We wrote about the domain name Autism.Rocks selling for $100,000 the other day and our interview with the Seller of the domain how was unhappy to learn he was charged by Sedo 15% fee for acting as the escrow agent.
The Seller and Buyer independently of Sedo on the domain, then went to Sedo to handle the escrow.
Today Semra Koerner, the Manager Global PR & Communication for Sedo.com sent us an email basically saying that the seller didn’t properly identify that he only needed escrow services.
It should be noted again that the Seller is not a domainer and this may have been the first domain name he ever sold.
Here is the response from Sedo:
We followed the conversation on your blog thedomains.com about the autism.rocks sale and would like to take the opportunity to respond to the assumptions formulated by the seller of autism.rocks in our direction and about us not having provided the appropriate service and asking for too high service fees. It took us a while to work on a comment, since most of our management members are at the ICANN show in Argentina. Please find our comment below – it will be shared as well with other blogs that have covered the topic including domaininvesting.com and domainnamewire.com.
Taking complaints seriously, we immediately analyzed the chat protocols showing the evidence about the communication between the seller and our Customer Care Specialist.
Here is what our records show: The seller told us via chat tool about an offer he received, and that he wanted to know how to list his domain for sale. He also asked what to do if he receives an offer and if he can counter an offer. These are typical questions from users that want to start listing names and sell them through our marketplace/ platform. The seller didn’t mention that he already had an agreement with a buyer in place and was only seeking for transfer service. If he had mentioned that, our Customer Care Specialist would have pointed him to our External Transfer Service.
We are in direct contact with the seller and together we are going to analyze the process on potential mistakes and how to proceed. You know that we are very transparent about our services and the fees that apply when using them. In addition, we have the largest collection of FAQ to answer all questions about a sale of a domain name. At the same time we know that misunderstandings can happen.
For your information: We are very happy to support registered charities and donate to respective organizations following our own criteria. Knowing that there are millions of charities registered in the world it is impossible to know and/ or support them all. Furthermore, if we are not informed and asked for support upfront for a proper case by case decision we cannot support the client in his desired way.
We very much hope that we were able to clarify a few things with the above explanation. Again, we are in contact with the seller and hope to sort out the situation.
Please let us know if there are any other open questions. We are happy to help, providing that we can disclose the respective information.
Thank you and best regards””
Mike, I believe you mean “Autism”.
While I believe Sedo fees are too high, I think the seller should not put all the blame on Sedo since he acted hastily to quickly sell the domain name upon receiving an irresistible eye-popping $100k offer for a domain he paid almost nothing for, without due diligence on his part.
The buyer is the only one I sort of feel pity for, knowing that he gladly offered to pay $100k for a domain-related cause dearest to his heart. Even though he shouldn’t have paid that much for it.
1) This sale is starting to sound more like a donation. Future dotROCKS sales will paint a clearer picture.
2) Nice response from SEDO. Only word missing was “refund” – which is what should happen here.
things don’t add up. the guy approach SEDO with a domain to sell and with an offer. SEDO replied with what exactly? the seller to list the domain for sale at SEDO? to change the DNS of his domain and park it at SEDO?
Looks like everyone wins here, including charitable funding/donation for Autism.
My guess is SEDO will resolve this matter, as the Company is usually outstanding with customer service. I don’t know the particulars, but my guess is the seller placed the domain on SEDO after receiving the offer of 100 K, accepted it — & it went through the usual transaction process.
Since the buyer approached the seller directly as the domain was not listed on SEDO, I’m not sure why the latter didn’t just transfer the name to the buyer’s account, upon/after receiving the proceeds.
In any case – congrats to all, especially the Foundation, and let’s hope SEDO can reimburse some of the costs./fees.
Sedo.com is the worst one out there. Stay away at all costs. I know from personal experience on this. Blood sucking, money hungry, no customer service having, weirdos at that establishment. Sweet.