay $5 more than $120 at wholesale.

I should also mention that he didn't just throw a stack of 100s at me. It took work.

 

[discobull]

"Hey everyone, look at all the terrible things Flippa has been doing to you with my assistance! "

But if you've been helping them scam us, doesn't that make you a scammer too?

"No, I only helped them scam you so I could make more money. That makes me a good business man. "

But, making more money is also the reason they were scamming us. Doesn't that therefore just make them good business people?

"No. I'm a good business man, they're scammers. Try to keep that straight."

Huh?

"Look, I also used my real name while I was sca... I mean doing business. As everyone knows, that makes me a real man. Now can we please go back to bashing Flippa?"


I'm suddenly feeling the need to take a shower...

 

[S-B]

"Hey everyone, look at all the terrible things Flippa has been doing to you with my assistance! "

But if you've been helping them scam us, doesn't that make you a scammer too?

"No, I only helped them scam you so I could make more money. That makes me a good business man. "

But, making more money is also the reason they were scamming us. Doesn't that therefore just make them good business people?

"No. I'm a good business man, they're scammers. Try to keep that straight."

Huh?

"Look, I also used my real name while I was sca... I mean doing business. As everyone knows, that makes me a real man. Now can we please go back to bashing Flippa?"


I'm suddenly feeling the need to take a shower...

I'm a marketer, bro. Nothing more and nothing less. Actually, I think I might promote teen smoking next. Sounds like a good fit. Bubble gum flavored cigarettes anyone?

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Promote my name Developing.xyz ( taking offers)

Or should I list it on Flippa lol

Keep up the good work Shane

The people need to make informed decisions.

There is bubble gum flavoured e cig juice (kids love it!)

 

[Jen-Sin]

I'm a marketer, bro. Nothing more and nothing less.

It's exactly this reason why the insurance industry has a bad name and honest agents are been looked down.

Likewise, this thread shows why our industry will only get more tainted without accreditation.

 

[DaSerpent]

Flippa is shady as hell ! Bought a $2k website long ago which was supposed to have a lot of traffic but.. it was all FAKE stats!

 

[SirDrago]

Flippa is shady as hell ! Bought a $2k website long ago which was supposed to have a lot of traffic but.. it was all FAKE stats!

Why on earth would you blame flippa because you didn't due your own research? That's equivalent to blaming the person who sold you the brick inside the new VCR box.
Do you homework and open the box before paying.... Really!

 

[HeyNow]

Why on earth would you blame flippa because you didn't due your own research?

Some might blame Flippa because some might feel that Flippa knows fraud is occurring in Flippa auctions, and appears to do nothing about it. Misrepresenting a product for sale is fraud. The owner of a domain who misrepresents or lies about statistics to sell a domain is committing fraud. If you buy a house in the USA at auction, you, as a Buyer, have a right to expect that the house the broker is representing "For Sale" is truly for sale with the owner's knowledge, and that once you've turned over your money you will actually own the home. You won't have it jerked from your possession because the system allowed the broker to commit fraud at your expense. If the home is advertised having 2000 square feet, and later after you've purchased it you discover it only has 1000 square feet, you'll win in court and perhaps there will be criminal prosecution(s) for fraud, if the court believes fraud has been perpetrated numerous times by the same broker, escrow company, auction platform, bank, etc. Generally, due to past real estate fraud, safeguards now exist to protect buyers and sellers in real estate transactions. Buyers and sellers have the right to a reasonable expectation of disclosure and transparency in such deals.

Once a business entity has reason to believe that their business is being used to facilitate criminal activity, most jurisdictions believe that such an entity becomes somewhat culpable at some point in time. Perhaps not in Haiti. Perhaps not in Tuvalu. Perhaps not in India. But for sure yes in the USA. For example, if you use the house you rent in Compton or Beverly Hills as a crack-house, the owner of the house can lose ownership of the house if the district attorney can prove the owner knew what was going on, whether or not the owner actually took part in selling crack at that house. Comments from various auction platform representatives proffering that fraud happens everywhere so you should expect it here too, and nothing can be done about it, only confirm they know what's probably going on under their purview.

Currently, no law enforcement entity has been informed as to the degree of fraud in the domain aftermarket, plus it's not a priority for them. The Snapnames auction fraud scandal and the lack of criminal prosecution thereafter tells us that. Lack of criminal prosecution there probably emboldened the group of fraudsters currently running rampant throughout the industry. Basically, the word is out that you'll not pay a price or penalty if you screw domain gamblers out of their money or enable someone else to do the screwing.

Eventually, when the owner of an auction platform knowingly enabling fraud is given the perp-walk, the rest will probably start cleaning up their collective acts. I can assure you that time is coming.

If you drive the getaway car in a robbery, or provide the safe-house for the robbers, you'll go to jail along with the robber who held the gun to the cashier's head.