Confirming claims of buyers on Sedo

[packeted]

Hi there guys,

I've had a number of offers in the past on domains claiming to want domains for their family tree and other noble causes. As Sedo provides a barrier between the buyer and seller to communicate freely, I was wondering if anyone has in the past been able to verify seller's details eg. family name before entering a contract to sell?

There's nothing worse than agreeing to a sale only to find you've been taken for a ride.

Many thanks!

 

[GreyWing]

Always assume you are being taken for a ride, then if it turns out to be genuine give the money back.

It's amazing just how many small charities there are collecting domain names

 

[Edwin]

Why do you care? Surely the financial circumstances of the buyer don't change the value of the domain name? I can't think of any "real world" instance where somebody goes into a shop and says "I'm a charity/a startup/poor/an individual with a hobby/etc" and expects to get a discount (and often a discount of anything up to 99% of the REAL value of what they're buying)!

Given this, I don't know why people try it on so often in the domain market - I suppose it's precisely because they don't have an easily measurable "value". But neither does art - and art galleries aren't inundated by chancers having a go...

That's why I love fixed prices.

 

[GreyWing]

Why do you care? Surely the financial circumstances of the buyer don't change the value of the domain name? I can't think of any "real world" instance where somebody goes into a shop and says "I'm a charity/a startup/poor/an individual with a hobby/etc" and expects to get a discount (and often a discount of anything up to 99% of the REAL value of what they're buying)!

Given this, I don't know why people try it on so often in the domain market - I suppose it's precisely because they don't have an easily measurable "value". But neither does art - and art galleries aren't inundated by chancers having a go...

That's why I love fixed prices.

Yep point taken on some names Edwin, but I know how I would feel if someone representing a kids cancer charity wanted to buy donate.org.uk from me?

If I charged them full price for it I don't think I could spend that money in good conscience. If I did them a discount I could live with the sale a bit more, however if I then seen it been used for the "Labour party" to accept donations, I have a right to be pee'd off.

I think in general you are right in 99% of the names, but in my opinion there are a couple of exceptions knocking about.

Cheers
Graeme

 

[stevebrowne]

You should read up on organised charities. Many (not all, admittedly) spend more on supporting their structure than they do on the very thing they collect money for. The charity aspect is a kind of by-product of running what is usually a very successful money generating business.

It's a while since I read up on this, so things might have changed, but when there are professional money collectors (who take a cut of what they collect) and senior staff have chauffeur driven cars, any ploy to get things on the cheap should be considered carefully.

 

[HariSeldon]

You should read up on organised charities. Many (not all, admittedly) spend more on supporting their structure than they do on the very thing they collect money for. The charity aspect is a kind of by-product of running what is usually a very successful money generating business.

I couldn't agree more and this is something that has been bothering me for a while now, to the extent that I recently reg'd a charity domain with a view to setting up a site that highlights how charities spend their donations.

However there are many small charities out there where the staff are genuine volunteers and most if not all of donations go to a good cause but I think many people would be surprised if they knew the top execs of some big charities are getting paid £100k+ a year.

Charity exec earned nearly £400k

Surely the financial circumstances of the buyer don't change the value of the domain name? I can't think of any "real world" instance where somebody goes into a shop and says "I'm a charity/a startup/poor/an individual with a hobby/etc" and expects to get a discount

Edwin, you're so cynical!

I've been in retail for 15 years and we have always offered discounts to buyers depending on their genuine circumstances. I've found it's even easier to do this in the domain business because of the significant difference between the buy and sell price.

but I know how I would feel if someone representing a kids cancer charity wanted to buy donate.org.uk from me? If I charged them full price for it I don't think I could spend that money in good conscience.

A recent example for me was a small overseas children's charity where the Registrant had lost the domain due to incompetence and bad advice from their ISP. It was a four letter domain that I could have made a tidy sum on but I'm totally with GreyWing on this and I let them have it for a few quid over reg fee.

I was wondering if anyone has in the past been able to verify seller's details eg. family name before entering a contract to sell?

Back to the original poster's question and in truth it's hard enough verifying claims when you are in direct contact with the buyer.

If you can't get the seller's details from Sedo then I would go down the route of "this is my normal selling price but I'm prepared to offer you a discount based on the circumstances. However as I can't verify your details I'll sell it to you at the normal price and refund you x% in 30 days time subject to verification of [your claims]". You have little to lose, the risk to the buyer is minimal and you get to sleep at night with a clear conscience.