Sedo Lying About Factcheck.com

[jberryhill]

Having spent the better part of a week deflecting false rumors about the domain name factcheck.com, I was horrified tonight to find that sedo.com FALSELY lists domain names for sale when the domain names are NOT for sale.

These slimeballs are UNBELIEVABLE.

In a recent online discussion with a sedo executive, I pointed out the hazard of their implication that non-listed names are for sale might be misinterpreted by poorly informed UDRP panelists or trademark attorneys. The SEDO executive did not believe that could happen, even though it is precisely what happened at GreatDomains with the non-listed name buypc.com.

This executive assured me that the only names identified as being for sale at SEDO are ones which are specifically listed there by the registrants.

This executive is a lying sack of stuff that makes the garden grow.

SEDO is advertising factcheck.com for sale at $1500. The domain name is not for sale. The listing is not authorized by the domain name registrant.

Being irresponsible is one thing. Being irresponsible and dishonest is another thing.

How many other people are you doing this to?

[Harmonia]

Well, not sure if this is related. But this is definitely one of the many cases where companies post domains for sale by non-owners. One afternic member put up my domain for sale without my consent. I found it in his "for sale" listing as I was browsing around. That left me shocked and worried. So I contacted afternic for some investigations. Clarification is so important in this case, just to prevent lots of scammers online. After some investigations, Afternic willingly removed the "for sale notice". I did not ask further how that seller is able to do that (maybe I should eh?). I did not grant the domain for sale and this really stinks. What if someone actually paid that seller for my domain...

[seeker]

Yes, but sedo has many many 'verification' processes, which annoy me because some of their staff dont know how to use them. However, they are effective.

so, what probably happened, is that the previous owner listed it, and they never removed it (likely case)
or,
John is correct.

[Nexus]

so, what probably happened, is that the previous owner listed it, and they never removed it (likely case) or, John is correct.

With the previous owner being in this forum, it should be easy enough to ask. I'm guessing this has already happened. Might be something else.

~ Nexus

[actnow]

so, what probably happened, is that the previous owner listed it, and they never removed it (likely case)
or,
John is correct.

Normally, whatever John says - I agree.

However, a couple weeks ago, I was searching on sedo and found two of
my names for sale there. I am POSITIVE I did not list them at sedo.

I had acquired the names thru drops a couple years ago.

I speculuate that the former owner of those two names had them listed there.
And, they were never removed.

[Mr Webname]

Guess this post answers my question:
http://www.dnforum.com/f26/ebay-feedback-question-thread-67227.html

[Acro]

John, are you referring to domains listed on sedo while their owner never put them there, OR that by putting a domain on sedo one should have the chance to simply PARK it with no indication of it being FOR SALE?

Those 2 things are different and I would like to see Sedo implement a parked domain page with no For Sale headlines.

[cwsteam.com]

I listed a domain for sale and actually sold it via sedo. Never in the process did sedo verify from whois whether I was the actual owner or not...!! This was just 3-4 weeks back.

[Acro]

I listed a domain for sale and actually sold it via sedo. Never in the process did sedo verify from whois whether I was the actual owner or not...!! This was just 3-4 weeks back.

They only do that if your WHOIS info does not match the info in your Sedo account.

[seeker]

yes, I can assure you here that they do screen each name.
In fact, I have a harder time listing names at sedo because of their verification process than anything else. So I guess it is good after all that the do verify thourouly.

[MediaHound]

Happened to me too, here's an email I'll take public about the matter.
An email from sedo to myself, after a few emails back and forth, about 2 of my domains:

"At 14:14 13.04.2004, you wrote:

I'm going to point out another flaw.
When I type (domain removed) in your site, I get this screenshot (removed) which says it is for sale. It is not for sale, as far as you guys should be concerned, it is sold. Because I have paid for it.
You are only trying to encourage the seller to hold onto the name as it is still where they want it to be, "for sale". But in reality, I paid for it, so its not for sale anymore.

From one professional to another, this looks very bad for business and public viewpoints... trust me I really have nothing to say thats good about you guys so far. And I dont know if you realize it or not, but I know pretty much half of the big players in the business on a first name basis. You screwed up my payment confirmation. You had my domain listed for sale when it wasnt (Physicians.org), and now, the name that I paid for, that you now admit I paid for, I have yet to recieve, and you still show it as being "for sale".

I look forward to your reply.

Jarred C.

Dear Jarred,

Thanks for your reply. Firstly, with regards to physicians.org, as you stated you had only recently purchased the domain, so the domain had been listed with us by the previous owner, probably quite some time ago, and once it had been sold he had failed to remove the domain from our site - this is not our fault, the customer is responsible for the upkeep of the domains in his user area, and I think you will appreciate that with over one million domains on our database, a robot informing us of the ownership on a daily or weekly basis is simply not a viable option.

Secondly, PayPal payments do not get confirmed automatically, they have to be checked manually, and payments from unrecognized sources get checked last. Furthermore, our accountant was away on Friday the 5th when the payment was made, hence the check was made on Monday the 8th as our office is closed on weekends.

Thirdly, it seems to me that you believe that we own the domain, which is not true. Transfers take on average between 5 days and 3 weeks, depending on the registrars involved, and as your registrar is not one of the major registrars I can understand why this transfer is taking as long as it is. When we have a new transfer we do have to go through some preparation with the seller before the buyer can make a transfer request and as the request for (removed) was made before we gave the go-ahead to make a request, this could be the reason why the seller locked it, to guard against a hijack attempt. We always inform sellers when we give the go-ahead to buyers so that they know to expect a request.

Fourthly, the for sale tag on the domain will produce an error when More Info is clicked on, preventing any other bids. Unfortunately in order to put a sold sign does require slightly more work in the back end of our system, and as this is a lesser change this has not been given a high priority, as we have other larger projects to deal with at the moment.

I hope this answers your questions satisfactorily.

Regards,

Justin Fletcher
Key Account Manager
__________

[wolfis.com]

Hello everyone ,
sedo and afternic are both great companies & both have very large amounts of domains listed - removed and re-listed , they surly do their very best to keep fraud away from their websites the best they possibly can.

in 99.98 % of these cases (and i am sure sedo and afternic agree with this ) it is a case where the domain name was sold by the account holder but not removed from sale.one a very small number of domains are added to attempt fraud !!
(Factcheck.com is possibly one of those cases)


and
- here is a little guide of ,what to do if your name is listed for sale , but it shouldn't be.

to get your [for sale]name removed :

first the sedo issue ; if one of your domains is listed there (most likely left by the previous owner and never removed after he/she sold it - i am possibly also guily of this)

just list the name inquestion at sedo in your account - the sedo script will tell you that the name is already listed - follow the very simple direction (1 link to click) to verify you as the owner .

the name will then be manual revied and put into your account (followed by a sedo email - we are soory but stuff like this happens for the following reasons ,blabla..)

after this email , log into you sedo account and click remove this listing... DONE !

really no big deal - its very easy - trust me, if i can do this you can too !


------
...and now afternic :

the former owner sold the domain and forgot to remove it .(possibly punishable with a 10 year prison term)

contact afternic and ask them to remove it or contact the former owner and ask him/her to remove it.

Note : as a seller with a large sales volume you can remove all your names from afternic with a few clicks and then re - upload all names (after 30 days) and the script automatically tells you which name(s) are listed by other members - this way you can remove all sold names - just remember that you loose 30 days of sales ...


hope this helps .

[jberryhill]

here is a little guide of ,what to do if your name is listed for sale , but it shouldn't be.

[...]

just list the name inquestion at sedo in your account

I realize it may come as a shock to you to learn that not everyone has a sedo account, not everyone wants a SEDO account, nor does the rest of the world feel obligated to run thousands of domain names against SEDO's database in order to prevent SEDO from engaging in false advertising.

If SEDO wants to engage in that sort of illegality, then it is their decision. But finding a solution to the problem - such as time-limiting listings for a fixed period or until the current expiration date - is SEDO's burden. It is not up to every domain registrant on the planet to go open a SEDO account in order to make them honest.

[seeker]

I trust Mr. Berryhill for many reasons.
One of them being of course, that I have followed his posts thoroghly.
However, and taking in consideration my posts about how displeased I am with sedo's performance lately, and the fact that I think unless they do a drastic change, they are bound to fail, I will have to state the following.

sedo's practice of adding names to their system is very strict.
They will not as far as I know, even consider adding a name unless it has been prooven to be owned by the registrant.
I know, because I had to seek assistance here to convice them I own a name before their 'new' staff adpated on how to use a simple whois command.

I have a great deal of respect for John, and If I ever am in doubt, no matter what the cost(s) are, he shall be the first I will contact.

This specific mater seems more of an error than a delibarete 'fraud' by Sedo.
If anyone things I am trying to defend them, check my posts on sedo recently on the sub forum of sedo.
I placed a lot of trust in them as a European, and yes, many actions by them lately have disapointed me. However, I truly doubt, that they would take a chance on their reputation and malevolently act in such a way.
I am certain ( as much as I can be) that there is a perfectly logical explanation for this erroneous entry.

[Bramiozo]

They only do that if your WHOIS info does not match the info in your sedo account.

It's easy enough to copy the contact info from the whois when you are malicious.
The only safeguard being the fact that any transfer needs to be confirmed through yóur email-adress, a safeguard which is not infallible.

Someday the crackers will exploit this, I guarantee you.

[Mr Webname]

I realize it may come as a shock to you to learn that not everyone has a sedo account, not everyone wants a sedo account, nor does the rest of the world feel obligated to run thousands of domain names against SEDO's database in order to prevent SEDO from engaging in false advertising.

If SEDO wants to engage in that sort of illegality, then it is their decision. But finding a solution to the problem - such as time-limiting listings for a fixed period or until the current expiration date - is SEDO's burden. It is not up to every domain registrant on the planet to go open a SEDO account in order to make them honest.

Persuasive!

[seeker]

Mr. W,

care to share how that is persuasive?

[Mr Webname]

Mr Berryhill is making sense with his post, what he says is correct, it should not be the world's responsibility to sort out sedo's problems with false listings - it is their site and hence their responsibility.
If what he says is true and their listings have caused and continue to cause problems for domain owners who are not even listed with sedo then that is a serious cause for concern and possibly even legal action!

[Bramiozo]

It clearly shows it's not reasonable to shift the responsibility of this phemonenon to the domain owner.

[seeker]

so...
If I provide a domain with sedo for sale, and then, shi** happens, it is sedo's respsonsibility?
I agree.

Is this a reason for this???

Something isnt right here.