Epik Escrow and Fee Comparison

[Rob Monster]

I lose $42,000 on an escrow.com transaction as pdd.com, help please.

It is hard to believe that we are still talking about this case, but indeed $42K is life-changing money for many people. NetSol was once a mighty registrar. Those days are long-gone and I find it hard to believe that there are NamePros members who still use them, other than for promo domains where they probably hope to not get abused on the way out. However, there are some really old domains on NetSol. Some of us remember paying $70 per year for a .COM back when NetSol had the monopoly. Things changed.

As for this specific case, this is case where any competent escrow agent would have fully insulated the buyer from getting defrauded. There is actually a very major design flaw in how most escrow transactions are conducted in the domain name industry. The typical counterparties are:

Buyer
Seller
Escrow agent
Broker
Registrar

That is a total of up to 5 counterparties, each of why can be declared liable to each other in the course of a transaction. In most cases, there is no purchase and sale agreement, nor a posted Terms of Service governing the relationship with one or more counterparties. It is of course a recipe for chaos in the event that there is a perceived default by one of the counterparties. I have seen cases, including Gab.com, where there was also a Domain Lender with a partially paid off leaae in the mix of a transaction.

At Epik.com, we designed the "escrow" process around the registrar. There is essentially no counterparty risk assuming the buyer uses a bank transfer or major crypto to complete their purchase. For domains registered at Epik, we can even do these escrow transactions without fee. Why? Because there is no risk. The risk comes in when the domain is at another registrar, or where the buyer is using a credit card or PayPal where there is a chargeback risk. In this case there should also be a fee to underwrite that risk.

For anyone not aware, Escrow has become a material business for Epik. The buyer and seller are both contracting with Epik. The seller provides the disbursement instructions, which can be multi-party, e.g. broker, lender and registrant. And for the moment, Epik.com is still the only escrow agent -- which is legally defined as a neutral, trusted 3rd party -- to serve as trusted intermediary. Proceeds from sales can also be held at Epik and spent tax-free on like-for-like domain assets.

More here: https://www.epik.com/services/escrow/

 

[xynames]

I think as long as started, we must finish at least this thought, here - so, the buyer must open or have an account at Epik? to receive the domain, in order to qualify for this fee free situation?

 

[JB Lions]

There was another thread you jumped in, prices were talked about, and you never came back to address it. Maybe if you spent time on the wording, people wouldn't be so confused.

"The standard escrow fee is 1.5% of transaction amount, with a $75 minimum."

https://www.namepros.com/threads/ep...s-fees-knowledge-thread.1112364/#post-7016980

You never went back to that thread to address it, especially the $75 minimum part.

 

[Rob Monster]

I think as long as started, we must finish at least this thought, here - so, the buyer must open or have an account at Epik? to receive the domain, in order to qualify for this fee free situation?

Correct - buyer and seller would need an Epik account.

 

[carob]

How about... putting a straight up comparison in fees

Yes that would be really useful if someone has time to do it - and update it as things change.

Some registrars such as Namesilo and Dynadot seem to act as escrow if you buy a domain from their marketplace, probably you could say that of Godaddy Premium sales which just take the domain right from your account, similar to Fast Transfer.

One key area I would like to understand is what paper trail and agreement record these services offer. Sedo generates an invoice showing buyer, seller, amount. GD Premium seems to just pay you, so presumably client has actually bought from GD who in turn has bought from you. When I asked Namesilo, they sounded similar - they did not expect to generate a receipt saying registrant sold to buyer.

Sedo also offer a pure Escrow service, comparable to the one you pay extra for as Domain Concierge at Escrow.com

And of course what insurance, backup or guarantees apply is key info in every case.

 

[3sixty]

I hope I'm wrong in this, but if I use Epik for Escrow my funds are being received in Masterbucks. This is $1usd : 1 Masterbuck but the main point is to transfer this out of Masterbucks to my account I have to pay 5% commission.

So basically my fee's as a seller are whatever Escrow fee's incurred through Epik Escrow + 5% cash out fee from Masterbucks to USD.

 

[xynames]

Why do you keep mentioning tax. That’s our problem and not your concern. Escrow.com doesn’t withhold any tax on payouts to us, does Epik?

 

[Rob Monster]

All that is our problem. Technically receiving "Disneyland Epik dollars" if they are something of value is just as taxable an event as receiving ACH to bank. And if we spend the ACH on renewal fees that is deductible too as an expense or cost against income.

Anyway all I am asking is, does Epik withhold funds for tax on outgoing ACH. I would think not but just asking.

No, we do not withhold. We provide registrants with online tools for reporting their year-end activity.

We also allow anonymous domain registrations so long as the registrant uses our WHOIS privacy in order to be compliant with ICANN.

 

[jideofor]

Hello,

Does anybody here have experience of selling a hand reg via epik escrow that required just a push with same registrar where the domain name was registered,instead of pushing to epik, due to the 60 days lock?

I am requesting for Epik's godaddy account details so i can push to their godaddy account and have them push to the buyer's Godaddy and they have been silent.

 

[Rob Monster]

Hello,

Does anybody here have experience of selling a hand reg via epik escrow that required just a push with same registrar where the domain name was registered,instead of pushing to epik, due to the 60 days lock?

I am requesting for Epik's godaddy account details so i can push to their godaddy account and have them push to the buyer's Godaddy and they have been silent.

We can typically waive a 60-day lock so easiest to clear the transaction at Epik.com. Transfers out of Godaddy can be done in minutes.

If you need to do a push to Epik, our holding account email there is [email protected].

 

[jideofor]

We can typically waive a 60-day lock so easiest to clear the transaction at Epik.com. Transfers out of Godaddy can be done in minutes.

If you need to do a push to Epik, our holding account email there is [email protected].

I just replied your email now. Is
[email protected] your Godaddy email? I need customer number to complete the transfer. Please check your email.

 

[steve Imhof]

What about extended payments. I have a potential deal involving 36 payments.

 

[steve Imhof]

Which is typically....

 

[steve Imhof]

So, a buyer will pay with echeck and seller will be getting direct deposit once a month for free. Is that correct?

 

[steve Imhof]

Posting details here will save countless calls to your business. Transparency is essential. Your answers are vague. For instance, you dont tell me that buyer funds go into my account as bingo bucks which will lose value when they are converted into hard cash.

 

[steve Imhof]

You dont mention anything about seller redemption fees for monthly payouts.

 

[steve Imhof]

I registered over 200 domains back in 1996 with network solutions for $75 each per year. Where was Epik in 1996?

 

[Samer]

1996? Where was AOL in 1996? Yahoo?

Those who content with their past accomplishments, will become the next Network Solutions...

 

[Purplez]

You charge 9% fee when domain was sold from Epik's parking page/marketplace, am I right?
I don't understand why the escrow process is 'free' on the other hand (this is more personal work in this case while in case with parking it can be almost automatic).

 

[crunchyg]

Does the Epik marketplace support listing domains that are not with Epik? If so, what's the commission?

 

[crunchyg]

Rob, I was not asking about the escrow process. I am fine with bringing the domain into Epik after the buyer has clicked "Buy it now." My question is whether Epik allows listing domains on its marketplace if the domain is with another registrar.

 

[private123]

@Tony Blessed
my question; what minimum price transaction possible ? (condition- domain not available epik and push only same registrar)

 

[Dealtor]

Hi,

There will be a charge for deleting a domain (0.50 cents)

Tony

Hello Sir,

How do I delete a domain I bought today from your site. I don't want a refund but want to use the money and buy another domain in your registrar. Please how do I do it Sir? I want to do it asap!

 

[cillx]

@Rob Monster Can buyer and seller see each other's details like real names etc when performing escrow transaction?