Domain Name Appraisal Scam – Last year, after a month into domaining, I posted the following paragraphs at DNForum. The post has had over 2,000 views and I thought I should repost it here, as they guys are still at it and probably always will be!

Domain Name Appraisal Scam

Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam

Newbies – learn this first! – dont get taken by this old appraisal scam!!
NEWBIES PLEASE READ AND BEWARE – old timers have probably already seen this somewhere here before, but if not, here’s a chain of recent e-mails, going back, with the first here at the top.

begin

RE: SOULSACRAFICE.COM

Hello,

We noticed that you currently sell this domain (correct?).

We are interested in purchasing it. What is your desired price?

If you have other names for sale please email me your domains with prices, especially if you have financial, adult, Hosting and TV related names.

We are looking forward to doing business with you.

Regards,

Mark Reitman

CEO
Website Domain Hosting Inc

end

I responded with the following:

Hello there. Thank you for your inquiry regarding the above referenced
website. Unfortunately, this is one of several sites that I own that I’m
looking to develop.
I suppose I’d consider an offer if you are really interested.

I also have some adult and financial websites that I would entertain offers
for such as…
end

Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam

The next day, I got this response:

Vincent,

What do you think about 14,000 USD for your domain name?

Have you had your domain names evaluated in the past? I mean domain
appraisals. Without valuation we cannot be sure in the sale price. It’s very
important for me in terms of reselling too. But we must engage a valuation
company with REAL manual service. So I will only accept valuations from
independent sources I and my partners trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal
companies. Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and
buyers:
http://www.forum-windows-club.com/Archive/593842731.htm (note that the link no longer works)

Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price
accordingly. It will be fair. I also hope you can give me 12% – 15%
discount.

After you send me the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to
obtain it) we’ll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire
transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.

end

Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam

That’s their scam – they entice you as a greedy domainer with a high $$$ offer, in hope that you’ll order the appraisal, for which he gets a commission or perhaps the whole thing. The scam blog he references points you in the direction of two appraisal companys, both scams themselves.

I responded back the following:
Hello again, I have not had the domain evaluated in the past via appraisal, although based on my experience, I no longer utilize or depend on appraisals, as I have sold domain names in the past for 50X what an appraisal had said, and I have also sold domain names that were sold for a very small fraction of what they were appraised at. A friend also recently order appraisals from two independent agencies and the difference was greater than $10,000.
At the end of the day, the domain is worth what somebody pays for it.
The domain does not currently have a website and exists as just the name at this time, parked at Sedo. As such, there is very little traffic to the site at this point, as it requires development and SEO.
With all that being said, I would accept $15,000 USD for the referenced domain name and would begin the transfer process as soon as funds have been cleared via my preferred payment method, Escrow.com. I’d also be agreeable to a potential discount/commission for you, if you secure the $15,000 price and assure that the deal is done in a timely and professional manner. Obviously you’d be paid when the transaction is finalized. Let me know if you accept and I will forward you my paypal information.

He responded with this:

As a seller you should provide me with an appraisal first. This is a reasonable practice.

I’ve found not all the appraisals are accurate. So I accept real manual appraisals from trusted sources only.

I don’t trust $14-$20 services. Nobody will do a research for $14. We need a real manual service.
As to the most known brands: the more orders the company gets, the less time they can afford to spend on each appraisal.

I wanted to use Afternic.com but looks like this company has a bad reputation. Afternic’s appraisal service has a lot of bad reviews.

I was told about manual research service from http://www.DomainMart.com. It costs – $200/hour.

Many experienced sellers suggested us http://www.AuthorizedAppraisal.com/ as a trustworthy manual service. They charge about 50 euros name not per hour. We’ve read only positive comments about them. And I have my own positive experience with this company
end

Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam

I responded with this and never heard back from him again:

How can I be sure this is not an appraisal scam? In fact, quick research on “authorized appraisal” indicates that they are associated with these scams. Additionally, the domain name itself is a pigeon shit typo domain name that is worth a handreg, IMO, but yet the offer was an astronomical amount. These folks prey on newbies, knowing they are naive and looking for a quick hit.

Sorry for the length here, but good lesson to be learned!

Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam | Domain Name Appraisal Scam

Domain Name Appraisal Scam

Domain Name Appraisal Scam

Working That Domain Name with Radio

I heard an advertisement on a radio station recently for the new up and coming company, Dollar Shave Club, using DollarShaveClub.com for their website. Now, while this is a three word long domain name to type-in, it certainly is memorable and radio-friendly, which is really all that matters at the end of the day. The radio ad is generally funny and certainly grabs your attention. The memorable domain name allowed me to visit their website and check out more about this company, once I got back to a computer. The domain name speaks for itself, as they are selling razors for shaving at a very low cost, compared to the high priced ones you’ll currently find in your local store that vibrate or shoot laser beams. Another humorous pitch for their razors via video can immediately be seen upon logging onto their website. The website overall is very simple and cuts to the chase with very little frills.

You have to give credit where credit is due. Let’s face it, these guys found a niche that was staring at them in the mirror each morning. Who isn’t tired of paying too much for razors, let along everything else. I know when I was a kid, paying for water was a complete foreign concept and now its a billion dollar industry. Anyway, they recognized a need, they secured a memorable and applicable domain name and the developed and implemented a marketing campaign to get the word out. That’s how its done. I predict that this company will do extremely well, growing leaps and bounds in their very first year. I love to see new start-ups come out of the blocks with a bang, like this one did.

Another start-up taking advantage of the internet and using radio advertising to get the word out is DestinationXL.com, a place to find clothing for the heavier among us. The site is run by CMRG Apparel, LLC and is obviously geared towards men’s clothing, interconnecting several XL brand on-line stores such as CasualMale XL, Rochester Big and Tall, Living XL and others. Again, a pretty long domain name, but memorable and descriptive nonetheless. I personally had not heard of the company prior to the radio ad, but once I did, it stuck in my head, so that I could pay them a visit on line and check out what they had to offer.

Now, it is obvious that in these two examples, the amount of type-in traffic received was likely nil prior to radio advertising, as very few would type in these names. It really takes a great marketing plan using a good mix of print, television, internet and radio advertising to get the word out. It also takes a good memorable and descriptive domain name to be the ultimate portal where your eCommerce is done. I am guessing that these names were likely hand registered and not purchased in the aftermarket for big $$$. Today, everywhere you go, you see domain names. Whether it’s a television commercial, in a printed ad or a roadside billboard, somebody is advertising a product or service and broadcasting their domain names to get the best bang for their buck. The majority of magazines, television and radio stations and other news media are all on-line and have their own domains. Most of the retail stores, food chains and many other small businesses are also on-line using their own domains. The number of existing registered domain names out there is mind boggling and it grows almost as fast as the US deficit. However, there is still plenty of room for creativity and with the right plan in place, plenty of room for success.

E-commerce is growing each and every day and so are the number of websites trying to compete for your eyes and wallet. Be a pioneer like these guys and carve out your niche, but remember, before you jump in headfirst, be sure to have a solid plan, part of which should be a marketing plan. Be sure to utilize the older forms of advertising, like radio, to get the word out and give your domain name some momentum. Once that’s going, assuming you have a good product, you’ll experience a snowball effect, just like these guys!

Working That Domain Name with Radio

Working That Domain Name with Radio | Working That Domain Name with Radio | Working That Domain Name with Radio | Working That Domain Name with Radio
Working That Domain Name with Radio | Working That Domain Name with Radio | Working That Domain Name with Radio | Working That Domain Name with Radio
Working That Domain Name with Radio

Domainers Need Thick Skin

Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam

Appraisal Scam

NEWBIES PLEASE READ AND BEWARE – Seasoned domainers have all encountered this before, or certainly have heard of it over the ears. Having read several domain forum posts over the last year from Newbie domainers, it is very apparent that the old appraisal scam is live and well. As such, while I’m not the first, I’ve decided to write a post about the appraisal scam in hopes of saving a newbie from giving their hard earned cash to these lowlife scammers.

As a new domainer, you must realize that when you purchase your first domain name(s), there are many people watching you. There are many tools and scripts that folks utilize to find and research purchasers of domain names. It doesn’t take long for them to figure out who is a newbie in this business and it’s like a cat spotting the mouse for the first time. Let’s face it, they are preying on newbies who do not know better and who are in a vulnerable position to easily get taken, becoming the prey.

How they operate is this. After a month or two of purchasing your domain name, assuming your Whois information is public (and it should be if you are trying to sell the domain name(s)), you will receive an e-mail similar to this:

RE: DOMAINNAME.COM

Hello,

We noticed that you currently sell this domain (correct?).

We are interested in purchasing it. What is your desired price?

If you have other names for sale please email me your domains with prices, especially if you have financial, adult, Hosting and TV related names.

We are looking forward to doing business with you.

Regards,

Mark Reitman

CEO
Website Domain Hosting Inc

end

Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam

Typically, the newbie seller will get excited at such a quick inquiry and will either respond with a price or will creatively ask for an offer, if they’ve done their homework (you always will have negotiation power if you get an offer first, but loose it immediately if you provide a price).

Within a day or two, the newbie seller will then receive an e-mail similar to this.

Seller,

What do you think about 7,000 USD for your domain name?

Have you had your domain names evaluated in the past? I mean domain
appraisals. Without valuation we cannot be sure in the sale price. It’s very
important for me in terms of reselling too. But we must engage a valuation
company with REAL manual service. So I will only accept valuations from
independent sources I and my partners trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal
companies. Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and
buyers:
http://www.************.***

Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price
accordingly. It will be fair. I also hope you can give me 12% – 15%
discount.

After you send me the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to
obtain it) we’ll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire
transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.

end

Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam

That’s their scam – they entice and excite you as a newbie domainer with a high $$$ offer, in hope that you’ll order the appraisal, for which he gets a commission or perhaps the whole thing if the appraisal company is also a scam (and likely is). The scam blog he references, will point you to a fake blog page, where two appraisal companies are discussed and recommended.

Be very sure that this is a scam. If someone wants to purchase your name, they will not ask you for an appraisal, period! Perhaps a prospective purchaser would have their own appraisal done, although the real worth of appraisals, in general, are not really worth much (that will be the subject of a future post). Bottom line, don’t fall for the appraisal scam!

Appraisal Scam

Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam
Appraisal Scam

Now there is a New “Escrow Integration” tab in “Settings”, which allows BIN buyers self-check out prior to interacting with a broker. As a seller, you can set fees, select who pays fees for BIN names and let buyers initiate transactions including brokers in “accept offer” transactions. This will make closings much faster for your buyers and is yet another improvement in the fastest growing Domain Name parking and sales platform. As an added benefit, With each improvement comes more publicity, which will only increase the exposure of the platform, allowing you and I to sell more names.

I recently wrote a post about the ins and outs of the InternetTraffic.com and DomainsNameSales.com platform, so if you are looking to get your domain names there, it is worth a read and may save you some time. What I really didn’t do in that article was give my opinion of the platform, not that my opinion means much. I mean I’m a newbie with little experience and I really haven’t utilized other similar platforms to their fullest potential, so I have little to compare to. I can say, however, that I have received many more offers and inquiries through the InternetTraffic.com and DomainsNameSales.com platform in the last 4 months, than I have with all of the other large popular platforms from which I have tried selling domain names over the last year.

Regarding the parking side of things, there really is no comparison. In my very first week, I made more parking revenue than I had with another large and popular parking outfit in over 6 months. In fact, I have since had several domain names that have earned more revenue in one day than all my names combined for one quarter at the other parking lot.

The benefits of increased parking revenue, combined with domain name sales management at your fingertips, through use of the Domain Sales app for the I-phone, are some of the best reasons why I like and recommend the platform. Additionally, with this being the second released improvement to the platform in only the first four months, it is obvious that this tool will only be tweaked to perfection. Let’s face it, if you make money from it, Frank’s making more money from it!

Getting Around InternetTraffic.com and DomainNameSales.com is a post of some helpful tips for those not familiar with the platform.

Getting Around InternetTraffic.com and DomainNameSales.com

As most seasoned domainers are aware, after Frank Schilling signed a domain parking contract with Google, he quickly opened up a new domain parking company, Internet Traffic. For folks who have tried the new parking service, it is obvious that Frank is providing his customers with a higher revenue share than most others, which is one of the reasons the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. InternetTraffic.com operates a very lean, no-frills operation, whereas other parking companies attend trade shows, are adding staff and have increasing overhead expenses. The result is that more revenue is passed to the portfolio owner.

This past Fall, Frank opened up his Domain Name Sales platform to those clients who used his parking service and also introduced a new app for managing sales inquiries. The platform allows the clients to choose how and who handles inquiries on their domains and Domain Name Sales will even broker them for you, utilizing seasoned brokers who know how to get a deal done. You have the ability to also broker your own deals or have them handled by industry giants like Adam Dicker, Andrew Rosener, David Clements and a number of other well know brokers.

While the platform has been well received, it may be a little intimidating upon your first visit, as there are a lot of things you can do to tailor the platform to better fit you specific wants and desires. You will need to spend some time at the site in order to figure out how to get the most out of the platform. As everybody likes to save time, I though I’d put together this post with some important things that I have figured out using the platform, as I think you may find these important too.

First of all, you can sign-up through InternetTraffic.com, whose log-in serves as a portal to DomainNameSales.com. Be sure to read the terms and conditions upon signing up, as there are a number of restrictions regarding the domain names that can be uploaded to the DomainNameSales.com platform. Here you will also learn that the minimum payout to you, the Publisher, is $500 USD and rolls over each month until at least $500 USD is accumulated. The T&Cs then go onto to indicate that you are responsible for your own taxes and also includes indemnity, termination and other standard language. There is also discloser that the company is not located in the USA and terms regarding fraudulent traffic.

If you click on the NameSales Platform tab on the Internettraffic.com website, you can see an informative video that describes some basic ins and outs of the platform. The Outlook tab on the website will provide you access to some pearls of wisdom from Frank Schilling. The Client Login tab will provide you access to your account, where you can add, manage and sell your names. The Domain Names for Sale tab serves as a portal to DomainNameSales.com, where your names will be listed for sale, if you so choose.

In order to get your names onto the platform, you will need to change you Domain Name Servers (DNS) to buy.internettraffic.com and sell.internnettraffic.com. How you changing your DNS varies from registrar to registrar, although it is a common practice and there are likely easily directions at your registrar on how to get that done, if you do not already know.

Now that you are signed up, DNS has been changed and you have added names into the system, you will get a confirmation e-mail indicating that your names have been added, assuming you passed an ownership confirmation. Once your names have been added, one of the first things you should do is log into you account and go to the top tab labeled Domains and choose Portfolios from the drop-down. In the center square, next to the number of domains in your portfolio, you should click List. Here you will see a list of your names and the categories that have been automatically associated with your names. Review these and make sure they are in line with your desired settings. There are lots of categories and sub-categories to choose from and the more specific you can be, the better you’ll find someone looking for your name. Here you can also make sure that all of your names are listed for sale, which brings us to the next tip.

In that same center square under the My Portfolios tab, you’ll see a flag icon and Configure For Sale & Banner, through which you can edit the for sale banner language that appears on your domain name’s landing page. The Export icon is a great way to get a full list of your listed domains, categories, subcategories and for-sale or not indications. The icon you’ll like the most under the My Portfolios tab is Stats. It is here where you can access your parking revenue information. Simply choose your desired date range and click the Generate button. Now, when you enter this section of the site, you default to the Portfolio Level tab and you will only see your total revenue on a daily basis for the date range that you choose. If you want to drill down to the domain names, simply click on the Domain Level and generate another report. If this is your first peak and some time has passed, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, assuming your names are generating some traffic. Now that we covered that, let’s move onto the even better side of this platform, selling domain names!

Before you get started setting up your platform, click onto the More dropdown tab, and click the Broker Directory. Give some thought as to whether you want to broker your own deals or utilize one of the listed seasoned professionals. If it were me, I’d reach out and connect with any potential broker prior to choosing them. Form some relationships and see who you are comfortable with. Also take note that commissions vary from broker to broker and can be determined by simply clicking on their name under the Broker Directory. Now that you’ve done your homework on potential brokers, let’s visit the Settings Tab at the top of the platform. Here you will find many options on how to deal with an incoming inquiries. Don’t get intimidated.

First, you want to double check that all of you information is correct under My Sales Profile, Company Profile and Owner, the top three tabs at the left under Settings. The next tab, Brokers Selling for Me, will provide you a list of active brokers working on your behalf. If you haven’t yet chosen any, the default will be DomainNameSales.com and inquiries would be handles by Frank’s team. The next tab, For Sale Configuration, is an important one. It is here where you can set/change your minimum offer and fixed pricing options, if desired. Next, be sure to set your e-mail notifications up, so that you can keep posted on new inquiries, offers or other messages. The next tab is pretty cool, Negotiation Templates. Here you will find suggested default language or you can create your own for general negotiation (i.e.quoting prices, dealing with offers), Cordiality (i.e. thank you, escrow started, out-of-office) and personal templates. Some real nice flexibility here!

The next Out-of-Office tab will allow you to set those days and times where that is applicable. The Automated E-mail Followup tab allows you to set time-frames of automatic follow-ups to inquires. The tabs under Auto Assignment are all associated with assigning brokers to your portfolio. Keep in mind you can have names in separate portfolios and separate brokers for each portfolio. This way, you can test the water with different names and different brokers to find what suits you best. The Advanced Inquiry Distribution (AID) module is a powerful tool that comes into play when you are a acting as a broker or self-brokering your own names, and you have inbound leads which you want to delegate to others who work under you. Filtering parameters such as the language of the inquiry, the Country of origin or the source (e.g. phone, email, registrar, third party sales platform) of each inquiry, can be used as criteria to allocate leads to different salespeople or sub-brokers.

The Payments tab allows you to set up how you receive payment, Paypal or Wire. Here it states that the minimum payout is $100, which contradicts the T&Cs indication that it is $500. While I have earned over $100, but less than $500, I did not have my payment option yet set, so I’m not sure what the minimum payout really is, but will edit this post once I know for sure. The last tab in the Settings section is where you can change your password.

If you now explore the Inquiries tab on the top of the Platform from any location, you can have access to your inbox, which will house any new inquiries that have come in for your names. In fact, this Inquiries tab is where all of you negotiation correspondence can be found. As inquiries come in and move through the system, they are automatically and/or manually moved along to the other various tabs that you see, including Responded, Flagged, Reminders, Forwarded, Sale Pending, Sold, Archive and Trash. For those of you with the corresponding Domain Sales Phone app, you will see that all inquiries are filed either under Active or History.

Thanks for checking this out and if you found it helpful, please share it from here. Let’s close with a quote from the platform creator.

“Assume that everybody can see what you are doing and then live your life that way – you will find that generally you are treated right.” – Frank Schilling

Getting Around InternetTraffic.com and DomainNameSales.com

Getting Around InternetTraffic.com and DomainNameSales.com