I get a few emails a day asking different questions and a good one I received a few days ago asked me how I handle the payment and receipt of payments for my domains. Here’s some simple rules I follow for my domain transactions
1. If it’s through a big auction house there are no worries. When I say big, I mean Sedo, Afternic, or Godaddy. I don’t worry about getting my domain or money from these guys. Never had one issue or deal fall through with them. Domains that are private offers but domain the domain is on Sedo, I usually just have them put their bid through Sedo.
2. All transactions over $2K go to Escrow.com unless I know the person personally. It just keeps things safe and simple. The buyer and seller don’t have to worry about anything and the price is more than fair for safety.
3. If I am buying the domain and it doesn’t go to escrow I want the domain transferred to me before payment. I feel that I am a public enough figure that I can be trusted. I am not hard to find and screwing someone over would not be very good for my public image. You can easily link me to my nursery, my website, and can easily find my phone number. On the contrary, I have no idea who is on the other side and I don’t want charge backs or to take my money. Someone has to be trusted I’ve decided I can trust me.
4. When I receive payment via paypal I try and get masspay. Masspay gives the payee the full amount without taking out fees. Fees add up for larger amount. While paypal is safe they in no way care or protect you from fraud. They consider domains a service and service is not covered against fraud. But…..
5. When I pay via paypal I ALWAYS pay with a credit card. I do this because my credit card gives me the protection that paypal doesn’t. I always throw in an extra 2.5% to cover my fees. When I agree to a price I feel I should pay them that full amount. I wouldn’t be paying the full amount if I didn’t and I think paying the extra in fees more than compensates for the extra protection.
When I follow these rules I have had nothing but success. The two times I’ve had troubles somebody in the transaction got impatient and in once case, I got burned for $500. Never again. If you are patient and use your head you shouldn’t have any problems either.
Great post, Shane.
Personally, i go through escrow.com for all transactions over $500. I’m weary of paypal since i have heard horror stories about charge backs and whatnot, so i stick to what works. You also have to remember too that escrow.com takes paypal, credit cards, and wires. 🙂
Also, when making a sale to an end user, i have an email template explaining the escrow process, the pros of using escrow, and i give them a contact name at escrow.com just in case. This cuts down on time i have to spend explaining the payment options.
Lets not forget the “cool factor” of saying “im in escrow for _____.com and it should be closing soon!”…
Don’t forget about direct bank wires with a simple purchase agreement. Send the wire; when received you get the name same day. Always been my policy.
Also be on guard when sending a wire if you never heard of the bank, and nothing comes up when searching the bank name. Double check if bank is in continental us, if not I’d always use escrow in those cases.
Also i make sure someone can actually contact me by phone if that helps prove I’m a real person. When making a transaction, being accessible is key.
Good tips, just added some of mine 🙂
what about large transactions, say 10k or more. How do you handle those? I think escrow.com is for upto 5k.
it would also be nice to see some contracts that I guess you’d have to have for larger deals.
Thanks for this post Shane. I have to give kudos to a buyer I dealt with last week. His purchase was the one I had sent you an email about just a few weeks ago. Not only did he communicate often, he was professional and prompt. Per your suggestion, I used the Paypal method and have nothing to complain about.
—————–No need to post the following. Only for edification.—————-
I realize you may not want to post the website nor the buyer, but I would very much like to give credit to him. His name is Travis Skweres. If you get the chance to deal with him, take it. He’s dependable and he gets my recommendation. Good Luck Training.
Tucker
P.S.- Will we see you in Kona? If not, what’ll be your first IM?
I even had one guy wanted to put the money in his own attorneys account and then once I transferred the my insurance name over he would send the funds over.
I even offered to pay for all escrow.com fee’s on my side and then he said he had never heard of them. Well I put a stop to that. I believe this person was acting on behalf of another person. So everyone should even watch out for people claiming to be someone. Always get phone number, and the whole works.
Don M
@mike escrow.com handles all sorts of sized deals. six figures, seven figures, whatever.
That’s where a lot of people turn for that size