Domain Name Sale Scam

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a certain Joseph Sullivan (sullivan@domainsecondhand.com). He was inquiring about one of my domain names that is for sale. Thinking that it was a legitimate inquiry, I responded and gave him the link to the domain name’s sales page in sedo.co.uk.

The next day, he responded saying that the domain name he was interested in is worth about $5,000 – $7,000 USD but to make sure he would need an appraisal from an independent appraisal company and included a forum link where domain appraisals were discussed. The forum was highly suspicious because it was just an HTML archive page of what supposedly a previous forum discussion.

In doubt, I copied and pasted part of the e-mail sent to me by Mr. Joseph Sullivan into Google search and the result was enlightening. It seems that this was an elaborate scam being preyed on those who are selling domain names.

Here is the content of the first e-mail I received from Mr. Joseph Sullivan:

Hello,

Our company is in online business for several years. We are investing in domains and web sites. What is your price for the domain name?

We have a solid budget but we offer reasonable offers only. We will not overpay. If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.

Looking forward to do business with you.

Regards,

Joseph Sullivan

President

Domain & Web Site Brokerage

I copied and pasted the bolded part into Google search and the result lead me to a discussion in NamePros.com titled DomainSecondhand.com is a scam. Read the discussion, it’s very funny how one forum member tried to entertain the scammer by corresponding with him about the domain sale.

Domain Name Scam

The second e-mail I received from Mr. Joseph Sullivan reads:

I think your name is worth about 5,000 – 7,000 USD. Do you agree with this price range?

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://webdiscuss.007sites.com/Archive-07-2009/91731628.htm

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.

The bolded text is what I copied and pasted into Google search and the result was no longer surprising.

Domain Name Sale Scam

Clearly, this is definitely a scam and I don’t have to become a victim just to learn from it. Learning from other people’s experience is enough for me.

What I can recommend for those wanting to sell their domain name is that they go with established companies like sedo.co.uk. Currently, I have 3 domain names listed for sale in sedo.co.uk and already sold one of them.

You can view the domain names I am selling here, Domain For Sale. If you are interested to any of it then please visit their corresponding sales page in sedo.co.uk.