Worried: Is GoDaddy Having Financial Problems?

[SteveC]

GoDaddy brokerage represented a client who bought a domain from me two weeks ago, and I'm getting the runaround on payment. I'm very concerned.

GoDaddy's website says they use Escrow.com for deals over $5,000 and this one is 5-figures, so I assumed that and felt safe. But the GoDaddy broker said they do it all in-house now, because it's more efficient and I'll get paid quicker. He told me that once the transfer came through, I'd get paid about a day later if I used PayPal, or 2-3 days through a bank using ACH. PayPal's very efficient, and there would be no fee, so I told him I'd go that way, and added it to my account at GoDaddy (I had one because I had a domain registered there once).

The domain was transferred to GoDaddy a week ago Friday and GoDaddy approved the transfer last Monday. They said that the buyer paid them 12 days ago.

I had called the broker a few times to make sure all was OK but it always went to VM with no response. No one told me the transfer was complete until I was connected to another broker there last Tuesday or Wednesday. It turns out that ACH was how I was going to be paid, and that he expected it to be a day or so, but he couldn't confirm anything or where it was.

On Thursday morning I called again when the funds weren't in my account, after confirming with my bank that they weren't in process, and the broker on the phone (not my original one) said to call them if I didn't have the funds by that afternoon. I waited until Friday morning and the funds weren't in my account.

I called my original broker again, who didn't answer the phone, so I connected with someone else. He said his supervisor wasn't in yet, but he would check with him and get back to me. I didn't hear back after a few hours, so I called again and finally got my original broker. He said transfers take 5-7 business days and that he had it go to my bank since my PayPal wasn't on my account when he did it, yet I added PayPal immediately.

He said they paid the company they used for the transfer a couple days ago. He said he'd contact accounting (GoDaddy's accounting apparently can't be called by anyone, or emailed by a client) and get the funds transfer number. He never called back.

In the meantime, the broker I called earlier Friday morning emailed me and said that he reached out to accounting and that looked as though it's an internal issue. He said he'd let me know what was going on, but I didn't hear back, although it was mid-Friday afternoon by then, so I'm sure he was off work shortly thereafter.

Where is my money? When will I get it? No one knows. This runaround by GoDaddy is similar to ones I've experienced from companies that go BK.

At this point I want to cancel the deal and get my domain back. If they go bankrupt, then the BK court can go back six months to a year and undo all deals, so I might have to give the payment back if the deal goes through.

Is anyone else having similar problems? Does anyone know what's really going on? Any advice and input would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[creataweb]

I highly doubt GD is BK lol. They're just slow. Keep bugging them til you get a real answer.

 

[BaileyUK]

When you have a concern of this magnitude, I would always insist on bypassing any first-line contact, , insist on speaking to accounts or a sales manager. I have spoken with godaddy reps many times over the years and although they are fairly quick picking-up the phone, your often speaking to staff who have little idea, and when they don't know they'll make-up an answer

 

[karmaco]

GoDaddy is notoriously slow to pay particularly if the domain is not with them. Not sure why you’d associate slowness with bankrupt.

A five figure sale would not process through PayPal unless it’s exactly 10K so that part is understandable.

Contact @Joe Styler

 

[SteveC]

Thank you all for the input. Based on my experience, and what I'm reading here, I'll never even listen to an offer through GoDaddy again.

I found out who bought the domain, so I'll contact them tomorrow morning, since they're the ones ultimately responsible for making sure I get paid.

 

[johname]

Every holiday time we get at least one post from someone wondering why a deal is delayed.

 

[Dorkvader]

I don't think Godaddy is having any financial issues. Their last quarterly earnings were up 23.93% they have market cap of 10.4 Billion, profit margins of 15.38% and so on. Based on the limited reading I just did the company has extremely healthy financials. Completely understand your concern as it's a large sum of money for most people. But mistakes do happen and so on. They will get you, your money it might not be as quickly as you liked but it will come.

My best advice is grease the wheel when you talk to the Godaddy reps, as up set and frustrating as it can be. You won't get far if you get angry at the rep.s you talk with. They are just doing job and it's likely not their fault. If you are pleasant to work with and kind, they will be more likely to go the extra mile for you.

 

[DBurn]

Be patient. The sky isn't falling. GoDaddy will get it worked out.

 

[Name Trader]

GoDaddy brokerage represented a client who bought a domain from me two weeks ago, and I'm getting the runaround on payment. I'm very concerned.

GoDaddy's website says they use Escrow.com for deals over $5,000 and this one is 5-figures, so I assumed that and felt safe. But the GoDaddy broker said they do it all in-house now, because it's more efficient and I'll get paid quicker. He told me that once the transfer came through, I'd get paid about a day later if I used PayPal, or 2-3 days through a bank using ACH. PayPal's very efficient, and there would be no fee, so I told him I'd go that way, and added it to my account at GoDaddy (I had one because I had a domain registered there once).

This is all news to me. I completed a $5k sale at GoDaddy about 2 weeks ago. It went thru Escrow.com. I have always understood that they put this in place because they didn't want to be considered an escrow service. Were you sure you were calling GoDaddy with the phone number on their website?

The transaction, at least the payment to you seems to be a complete mess. How did they know where to pay it, after they decided they couldn't use PayPal because of the size of the transaction? I would speak to a supervisor and not get off the phone until they gave you complete payment details.

Of course. Being Easter might have put a strain on their intelligent resources at GoDaddy.

At least they confirm they have receipt of the funds. Do you have that in writing. What documents do you have from GoDaddy regarding this transaction.

I would call them again on Tuesday. Perhaps the GoDaddy Representative here can help. You should PM him.

@Joe Styler

 

[SteveC]

Be patient. The sky isn't falling. GoDaddy will get it worked out.

DBurn,

I appreciate your feedback but I don't know much of anything about GoDaddy and I've only sold a few domains ever. It's not my business. They told me me some things and did something else, they can't get me any answers and don't come through with what they said they'd do. That concerns me greatly.

It's clear from what I've heard in this discussion that they are slow pay, sit on your money, and you have to be in their face to get them to do anything. That shows me they can't be trusted.

 

[SteveC]

This is all news to me. I completed a $5k sale at GoDaddy about 2 weeks ago. It went thru Escrow.com. I have always understood that they put this in place because they didn't want to be considered an escrow service. Were you sure you were calling GoDaddy with the phone number on their website?

The transaction, at least the payment to you seems to be a complete mess. How did they know where to pay it, after they decided they couldn't use PayPal because of the size of the transaction? I would speak to a supervisor and not get off the phone until they gave you complete payment details.

Of course. Being Easter might have put a strain on their intelligent resources at GoDaddy.

At least they confirm they have receipt of the funds. Do you have that in writing. What documents do you have from GoDaddy regarding this transaction.

I would call them again on Tuesday. Perhaps the GoDaddy Representative here can help. You should PM him.

@Joe Styler

Stub,

You're right, it is a complete mess. If you used Escrow.com 2 weeks ago with them and they told me they don't use it anymore, that's one more untrue thing GoDaddy broker told me.

They sent it to a bank account because I added it to my account before they told me I could use PayPal, and then I added that. And the broker handling it didn't say the size of the transaction was the reason they didn't use PayPal. He said I hadn't set up the PayPal payment option when he put the order through.

No, I don't have confirmation that they received the funds in writing. I definitely am dealing with GoDaddy, though.

I tried getting staying on the phone until things were handled, but supposedly it's all to do with accounting, who only works by email, not phone—and only for GoDaddy employees. They wouldn't give me an email to contact them.

It's not even the extra few days. It's that NO ONE can tell me what's actually going on. Or won't.

 

[creataweb]

@Joe Styler

 

[SteveC]

I don't think Godaddy is having any financial issues. Their last quarterly earnings were up 23.93% they have market cap of 10.4 Billion, profit margins of 15.38% and so on. Based on the limited reading I just did the company has extremely healthy financials. Completely understand your concern as it's a large sum of money for most people. But mistakes do happen and so on. They will get you, your money it might not be as quickly as you liked but it will come.

My best advice is grease the wheel when you talk to the Godaddy reps, as up set and frustrating as it can be. You won't get far if you get angry at the rep.s you talk with. They are just doing job and it's likely not their fault. If you are pleasant to work with and kind, they will be more likely to go the extra mile for you.

I'll call them again in the morning, thanks.

 

[Name Trader]

@SteveC - PM @Joe Styler He's a good guy and won't tell you any BS.

 

[SteveC]

@SteveC - PM @Joe Styler He's a good guy and won't tell you any BS.

Stub,

Thank you. I missed your PM Joe Styler suggestion. I will contact him tonight.

 

[SteveC]

@Joe Styler

Thanks creataweb, I missed your Joe suggestion, too. Not used to tall the terms.

 

[Daniel Owens]

Godaddy is amazing, they are not going bankrupt and are the best register, and auction/BIN platform on the internet!

 

[Name Trader]

Godaddy is amazing, they are not going bankrupt and are the best register, and auction/BIN platform on the internet!

you left out, IMHO

 

[Daniel Owens]

@stub Since, it is a fact I didn't need to say it was opinion. IMHO 99% of domainers know it to be true (regardless it's true even if 1% don't know).

 

[Name Trader]

@stub Since, it is a fact I didn't need to say it was opinion. IMHO 99% of domainers know it to be true (regardless it's true even if 1% don't know).

I don't know where you are getting your facts from. Every domainer knows that GoDaddy are the biggest Registrar and Domain Auctioneer/Reseller on the planet. But I very much doubt that 99% of domainers have such a high opinion of their platform

 

[Ategy]

lol .. relax guys .. you're both right ...

Yes GoDaddy has by far the biggest inventory of expiring names that you can get at good prices ... but it's also very true that GoDaddy communications are a complete disaster .. even more so when it's an inter-department issue like in this case .. and their platform is a mess and full of bugs .. However .. they are honest people for the most part .. they aren't out to scam you .. rest assured your money is safe .. it's mostly a result of being too big and the right hand having no clue there even is a left hand .. also likely now delayed because of the holidays .. it certainly does not in any way excuse the fact you were given wrong information .. it happens a lot with them .. it's not that they are deliberately lying to you, but more that they instead of telling you they "don't know", they are most likely in good faith simply guessing what they think the most likely answer is. My guess is that the transaction was likely started (which is why they told you what they did) .. but can take a few days to actually hit your bank account sometimes .. it's a long weekend and most banks are closed until Tuesday .. I'm afraid you likely won't get any real answers until then.

That's the compromise you have to make if you're going to deal with GoDaddy .. I've reported countless issues over last couple of years .. some extremely seriously glitches and bugs .. always get the standard "thanks your feedback is helpful and appreciated" .. and then nothing .. and the issues/bugs are rarely fixed .. I have even lost domains because of bugs .. I have won auctions I didn't intend to bid on because of bugs .. At the end of it you just have to stick it out and be patient .. as someone not used to that I totally understand it can be painfully frustrating .. just rest assured you are not alone in your frustrations .. I think we need to form a GoDaddy user support group! lol

Long story short .. you'll get your money .. eventually!

 

[Name Trader]

I think we need to form a GoDaddy user support group! lol

Good idea We'd all be complaining amongst ourselves and ignored by GoDaddy. I vote that @Joe Styler should represent GoDaddy. <j>

 

[golan]

@stub Since, it is a fact I didn't need to say it was opinion. IMHO 99% of domainers know it to be true (regardless it's true even if 1% don't know).

Thanks for adding your IMHO this time. They are the biggest, yes, but for sure not the best. Their support is close-to-absent, their UI is a nightmare mess, their upsells are just showing the degree of their despisal to their users and clients. I try to stay away from them whenever i can.

 

[SteveC]

Godaddy is amazing, they are not going bankrupt and are the best register, and auction/BIN platform on the internet!

Thanks for adding your IMHO this time. They are the biggest, yes, but for sure not the best. Their support is close-to-absent, their UI is a nightmare mess, their upsells are just showing the degree of their despisal to their users and clients. I try to stay away from them whenever i can.

I'll definitely stay away from GoDaddy after this, Golan.

 

[alcy]

most us will not live long enough to see gd go bankrupt
or run into financial problems for that matter.