What do you look for in an Escrow Service?

[Eric Lyon]

With all of the new escrow services (e.g., EscrowHill.com and Agreed.com), it can sometimes be difficult to choose one. It would be interesting to hear how you go about choosing an escrow service for your domain sales. With that said, below are a few questions:

• What do you think about the new escrow services that have emerged?
• Which escrow services have you used and what was your experience with them?
• Would you be comfortable using an escrow service that you've never tried before?
• What do you look for when selecting an escrow service?

Looking forward to reading your feedback.

 

[Boz]

Other (explain in a post) ==> It's first time I see this website (agreed.com) well i can't judge. I dislike escrow.com because if a seller cancel a transaction we must pay all fees (it was my case !) I prefer Ecop.com (As indicate "No risk, 100% refund if the transaction is cancelled.!").

 

[The New Guy]

One thing that is a must-have:

Escrow service should have accounts with multiple registrars and be a true two-way escrow service: Buyer pays escrow service, notifies seller, seller pushes domain to escrow service. Then funds are released to seller and domain is pushed to buyer.

That way there is no doubt that the transaction was completed according to agreement by both parties and no weaseling or fraud can be done.

 

[lennco]

One thing that is a must-have:

Escrow service should have accounts with multiple registrars and be a true two-way escrow service: Buyer pays escrow service, notifies seller, seller pushes domain to escrow service. Then funds are released to seller and domain is pushed to buyer.

That way there is no doubt that the transaction was completed according to agreement by both parties and no weaseling or fraud can be done.

Ditto!

 

[ramkumaritrvs]

Minimum Escrow fee should be lowered.
$10 - Below $100
$20 - $100 - $200

I'm searching Best escrow service for lowered price domains (below $100).
No one is happy to pay $25 escrow fee for $100 sale. IMO.

 

[D. Wells]

Minimum Escrow fee should be lowered.
$10 - Below $100
$20 - $100 - $200

I'm searching Best escrow service for lowered price domains (below $100).
No one is happy to pay $25 escrow fee for $100 sale. IMO.

Why would you use Escrow.com for a $100 sale? imo

And, you could just use Bido if you need Escrow for a sale below $100....

One thing that is a must-have:

Escrow service should have accounts with multiple registrars and be a true two-way escrow service: Buyer pays escrow service, notifies seller, seller pushes domain to escrow service. Then funds are released to seller and domain is pushed to buyer.

That way there is no doubt that the transaction was completed according to agreement by both parties and no weaseling or fraud can be done.

Nope, won't work... Some registrars slap a 60 day lock when accounts change, whois updated, etc.... Ex. GoDaddy

So what happens when a buyer wants to change registrars?

 

[DU]

Escrow services should be licensed, bonded, and audited.

Any other service, no matter how good they look or sound are simply the equivalent of using a homeless guy or me. If you want me to escrow your domains I will. If you want me to setup a nice website so I look professional I can do that. If you want me charge less than most other places? I can do that too.

I won't be licensed, bonded, or audited... but then you can trust me. Or you can trust Bodis (incorporated in China), ecop (run by a domainer?) or any of the other fly by night companies that are setup.

 

[buyselldoms]

Its a Thought Convergence Inc company they also own Aftermarket Inc. and DomainTools LLC.

Considering they are not a small insignificant start-up their website is poor, everything is a little shady (a typical transaction takes a few days... people want numbers!!) and you would be completely shocked to learn that with over a decade experience in the industry that they consistently don't understand the needs of domainers. Something which the average person would be able to from using NP etc. for 6 months ("Market Research").

So my answer is sticking to escrow.com - attempting to clone existing services by launching a new brand to get market share doesn't wash with me unless 1) they meet the service they are competing against, or 2) they better the offer by providing something unique or improved. Even the website design is aged about 12 years (despite being HTML5) and looks dirty, escrow.com despite being far from brilliant for design is more fresh and clean... and thus inviting. They are missing a trick there. Using bootstrap as a base would have been a good start and making everything super plain and simple would have been positive.

Perhaps someone should make them an offer for the domain name, pay for it over their escrow website and launch a better internet escrow service!!!

 

[The New Guy]

Nope, won't work... Some registrars slap a 60 day lock when accounts change, whois updated, etc.... Ex. GoDaddy

So what happens when a buyer wants to change registrars?

Sorry but I have to ask if you thought that question through.

What happens when they want to change registrars now, without escrow?

The same exact thing. It's push before 60 days, push or transfer after. It doesn't matter if escrow is involved or not.

The reason I mentioned push for the escrow service is that it avoids delays from transfers. If they have accounts with different registrars, the push can happen immediately from the seller's account to the escrow service - there is no waiting on that end. They can confirm that the domain was transferred and free up funds immediately.

 

[Nitindomains]

One thing that is a must-have:

Escrow service should have accounts with multiple registrars and be a true two-way escrow service: Buyer pays escrow service, notifies seller, seller pushes domain to escrow service. Then funds are released to seller and domain is pushed to buyer.

That way there is no doubt that the transaction was completed according to agreement by both parties and no weaseling or fraud can be done.

Sedo does the same, and is very helpful to cut deals, even if a 60 day restriction is involved, simply by requesting the buyers to accept 'Same registrar pushes'.

The worst let down about it being a hefty 10-15% commission.

 

[buyselldoms]

There is a business in that middleman escrow idea as long as commission is reasonable (lower percentage but minimum payment for very low value items). Logistics could be an issue - we can assume its all a good idea - but would registrars: a) allow it (i.e. within their T&C), and b) not interfere?

There are so many pretty awful registrars out there... one interfering by freezing the middleman escrow account (godaddy for one would shout fraud, idiots...), making a domain disappear from the system or reversing transfer pushes could kill off such a service, even if it happened to 1 in 100 transactions.

You can be very serious in a professional legit escrow system but as soon as the registrars get wind that you are actually making more money with their customers than they are with the domain registrations they will ban it in their T&Cs - stating its a potential fraud issue.

 

[biggie]

What do you look for in an Escrow Service?



longevity, consistency, professionalism, innovative, adaptive, etc.

however, I think the 'poll title' is misleading to the title of the thread, as it's "inducing/introducing" an un-established entity by comparison....within the comparables'.

as I had no idea that would be the case.

imo....

 

[GoWebnames.com]

First of all, they should be *licensed*, as DU pointed out correctly.

Both Agreed.com / Escrow.com are licensed by California Dept. of Business Oversight: http://www.dbo.ca.gov/fsd/licensees...usname=&id=9632645&lictype=&city=&state=&zip=)

Not sure about about where EscrowHill.com & others are licensed.
But the licensed ones wouldn't try to scam you. With a big amount at stake, you may experience trouble with unlicensed ones.

I had a deal completed through Agreed.com when it debuted and it was good but I find Escrow.com to be flawless in comparison.

 

[D. Wells]

Sorry but I have to ask if you thought that question through.

What happens when they want to change registrars now, without escrow?

The same exact thing. It's push before 60 days, push or transfer after. It doesn't matter if escrow is involved or not.

The reason I mentioned push for the escrow service is that it avoids delays from transfers. If they have accounts with different registrars, the push can happen immediately from the seller's account to the escrow service - there is no waiting on that end. They can confirm that the domain was transferred and free up funds immediately.

Sorry, but I have to ask if you ever used Sedo Escrow and the buyer wanted to transfer out?

You have to wait the x amount of days until the domain is eligible for transfer to get paid... How convenient is that to either party?

So, I don't think you thought the question out.....

 

[The New Guy]

Sorry, but I have to ask if you ever used Sedo Escrow and the buyer wanted to transfer out?

You have to wait the x amount of days until the domain is eligible for transfer to get paid... How convenient is that to either party?

So, I don't think you thought the question out.....

OMG, it's the same thing as it would be if you SOLD the domain directly before the 60 days was out - it doesn't matter if an escrow service was involved or not.

Again, prior to 60 days - push only. After 60 days - push or transfer.

The involvement of an escrow service doesn't change any of that.

What my suggestion DOES do is add multiple registrars so the receiving escrow service - like SEDO, could instantly receive the domain via push and then transfer funds to the seller that same day since the domain was received without waiting days or a week for a regular transfer to take place.

After that it does the same thing as before - if for some reason the buyer doesn't want to set up an account at a certain registrar, they can wait for a regular transfer out from the escrow service. But at that time, the seller has completed their obligation, so they can be paid -that's what escrow is for. Each party does their part and they get paid or get the product on their terms after the escrow service is satisfied.

This is a very simple concept. I don't know if there's some reason you're trying to complicate it by saying "that's a problem", but it's not - so please think it through before you try to make what I'm saying into some kind of complex procedure that would make things somehow take longer by adding in an instant transfer option.

 

[D. Wells]

OMG, it's the same thing as it would be if you SOLD the domain directly before the 60 days was out - it doesn't matter if an escrow service was involved or not.

Again, prior to 60 days - push only. After 60 days - push or transfer.

The involvement of an escrow service doesn't change any of that.

What my suggestion DOES do is add multiple registrars so the receiving escrow service - like SEDO, could instantly receive the domain via push and then transfer funds to the seller that same day since the domain was received without waiting days or a week for a regular transfer to take place.

After that it does the same thing as before - if for some reason the buyer doesn't want to set up an account at a certain registrar, they can wait for a regular transfer out from the escrow service. But at that time, the seller has completed their obligation, so they can be paid -that's what escrow is for. Each party does their part and they get paid or get the product on their terms after the escrow service is satisfied.

This is a very simple concept. I don't know if there's some reason you're trying to complicate it by saying "that's a problem", but it's not - so please think it through before you try to make what I'm saying into some kind of complex procedure that would make things somehow take longer by adding in an instant transfer option.

You're not getting it. No funds are going to be received if the buyer does not accept the push and would prefer a transfer...

Anyway, back to the topic at hand....

What do you look for in an Escrow Service?

 

[joshny]

But then that is the buyer's problem.
He needs to understand that the domain has a 60 day transfer policy and then to answer the question a good escrow service should have the option to release funds to the seller if the buyer is not accepting a push just because he wants a transfer.
He should have thought of that before agreeing to buy it.
Also "licensing" as pointed out by many is a necessary prerequisite too.

 

[DU]

The involvement of an escrow service doesn't change any of that.

It does thought because it's an intermediate step. The escrow service cannot, for example, take a push at Godaddy and then transfer out without a 60 day notice. If you force the escrow company to do the transfer to the end registrar then you are correct; however, I think almost everyone would rather the direct push than transfer.

Escrow.com offers a DNS management solution as well.

The only time a real problem occurs is when domainers don't sell domains with renewal (i.e. sell them with less than 60 days reg left). And before everyone get mad saying its the buyers problem - check your Sedo agreements.

 

[The New Guy]

It does thought because it's an intermediate step. The escrow service cannot, for example, take a push at Godaddy and then transfer out without a 60 day notice. If you force the escrow company to do the transfer to the end registrar then you are correct; however, I think almost everyone would rather the direct push than transfer.

This is complicating the issue. The push is transparent - simply just a mechanism to get it to the escrow service so they can verify the seller completed their obligations and can be paid.

From previous threads on pushing and holds, pushes do not incur a 60 day ICANN hold (if some registrars have their own, that's an internal policy). Only changes of registrars trigger the ICANN rule, so there is no complication from having a 'push' done to an escrow service.

Once the escrow service has the domain and pays the seller, the buyer can then chose how to receive the domain, just like they would if the domain was coming directly from the seller: Either a push if they have or want an account with the registrar, or a transfer to their existing account.

There is no extra delay - if the domain could be transferred directly from the buyer (it's after 60 days), then it can be transferred from the escrow service. If it can be pushed, it can be pushed.

All that happens is that you get a very secure, fast, and fraud proof escrow transaction, since the escrow service takes possession of both the funds and the domain and only transfers ownership of each after both parties have fulfilled their obligations. Again, direct push is simply a mechanism to get the domain to the escrow service instantly once they've informed the seller that the buyer has paid them.

 

[DU]

From previous threads on pushing and holds, pushes do not incur a 60 day ICANN hold (if some registrars have their own, that's an internal policy). Only changes of registrars trigger the ICANN rule, so there is no complication from having a 'push' done to an escrow service.

You can't ignore that registrars institute a policy and declare there is no complication. Registrars do institute the policy and thus there is a complication - it can usually be removed by contacting them (as is the case with GoDaddy most of the time) but there's quite a lot of leeway in the language even with them.

I believe that one of the complicating issues is that when you change your whois you might "sign" a document stating you can't move the domain. I'm not sure if GD does that anymore - but the question was always whether they could force you into something that you were mandated to do (keep whois accurate).

So, technically, you are correct. Reality and actuality don't always comfortably align.

Take NJ auctions - you win, you own the name.. only you don't. Try selling one of them and see what happens.

Bottom line is that the agreements you read and sign at each point are relevant - you can't just ignore them and go running to some ICANN language and hope that everything makes sense. It doesn't. Escrow companies should not allow any transfer that has expiry within the inspection period either, but I'm sure they don't check this.

 

[AEProgram]

Take NJ auctions - you win, you own the name.. only you don't. Try selling one of them and see what happens.

what happens? I won some names there but never tried selling

 

[DU]

what happens? I won some names there but never tried selling

Don't worry you can sell them

The old owner has a number of days where they may renew (depending on where the name is). The domain is not yours until some time after the auction ends. This does make me wonder about various agreements and what I said earlier...

 

[lennco]

I personally believe that a Seller should NEVER have to directly hand over their domains (property) over to the buyer!
This is what an Escrow company is for!
They need to take control of the money as well as the property!

I also believe that the 60 day hold should be the buyers problem! Not the sellers problem.
And for the matter it shouldn't be a problem for the buyer at all.

So what if they have to let the domain sit in a registrar that they may not like for 60 days?
Big F'n deal!
They still have ownership of that domain and they can still control the domain DNS settings so they can still create a website or redirect it.
Once the 60 days are up they can transfer it if they want to.

We the sellers should never have to either hand over the domain directly to the seller or have to wait out the 60 days in order to complete the transfer.

When I buy a domain from a drop service like Namejet or Snapnames or Pheenix I have no say who the registrar will be or if I have to also wait 60 days.
If I want that domain that is just something I have to deal with.
And so should every other buyer!

Escrow companies need to grow some balls and take control of all domains regardless of sale price, 60 days holds or registrars .

 

[D. Wells]

I personally believe that a Seller should NEVER have to directly hand over their domains (property) over to the buyer!
This is what an Escrow company is for!
They need to take control of the money as well as the property!

I also believe that the 60 day hold should be the buyers problem! Not the sellers problem.
And for the matter it shouldn't be a problem for the buyer at all.

So what if they have to let the domain sit in a registrar that they may not like for 60 days?
Big F'n deal!
They still have ownership of that domain and they can still control the domain DNS settings so they can still create a website or redirect it.
Once the 60 days are up they can transfer it if they want to.

We the sellers should never have to either hand over the domain directly to the seller or have to wait out the 60 days in order to complete the transfer.

When I buy a domain from a drop service like Namejet or Snapnames or Pheenix I have no say who the registrar will be or if I have to also wait 60 days.
If I want that domain that is just something I have to deal with.
And so should every other buyer!

Escrow companies need to grow some balls and take control of all domains regardless of sale price, 60 days holds or registrars .

So many things can go wrong with your theory...

I sold a name on Sedo, and they held the payment for 34 days because the buyer would not accept the push.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it....

Any complaints on Escrow.com or the others? Because, I can find 0, none, related to the transfer of domain names....

Complaints on Sedo Escrow(Which takes control of the domain)? I can find MANY!

 

[Joseph Green]

I thought these comments were interesting (from chat this morning):