"Yes I'll take it"...then radio silence...

[LucidDomains]

You email a buyer about a domain and they say yes they'll take it.
They say CC/Paypal is preferred. You tell them you use escrow only.
They then go radio silent to the next few emails over the course of the week.
Their email signature has no phone number.
You tract down an apparent telephone number for their business.
He is a CEO of a small but well-funded startup.
He seems legit, not someone who would ordinarily mess you about.
Price is good so moving on to the another buyer is not an option just yet.

What do you do?

1. Do nothing and wait.
2. Send yet another email.
3. Call the number and ask for an update.
4. Something else..

 

[Jonathan MacDermid]

I would not send another email this soon if you have already sent a few. You have to consider that it could be as simple as he has went on holiday and will deal with the email on his return.

 

[golan]

I personally really hate the "follow up" practice. Almost never do so. But in the case like yours, i would definitely send a follow up email in a few days. Or maybe even call.

There might be all kinds of situations... I had one buyer disappeared for a couple of months, and i decided to wait because i could not get any better offer for that domain than his one. Then in two months he just reappeared suddenly, asked if the deal is still on, and paid immediately.

 

[DomainRecap]

Just wait and be patient.

I know it's hard, but look at it from the other person's point of view. Unless the buyer suddenly got amnesia, he (or she) won't just forget about the deal, and it's far more likely that a bigger problem came up at work, there was a family emergency, vacation, etc. and he will contact you later. The buyer (a startup guy) could be out wining and dining a major investor in Singapore for all you know.

If it looks like you are harassing them with emails during a difficult or stressful time, it sends the wrong signal, quick.

Once it hits over a couple of weeks with no contact, then it's time to email and confirming (never ask, always confirm) that the deal is on.

 

[Randolph]

After 3 days,

"I'm giving you my direct line, call me anytime. +1 555 555 5555"

This line puts everything on your client. If they have a question that leaves them second guessing the deal, they now have your contact to clarify. It also brings down the barrier that could be stopping them from completing the deal by showing that you aren't hiding and you're willing to be transparent.

 

[E-Thunder]

I would interpret this that they don’t want to use escrow and are familiar with PayPal and credit cards.

 

[Smiles76]

Sounds like they found another name.

 

[DanBingham]

Be patient and send a friendly follow up in a week or so. The trick here is not to come across as pushy which is an easy mistake to make. If that doesn't work, offer your phone number and say you will be more than happy to discuss or answer any concerns they might have. Don't call them out of the blue.

 

[IMEZI]

well funded? there is no such enough for bottomless money burner pit, startup had to burn enormous sum of money in order to multiply their growth. Perhaps the CEO change his mind, looking for another stage of funding before burning money for domain name...

 

[BrandMart]

Go on a tour. Party hard. Let the buyer think over it and come back. If not, you still have the domain and can always find another buyer.

 

[LucidDomains]

My gut says he's changed his mind, but wouldn't it be easier and courteous to say "we're no longer interested, thank you".

 

[MapleDots]

Email them and tell them if escrow is a problem you are willing to do paypal.

He might just have thought its too much work to get verified for escrow.

If its a legit company paypal should be no problems.

Protect yourself, make a paypal invoice and make sure you mark it "full payment for domain.com"

 

[LucidDomains]

Email them and tell them if escrow is a problem you are willing to do paypal.

He might just have thought its too much work to get verified for escrow.

If its a legit company paypal should be no problems.

Protect yourself, make a paypal invoice and make sure you mark it "full payment for domain.com"

I wouldn't consider PayPal for this deal.

 

[MapleDots]

I wouldn't consider PayPal for this deal.

What is the dollar amount?

 

[Thirwell Castle]

About 3 various occasions I've had buyers go silent after agreeing on the price and tbh I'm sensing a pattern.
When they go silent I'll send multiple follow ups but still nothing sometimes it gets read and other times nada.
But my 2c is to take about 1-2week(s) before you follow up again cos they are probably busy or something else came up
The next time it happens that's what I'll be doing.

 

[LucidDomains]

What is the dollar amount?

Large enough for me to rule out PayPal.

 

[johname]

Radio silence might be stalling escrow until after the memorial weekend. Give it time.

 

[MapleDots]

Large enough for me to rule out PayPal.

I have my own merchant account with my own credit card machine. If the client can put it on his card I can take it, I put no limits on it because in most cases my cost on that is between 2-3%

I have the client sign a contract stating what he is paying for and authorizing the charge to the card.

 

[MapleDots]

I have my own merchant account with my own credit card machine. If the client can put it on his card I can take it, I put no limits on it because in most cases my cost on that is between 2-3%

I have the client sign a contract stating what he is paying for and authorizing the charge to the card.

If you make a number of sales a year it is well worth getting your own merchant account to accept visa and mastercard.

A big bonus is it's in your bank account the next day.

 

[namemarket]

It has nice benefits but I do not believe your own merchant account offers any more protection against charge-backs.

 

[MapleDots]

It has nice benefits but I do not believe your own merchant account offers any more protection against charge-backs.

Actually it does, if you have a signed contract. I had a chargeback, I emailed my merchant provider the contract and the funds were never even removed from my account. They give you three weeks to show the charge was legit.

I keep telling people to have a signed bill of sale (contract) which expressly authorizes the charge to the credit card. It saved my butt on a few occasions.

 

[namemarket]

that was good and it's excellent advice but couldn't you have done same thing without your own account?

 

[Brands.International]

You email a buyer about a domain and they say yes they'll take it.
They say CC/Paypal is preferred. You tell them you use escrow only.
They then go radio silent to the next few emails over the course of the week.
Their email signature has no phone number.
You tract down an apparent telephone number for their business.
He is a CEO of a small but well-funded startup.
He seems legit, not someone who would ordinarily mess you about.
Price is good so moving on to the another buyer is not an option just yet.

What do you do?

1. Do nothing and wait.
2. Send yet another email.
3. Call the number and ask for an update.
4. Something else..

I would say call the guy and say hi You can make new friend, new customer, you can sell him more of your domains in future, etc etc.And best of all, if he is not interested or hesitating, you can still convince him via phone. Plus, you will not spend days thinking about various possibilities as of why not this or that..I do not get why people prefer to use dry emails those days, when phones are almost for free now...

I would always go escrow, there is no reason for serious business not to.

 

[MapleDots]

that was good and it's excellent advice but couldn't you have done same thing without your own account?

In LucidDomains case the issue is getting the funds securely and escrow is the way to go there but as Lucid is finding out there is resistance to escrow and I have come across this a number of times. Not everyone wants to give up their time and information and deal with an escrow company. A lot of businesses simply write a cheque or use a company charge card.

I just found that having my merchant account with my own credit card machine made sense. I get the money in one day and there really is no limit. If the person can has the credit, I can put it through. Most sales are under 10k anyways so it really is not a big deal.

Now if Lucid has a 100k sale then it really only makes sense to use escrow but Lucid did say the buyer mentioned creditcard/paypal so it has to be an amount that makes sense for that type of a transaction. I cannot believe a business would want to put an extra ordinarily amount on a charge card but that is just me speculating.

Only thing I can say for sure is that if it were me I would not wait, I would pursue it and try to find a payment type that the business is more comfortable with. Another option is to ask for a business cheque, wait until it clears and release the domain.

 

[E-Thunder]

You contacted them, right? They agreed to buy the domain and asked to pay by credit card or PayPal. You responded saying escrow only. Then no response after that. I really agree that was the issue and you probably would’ve closed the sale if you were open to taking PayPal. I’ve done it many times without trouble. I’ve even transferred domains first then had buyers pay me by PayPal after!