Should I use an escrow service?
Anything else I should know?
You don't need a written contract but you can ask for one. Keep it simple: "I agree to sell and transfer XYZ the domain Example.com. XYZ agrees to pay $11,000 for the domain to Escrow.com, Upon payment to escrow the domain will be transferred to ABCRegistrar. Upon transfer the funds will be released."
You can talk to a lawyer or keep it simple.
IF your buyer is prepared to trust you (and they should as you are a business owner, have a permanent address, etc.) they can do business without an escrow: They can simply mail you a check.
I have wired money (up to $$,$$$ per deal) all around the planet without contracts and without escrow to people who owned domains who had indicia of reliability: Business owners (who routinely do business without escrowing money); Serious domainers (whose reputation for fair dealing is essential to their ability to do business); Other people who I simply spoke with on the phone and could feel comfortable with them in the first exchange of words.
My suggestion: First, tell the buyer to send/fax a short contract that you'll sign and then they should send you a check. Second, if they don't trust you then tell them they can pay the escrow fees. At the most only pay 1/2. Third, if you employ any escrow service that takes a percentage shop for the lowest rate.
Ask the buyer to pay you the money and immediately transfer the domain to his account for example in paypal or some online payment where you can check realtime.
Nowadays all registrars change the info realtime .
Get the buyer online on some messenger and once the money gets realtime transferred to your account give immediately the domain transfer and give the domain to him in next 2 minutes.
Finish off the total deal in say 10 minutes
I am sorry here as I know i might be too quick to bypass the law and the formal requirements but the process is required since we should not give the buyer time to get a second thought in the mind about to think about the deal. after all domain has value only when it is sold.
Speedy deals - "We have to do this deal, right here, right now!" - often smack of fraud: Stolen credit cards, stolen account info, etc.
2 schools of thought. Do whatever you feel comfortable with. I've done plenty of "right now" deals, mostly in the low $$$ range and only more when the deal was with someone with whom I've had a history of past successful transactions.
If the buyer is prepared to send you a check or wire transfer (or some other payment method) before you release the name, then all when and good, and you don't need an escrow service.
If they are leery of giving you the money up front, then an escrow service is the way to go. Usually you can divide the escrow fees (usually about 3%) any way you want, you/them/split. Escrow services are offered by escrow.com, moniker.com, sedo.com, afternic.com, and maybe a few others.
I'd tend to try and keep lawyers out of the picture :)
Now escrow.com is asking me to do the following:
"You need contact the official Registrar of the domain name and request a transfer of ownership to the Buyer."
How do i transfer the domain name AWAY from godaddy.com?
Everything i see is all about transfering domains TO godaddy.
Then approve the transfer when I get an email from Godaddy?
Also, do I unlock the domain now, or wait until I get the transfer request from the buyer's registrar?
Or, do i have to initiate the transfer?
This is all new to me.
Have your buyer open an account with GD and simply push the domain into that account. Thereafter, at your buyer's leisure, they can move the domain anywhere at any time they wish.
Plan B: You your buyer opens an account with AnyRegistrarInc. The buyer confirms the registrar with you. You unlock the domain and, upon receiving the transfer request (which I would have the buyer confirm the instant it was inititated) and you authorize the transfer away.
If prefer to stay with the same registrar for larger deals as it is, IMHO, the simplest, fastest and most secure way to transfer. The buyer can then do whatever they wish.
Caveat: 1 time, in many domains and 7 years, an intervening unauthorized and entirely deceptive (though, declared innocent) transfer authorization request came in at entirely the wrong moment - using the same anticipated transfer system - when the real transfer request got bounced . . and I had to do a bit of lawyering and soldier-of-fortuning to have the domain put back where it belonged. Ergo, my preference for an intra-registrar push in certain cases.
On escrow.com it is only giving me the Name, Phone and Address of the buyer.
The buyer is telling me to go ahead and do the transfer.
I'm confused. There isn't enough info... Transfer it to where? Can I even initiate the transfer? Doesn't the buyer have to initiate the transfer? I thought the only thing I needed to do was Unlock the domain, then approve the transfer. What am I missing here? Both the buyer and escrow.com are acting like the next step needs to be taken by me.
Pick up the phone and call your buyer. Determine what the buyer's level of understanding is. It's quite likely that the buyer has never participated in a domain transfer before so you may have to walk him/her through the process.
P.S. I usually work for 1/3, but I'll take a beer at a PubCon if this deal ever closes. It will. Call the buyer and hold their hand. They should open an account with your registrar and tell them you will magically "push" (transfer) the domain into their account.
"This evening I submitted a transfer through my Registrar, enom."
Should I UNLOCK the domain NOW, or wait until I see the request come in my email from enom?
I am negotiating a price to purchase a number of domain names.
However, how do I know that the person I am buying it from will actually transfer it to me when he gets the money?
How do I know he won't just bank the money and do nothing?
How do I make sure I get what I paid for?
I read the advice about escrow accounts, but this means I will end up paying more than I bargained for, and some of the names I am looking at are in the $#*$!,#*$! range!
Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Mandy
1)Ask your client to set up an account at <most registrars>,tell them its free (Im not lying,it is)
2)Ask them to give you their customer number,reasure them no fraud can happen because they paid nothing to set up the account (this means godaddy hasnt got their credit details.
3)Login to <your account> to manage domain transfer. Its all easy from there.
4)The client should recieve a email showing exactly what happens.
[edited by: Webwork at 7:35 pm (utc) on Mar. 5, 2006]
[edit reason] Please keep advice general, per Charter. [/edit]
Have your buyer open an account with GD and simply push the domain into that account. Thereafter, at your buyer's leisure, they can move the domain anywhere at any time they wish. (emphasis added)
GD will lock the domain after a push, so that it cannot be transferred to another registrar for 60 days. You however can push it to a different account within GD during those 60 days.
Doing an inter-registrar transaction simplifies things by keeping the number of parties involved to the minimum of 4 - buyer, seller, escrow and registrar. In the event there is some type of problem, that sole registrar can straighten it out. Two registrars only make life more complicated. Using two registrars as Webwork noted does entail higher degrees of risk.
However, how do I know that the person I am buying it from will actually transfer it to me when he gets the money?How do I know he won't just bank the money and do nothing?
How do I make sure I get what I paid for?
I read the advice about escrow accounts, but this means I will end up paying more than I bargained for, and some of the names I am looking at are in the $#*$!,#*$! range!
If you are a buyer using escrow, the seller will not get the money until the domains are in your possession.
Escrow works like this. You pay escrow company. Escrow company acknowledges receipt of funds and asks seller to transfer goods. Buyer inspects good before funds are disbursed to seller. Upon approval by buyer, escrow pays seller.
The easiest thing to do is build the cost of the escrow transaction into the price you are willing to pay for the domain.
