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A Very Good Post and Lively Discussion About A Non Paying Sedo Buyer

April 6, 2013 by Raymond Hackney

By: RH

We hear many stories of people backing out and not paying on Sedo. Sedo will give the seller the information of the buyer and leave it up to them to go after payment.

There is a very interesting thread on Namepros about one such sale. Not only is the sellers post interesting with the back and forth between him and the buyer, but the wide range of comments after.

Some who believe go after him at all cost, to others that accept the non paying bidders as part of the game.

The intitial post is below:

I am SICK and TIRED of these Sedo deadbeat buyers thinking they can
get away with their foolishness with impunity. Here is my latest Sedo
deadbeat buyer story:

Danny Keck
Carolina Discount Furniture
carolina-discountfurniture.com


Read the series of communication between this deadbeat and I and let me
know what you think. Feel free to add this "buyer's" information to
your blogs/threads.


Here is the first email I sent after getting the buyer's contact
information from Sedo aver waiting several weeks for payment that was
never made:

Dear Mr. Keck:

My name is xxxx, and I am the owner of xxxx. Sedo forwarded your
contact information to me because you agreed in a legally binding
contract to buy xxxx.com through Sedo, and you failed to pay for the
domain name. While Sedo referred you to me for potential legal action
for breach of contract, it is my hope that we can come to a resolution
where both parties can be happy–you get the domain name, and I will
receive payment as promised.

While looking at your website, it is evident that you could benefit from
my domain name. The hyphen in your current domain is really dragging
down your site's value, not to mention the lost traffic from people who
forget to type that hyphen into their browsers. I am confident that you
will recoup the cost of my domain name easily just from the new traffic
you will receive. And you don't have to build another site. Just
forward this domain to your existing site to capture that traffic.

So I am convinced that you NEED this domain, and not purchasing it would
be a mistake. I will work with you, as long as you pay as agreed. I
can also lease the domain to you (you make monthly installment payments)
if price is an issue.

I need to hear from you ASAP so we can settle this matter. Thank you for your time and attention.

Danny Keck's response:

I
think money must be the issue on your end. I have never had anyone
pursue $497.00 like it was the lotto prize before. I have many
customers who are used to finding me with the hyphen. I simply changed
my mind on this matter. There is nothing legally binding here so I would
appreciate it if you and Sedo would quit harassing me.

Danny Keck

My response to this, with comments:

Dear Mr. Keck:

My position on this matter is clear. The amount of money involved is
not the issue. There is a principle here, and it is unfortunate that
you as a business owner do not understand this. You made a commitment
to buy the domain through the Sedo marketplace. Sedo lets buyers know
that any offer made on their platform is legally binding, and you should
not click "buy it now" if you are not in agreement with that. There is
no "I changed my mind." That is not acceptable.

You can either pay what is owed willingly, or you will be forced to pay
legally. That is up to you. I will give you 24 hours from the
timestamp on this email to contact me to make payment arrangements and
to submit payment to me. If payment is not made within the time period
specified, the next communication you will receive will be a Summons for
you to appear in small claims court concerning this matter.

Please keep in mind that amount I will be seeking from the Court will be
far more than $497, and will include court costs, my travel expenses to
your county in NC, and other remedies allowed by law. I also reserve
the right to post your name, website, and contact information
identifying you/Carolina Discount Furniture as a deadbeat Sedo buyer
online until payment is made. My comments regarding the email you sent
me are in bold, below.

I think money must be the
issue on your end. (Why wouldn't money be an issue on my end? I am in
business to make money, just as you are). I have never had anyone pursue
$497.00 like it was the lotto prize before. (The amount really doesn't
matter. The issue is that you made a commitment to buy through Sedo and
reneged on that commitment. The same thing would happen if the
purchase price was $60. I have had collection agencies come after me
for $25 medical bills!) I have many customers who are used to finding
me with the hyphen. (This may be true, but you, not I, went on Sedo to
buy xxxx.com.) I simply changed my mind on this matter. (So commitment
means nothing to you? I wonder if you are so generous as you expect me
to be if a buyer makes a commitment via contract to pay for furniture
and then decides to change his or her mind and not pay what is owed).
There is nothing legally binding here (I would suggest reading your
contract again) so I would appreciate it if you and Sedo would quit
harassing me.(You are responsible for paying Sedo's commission, so they
may continue to contact you or take whatever action they deem necessary
to collect…I have no control over this.)

Final response from Mr. Keck:

Do what you gotta do.


The Seller: These deadbeats think they can get away with this because of the cost
and inconvenience involved with pursuing them through the legal system.

 

Now one commenter left a message that a Google search for Carolina-DiscountFurniture.com has this Namepros post on the first page.

Here is the whole thread

Feel free to leave a comment here on your thoughts about non paying bidders.

 

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Filed Under: Domaining 101, Namepros, Sedo

About Raymond Hackney

Raymond Hackney has been involved with domain names since 1997. One of the most prolific writers in the domain industry and founder of TLDinvestors.com and 3Character.com

Comments

  1. deano says

    April 6, 2013 at 9:01 am

    The whole business looks silly if these bidders cannot be made to pay right ?
    I would love to hear a John Berryhill weigh in on the topic.

  2. Thadeus says

    April 6, 2013 at 9:08 am

    Thx for posting this have not been on np for a bit. I am surprised at those who think this is no big deal. Why call it a binding agreement if it is not one, and why bother honoring a sale if you get a better offer waiting for escrow ?

  3. todd says

    April 6, 2013 at 9:20 am

    “I need to hear from you ASAP so we can settle this matter.” What??
    First mistake was sending such an asshole email to this guy. Basically telling him you better pay or else. Ridiculous!! Next time approach the buyer in a more civil manner and he would have bought the name and gave you a discount on some furniture. Now for the rest.
    Carolina-discountfurniture.com was registered in 2008 and Carolinadiscountfurniture.com was dropped and registered in february 2013. The seller registered this name with only one intention and that is to sell it to this one buyer and is now pissed because the only buyer he had in mind for the name told him basically to Fuck Off. Sellers like this is what gives domainers a bad name. People change their minds all the time on purchases that is why return policies are put in place for most items. The seller better be careful how he approaches this because if he’s not careful Danny boy could sue him for defamation and UDRP the name. People change their minds, get over it.

  4. Scott the peanut guy says

    April 6, 2013 at 9:26 am

    Good points Todd and I agree. Domainers need to understand the offline world works with return policies. Its not cool when the buyer changes their mind,but its business.

    • Josh says

      June 2, 2014 at 8:43 pm

      FU Scott. And you too, Todd. You try going to ANY auction, even for your crappy MDF over-priced made-in-china “furniture”, and then back out. Go try and purchase a home or a car and back out. You losers. You KNOW you’re wrong and Todd’s wrong and the buyer is wrong and THANK YOU for posting this as I will make sure that everyone I know down here in North Carolina does NOT EVER go to that business in High Point. The majority of that stuff they sell is garbage anyway. No loss. (and yes, we all think you furniture people are worse than car salesmen!!!)

  5. fed-up says

    April 6, 2013 at 12:09 pm

    Many complain that this industry doesn’t get the respect it needs. If domains are like real estate or an asset class- then a contract needs to be kept. If not then pay a fine. So Sedo and others should have a system that they can charge a 5-10-15% percent if a person backs out from a deal.
    The fact-that some of you think its ok, and get over it and that is business – shows you have no clue what business is about or worse shows you business ethics…. Why bother having lawyers? why bother having contracts? If people would just back out- it would undermine the whole aftermarket domain business..
    Its good to see the values domainers have about keeping a contract. Now to the guy who said this guy bought it just to make some money off someone else. Who cares. Irrelevant. That is business! You and i might not like it, but that is business. Not keeping to a legally binding contract is illegal.

  6. Jeb says

    April 6, 2013 at 12:21 pm

    fedup is completely right on this point, Todd and Scott do you guys sell many domains ?
    What is the point of having any rules if someone can say change of heart ?
    I will be back to read comments, I just have to return my car and mylotto tickets to the store, I had a change of heart.

  7. Mike says

    April 6, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    I am the seller in question here. Thanks to HD for sharing this on his blog. I posted the dialogue between Danny Keck and I because I feel that it was wrong (and still do) that a buyer can make a commitment to buy something and then back out with impunity. In the thread, I discussed a time when I purchased something on eBay and had to back out because of an emergency. I proactively contacted the seller, explained my situation, and was told that he would agree to cancel the transaction in exchange for $50 for his inconvenience. I quickly ponied up the money and that was that. Everyone was happy.
    Unfortunately, Mr. Keck chose not to contact me or Sedo to explain his situation, and Sedo cancelled the transaction. I felt I was within my rights to contact him.
    Now, from reading the responses on this thread, I have learned that a kinder, gentler approach to Mr. Keck’s nonpayment may have served me better, and I will keep this in mind when I encounter the next non-paying buyer. The thread is definitely instructive.
    @Thadeus-If I had registered the domain and wanted to sell it today, that is my prerogative to do so, so what is your point there? If I had one end user in mind, 50, or none at all, that is my right and is certainly no business of yours. I regged the name, and parked it on Sedo. Didn’t market the name to Mr. Keck. He went to Sedo and clicked on “buy it now.” If you want to defend deadbeat buyers, fine, but do not question my integrity with such statements as “Sellers like this is what gives domainers a bad name.” I am doing nothing to give domainers a bad name, and I am such a small fish in a sea with sharks that nothing I could say or do could ever give domainers a bad name. I wish I could sue you for defamation just for that. You do not know me or my intentions. And I did not reg that domain with Mr. Keck in mind. I am sure that there are other furniture stores/sellers in NC/SC who would like that name.

    • Josh says

      June 2, 2014 at 8:58 pm

      Amazing how these scumbags crawl out of the pond when you publicly shame them for breach of contract though, isnt it?

      Gee, sorry Danny that I smashed into your car and destroyed it but I didnt feel like honoring that red light.

  8. jimmy says

    April 6, 2013 at 7:05 pm

    flip it around. i’ve bought domain after domain after domain on sedo…. and the seller won’t sell it or transfer it. and then they put it up for 10K for sale after i bought it, WIRED the money to sedo, waited a week, and then sedo won’t even cover my wire transaction fees to refund me…
    sedo sucks. everything about it sucks. i’m done buying on sedo.

    • Josh says

      June 2, 2014 at 9:00 pm

      That is just as wrong and I am sorry for your experiences. I cant stand Sedo and refuse to do business with them anymore. Neither deadbeat buyer nor deadbeat seller should happen, not even ONCE!

  9. fed-up says

    April 6, 2013 at 10:00 pm

    Dnforum has a similar discussion.
    http://www.dnforum.com/f611/non-paying-dnforum-member-after-40k-offer-afternic-thread-503617.html

  10. todd says

    April 7, 2013 at 9:27 am

    @fedup
    I agree 100% with you that sedo should charge a fee if a seller backs out. Many companies in different industries charge a restocking fee or whatever you want to call it so I definitely agree on that.
    I never said that I think it is ok for someone to not follow through with a deal but I did say that people change their minds and get over it. There is absolutely nothing he can do about it so get over it and move on.
    I never said he bought the name to make money off someone else. This is why we buy names in the first place is to make money from them. I was just stating that he had basically only one person in mind when he bought the name and that buyer doesn’t want it.
    @Mike
    I said, “Sellers like this is what gives domainers a bad name.” and the reason I said this is because of some of the things you said in your email which are below. Nobody in any business approaches a potential client like this and this is why I said it gives domainers a bad name. I just see it as unprofessional and thats my opinion.
    “Sedo forwarded your contact information to me because you agreed in a legally binding contract to buy xxxx.com through Sedo, and you failed to pay for the domain name. While Sedo referred you to me for potential legal action for breach of contract”
    “not purchasing it would be a mistake. I will work with you, as long as you pay as agreed.”
    “I need to hear from you ASAP so we can settle this matter.”
    Here is a tip Mike about selling domains.
    On the sedo landing page you link your entire portfolio of 665 names. Personally if I was in the market to buy a business related name like carolinadiscountfurniture.com and I noticed that you were selling names like the ones listed below I definitely would not buy any name from you. I am saying this because I actually sell names on a regular basis and this concept will not work. Here are some of the dotcoms I think you should remove from your list below.
    shemalevirgins
    skinnydicks
    hotgayteensex
    lezpussy
    shemalemasturbating
    ebonythreesome
    blackyouths
    clitopia
    jizzology
    gaydormsex
    eatthispussy

  11. Eric Hinson says

    April 9, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Make them pay up! It’s not fair to be jipped like this.

  12. Mike says

    April 9, 2013 at 4:53 pm

    A legally binding contract is there to be honoured, and him owning ‘Jizzology’ should not be a factor. Domainers are in the business of supply and demand, and if someone wants to own and create a video site out of ‘shemalemasturbating’, they can pay him for it.
    On a serious note, I am selling the domain name http://www.fondle.me. This is a golden name… you can find it on Sedo 🙂

  13. Ash says

    November 17, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    doesn’t a contract have to be written, faxed and *signed*?

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