- Impact
- 5
Following the collapse in the standard of service provided by Escrow.com, I would like to make a list of established, reliable domain escrow services who can handle transactions in Euros and who provide the option of submitting funds via SEPA, the free European bank transfer system. I would greatly appreciate hearing about the experiences that members here have had with such companies.
Why I’m doing this:
A domain buyer in Australia recently approached me about buying a domain and we agreed a price in Euros. Now they have decided they want to use an escrow service, for which they will pay the fees. Their lawyers have suggested Escrow.com, because it is well known and they also like the fact that it is now an Australian company, having been bought by Freelancer.com back in 2015.
I used Escrow.com quite a few times in the past but, in recent years, most of my sales have been simple bank transfers. I don’t market my domains or place them on sale, any sales stem from the buyer approaching me, so, they are usually happy enough to just do a bank transfer and receive the domain, but this buyer is a startup and unfamiliar with the domain market.
It is not a big transaction, but I sympathize with their worry about sending money off into the ether, so, when they suggested getting some sort of formal legal agreement drawn up, I reluctantly suggested using escrow instead, and it turned out that their lawyer suggested the same thing.
What I did not know when I suggested Escrow.com is that their service has collapsed into chaos in the two years since their sale to Freelancer.com. I did not realize that until I googled them last night, trying to figure out what was wrong with their website, and found all the forum complaints, here and elsewhere.
The most immediate problem is that it no longer seems possible to create an Escrow.com transaction in Euros, despite mentions of Euro and USD transactions being sprinkled all over their website, and specifically described in their support documents:
escrow.com/support/faqs/what-currencies-does-escrowcom-support
(I suspect what has happened is that their new management has been unable to set up the systems necessary to continue offering a Euro-denominated service, and have been too disorganized to update their website to reflect that. This would gel with the high number of bad customer experiences reported over the past two years, and the poor reputation that their parent company, Freelancer.com, has long had).
So, if our Australian dollar to Euro transaction must now become an Australian dollar to USD to Euro transaction, it will substantially increase the buyer’s cost. From the amount in an initial Escrow.com transaction they created but then canceled, I suspect the buyer doesn’t realize the extent of the difference between the interbank rates you see when you do a currency conversion on Google, and the far worse retail rates applied by the banks. A 3-currency trip, along with ridiculous American banking charges, is undoubtedly going to take quite a bite out of their wallet and make it almost impossible for them to accurately hit the EUR amount we have agreed.
We need an escrow service that allows transactions in Euros and provides European bank details (SEPA). That would allow the buyer to submit exactly the right amount of Australian dollars to the Australian bank of a currency exchange service such as Transferwise, who would then output Euros from their German bank to the Escrow service who would then, once they had confirmed the domain transfer, pay my European bank account.
So, a good escrow service that can handle Euro-denominated transactions would be very handy, not just for this transaction but any future ones I might do. Like most people who occasionally buy and sell domains, I am not against the idea of escrow in principle, I am just wary of getting tangled up with systems that are badly managed, and that seems to be a problem even when these guys are getting paid hundreds or thousands in fees for what should be relatively straightforward transactions, really just a few minutes work.
Please help me to build up this list, so that we can all find better escrow options for Euro domain sales, I will get the ball rolling with two I have not yet used but which have a good reputation:
Why I’m doing this:
A domain buyer in Australia recently approached me about buying a domain and we agreed a price in Euros. Now they have decided they want to use an escrow service, for which they will pay the fees. Their lawyers have suggested Escrow.com, because it is well known and they also like the fact that it is now an Australian company, having been bought by Freelancer.com back in 2015.
I used Escrow.com quite a few times in the past but, in recent years, most of my sales have been simple bank transfers. I don’t market my domains or place them on sale, any sales stem from the buyer approaching me, so, they are usually happy enough to just do a bank transfer and receive the domain, but this buyer is a startup and unfamiliar with the domain market.
It is not a big transaction, but I sympathize with their worry about sending money off into the ether, so, when they suggested getting some sort of formal legal agreement drawn up, I reluctantly suggested using escrow instead, and it turned out that their lawyer suggested the same thing.
What I did not know when I suggested Escrow.com is that their service has collapsed into chaos in the two years since their sale to Freelancer.com. I did not realize that until I googled them last night, trying to figure out what was wrong with their website, and found all the forum complaints, here and elsewhere.
The most immediate problem is that it no longer seems possible to create an Escrow.com transaction in Euros, despite mentions of Euro and USD transactions being sprinkled all over their website, and specifically described in their support documents:
escrow.com/support/faqs/what-currencies-does-escrowcom-support
(I suspect what has happened is that their new management has been unable to set up the systems necessary to continue offering a Euro-denominated service, and have been too disorganized to update their website to reflect that. This would gel with the high number of bad customer experiences reported over the past two years, and the poor reputation that their parent company, Freelancer.com, has long had).
So, if our Australian dollar to Euro transaction must now become an Australian dollar to USD to Euro transaction, it will substantially increase the buyer’s cost. From the amount in an initial Escrow.com transaction they created but then canceled, I suspect the buyer doesn’t realize the extent of the difference between the interbank rates you see when you do a currency conversion on Google, and the far worse retail rates applied by the banks. A 3-currency trip, along with ridiculous American banking charges, is undoubtedly going to take quite a bite out of their wallet and make it almost impossible for them to accurately hit the EUR amount we have agreed.
We need an escrow service that allows transactions in Euros and provides European bank details (SEPA). That would allow the buyer to submit exactly the right amount of Australian dollars to the Australian bank of a currency exchange service such as Transferwise, who would then output Euros from their German bank to the Escrow service who would then, once they had confirmed the domain transfer, pay my European bank account.
So, a good escrow service that can handle Euro-denominated transactions would be very handy, not just for this transaction but any future ones I might do. Like most people who occasionally buy and sell domains, I am not against the idea of escrow in principle, I am just wary of getting tangled up with systems that are badly managed, and that seems to be a problem even when these guys are getting paid hundreds or thousands in fees for what should be relatively straightforward transactions, really just a few minutes work.
Please help me to build up this list, so that we can all find better escrow options for Euro domain sales, I will get the ball rolling with two I have not yet used but which have a good reputation:
Transpact.com
[Sorry, as a new member I am not allowed to post a screenshot of the Transpact website]
- UK company, regulated, operating since 2010
- Europe's biggest escrow service
- Sale agreement specifically ties into EU consumer protection laws, giving the buyer additional safety.
- Allows transactions in Euros, US dollars and British pounds
- No percentage and a very low flat fee, €6.98 for a transaction of up to €15,000
- They accept EUR funds via the free SEPA transfer system, so, ideal for submitting funds from outside Europe via onllne currency exchange services such as Transferwise
- Clever system: That low upfront fee is all you pay if transfer goes as planned but, if there is a dispute, the buyer and seller pay an refundable £20 for an arbitration decision. That happens very rarely, because there is zero incentive for bogus sellers or buyers to enter into the agreement in the first place.
- Website not as glossy as some escrow services, so, inexperienced buyers may be put off
- Searching online, Transpact have good reviews, suggesting competence and a helpful attitude.
Conclusion: I have not yet used Transpact but they appear to offer precisely the sort of simple, straightforward experience that any escrow company should, and at a very reasonable cost. I will suggest this service to any future buyers with whom I have good communication.
[Sorry, as a new member I am not allowed to post a screenshot of the Transpact website]
- UK company, regulated, operating since 2010
- Europe's biggest escrow service
- Sale agreement specifically ties into EU consumer protection laws, giving the buyer additional safety.
- Allows transactions in Euros, US dollars and British pounds
- No percentage and a very low flat fee, €6.98 for a transaction of up to €15,000
- They accept EUR funds via the free SEPA transfer system, so, ideal for submitting funds from outside Europe via onllne currency exchange services such as Transferwise
- Clever system: That low upfront fee is all you pay if transfer goes as planned but, if there is a dispute, the buyer and seller pay an refundable £20 for an arbitration decision. That happens very rarely, because there is zero incentive for bogus sellers or buyers to enter into the agreement in the first place.
- Website not as glossy as some escrow services, so, inexperienced buyers may be put off
- Searching online, Transpact have good reviews, suggesting competence and a helpful attitude.
Conclusion: I have not yet used Transpact but they appear to offer precisely the sort of simple, straightforward experience that any escrow company should, and at a very reasonable cost. I will suggest this service to any future buyers with whom I have good communication.
DN.com
[Sorry, as a new member I am not allowed to post a screenshot of the DN.com website]
- Owned by 4.cn, China's largest domain trading platform
- Relatively new, but that is a highly credible owner
- Allows transactions in Euros, US dollars and Chinese Renminbi
- 2% up to €4000 (minimum €20), + 0.5% for anything between €4,000 and €20,000
- … so, €15,000 would be €80 (for the first €4,000) + €55 for the next €11,000, TOTAL FEE €135
- 0.8% for €20,000 and up … so, €20,000 would be €160
- Glossy website, clear product offering. Some Western buyers might still be put off by the China connection, but the rest of the world is more aware of Chinese giants such as Alibaba.
- Searching online, they have good reviews, seem to be doing a good job
Conclusion: US escrow companies, through a mixture of managerial incompetence, red tape and an archaic banking system, are unable to effectively serve the rest of world. China is the most active domain market right now, and DN.com are clearly leveraging that scale to offer a highly competitive service. This is certainly the service I would suggest to Asian buyers and even any Western Buyers who feel they need something glossier than Transpact.
[Sorry, as a new member I am not allowed to post a screenshot of the DN.com website]
- Owned by 4.cn, China's largest domain trading platform
- Relatively new, but that is a highly credible owner
- Allows transactions in Euros, US dollars and Chinese Renminbi
- 2% up to €4000 (minimum €20), + 0.5% for anything between €4,000 and €20,000
- … so, €15,000 would be €80 (for the first €4,000) + €55 for the next €11,000, TOTAL FEE €135
- 0.8% for €20,000 and up … so, €20,000 would be €160
- Glossy website, clear product offering. Some Western buyers might still be put off by the China connection, but the rest of the world is more aware of Chinese giants such as Alibaba.
- Searching online, they have good reviews, seem to be doing a good job
Conclusion: US escrow companies, through a mixture of managerial incompetence, red tape and an archaic banking system, are unable to effectively serve the rest of world. China is the most active domain market right now, and DN.com are clearly leveraging that scale to offer a highly competitive service. This is certainly the service I would suggest to Asian buyers and even any Western Buyers who feel they need something glossier than Transpact.
Last edited: