Is seller responsible for selling false traffic names to warrant negative feedback?

[David G]

I have purchased several alleged traffic names on the forum which were in reality non-traffic names.

The seller typically posts stats including screenshots but as soon as I put it online as a minisite the traffic like magic disappeared completely starting the next day, or dropped to almost nothing :veryangry: As an extra test I moved the domain back to a parked page (in the 77-day case, the same parking firm the seller used) but the traffic still stayed near zero for me at the same place. In both cases with seller and myself the domain was non-optimized (not that optimization would make a difference anyway since typeins are typeins).

The latest dnf false traffic buy involved a name which seller posted stats of 77/visitors a day but after my having it online more than a month the real traffic was 1 a day on average, or not even 30 total in 30 days when it should have 2,310 visits.

I am debating if that seller deserves a negative trader rating. He says the stats were from the parking firm (the same one I also used showing 1/day vs sellers 77/day). This crap has also happened with other buys in the past and why I would be unlikely to buy alleged raffic names on forums again.

I have been burned badly too many times :veryangry: and am sick and tired of wasting my money on proven false traffic domains!

 

[Gerry]

No.

Unless you are doing EXACTLY what the seller did with EXACTLY the same name, host, or even EXACT same parking company, traffic will vary widely.

There are too many factors that can break the traffic. Something as simple as changing registrars.

If you are buying names based solely on reported traffic then you are taking a big risk.

If you buy a traffic name from TDNAM and that traffic is not up to par with their reported numbers, are you going to demand your money back?

Caveat emptor

 

[draggar]

Honestly it is your call if you want to leave negative feedback or not.

While it is frustrating, there is no guarantee that the domain will get traffic. Its like buying one of those "lottery prediction" programs - sure they can claim good results and the program looks good but it is still no guarantee that you'll win (too many other factors than just what numbers are drawn).

When you deal with traffic domains, you do so at your own risk. So many things can be done to increase the traffic (point other domains to it etc..) plus the sllightest change in it's settings with the new owner can result in drastic changes.

 

[Gerry]

plus the sllightest change in it's settings with the new owner can result in drastic changes.

Yes, even entering different keywords, or landers, or templates.

There are too many variable to rely on when it comes to traffic, not to mention the biggest variable - the honesty and integrity of the seller.

 

[INFORG]

If the seller sold the name based upon pure "type-in" traffic, you might have an argument that the seller was dishonest, but as Doc said, with any other type of traffic, it can dry up without any explanation. This domain name was not a name where one would assume any significant "type-in" traffic, and was most likely from links or search engine if it was real.

I didn't see how many months of stats the seller posted, but what I see often is less than 60 days worth of stats in cases where people get upset with results - 60 days is absolutely meaningless.

You should look at your buying criteria more closely, don't buy with short stats history, and understand the difference between type-in and other traffic types. Sometimes, it is a gamble that you have to take and if you limit your risks, you can afford some duds here and there - it happens. I've bought plenty of TDNAM domains that dried up or had tons of image/bot traffic, but I don't spend big bucks on TDNAM to limit my exposure, and end up with some low traffic/high earners sometimes too.

My own criteria for traffic names:

1. Is the traffic from a stable source (likely type-in, or long history of stats)?
2. Does the name have inherent value apart from the traffic, how much?
3. Would/could I develop this name?
4. If the name did not have this traffic, did I still get a deal?

If I can answer "yes" to 3 out of 4, I'll probably buy. For the name you bought, I would have answered:
1. No
2. Yes, $20-$50
3. No
4. No
Pass on this one

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

David, while I agree there is a buyer beware aspect and you should be able to determine if the name would warrant that traffic before buying ( this comes with what to look for and experience ), I would say that in a case such as this unless you can prove malice or a motive to defraud there isnt much you can do.

 

[copper]

Don't rely on too much on alexa.
It can be easily faked and I am sure others know this as well.

 

[shlthead]

i have brought many domains base on alexa...havent got burn yet.... so good luck..

 

[Gerry]

i have brought many domains base on alexa...havent got burn yet.... so good luck..

copper is correct.

I can go into my site and work on it and it will send traffic way up and even increase my PR.

I have seen this happen many times to my rankings/traffic (primarily Joomla constructed sites) but I am sure this can be done with nearly any site construction model.

Every change I make and every time I view the change is registered as traffic.

 

[Biggie]

David, while I agree there is a buyer beware aspect and you should be able to determine if the name would warrant that traffic before buying ( this comes with what to look for and experience ), I would say that in a case such as this unless you can prove malice or a motive to defraud there isnt much you can do.

agree, but...

if unsure in the future, i'll be happy to check a domain for you before you buy

one easy way to tell its fake traffic or not. use alexa.com...

alexa is not an accurate traffic stat counter

and should not even be accepted a qualified measure as proof of actual traffic for use in the "domains with traffic" section

imo...

 

[katherine]

One thing I can tell you is that Sedo have bugs in their stats reporting. I have had a couple names showing 100+ UV/day, in reality it was no more than one visit/day including bots. I know it because I hosted the domains to get the raw stats from the Apache server. Names with high traffic but 0% CTR are always suspicious.

IMO it is possible that names with nonexistent traffic are being sold in good faith. If it's a whole bunch of domains, and not just one domain from the same person I would start to wonder.

 

[Gerry]

One thing I can tell you is that Sedo have bugs in their stats reporting.

Do you want to know how important traffic stats are to me?

In all honesty, this is the first I have known that Sedo had traffic stats!

I never looked for them or look at them.

Traffic can be so easily manipulated.

The intrinsic value (what a name is worth to me) is never manipulated.

---------- Post added at 05:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:28 PM ----------

Addendum: In regards to traffic stats, yes - I knew sedo had them in my own account on my own names.

But I was unaware that sedo posts stats on other names for viewing.

 

[David G]

One thing I can tell you is that Sedo have bugs in their stats reporting. I have had a couple names showing 100+ UV/day, in reality it was no more than one visit/day including bots. I know it because I hosted the domains to get the raw stats from the Apache server. Names with high traffic but 0% CTR are always suspicious. IMO it is possible that names with nonexistent traffic are being sold in good faith. If it's a whole bunch of domains, and not just one domain from the same person I would start to wonder.

Yes, it involved Sedo. I also receieved pm asking for details and sellers name. This will clarify it more and has a link to the sales thread:

Watch out, there is considerabe false stats given by sellers on the forums. I seriously doubt if I would ever buy another traffic name based on several proven false stats names I was badly burned on, some for much more money than the one I am writing about. It has happened too many times on the forums :veryangry:

As a more or less perfect example of that I purchased Buts.us based 100% on its high stated traffic and links to screenshots he supplied in the sales thread. Without the traffic said to be 77-visits a day I would not buy the name no matter how low priced since such a name in the .us ext is little more than reg fee without traffic.

At first I had it on my server where the traffic was obviously not there starting the same day as the domain transfer since I put it online with a temp page immediately and the DNS resolved right away. When I complained to seller asking for refund (plus a $50 fee for my trouble and aggravation) he said no to that cliaming the screenshots were legit and the 77-day stats were according to Sedo.

So I then moved it to a non-optimized parked page at Sedo (which same non-optimized sedo page seller also had running). I had it there for all of March and after 32-days it had exactly a dismal 28-total visits, or less than 1/day :veryangry: Based on the proven false stats it should have had 2,464 visits instead of a worthless 28 total.

The seller said I should have asked for a traffic test but the reason I did not is with a low priced $125 name it did not seem warranted, especially because someone else woud have quickly posted sold before I could even start a traffic test based on the stated high traffic.

Bottom line is always ask for a traffic test but the problem is someone else may post sold without a test if the traffic claim is high. Next best option is don't buy any names based on stats, which advice I plan to follow.

Sales thread: http://www.dnforum.com/f116/buts-us-77-visitors-per-day-thread-408375.html

 

[DN BROKER]

You got ripped off with lame traffic...

 

[Biggie]

taking a glance down the traffic secton que, most if not all are expired websites, link traffic, traffic from social sites, dubious traffic or typos.

the typos being the best of the bunch, but only because they are more likely to have consistent traffic.


many of the threads fail to list stats initially and a few don't even meet the "30 visitors" per day requirement.


imo...

 

[katherine]

I would normally not buy just based on traffic, too contentious even if the seller is acting in good faith. Besides, the quality of traffic is what matters...

 

[Gerry]

I seriously hope someone else would not have posted sold.

 

[David G]

I seriously hope someone else would not have posted sold.

what do you mean :?:

 

[Gerry]

I seriously doubt that buts.com, buts.net, buts.org, or any other buts gets traffic of 77 a day let alone buts.us.

I personally can not see any two people wanting that name for any reason, fake traffic or not. There is no intrinsic value to the name and extension (parked page or not) to prompt people to search for buts.us.

And what do you mean by an non optimized parking page? Do you simply change DNS numbers?

 

[whitebark]

2300 to nothing is a clear ripoff. Name the ahole.