Gregg McNair is back in the news for the 2nd Monday in a row by joining with another huge name from the domain industry to form a new venture.
Last week it was Ken Hansen that left Neustar to join Greg McNair and in the Co.com registry and today its long time veteran in of Escrow.com Andee Hill who left Escrow.com last week to join Mr. McNair in a new online escrow company EscrowHill.com which is based in New Zealand that was formed to compete with Escrow.com.
The press release goes on to chat about two other now ex-escrow.com staff who are moving over to EscrowHill.com, Ryan Bogue who has been named General Manager and Donald Hendrickson named Operations Manager.
At TRAFFIC Ammar Kubba announced that his company was going to also launch a competitor to Escrow.com named Agreed.com.
Although Ammar is a very good friend and a partner with me on a few domains, I honestly told him even if he was going to bring something really innovative to the escrow business I though he would have a hard time gaining market share against escrow.com and I feel the same for EscrowHill.com
When I sat with Ammar and his team at TRAFFIC they showed me the Agreed.com platform and I saw some potential innovation as far as domains which are sold under payment plans and leases. Agreed.com has a automated system in place which seems to handle such transactions, at least set them up in a better and more affordable way than to escrow.com.
I told him I would use Agreed.com the next time I had one of those transaction, which honestly is not often, however I told him I saw no reason to move from escrow.com
So I see several problems for these two new businesses, both EscrowHill.com and Agreed.com.
Escrow.com has handled a lot of transactions, for a very long time and for almost everyone who has ever bought or sold a domain name.
In my case Escrow.com has handled thousands of transactions involving tens of millions of dollars, and at the end of the day, they provide a basic an administrative function.
An online escrow company collects the money from the buyer, verifies the funds are good, tells the seller to transfer a domain, verifies the transfer is complete and then pays the seller.
The second problem I see is its the buyer that typically pays the escrow fee, so the cost of the escrow fee is pretty much irrelevant to me.
As a Seller of domains, I’m just as happy having a buyer send me a wire direct, after all I know I’m going to transfer the domain either way, its the buyer that is worried and therefore its the buyer that usually pays the escrow fee.
And since its the buyer who pays typically its the buyer who makes the choice of escrow agent many times its the buyer that suggests escrow.com
I turn down sales all day because of the price, but once we come to an agreement with a buyer, I’m not going to lose a sale because they want to use Escrow.com or Sedo.com for escrow or want to wire me the money direct to save the fees.
However I am concerned with time.
So that’s the third issue.
Escrowhill.com, well they are based literally on the other side of the world and have a 17 hour time difference to EST.
Obviously as a seller I want the transaction done by the escrow agent properly but as quickly as possible and as I buyer I want the domain as soon as possible.
People do change their minds.
When I buy a domain name I wire my payment, it usually gets posted the same day (if its a business day) and I get the domain the same day.
Many sellers send in their payment the same day we come to a deal and I’m able to push the domain on the same day since escrow.com is 3 hours behind EST, which I think its a huge advantage for US based domain buyers and sellers and the same advantage Agreed.com has over EscrowHill.com
Although I know its a big world, and recoginze that in some cases the time zone of EscrowHill.com will be an advantage for certain buyers or sellers but its not for me.
Its also slightly more complicated to wire a payment overseas and some US buyers get very nervous when they see their money leaving the good old USA.
So if its not a substantial cost savings what is the motivation of moving from a company that many have done business with for more than 10 years and handled over $1.5 Billion in transactions, for almost everyone who has either bought or sold a domain name?
Personally I have never had an issue with Escrow.com, the buyers pay them, we transfer the domain and we get paid.
That’s the fourth problem for both Agreed and EscrowHill.com, I’m perfectly happy with Escrow.com, they do what they do and I haven’t had a bad experience.
I can be wrong, but I don’t think it takes a special talent to do escrow transfers of domain names.
Escrow agents are not domain brokers which have a unique set of skills and knowledge that would make you follow one from one company to another.
Don’t get me wrong I like Andee very much and we had some very nice chats at TRAFFIC.
I have 100% confidence in her and her team that they will get the work done.
But personally I still don’t see any reason to change as we sit today.
So again for me, its escrow.com business to lose,.
The only way Escrow.com loses a lot of market share will be if they screw up, if they can’t perform the work without the staff that left in the same timely fashion that they have done for years.
If that happens then that leaves the door wide open for EscrowHill.com or Agreed.com or for Sedo.com to get a bigger share of the market.
That’s my take.
Here is the press release:
One aspect of the domain space that bridges the whole industry is that of escrow; and the one person better known than any other in that context is the former Director of Business Development at Escrow.com, Ms Andee Hill.”
“Ms. Hill has established the licensed international escrow enterprise, Escrow Hill Limited with the backing of long time friend and industry entrepreneur, Gregg McNair:
“When Andee told me she was thinking about forming her own escrow business I was immediately enthusiastic. I have a reputation of connecting some of the best people in our industry and Andee is at the top both professionally and as an amazing human being,” McNair said.
“EscrowHill.com’s dream team includes Ryan Bogue as General Manager and Donald Hendrickson as Operations Manager.”
“Both have worked in the business of online escrow under Hill’s direction for over fifteen years combined. Together with Hill’s experience the new team offers over thirty years of online escrow experience!”
“The domain industry is undergoing incredible change and EscrowHill.com is positioned to provide secure, yet flexible, state of the art products and services.”
“EscrowHill.com will be able to meet the needs of both past and future generations of domain buyers, brokers and sellers. Hill’s reputation as an honest, discreet and hard working professional will now aspire to a new level.”
“During my fifteen years in this business, I have handled just about every aspect of online escrow.
“Regardless of my title, I have always known that understanding the client’s needs and providing excellent and secure service is invaluable. I have been fortunate to work with the industry innovator from day one. I have seen what works and what doesn’t. I have been even more fortunate to have created great relationships and trust with industry leaders. At EscrowHill.com I know I can do an even better job,” Hill said.
“Gregg has earned a strong reputation for honesty, integrity and for successfully making businesses work. He also has incredible enthusiasm and a heart for helping others. All are key factors in me wanting Gregg to support my endeavor at EscrowHill.com
McNair has assumed the non-operational role of Chairman, supporting Hill and her team with whatever it takes to build the best escrow business on the planet. Marco Rinaudo, Founder and CEO of Internet.bs has been appointed CTO of EscrowHill.com
Rinaudo, who has been a leader in the international hosting and registrar space since 1995, said, EscrowHill.com is formed and supported by the very best people in the industry. Our team has built the most sophisticated on-line internet escrow platform, fully automated and with more advanced security features than any other.”
No offense to this group but why in the world would they hand register the terrible domain EscrowHill.com last month instead of buying a great name on the aftermarket? They are going to have a really hard time competing with Escrow.com and even more with a bad name. They should rethink the name while they still can.
escrowhills.com is available $12.99
zeroescrow.com is available. $12.99
I have never had a problem with Escrow.com including their installment sales program they call their “domain holding service”
I’m surprised that Escrow.com doesn’t have some sort of non-compete clause in their employee contracts. Maybe they do and have geographically restricted them to only the US. The last thing you want is for someone to start a competing business and take several employees with them.
I wish EscrowHill.com success but, like you Michael, I don’t see any reason why people would make a switch given the info we have as Escrow.com is first rate.
Stunning and unexpected news.
Andee is a very popular figure.
However this may or may not play out very well.
Will the “Loyalty Factor” play into this? And you can come at that from several ways.
I don’t know. But it may.
That is before you get to what seems to be fairly universal question.
Why leave Escorw.com?
This could be the start of something that may only get worse and more widespread. Blood in the water? Could be.
It will be interestng how it unfolds and I await the response from Escrow.com and what seemed to be a great relationship.
Can only imagine the hurt feelings in that company.
Sorry, but I just can’t understand the “branding” factor with EscrowHill. I just don’t get it. Everyone knows that the name of the game with online branding is to come up with a descriptive and short name (eg. RestAssured.com would be a perfect name for that type of business). My guess is that people already familiar with Escrow.com (including End-Users), are going to perceive EscrowHill as a replica knock-off (add phishing if you may) type of site. I never use a domain escrow service outside the US. I get Agreed.com, the name explains it all… But EscrowHill………… what did you say it was called again?
She thinks that people sought her out because of HER, discounting the brand value and longtime trust established by escrow.com. Once you have a platform and a brand (and escrow.com has both) then the business success goes beyond any one person. I think she believed SHE was the business, when it was the other way around. This is like IGLOO, a dumb name for a business, and, like that brokerage house, will be forever on the periphery of the industry.
I wish Andee, Gregg, Donald and everyone the best of luck, and success. I am happy for Andee that she is taking a chance to do what she is great at. With GGG backing it I am sure it will be a success. All the best!
Good Luck !
Will be happy to try the service when its live 🙂
Well the obvious people are griping about is the brand. Obviously they are backing off her domain celebrity status as a front for the brand, her last name. Obviously Escrow.com is not available. I am not sure if .escrow is a gtld, but they did not choose to go that route. Many of America’s, and the world’s biggest companies were built on last name type brands, so nothing new here. Even if they can garner a small share of what escrow.com is doing, they are going to make MONEY, and a TON of it, working out of a less regulated NZ, isn’t that where file upload czar Kim Jong operates out of. People trust Escrow’s US offices, Sedo has been my go to out of Europe although… Since so much business is done out of Silicon Valley, Escrow.com has always been very easy to close some of the bigger tech sales.
See knows how Escrow.com runs the business, she knows what their margins, are, she is going to replicate it, with an AU twist, and build a company. She has some deep dot com pockets backing her, setup a website, platform, replicate.
No non-compete clause?
I have no reason to try any other service than escrow.com.
Also, what does Gregg McNair have against Escrow.com?
Sounds like he is poaching talent from other companies for his own self interest.
@Ryan
” she knows what their margins, are, she is going to replicate it, with an AU twist, and build a company. She has some deep dot com pockets backing her, setup a website, platform, replicate.”
Yeah, replicate the business logic and customer service, but NOT the name. If I worked for Escrow.com, never would have named it that way. Where I sit, branding it as “Escrow” + Keyword = Sketchy (when you’re ex-employer was called “Escrow.com”.
@ADBU
Listen escrow is a dictionary word, it is used in real estate transactions a million times a day. Yes, Escrow owns the defining keyword, but just because you do not agree, doesn’t mean the company will not take a bit of market share. They do not take their entire market share, just make a dent, and continue to grow in an industry that with more online legal transactions, will gain more customers. They see opportunity there, obviously there was no non compete clause in place, since she started in 1999, and they probably didn’t see this coming. Many companies still do ok, without owning the generic domain, The AU, .co.nz markets are pretty strong on the domaining side, they have leverage there, Europe has potential as well. I am not sure why you are so dazed, and confused, many former employees go onto start their own companies.
I love Andee dearly and wish her a Greg the bets of success. However loyalty, trust and stability counts in my book. If my haircutter moved to another place, of course I’d follow. But not my bank manager.
best
@Ryan
I totally understand that ‘escrow’ is a generic term, I also understand that it is OK to leave a company and start your own business in the same industry. I am not against that. They will still locate their customers and find their way through. I was commenting on the replication of the name, regardless of its nature – whether it be generic or not. Imagine if someone came up with an idea to replicate Domaining.com with the domain name DomainingFeeds.com. Sure, Domaining is a generic term, and fits the description with the case being discussed here. All the good names are taken, and there’s an aftermarket to buy decent names from. I bought Domainsville.com to create a news feed, but I didn’t go the “Domaining” naming path. I chose a totally new brand name.
@Abdu
Domaining.com is a directory of bloggers who provide free articles, most hardcore domainers choose to use this service, as they can source all their domain news in one place. If you go out, and put some advertising in local areas, and businesses, and have connections within a industry, in regards to friends, and colleagues, and present them with a useful, and suitable service that they can trust they will slowly give you a try. Some may hate you, some may like you, it all depends. I am doing quite a bit of deals out of AU now, they love their .com.au, but sometimes they want the matching .com. When I send them an escrow invoice, sometimes they are confused, and hesitant, Not a bad thing to have an office over in NZ of a company, they can easily have some legal connection to as being close to them. It is good for the industry, it should bring pricing down a bit as well, more choices, are always good for the consumers.
Obviously they feel that a demand for escrow services are there, maybe their platform offers something different, or unique for specific deals, until seen, it is still to be told. I admire people who take a shot, and go out for themselves, I think for most working for themselves is what they want to do. Look at Francois, and ecop, man that guy tries hard to promote that service, I have never used it, don’t think I ever will, but I choose to use certain escrow services for the way they operate, and payout, so I will wait and see what they can offer.
Maybe they are planning on offering something new, like an actual domain escrow service.
I am a fan of Escrow.com, but they are not really a full escrow service as they don’t take actual possession of the domain. The buyer and seller are left to deal with the transfer on their own which can lead to multiple issues.
Brad
Brad –
I think Moniker has that service.
I wonder what percentage of Escrow.com business is domains
Brad makes a good point, many issues that arise are when you do outside registar transfers the whois can show up under corporate, or a different name, or even privacy. This can be a big headache to sort out, as buyer is like I paid, I am done, don’t want to deal with this anymore.
Another issue is when buyer gets domain, they do not log back into escrow, and accept, nor start the inspection procession, taking possession of the domain would solve many of these issues.
Moniker escrow was a nightmare, and I do not recommend, anyone using it.
Sedo/Afternic take possession, except on outside of registar transfers, which does make for quick payment.
Omn the branding issue its an escrow service run by Andee Hill thereby EscrowHill
On the Hill Brand Michael –
Andee Hill (Now at EscrowHill)
is Not exactly
Marissa Mayer (Now at Yahoo)
Meg Whitman (Now at HP)
Maria Bartiromo (Now at Fox Business).
Respectfully – no one is going to move over to EscrowHill because of her.
But I am going to start watching Fox Financial a bit more because of Maria Bartiromo 🙂
unless they can do something better/cheaper than escrow.com I don’t see people flocking to it. If they are based in NZ or something that means longer waits for wires, etc. Like others have said, if they offer a true escrow service it might be worth watching but despite a known name being behind it, using a service with no history is not something I am crazy about doing.
It is stupid if any inspecting period is given to a domain buyer and let them accept it. Domain is not a car or other physical things that need to be checked for quality. Domain escrow company should verify the transfer of a domain as soon as it is transferred and instantly initiate payment to the seller. This is the key to success.
Execution is the key but great name is helpful. If the plan is to stay focused on the domain space, think going with something like domainescrow.com would be a better fit.. Oh well, would have sold it fairly cheap. More offerings the better and they did there research now gotta go get the sales…
I’ve got TradeSafe dot com. Was planning on launching something similar with multi currency and bank accounts globally for easy deposits and transfers. Then I did the ROI and punched some numbers. I couldn’t see it so didn’t do it. Wishing Andee and GGG all the best in this new venture…
The branding factor is quite easy to understand.
Clearly, the suffix “-hill” in association with domain services is an attempt to trade on the fine reputation of other domain services ending in that suffix.
Iron Mountain took this principle too far.
Not surprised by the amount of negativity in this line of comments. Escrow services require reputation, experience and commitment – not just a domain name. Getting licensed as an escrow is a b*tch also.
Wishing Andee lots of success. Like any industry, we need diversity and more choices as consumers.
andiehillescrow.com is available. $12.99
Best of luck Andee and Gregg McNair. As Domain Observer commented above, if your service offers the option of a 0-day inspection period that will be great. I don’t know why Escrow.com won’t do so.
Hotness never hurts but I don’t think it will result in success.
I agree, with a domain name there is nothing to inspect.
@Attila Steven C
You have TradeSafe.com
I have SafeTrades.com
never thought of it being used in escrow type transactions
Also, remember that Rick was not too happy with Gregg McNair’s off-TRAFFIC charity event where Rick wrote:
“The purpose is to raise funds for the Water School by using T.R.A.F.F.I.C. attendees as a base. That is fine. Where it goes off the rails is inviting ANY other domainers or companies who wish to network with domainers to the party with the express intention of not purchasing a ticket to T.R.A.F.F.I.C.”
and
“Therefore, it is our position that we encourage the Water School to have its fundraising event at the time and place in Las Vegas, but the price of admission for domainers and domain companies should include a badge showing that they registered to attend T.R.A.F.F.I.C. at the Bellagio Hotel. Howard and I are tired of the offenders (and they know who they are and we will remind you again OFTEN) of stealing from us to benefit themselves.”
http://www.ricksblog.com/2013/05/no-way-jose-zero-tolerance-at-traffic/
Rick writes more in the comments:
“We told them that folks outside the industry would be no problem whatsoever. The problem are with KNOWN domainers and KNOWN sponsors that are KNOWINGLY avoiding coming in the front door and doing things the RIGHT way! That is wrong and that is THE problem. Originally we were told only folks with badges and then it changed! But nothing was ever even coordinated with us before the fact to avoid any issues. Their charity could have ended with MORE $$$ had they done this right to begin with.”