Wow, I really got screwed.

[GiddyUp]

Listen to this one: I bid $420 on a name on Afternic VVWL.com, that was up to around $230 at the time. I said, I might as well give it a shot, Im sure it will go up to thousands of dollars since it is an LLL.com. Before I knew it, I had received confirmation that I won the auction for $240. Of course, this name was actually v v w l .com, a terrible LLLL.com not worth nearly $240.

The seller would not loosen the agreement and I confirmed with someone else here on NP that they too had the same problem with the name! I told Afternic and they said in the future they would put spaces in between the letters, but clearly after the other bidder had this same problem, they did not. ITs very deceiving to the eye, as VVWL.com looks like WWL.com! Needless to say, after much arguing, I had to pay for the name.

 

[fonzie_007]

AWest is:
1) A woman (Amber)
2) Not the person actually selling the domain and is rather
3) An afternic employee that posts any "ending soon" domains that could be of interest (Check her other posts.)

Just FYI

(Unless I'm dead-ass wrong, again )

-Allan :gl:

You are right IAAS. My apologies to Amber for the misunderstanding.

 

[Erdy]

It is afternic's fault. They should make sure the font they are using has enough space between letters. If they are changing the look of the listing they are agreening there was a visible problem. They should have canceled the auction.

 

[AWest]

My apologies to Amber for the misunderstanding.

No apology necessary, fonzie_007. I always embrace an opportunity to assist a member of Afternic, even if I get called "he" in the process.

Best,

Amber West
Afternic.com
[email protected]

 

[rome2ng]

easy if you want to save.... dont pay up and run away. it does the job.

since the seller also tries to do something deceptive to you.

 

[Erdy]

I think this incident has become another example why domainers should not use Afternic.

A few things have become clear on this issue. Firstly, the seller knew what he was doing. Secondly, Afternic doesn't give a damn even when it is their technical fault. Thirdly, the buyer is easy meat and lastly, it is dissapointing that NP has not moved this topic to warnings section.

 

[GiddyUp]

Thanks for your input Marcel. In terms of me being "easy meat", once I put in a bid and won, I had no real leg to stand on. I wasn't willing to forfeit my relationship with Afternic, and more importantly, with Escrow over a couple hundred dollars; and furthermore, though unlikely for such an amount, risk legal action.

 

[AWest]

Marcel,

Afternic can not cancel a sale agreement without permission from both parties. We can, and in this case did, explain the situation to the seller in an attempt to get the seller to release the buyer. While we cannot release a buyer from their obligation
to the seller, we do not typically take any punitive or legal action against
members who do not complete purchases when it is clear that they purchased a
name different than they intended.

We did make a change to the font, since there was confusion regarding the listing, and while some were able to discern that this was an LLLL.com, we would rather make this clearer for future members.

We care deeply about the satisfaction of all of our members, buyers and sellers.

Best,

 

[Erdy]

Hello Amber,
Of course you can cancel it. There was a technical mistake. I'm sure you can find an excuse when you look into your terms and conditions.

A few months ago I was bidding on a name at snapnames. I was following the auction and there was less than a minute left. Then refressing the page took too long. I have a perfect 5Mb connection and I did refresh the page multiple times in one minute but it appears others didnt.

Snapnames canceled all auctions on that particular date because some members said they could not bid. I can give exact date if asked. So you see what a company can do when they care for their costumers.

The seller was trying to trick the buyer. I'm sure he has other vv??.com domains. Have you checkerd? Have you checked his bidders. I think he might have shill bidders.

 

[Acroplex]

Afternic should ensure - using a fixed width font or graphic separation of the letters - that the domains listed are legible. In my opinion, Afternic should void the transaction.

 

[Erdy]

Giddy,
You should not pay. Afternic is not going to take any auction. About escrow you should check with them as well if you have agreed with escrow over this sale. I don't know at what stage you agree with escrow having nbot used them myself.
They will understand two v's and a w. They are not so dumb are they? Explain them that the seller was giving misleading information.

 

[estibot.com]

I agree. Don't pay. Well, I wouldn't at least. Do what you think is best for you. They will have to realize that domaining is not about taking the money and running. As Acroplex said, they should make sure their listings are not confusion. You are entitled to a cancellation or refund.

Josh

 

[GiddyUp]

I wanted to give everybody an update. I did pay for the domain and had it transferred over a couple of days ago. Much to my surprise, its averaging about $1/day at ND, unoptimized! Since its a LLLL.com and its making decent revenue, id say it seems the $250 i did pay for it wasn't so bad after all.

 

[domainer50]

I feel for you man. Spending $240 on a LLLL.com at this stage? Not good.

 

[Romeo20]

You thought it was a LLL.com, and you knew it was worth thousands. Therefore, you probably should've paid more close attention to why he'd be giving it to you for such a low price

Many times on ebay, I search an item, and find it worth very little. So, I look at the sale again and a lot of times it turns out being the poster of the item, souvineer, etc. things like that.

So, sad story but great lesson

 

[America First]

If you have been a player in this business/hobby/game then you know you have made 1 of these mistakes during our careers, not reading it correctly, getting excited and buying without thinking ect..., but yet myself has done this 3 times WTF! so don`t feel bad :tu: ............what I ended up paying is not included, :lol:
LasVegastripclubs.com missing the s
Gamblertable.com needed the s
Sportsbooksshack.com has to many s`s

 

[cache]

however $1 per day is not bad.

 

[estibot.com]

I wanted to give everybody an update. I did pay for the domain and had it transferred over a couple of days ago. Much to my surprise, its averaging about $1/day at ND, unoptimized! Since its a LLLL.com and its making decent revenue, id say it seems the $250 i did pay for it wasn't so bad after all.

Not bad! Glad it's turning out to be a good deal after all.

It would be nice to have a couple of hundred names churning out $1 per day parked...

 

[floatingworld]

I wanted to give everybody an update. I did pay for the domain and had it transferred over a couple of days ago. Much to my surprise, its averaging about $1/day at ND, unoptimized! Since its a LLLL.com and its making decent revenue, id say it seems the $250 i did pay for it wasn't so bad after all.

all credit and rep to you for seeing through the sale and also nice to see a not so bad bonus!