First time received a mail from someone wanting to buy my domain. [=HELP!]

**domainpros** · 05-08-2011, 01:10 AM

Hey Domainers,

As you might ave already figured out, I'm a noob. Tried my hands at domaining, bought dozens of 'mistakes' and went back home. But today, Voila, I have a mail in my Inbox inquiring about one of my domain names (DefaultPassword.in)

I had bought this domain because it would be pretty easy since people always search for default password for Nokia, Blackberry, ATM, LG, and all types of digital products.

But the guy who is interested in buying the domain did not state any price. He asked me to quote a price. What would you suggest I quote?
I do not want to let this chance go, but I also do not want to sell it for less than what the domain is worth.

Any suggestions from the experienced members here would be appreciated.

Regards
Sunny R Gupta

**stock_post** · 05-08-2011, 01:34 AM

It could be an appraisal scam - Just an FYI

if they ask for your domain Appraisal it is a scam - Just so you know. (don't fall for it)

**domainpros** · 05-08-2011, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by stock_post

It could be an appraisal scam - Just an FYI if they ask for your domain Appraisal it is a scam - Just so you know. (don't fall for it)

Hey, thx for the info.
But the guy who sent the mail did not speak about the appraised value. BTW, what is an appraisal scam?
Here is the mail attached:

Hi Sunny,

Interested to sell DefaultPassword.in ? If yes, please quote a price.

Buyers Name

**loudbeats.com** · 05-08-2011, 06:07 AM

Sunny, ask for high $xxx (if you dont want to scare buyer away).. looks like a reasonable asking price in my opinion.. waise bhi isse jyada koi shayad hee pay kare!!

Good luck!

**domainpros** · 05-08-2011, 06:40 AM

Oh... sahi baat hai...
Do you think I should put it up for an auction somewhere and invite him to bid or give him a fixed price only?

I'm comfortable with around $450-750.

Cheers!

**loudbeats.com** · 05-08-2011, 06:47 AM

If you are comfortable with that $450-$750 range, then quote him the maximum price of your range which is $750. This will also give you enough room for negotiation if buyer decides to make an offer lower then your quoted price.

**domainpros** · 05-08-2011, 06:49 AM

Right, I get the point. I'll do the same and will update you guys after the sale is done!!

Fingers Crossed!

Cheers

**fatter** · 05-08-2011, 11:00 AM

I like to offer 2 options a fixed higher price or a much lower send it to auction price because you never know who else might be interested, just make sure your reserve is acceptable if no other bids
Good luck
Joe T

**Maxwell** · 05-08-2011, 01:27 PM

I'd say you've had a few offers in the past (I offer you $1 - there's one of your offers - you don't have to say how much the offers are

), and that you'd be willing to sell for $600.

To be honest, even the .com isn't worth $600, IMO - but I think it's low enough to be reasonable to open up negotiations, and high enough to be profitable for you.

There are two scams that I could see this as being a gateway for...

1. Paypal refund scam

Buyer makes offer. Seller accepts. Buyer sends money via paypal. Seller pushes name. Buyer requests refund as funds were sent in error. Domain is in buyer's hands. Seller has no recourse.

Solution: Accept escrow.com or wire payment only.

2. Appraisal scam

Buyer says they want the name, but they're hesitant to pay anything for it before they get an appraisal. They say it's your responsibility as a seller to furnish them with a valuation. They give you a link for an "appraisal" service which is priced reasonably at, say, $50. You get the appraisal. And the "buyer" disappears. You have no recourse, as you paid $50 for the appraisal, and got your appraisal. No promise was ever made that the domain would be bought.

Solution: If they want your domain, they'll buy it. Don't pay for an appraisal. It's their duty to find out what a reasonable price to pay is, because it affects them, not you. Don't get seduced by a high offer. I've had an only decent domain of mine get a $5k offer, contingent on appraisal. I told the buyer to pay for it and I'll take the cost out of whatever he decides to pay for the name. And I'm pretty sure that's why I never heard back from him.

**inquisitive** · 07-10-2011, 06:24 AM

is wire payment safe? I am under the impression it is not ?

**Maxwell** · 07-10-2011, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by inquisitive

is wire payment safe? I am under the impression it is not ?

It's safer for the seller than it is for the buyer. If the buyer really trusts you, they should have no problem paying by wire, but IMO, no transaction under $500 is worth doing this way, given the associated fees.

The safest way to do wire is through Escrow.com, where the buyer wires the money to Escrow.com's trust account, seller pushes the name to the buyer, and upon buyer's approval, funds are released to the seller.

**inquisitive** · 07-10-2011, 05:52 PM

Thank you for the clarification. wire thru escrow.com makes sense.
I thought perhaps it meant person to person. I was reading some horror stories where buyer used ACH instead of wire transfer and then after transfer was made buyer cancelled the ACH and pulled the money back (or similar). The concern also was person to person your acc#/routing number is out in the open, which could bring even more headaches.

**Dopa.com** · 07-11-2011, 04:26 AM

Originally Posted by domainpros

Right, I get the point. I'll do the same and will update you guys after the sale is done!!

Fingers Crossed!

Cheers

A happy end? Waiting for your update.

**nicot** · 10-22-2011, 02:10 PM

I received an appraisal scam email just a few days ago. People must watch out! The person who contacted me was pretending to be the owner of a new domain management company. Once I told him the price of my domain, he said he would not accept it unless the price was based on a manual appraisal. Then he cleverly referred me to a link with snapshot of a forum thread, one which I assume all the participants were working together with him. The thread begins with the same guy asking for advice on which is the best site to get your domain appraised. After a few other replies and reviews from a couple of different members, there is a clear winner: a fake appraisal site which must be owned by the same person who contacted me. Luckily I had heard about these type of scams before so I proposed the following solution. I replied to the guy and told him I was content with my current prices and that if he really wished to buy my domain he could have it appraised himself, then I would deduct the cost of the appraisal from the final price of the domain. This way none of us loses. He never replied again.

**silentg** · 10-22-2011, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by nicot

I received an appraisal scam email just a few days ago. People must watch out! The person who contacted me was pretending to be the owner of a new domain management company. Once I told him the price of my domain, he said he would not accept it unless the price was based on a manual appraisal. Then he cleverly referred me to a link with snapshot of a forum thread, one which I assume all the participants were working together with him. The thread begins with the same guy asking for advice on which is the best site to get your domain appraised. After a few other replies and reviews from a couple of different members, there is a clear winner: a fake appraisal site which must be owned by the same person who contacted me. Luckily I had heard about these type of scams before so I proposed the following solution. I replied to the guy and told him I was content with my current prices and that if he really wished to buy my domain he could have it appraised himself, then I would deduct the cost of the appraisal from the final price of the domain. This way none of us loses. He never replied again.

If someone wants you to get an appraisal to justify your asking price, tell them to get the appraisal themselves.

**nicedomains** · 10-22-2011, 09:40 PM

Originally Posted by silentg

If someone wants you to get an appraisal to justify your asking price, tell them to get the appraisal themselves.

Better yet don't reply back.. 99.99999% of the time an unsolicited offer that wants you to get an appraisal will NOT result in a domain sale. I've had a little fun before with these types quoting them millions of dollars and every time they come back telling me to get an appraisal I just add another zero to the price, nothing but a number.. they leave you alone eventually.

Anyway, back to the topic... Did you make the sale domainpros?

**RobM** · 10-23-2011, 05:25 AM

I usually give these appraisal scammers friendly advice on the best way of removing themselves from the gene pool. Same with the domain renewal scammers. Purely because I'd love them to sue me.

**letsgo** · 11-01-2011, 01:08 AM

look like its scammer, beware domainer

**papadopulos** · 11-01-2011, 03:50 PM

Any updates? I am curious to hear what happened

**FlipKing** · 11-03-2011, 07:11 AM

Originally Posted by Maxwell

I'd say you've had a few offers in the past (I offer you $1 - there's one of your offers - you don't have to say how much the offers are

), and that you'd be willing to sell for $600.

To be honest, even the .com isn't worth $600, IMO - but I think it's low enough to be reasonable to open up negotiations, and high enough to be profitable for you.

There are two scams that I could see this as being a gateway for...

1. Paypal refund scam

Buyer makes offer. Seller accepts. Buyer sends money via paypal. Seller pushes name. Buyer requests refund as funds were sent in error. Domain is in buyer's hands. Seller has no recourse.

Solution: Accept escrow.com or wire payment only.

2. Appraisal scam

Buyer says they want the name, but they're hesitant to pay anything for it before they get an appraisal. They say it's your responsibility as a seller to furnish them with a valuation. They give you a link for an "appraisal" service which is priced reasonably at, say, $50. You get the appraisal. And the "buyer" disappears. You have no recourse, as you paid $50 for the appraisal, and got your appraisal. No promise was ever made that the domain would be bought.

Solution: If they want your domain, they'll buy it. Don't pay for an appraisal. It's their duty to find out what a reasonable price to pay is, because it affects them, not you. Don't get seduced by a high offer. I've had an only decent domain of mine get a $5k offer, contingent on appraisal. I told the buyer to pay for it and I'll take the cost out of whatever he decides to pay for the name. And I'm pretty sure that's why I never heard back from him.

I think I fell for an appraisal scam. A buyer contacted me for one of my names (one month old domain) and I had it appraised. The buyer says his person has money tied up because of a recent big purchase and needed to wait. Cost me $88 for the appraisal.