advice Sold 3L Domain on SEDO for 6 digit USD - Buyer not willing to pay

[zotix]

Dear Community,

I sold a Domain at SEDO.com for a total amount, which is near the mid-6-digit range.
I received the Offer and accepted it. There was no Typo from the Buyer or anything else he claimed.

After several Reminders from SEDO and some calls, the buyer asked to cancel the Transfer.
SEDO told him that this is not possible due to the contract, which is effective.
He just dropped the call, and SEDO is now canceling the internal Transfer Service.
I know that the contract is still valid, but unfortunately, SEDO is hiding behind its role as a platform.

Currently I'm more angry on the behavior of SEDO, than on the Buyer.
How is it possible, that SEDO has 3 different Certification Roles:

1. Buying up to 10k (Standard)
2. Buying up to 100k
3. Buying upwards 100k+

Where do they ask for bank statements, complete KYC, and all that stuff, and still there are IDIOTS like this buyer?
I read posts in other forums, where those things already happened in 2008.
It's totally ridiculous from a Platform that claims to be the "biggest premium domain platform" worldwide - and can not implement better controls or at least cooperate with the Seller.

Im pretty sure, If I would win the case, they would come and ask for the Provision.

I will not reveal the Domain Name, but I can say that I'm from Germany and the Buyer is from the United Kingdom.
I'm just asking them to provide me with all the Data they can give so that my lawyer can check the probability of winning or at least getting some money.
It's not even clear if this person is financially stable to pay such an amount.
Asking SEDO about ANY transactions that the buyer might have done in the past was declined due to data privacy. What the hell? It's just a "YES" or "NO," nothing that lets me know who the buyer might be.

I'm not sure how to deal with that situation.
Im in contact with 3 of the TOP lawyers in GER specializing in that field.

What is your experience with such transactions?
And why the hell is SEDO acting like this?

KR
zotix

 

[Constantin S]

Had 2 sales cancelled at sedo, one 3 and the other 4 figures. Sedo shouldn't send sellers any notifications about the sale unless they already received the funds IMO. Both times, I received the buyer's info, you should too.

 

[equity78]

I believe every platform states they cannot make a bidder pay. They don't even go after their commission which on a mid six figure deal would be sizable.

Another thing you have consider that markertplaces should make sellers aware of, is the fact most things people have a period of time to back out of the purchase.

Cooling-off Rule is a rule that allows you to cancel a contract within a few days (usually three days) after signing it. As explained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal cooling-off rules gives the consumer three days to cancel certain sales for a full refund.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/cooling-off_rule


The man who would know best since I am not a lawyer would be @jberryhill

 

[equity78]

I'm just asking them to provide me with all the Data they can give so that my lawyer can check the probability of winning or at least getting some money.
It's not even clear if this person is financially stable to pay such an amount.
Asking SEDO about ANY transactions that the buyer might have done in the past was declined due to data privacy. What the hell? It's just a "YES" or "NO," nothing that lets me know who the buyer might be.

I believe due to privacy laws you are going to get the standard here is the name of the buyer go pursue what you like we are not involved in this. @Sedo

 

[zotix]

This is just a pity!

@Constantin S & @equity78 :

To give an example, without telling too much Details:

• It was a Domain listed at SEDO on Negotiable, fictive Sum: 89,000 USD
• Buyer instantly made an offer of 600,000 USD flat
• So nobody can claim that he had typed in terms of one "0" too much or anything like that; it was a flat amount, which was even from the Keyboard, not close to the next digit - I hope you understand what I mean.

I already looked into this Domain-Service-Transfer TOS, as well as in the contract.
There was nothing about this 5- or 3-day period; if so, then it is already over.

So, Sedo's job is to make money, but if they do not close the deal, they should let it go.
Somehow, this destroys SEDOs reputation as a "Premium Domain Platform."
As I said, people reported such cases with 3-4 Digit sums 16 years ago.
Why do you @Sedo even promote with your "Certification" if nobody gives a s***?

I am just waiting for the responses in my Transfer Center; after that, I'll consult my lawyer again and ask to check the role, especially the practices of SEDO.
Most likely, 5000 people have done that before; I will be 5001 anyway.
Since I need to open the case now in GB, which means that my insurance does not cover those costs - and if this is a naked man, well - I can't grab into his pockets.

Kind regards,
zotix

 

[VadimK]

I think unfortunately your chances to get any money from the buyer are ''zero'' since there was no money/name loss or other damage to you, due to the actions of buyer or Sedo.

And yes, indeed, Sedo is like ''we take all steps necessary'', but they don't want to be part of the dispute, and it's covered max in their Purchase/Sale Agreement.

Most of the info you want from them is confidential, and that is the card they will be playing...

 

[zotix]

So, according to my Lawyer, there are two options:
1. Open a lawsuit against him in GB (a second lawyer with a GB license will be involved)—Based on the contract, German law is applicable, but it's unclear if I need to open the suit in GB or in Cologne, Germany, where SEDO's Office is.
2. Sell the Domain and open the lawsuit for the difference between the sold vs. SEDO price (which is just an option but nothing to consider)

According to their TOS, SEDO is now able to provide the Buyer's data and is not bound by the GDPR law since there is a valid contract.
But as I said, in case I should win this thing, I'm so damn sure they will force me to pay their commission.

zotix

Edit: Just imagine, not paying a "redicilous" amount of $150 for a 4L com Domain here on NamePros, or not giving the Buyer this Domain, because he is, well - "not a good person".
You get instantly banned. WHICH IS TOTALLY CORRECT.
Why can NamePros just follow that simple rules, and "the leading premium platform SEDO" doesn't show any interest? Answer: $$$$$

 

[Reddstagg]

So, according to my Lawyer, there are two options:
1. Open a lawsuit against him in GB (a second lawyer with a GB license will be involved)—Based on the contract, German law is applicable, but it's unclear if I need to open the suit in GB or in Cologne, Germany, where SEDO's Office is.
2. Sell the Domain and open the lawsuit for the difference between the sold vs. SEDO price (which is just an option but nothing to consider)

According to their TOS, SEDO is now able to provide the Buyer's data and is not bound by the GDPR law since there is a valid contract.
But as I said, in case I should win this thing, I'm so damn sure they will force me to pay their commission.

zotix

Edit: Just imagine, not paying a "redicilous" amount of $150 for a 4L com Domain here on NamePros, or not giving the Buyer this Domain, because he is, well - "not a good person".
You get instantly banned. WHICH IS TOTALLY CORRECT.
Why can NamePros just follow that simple rules, and "the leading premium platform SEDO" doesn't show any interest? Answer: $$$$$

Good afternoon. First point to note is that I am not a Solicitor/Lawyer and this information should not be taken to imply that it is in any way legal advice.

In my past life I actually read the whole of the GDPR to get an understanding of the implications to my job at that time. I think that if the reason to find out the details of the third party is greater than the scope of the GDPR then the information can be disclosed i.e. in a court case. You will need to double check this as it may only apply in limited situations.

Second point I'd like to make is that perhaps if your original figure was $89,000 but the third party had meant to offer $60,000 but mis-typed it as $600,000 they may have become spooked once they realised what they had done. Maybe you could clarify this point with Sedo. There may still be a deal to be done.

I wish you well with your endeavors.

Kind regards,

Reddstagg

 

[VadimK]

@jberryhill , your turn.

 

[Kyle Tully]

Second point I'd like to make is that perhaps if your original figure was $89,000 but the third party had meant to offer $60,000 but mis-typed it as $600,000 they may have become spooked once they realised what they had done.

This sounds like a likely explanation.

In what world do you think a buyer makes a 600k offer on an 89k domain? Any sane person would assume this is a typo or mistaken user and I can’t imagine anyone attempting to extract the money out of them.

 

[Yanosh]

Hi

It happened to me as well , but for 7k $
Eventually sedo gave me the buyers credentials.
I don’t know if it’s a good idea to put a lawyer on this. If he doesn’t want to pay..that’s all.
More likely I would investigate the fact the he probably wanted to offer 60k
You can surely ask sedo if he was a new account or an old one , with some buying activity.
But in my opinion , someone willing to spend 60k on a domain , would likely get a broker.
It happens , move on

 

[Future Sensors]

I also think that one zero too many was accidentally typed by the buyer. If you can get that clear, you might still be able to close a nice deal. If you solve it another way, you can forget about it.

Good luck.

 

[zotix]

Good afternoon. First point to note is that I am not a Solicitor/Lawyer and this information should not be taken to imply that it is in any way legal advice.

In my past life I actually read the whole of the GDPR to get an understanding of the implications to my job at that time. I think that if the reason to find out the details of the third party is greater than the scope of the GDPR then the information can be disclosed i.e. in a court case. You will need to double check this as it may only apply in limited situations.

Second point I'd like to make is that perhaps if your original figure was $89,000 but the third party had meant to offer $60,000 but mis-typed it as $600,000 they may have become spooked once they realised what they had done. Maybe you could clarify this point with Sedo. There may still be a deal to be done.

I wish you well with your endeavors.

Kind regards,

Reddstagg

Dear @Reddstagg ,
Dear other users who have commented so far,

Thank you for your opinion on that topic. This answer is more or less for all of you, but since @Reddstagg mentioned an important point, I quoted his post.
I appreciate you all and your feedback on this!

To answer the question about GDPR:

According to the lawyers I have talked to, especially the one who will get the mandate from me, SEDO has to provide the data/details about the buyer. Even in the "Domain Transfer Service"-TOS, it's mentioned that they are disclosed from GDPR and are allowed to provide the Data for a court case. I assume they will give me the data. I have already discussed this with Sedo. My personal Transfer Agent for this Domain also said that they would not follow this case, which is - what I told ridiculous because they offer people like him a platform to annoy sellers.
So, this point is defined in the TOS of Sedo, and my lawyer confirmed it.
Probably, he is also on this Forum, thus I cant go more into details.

The second point related to the typo:

I discussed this as well with Sedo - and my Lawyer.
The thing is, In my fictive example of $89,000 (minimum bid), the argument of typing a "0" too much would only be understandable if the buyer had bid $890,000, which was not the case.
By this example, I just wanted to explain you, that the sum he has offered was starting with a whole different number, it was a flat sum between 200k to 500k.

Sedo: In the beginning, they told me they sometimes had those cases with typos. However, after having chats and calls with the buyer, he did not mention the sum in any of those conversations. Thus, he knows how much he truly bid.

My lawyer said: Since the sum, let's assume in our fictive case, would be a minimum of $89,000—it would be a typo; why did he bid $600,000? That's a different number, even though he meant to bid $60,000. I assume he could not even set this bid (technically) because the minimum bid would be $89,000. I hope that is understandable—as I said, I'm not a native speaker.


As of now, Sedo did not cancelled the Domain Transaction Service - probably also, because in Germany we have a holiday tomorrow, and I / my lawyer forced them to provide all necessary data to start with the lawsuit.

I'm not a greedy person at all. I'm a 31-year-old guy from an immigrant family from Pakistan. I live in Germany, work as a management consultant, and started my self-employment. I invested a lot and founded 3 brands.

This is probably a one-time "luck" in my life. I'm not experienced in Domaining since I've been in this business for about 1 to 2 years.
But I can tell you that this amount of money would push me to my other businesses and support my family. Therefore, I'm a bit emotional and angry towards Sedo because those things happen quite often.
In Germany people are very careful, they use insurances very often. That's the attitude here. I also have tons of insurance, including Manager's Insurance. Im not sure (I guess not) that it might capture the lawyer fees in the UK, but why do I need to go through these steps, especially on a platform that calls itself the "biggest premium domain platform"? It somehow makes me angry, and I will check this with my lawyer to see if there are things where SEDO probably did wrong Due diligence while allowing people to trade over 100k.

I'm not a materialistic guy. I don't care about Porsche or Rolex; I'm happy to be born and live in Germany because my parents made it happen. I just want fairness (and, of course, the money)—I would lie if I didn't mention it.


zotix

 

[zotix]

You can surely ask sedo if he was a new account or an old one , with some buying activity.

They dont want to give me an answer to that question, which would be the minimum of SEDO!
I read a ton of German Forums where they said something about the buyer's history. It seems like my Transfer Agent was a bit too "careful" when it came to providing any kind of data.
This is one of the points which makes me angry about @Sedo
In the end, you will come and ask for the Provision, but as of now, nobody cares.

 

[Future Sensors]

Hi @zotix

You mentioned a fictitious amount. To make it a little more understandable for me, what were the approximate minimum offer price and the BIN price? A follow-up question could be whether you became suspicious when the offer was immediately considerably higher.

 

[zotix]

Dear @Future Sensors,

Yes, I mentioned this fictive sum so as not to make this transaction trackable.
Especially without talking to my lawyer. It also could be the case that the buyer is on this forum.
We are talking about a minimum offer, which is between 40-70k; the offer was close to 400-500k.
It's hard for me to give more precise information, but you can assume it was a 4-7x factor of the minimum bid.

I was not suspicious, especially because the buyer made a flat offer and didn't negotiate at all. This 3L domain has meaning in the IT sector, and bigger Corporations in this (I don't want to mention the name) would be interested in buying it. It's not only that it is a Premium Western Domain, but the Name, which is not a trademark anymore, has a huge value in IT.
So my thoughts were: If this is a Broker—any person—intermediate—bidding for a large corporation, then they don't negotiate for 5-10k—especially for this name—they would straight put the Bid and buy it. That was my assumption, especially with the comment the buyer wrote with the bid, which I can not post here, unfortunately.

Everything I'm posting here is without talking to my lawyer - to mention that.
That's why I'm a bit careful about how I write things. Please have understanding for that.

Kind regards,
zotix

 

[Yanosh]

They dont want to give me an answer to that question, which would be the minimum of SEDO!
I read a ton of German Forums where they said something about the buyer's history. It seems like my Transfer Agent was a bit too "careful" when it came to providing any kind of data.
This is one of the points which makes me angry about @Sedo
In the end, you will come and ask for the Provision, but as of now, nobody cares.

Oh they will
Just want until the transaction is canceled.
They will provide you with his name and address.
It sounds quite strange to me that your transfer specialist refused to share with you a simple detail about the buyers account.
(By the way , when the 1 offer arrived to your sedo account , by clicking on “Informations about the buyer” you could have seen if there was any buying or selling activity for that account. Now that you reached an agreement , unfortunately it isn’t visible)
In my case I asked him if it was a new account and he said it was.

 

[zotix]

This sounds like a likely explanation.

In what world do you think a buyer makes a 600k offer on an 89k domain? Any sane person would assume this is a typo or mistaken user and I can’t imagine anyone attempting to extract the money out of them.

Dear @Kyle Tully I have explained that in my post so I can understand your thoughts—it also makes sense to me.

It's not a typo; it has different numbers. Technically, it would not even be possible to bid an amount that is below my minimum price.
Your thoughts are realistic & of course, things that I have already heard.
As I said, He never mentioned anything about the sum he has bid.
So, in all the conversations with Sedo, this was never a point of discussion.
He just asked to cancel the transaction because he had considered it and didn't want to follow the contract anymore.

Oh they will
Just want until the transaction is canceled.
They will provide you with his name and address.
It sounds quite strange to me that your transfer specialist refused to share with you a simple detail about the buyers account.
(By the way , when the 1 offer arrived to your sedo account , by clicking on “Informations about the buyer” you could have seen if there was any buying or selling activity for that account. Now that you reached an agreement , unfortunately it isn’t visible)
In my case I asked him if it was a new account and he said it was.

Thanks!
Yes, they will provide me with the Data, and based on that, I will do my research and lawyer.
My transfer agent is a woman (gender plays no role here, to mention as a side note) who has worked in a different department at Sedo before. She is probably unaware of such things; she wants to protect herself from getting in trouble. I can understand that (or, let's say, I try to understand it).

To your second part of the post: Unfortunately, I did not check this; I now see "confidential data" in the SEDO contract.
I can just repeat myself: Things that were posted on forums 16 years ago are also happening in 2024.
This is not how I saw SEDO before. After that kind of thing, you just ask yourself—why are you, Sedo, supporting those kinds of things?
It's a straightforward implementation or Due diligence to check whether this is an active buyer.
And the most annoying point is those ridiculous! Certification Levels.
Im not a Domainer who had that kind of situation that often, actually - never.
But with such an amount and SEDO's behavior, to step back and say that they will cancel the Domain transfer since the buyer is not cooperating, it's really sad that you call yourself a premium provider.

At the moment, when I have the buyer's data, I will run a web scraper and check him; after that, either SEDO or the buyer will be involved in that lawsuit. I'm really disappointed.

zotix

 

[Future Sensors]

either SEDO or the buyer will be involved in that lawsuit

 

[jamesau]

Unfortunately receiving fantasy 6 figure offers is part of the industry. It won't be the last time it happens if you stay in the game for long enough. Nothing is sold until you get the money.

Is the domain in question a 3-letter .com? I can understand it being even more frustrating in this case as the offer may seem more realistic then.

 

[alcy]

Dear Community,

I sold a Domain at SEDO.com for a total amount, which is near the mid-6-digit range.
I received the Offer and accepted it. There was no Typo from the Buyer or anything else he claimed.

After several Reminders from SEDO and some calls, the buyer asked to cancel the Transfer.
SEDO told him that this is not possible due to the contract, which is effective.
He just dropped the call, and SEDO is now canceling the internal Transfer Service.
I know that the contract is still valid, but unfortunately, SEDO is hiding behind its role as a platform.

Currently I'm more angry on the behavior of SEDO, than on the Buyer.
How is it possible, that SEDO has 3 different Certification Roles:

1. Buying up to 10k (Standard)
2. Buying up to 100k
3. Buying upwards 100k+

Where do they ask for bank statements, complete KYC, and all that stuff, and still there are IDIOTS like this buyer?
I read posts in other forums, where those things already happened in 2008.
It's totally ridiculous from a Platform that claims to be the "biggest premium domain platform" worldwide - and can not implement better controls or at least cooperate with the Seller.

Im pretty sure, If I would win the case, they would come and ask for the Provision.

I will not reveal the Domain Name, but I can say that I'm from Germany and the Buyer is from the United Kingdom.
I'm just asking them to provide me with all the Data they can give so that my lawyer can check the probability of winning or at least getting some money.
It's not even clear if this person is financially stable to pay such an amount.
Asking SEDO about ANY transactions that the buyer might have done in the past was declined due to data privacy. What the hell? It's just a "YES" or "NO," nothing that lets me know who the buyer might be.

I'm not sure how to deal with that situation.
Im in contact with 3 of the TOP lawyers in GER specializing in that field.

What is your experience with such transactions?
And why the hell is SEDO acting like this?

KR
zotix

yea we all wish 6fig sales because to most it can mean Honolulu retirement or whatever place where eating out til u explode has final bill of 50cent.... but the reality of it all is that u haven't sold a thing unless and until the money is in your bank. gl

 

[zotix]

Dear @jamesau , I appreciate you for commenting and participating in that discussion.
Since I'm very careful with writing details about the Domain, I avoid answering the Question.

I can tell you that it's not one of the new gTLD Domains; it has a very meaningful name in the world of IT.
As I learned during my time in Domaining, especially reading @Eric Lyon s appraisals and many other things, a Domain might have a value for someone, which could be irrational to what others say.
Just look at the Thread with "BabyAndBeyond.com," for $350k
In my case, this name truly has a meaningful value in IT.
But that was not the discussion point.

But your first sentence, that those kinds of offers are part of the game makes me wonder: Why is it not possible, especially for "Premium Providers" like Sedo, to prevent this?

I'm emotionally loaded; it feels like SEDO is punishing me. But let's see who the Buyer is. My developer on my team will check this with a web scraper, and if it's someone who is somewhere to identify on the internet, I will fully go with the lawsuit. I know that based on TOS, Sedo is out of the Game, but as I said, I will also check this—at least for SEDO Germany. At this point, I'm even willing to pay the lawsuit costs out of my pocket if my insurance does not cover it.

Kind regards,
zotix

THANKS to everyone who gave guidance and commented here. It means a lot to me since it's something I never faced - and I can't really talk to someone about this matter.

 

[zotix]

yea we all wish 6fig sales because to most it can mean Honolulu retirement or whatever place where eating out til u explode has final bill of 50cent.... but the reality of it all is that u haven't sold a thing unless and until the money is in your bank. gl

That's true. It also applies to trading in the stock market; it's not your money until you have sold the stocks and cashed out.
But in this case, I have a valid contract with the buyer. That's a different story.

zotix

 

[Future Sensors]

@jberryhill Have there been any cases, that you know of, of successfully forcing a withdrawing Sedo buyer to adhere to the agreement?

 

[zotix]

I would also like to know if Dr. John Berryhill could give any kind of advice from a neutral point of view, but I don't want to involve someone / who is probably busy or doesn't want to say something related to this topic. I respect this, and therefore I have not tagged him in my initial post.

Kind regards,
zotix

Edit: @Future Sensors : SEDO, as well as my lawyer, said that this is a binding contract. Even though it's not in the Domain Transfer Service of SEDO (which is, as of now, not the case), it's a binding contract.