alert The fund can't be withdrawal from Epik.com via Masterbucks wallet

[enamebroker]

It happened on 23rd Aug 2022 and this matter lasted almost one month without any process. Masterbucks.com declined my fund withdrawal and disabled the button of fund withdrawal. And I contacted Epik.com and got no further action even if Rob Monster got involved in it for two weeks. All the time I was told in email by management review.

What is wrong with Epik.com? Do you think it is normal to disable fund withdrawal? How can I get back my fund from Epik.com? Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

Kathleen didn't know the buyer.
This buyer chose Epik.
If Kathleen had known the buyer, she could have sold at a lower commission elsewhere.

 

[bmugford]

Oh it is significant funds for me!!!

Yeah, I think the amount of money people like you and Igor are owed would be life changing to the majority of people.

There are real victims here who have to deal with this fallout, while there has been no accountability and the scam of turning real money into fake money, like store credits, continues.

Brad

 

[Kathleen Kalaf]

Kathleen didn't know the buyer.
This buyer chose Epik.
If Kathleen had known the buyer, she could have sold at a lower commission elsewhere.

Igor, it is even worse than that. A couple years ago, Rob almost sold my domain for me at a higher number with a lease and option to buy at a later date. At that time, I had my website up with my own phone number to contact me for sale. After Rob demonstated his remarkable sales skills, I changed the phone number on my site to contact Epik and Rob Monster. I thought Rob would sell it for more than I could, given that I am not in the domain industry and never sold a single domain. I found the buyer in New Zealand once the domain transferred finally, and she told me she went to my website first, and then went to Epik. So, the reality is that I could have sold this myself, at $100K, and not even paid a commission, nor had my money stolen.

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

Igor, it is even worse than that. A couple years ago, Rob almost sold my domain for me at a higher number with a lease and option to buy at a later date. At that time, I had my website up with my own phone number to contact me for sale. After Rob demonstated his remarkable sales skills, I changed the phone number on my site to contact Epik and Rob Monster. I thought Rob would sell it for more than I could, given that I am not in the domain industry and never sold a single domain. I found the buyer in New Zealand once the domain transferred finally, and she told me she went to my website first, and then went to Epik. So, the reality is that I could have sold this myself, at $100K, and not even paid a commission, nor had my money stolen.

You would most likely be deceived by Epik anyway. Only it would not be a sale on the Epik marketplace with a 9% commission, but an Epik "escrow" sale with a ~3% commission.
They would have stolen not $91,000 from you, but $97,000, that's all.

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

With domain names, I have a better situation than Kathleen. I have several names, each potentially worth a hundred thousand or more (car.ai space.ai store.ai avatars.ai nfts.ai metaverse.ai...). By the way, it seems that Epik wanted to steal these names from me because they offered to transfer these names to them. But I don't have a pension. By the way, Kathleen and I are almost the same age (~60).

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

Although in Ukraine I would have such a small pension (~$50 per month) that I don't even want to receive it. It seems to me that without a pension I will feel younger.

 

[rh2000]

It is just so difficult to be a victim in this situation. I have tried to step away from it for a while, and then I come back to check in to see what is happening because sometimes it is worse not knowing and I feel so disconnected.

In the 12 years that I knew Rob Monster, he was always so helpful. In 2010, right after I recovered from Candida (systemic fungal infection), Rob and Luke Webster helped me to redesign the Candida.com website and to try to make it profitable. It didn't work, but they tried, as they knew I had gone flat broke from being sick from Candida.

And for 12 years following that, Rob called me 2-3 times a year to let me know he had leads on selling the domain, and tried to help me sell it. We were not good friends, but I always liked him, always enjoyed hearing from him, and always felt he was on my side. It has been a challenge to wrap my mind around all of this. The fact that my domain finally sold in the month of September 2022-- right after this whole financial mess opened up is shocking and disheartening. And the story just does not match up with the Rob Monster that I knew during those years. He was always trying to help me.

And then in November, Brian Royce began following up with me, texting me with updates that indicated I would be paid, but then nothing came of it. I have pages and pages of texts from Brian, with updates that just left me hanging. For a while, it seems like he was really trying to get me paid. Maybe he didn't have the money to send. He even sent me a text on Christmas Eve, with a picture of a Christmas tree and a Merry Christmas message. At the time, I was trying to forget that I had $100K stolen from escrow, trying to get my mind off of it, and enjoy time with family. But Brian reminded me of it while I was with my folks and other family on Christmas eve. I don't know if he was being sincere, or if he was just laughing at me, saying ha ha, Merry Christmas, I have your money and you can't do a thing about it. It ruined Christmas eve.

There is a lot of talk about Christianity in all of these discussions, but I don't see any evidence of Christianity when it comes to stealing money from victims. What I see is greed.

I am hoping that somewhere, behind the scenes-- that Rob Monster, the investors, and shareholders, that Christianity is still a part of their being, and that they will find a way to do right by all of these victims all over the world that are truly in need of their funds. We are just small potatoes compared to their net worth.

And even if Christianity is not a part of their being, is there still hope that one will just "Do unto Others"?

And even if they are not Christian--there is still something called being a good person, and doing the right thing. I hope there is someone behind the scenes that is involved in this that will do the right thing for all of us that have fallen victim to this horrific situation.

I may not have much, but at the end of the day when I look in the mirror, I feel OK about who I am. But without my funds, life is going to be a struggle for many years to come.

These folks have millions, even billions of dollars, and the money due to victims is just a drop in the bucket compared to their net worth.

I really feel for you. I don't know what I would do if I was in this situation. For Brian Royce to send you a photo of a Christmas tree is like a slap in the face. I hope they figure out a way to pay you. Along with paying everybody else.

 

[Derek Peterson]

 

[Kathleen Kalaf]

You would most likely be deceived by Epik anyway. Only it would not be a sale on the Epik marketplace with a 9% commission, but an Epik "escrow" sale with a ~3% commission.
They would have stolen not $91,000 from you, but $97,000, that's all.

What I was trying to say is that the buyer came to my website first. I could have sold the domain myself without Epik or Rob Monster for $100,000 and never had to deal with Epik. The buyer found me directly. I was the one who put Rob Monsters phone number on my website. I sent the buyer to Epik's marketplace.

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

What I was trying to say is that the buyer came to my website first. I could have sold the domain myself without Epik or Rob Monster for $100,000 and never had to deal with Epik. The buyer found me directly. I was the one who put Rob Monsters phone number on my website. I sent the buyer to Epik's marketplace.

How would you sell without escrow?
You could, of course, turn to another escrow operator, but with your trust in Monster, you would still most likely use Epik's escrow, and they would deceive you.

 

[Kathleen Kalaf]

How would you sell without escrow?
You could, of course, turn to another escrow operator, but with your trust in Monster, you would still most likely use Epik's escrow, and they would deceive you.

When I bought Candida.com from Candida Corporation back in 2010, I used an attorney and the attorneys recommended escrow service.

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

When I bought Candida.com from Candida Corporation back in 2010, I used an attorney and the attorneys recommended escrow service.

So you're now convinced that you wouldn't use Epik's escrow then?

 

[Kathleen Kalaf]

So you're now convinced that you wouldn't use Epic's escrow then?

Hahahahaha. Hindsight is 20/20. I did not even know Epik had an escrow service. If I had sold it on my own, I might have called Rob for guidance on a price, but who knows if I would have used his escrow. I may have, or I may have just done it the way I had done it previously with an attorney and the buyers attorney. But point well taken, thanks for making me laugh!

 

[Jay]

Okay I'll be the one to say it; we really need a weekly digest on this sh*t show of a situation with Epik. I pulled domains from Epik back when they had their security incident, but I've still closed deals since then on the site.

If what everyone in this thread is reporting is true, heck, even half true at this point, continuing to do business with Epik is simply an operational liability.

I've been following this thread since shortly after it was started, and the fact we're at over 230 pages of comments in six months has to put this thread in the top list for the entirety of this site.

Curious what others are feeling at this point. Should we just close the chapter and move on?

 

[bmugford]

Okay I'll be the one to say it; we really need a weekly digest on this sh*t show of a situation with Epik. I pulled domains from Epik back when they had their security incident, but I've still closed deals since then on the site.

If what everyone in this thread is reporting is true, heck, even half true at this point, continuing to do business with Epik is simply an operational liability.

I've been following this thread since shortly after it was started, and the fact we're at over 230 pages of comments in six months has to put this thread in the top list for the entirety of this site.

Curious what others are feeling at this point. Should we just close the chapter and move on?

I think people will be ready to move on once the customers are paid back and there is accountability for the actions that lead to this.

The fact that Epik continues to operate and look for new suckers makes this thread as relevant as ever.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Hahahahaha. Hindsight is 20/20. I did not even know Epik had an escrow service. If I had sold it on my own, I might have called Rob for guidance on a price, but who knows if I would have used his escrow. I may have, or I may have just done it the way I had done it previously with an attorney and the buyers attorney. But point well taken, thanks for making me laugh!

Well, it's not like Rob would have told you that Epik was an unlicensed escrow company that didn't have enough funds to pay customers so they were going to stick you with worthless Masterbucks.

At the time of your transaction Brian Royce was CEO, so he has no excuses either. Epik continued to offer escrow services knowing they did not have the funds to pay customers.

Brad

 

[GNP]

Curious what others are feeling at this point. Should we just close the chapter and move on?

(Revised, since poster clarified what they meant by "close the chapter and move on", ie stop doing business with Epik.)

@JDD Since you are an "investor" (according to your forum profile) -- out of curiosity -- do you currently have and/or have you ever had any investment in Epik (or associated / related business) and/or any investment in any project that Rob Monster and/or Brian Royce ran / run???

 

[Jay]

Why do you want everyone to move on BEFORE the people / business responsible for harming so many people have been held accountable for their misdeeds and punished???

If YOU lost $90k -- that was your retirement money no less -- would you just move on and let them get away with it???

To clarify, I'm in no way shape or form stating to just "let it go". When I refer to "move on", I'm referring to severing ties with Epik and refusing to bring them additional business.

Based on what I've read in this thread alone, I would urge folks in the US to contact their state's Attorney General, and frankly, I would shoot a note to the SEC based on how they're handling funds. At the very least, a crap attorney can pull the truth out in discovery and tie up Epik legal resources for months, if not years as a result. If you're in another state besides Maine (state where Epik reported their breach) and were impacted by their data breach, include a note about that too.

Long story short, this company is a walking legal nightmare with deplorable press coverage based on their own stupidity.

Again just to clarify, I'm simply saying it would be wise to collectively stop providing additional business to a company that continues to prey on new victims with zero accountability for past missteps. Considering this spans multiple leadership "regimes", this is a company culture and ethics issue.

 

[bmugford]

To clarify, I'm in no way shape or form stating to just "let it go". When I refer to "move on", I'm referring to severing ties with Epik and refusing to bring them additional business.

Again just to clarify, I'm simply saying it would be wise to collectively stop providing additional business to a company that continues to prey on new victims with zero accountability for past missteps. Considering this spans multiple leadership "regimes", this is a company culture and ethics issue.

Yeah, what is the compelling reason to use Epik at this point?

There are plenty of alternative options that offer similar or better prices, better support, appreciate domain investors, aren't in massive debt, are run by qualified people AND don't screw customers over.

There is no upside. It is all potential downside.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

Do not trust TrustRatings, do not trust Rob Monster.

 

[bmugford]

Do not trust TrustRatings, do not trust Rob Monster.

Show attachment 234786

He also reviews other Epik services in whoq.com and sibyl without mentioning any connection, as well as his wife's medical clinic.

I swear there is always some angle with Rob.

I posted this before, but here it is again.

https://kellywarnerlaw.com/post-online-reviews-of-my-product

Is It Legal To Post Online Reviews Of My Product?

Can I post online reviews of my products? The answer: Only if you prominently disclose your connection to the product. It’s against FTC rules to litter the Internet with phony product reviews that appear impartial but aren’t.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/bus...tcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking

In addition, the Guides say, if there’s a connection between an endorser and the marketer that consumers would not expect and it would affect how consumers evaluate the endorsement, that connection should be disclosed. For example, if an ad features an endorser who’s a relative or employee of the marketer, the ad is misleading unless the connection is made clear. The same is usually true if the endorser has been paid or given something of value to tout the product. The reason is obvious: Knowing about the connection is important information for anyone evaluating the endorsement.

 

[GNP]

When I refer to "move on", I'm referring to severing ties with Epik and refusing to bring them additional business.

Ok, my bad. I hadn't thought of that meaning of "move on", so revised the original post accordingly.
I agree completely.

 

[GNP]

Yeah, what is the compelling reason to use Epik at this point?

The only reason I can think of is someone has a ton of domains at Epik and can't afford to transfer them out all at once. (Based on this thread there are at least a few people in that position that WANT to be out, but can't afford to get out yet.)

 

[topdom]

If I were Epik , I would offer a promotion like this:
For every domain you sell for x dollars at Epik, we give you another x dollars, so your selling price doubles.
Commission = minus 100 percent.
Namepros members only.

Wondering whether anyone would accept it. If not, "9 percent" is not acceptable either.

And I suspect, Epik is doing things like this. There is a buyer, I add a price, and current buyer is not ready to buy near that price, but Epik pretends to be the buyer and buys my domain. And then can sell, but " they don't have to sell for profit". They can sell for much less, and still it is profit.
So, although I think I have mid 4 figures of masterbucks on my account, I actually got rid of domains which would cost me renewal fee, and not sell.

..
BTW I must say (said before but..), making a connection between Epik and Jan 6 events would make Epik stronger, so this is not a good idea.

 

[Derek Peterson]

..
BTW I must say (said before but..), making a connection between Epik and Jan 6 events would make Epik stronger, so this is not a good idea.

Not if they betrayed all those people and handed over data or, best case, they lied about their abysmal security and the fact that they didn't own their own code and it was run out of Eastern Europe.

Have you not heard about the hack that happened at epik?
https://providencepost.com/a-monster-of-epik-proportions/