Old domain appraisal scam resurfaces.
An old scam in the domain name world appears to be resurfacing.
The domain name appraisal scam works like this: someone emails you interested in buying a domain. When you reply, they require an appraisal to verify the value. The scammer either owns the domain appraisal company you are referred to, or is a paid affiliate.
I wrote about this scam in June of 2005. Many people fell victim to the scam, but I hadn’t heard many complaints about it in a while. But over the past two weeks the old article has received six new comments from people who have received the appraisal scam email.
The latest batch of scam emails are signed “Andreas Winski” or “Ronald Winski” and use various company names, including TNG Technologies and PHR Systems. Here are a couple example emails:
Hello,
I’m checking sites with domains for sale from time to time. By my opinion, (mydomain).com can generate income. What is your price?
We are working on software market. Reselling gives us a good income opportunity but it does not have relation to our main business.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Ronald Winski
Vice President
PHR Systems
Hello,
Please reply me with your asking price for #####.net. I’m browsing periodically domain auctions and your domain has good potential (in my humble opinion).
We are working on software market. Reselling gives us a new income opportunity.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Andreas Winski
Vice President
TNG Technologies
If you get one of these e-mails, just ignore it. Or have some fun with the scammer — egg them on a little bit. This will take up some of their time, which will reduce the number of scams they can pull off.
Steve M. says
Saw the same thing in the timeshare field a few years back.
The FTC handed out some hefty fines, and; if I remember correctly; the head guys spent some time in the pokey.
Travis says
I have not yet received this one but will be on the lookout for it. Someone recently tried to scam me and someone else by somehow hacking their paypal account in order to buy a valuable domain from me. Fortunately Paypal caught it but I could have been in a real mess.
Cathy says
I’m nervous about an inquiry that I just got recently. My domain wasn’t even for sale. The guy is insisting on using escrow.com and sharing the fees. how do you really know if you are being scammed? He so far hasn’t mentioned appraisal.
Andrew says
Cathy, that could be completely legit. I receive (and make) unsolicited offers all of the time, and Escrow.com is commonly used to complete such transactions. Read the Escrow.com terms of service to see how it protects youl
Eric says
I got one of these a while back. I kept the guy going for maybe 30 replies. I kept acting as though I wanted to negotiate prices, agreeing the whole time that an appraisal was needed. At the end of the game, I acted completely surprised that he wanted me to pay for the appraisal.–
“This appraisal is part of your protection…not mine. So I tell you what, if you go ahead and have the domain appraised (you don’t need to own it in order to appraise it) I’ll split the difference with you AFTER you purchase the domain.”
Good clean fun.
Cathy says
I don’t know, he hasn’t mentioned appraisal at all, at least not yet. But he offered me an amount, I said I thought it was worth considerably more, then he raised his initial offer by $500. When I countered, he only raised $100. But the whole thing has really made me skittish. My gut tells me not to do it. And I have to go with my gut.
Andrew says
@ Cathy – If it was this particular scam they would have already asked for an appraisal. This sounds legit to me. Curious, is the person in the United States? Did they email you for a “real” email address rather than yahoo or hotmail address?
You might also try to use Sedo’s or Afternic’s escrow service if it makes you more comfortable.
Greg says
I just got that same letter and decited to google his name and company before responding (Andreas Winski TNG Technologies)I’m glad I did. Thanks for posting this info:)
Cathy says
So we negotiated a final price, he sent me a link to Escrow.com. So far the steps have been followed – I am nervous though because I have now put it in the name that he requested and it is a different name than his own.
Andrew says
@ Cathy – you didn’t put the domain in the name of the buyer, did you? Until the money is in Escrow I wouldn’t do that.
If you’re still concerned, you should pick up the phone and talk to the buyer — should give you peace of mind. Once the money is at Escrow you should feel comfortable making changes to the domain.
Cathy says
I did it after this appeared on the transaction history at escrow.com:
Mar 10 2008 3:34PM PDT
Escrow.com approves payment.
Andrew says
@ Cathy – OK, then you’re fine. I don’t smell anything fishy here. Let me know when you get the money and everything is settled.
Mark says
I am possibly interested in selling a group of related vacation rental domains names(with a functioning website). I have done a little research on the net but, with all the different appraisal sites and domain selling services, I am a little leary of paying for a service that I can’t verify is legit. Can anyone offer me any advice about this process?
Cathy says
I use GoDaddy. It was $14.95
Cathy says
Its been four days since I put the domain name in that name that the guy told me to. Nothing has happened and I don’t have my money. Escrow.com stated that the buyer had a two day inspection period. What should I do? I just called the guy and he said he thought it was a done deal.
Andrew says
Cathy, if he is transferring it to a different registrar it will take at least five days. Once the whois record reflects the new owner, update Escrow and the buyer will have two days to accept the transaction.
Cathy says
OK, Thanks for all the reassurances! I have been in contact by phone, which is the best advice- and so far, so good.
Mark Lee says
Yep. I got an email from PHR Group [phrsys [at] phreaker.net]. He offered me $12,000 for a domain that only points to a parking page, has no links or PR rank. Plus the domain name is not a key word or anything good.
I suggested he pay for an appraisal and that I would then deduct from the sale price, so it wouldn’t cost him anything extra. Of course he keeps pushing me to use this one site that’s mentioned on some obscure forum.
I wonder how many people who bought a domain name they’ll never use actually pay these guys in the wild hopes of hitting it big?
Cathy says
Fortunately, my experience was legitimate. It was conducted through Escrow.com and I transferred the name and Escrow released the money to me within 1 business day. Never mentioned appraisal. But of course he is a reseller and the site went up for sale before registration was actually complete.
Andrew says
@ Cathy – congrats on your sale. Would you feel comfortable mentioning the domain name?
Andrew says
@ Mark Lee – I’m sure a substantial number of people fall for this. Otherwise it wouldn’t have lasted all these years.
Cathy says
Certainly,
westspringfield.com
Andrew says
@ Cathy – it looks like Rick Latona bought your domain. He has a sales list he sends out daily, so I’m sure WestSpringfield.com will eventually show up on it.
Congrats on the sale!
Don says
Here you go on the PHR scammer
6318095 (Bern, Switzerland). Due to time lag I would prefer to negotiate via email.
I played around with him to get that info after he “offered” $12,000 and wanted me to get an appraisal….
I told him to offer me over 100,000 and should he win the bid I would deduct his cost..
Hello,
I’m surfing sites with domain names every week to find the best offers. In my eyes, your ucanbthin.com has potential. What is your price?
Software is our main business. So reselling gives us only an additional income opportunity.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Vice President
PHR Group
anthony says
Dude,
Yes, I’m robot. Very smart model so I can read your emails.
I earn enogh money in software business so see no reason to pump any service
for small commissions. Moreover, I suggested you several different services.
However, if I begin to buy each and every name I risk not to make profit. I
had some bad experience in the past and I wrote about reselling in my first
email. So I prefer to find buyers first to minimize all posible risks.
If you are still interested in making money just give me some time to find a
buyer.
—– Original Message —–
From: “Anthony”
To: “Scheerer” ;
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 3:09 AM
Subject: Re: anthony domains
> > dude!!! are you just a robot? is this software that you wrote an email
> > automation routine?
> >
> > What’s with the pseudo-personal but not actually replies?
> >
> > are you just pumping up the valuation service???
> >
> > A
Mark says
Here’s an email I just got a couple days ago…
Mark
Hello,
We’ve have visited several online auctions. We are very interested in your domain name DWIcanhelp.com.
Just email me your price and we will consider it.
Of course, domain reselling is not a main direction of our business (we develop software). But domain aftermarket is hot now, so we are always interested in domain names.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Emmett Hodges
Chief Executive Officer
PHR Software
Mark says
By the way, it was sent from:
“PHR Software”
Jamie says
Another one here too
There e-mail is [email protected]
=============================================
Hello,
Your domain name has been found online.
Please let us know your price.
We make money on selling and buying names and sites. Now the domain
business is very attractive.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Paul Rancour
CEO
ELI LLC
terabitservers.com says
I have received appraisal scam from another email – ELITEINVESTMENTS.NET. Search on google shows that this is also popular scammer email domain. He can use CEO, carter, and other names on this domain.
He suggest reading some freaky forum http://webtalk.007sites.com/Archive/blablabla.htm to find what is “trusted manual appraisal company” . By the way “forum archive” page is created on domain which give free subdomains.
He trying to convince to order appraisal at www. EasyNameSale. com .
Email text is standard :
—————————————
Hello,
Your domain name has been found online.
Please let us know your price.
We make money on selling and buying names and sites. Now the domain
business is very attractive.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Anthony Carter
Vice President
Elite Capital Investment Group
—————————————–
My answer was “suggest Your price”
His next message:
—————————————-
Hi,
Can you accept 10,000 USD?
Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?
Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.
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://webtalk.007sites.com/Archive/461239.htm
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.
——————————————-
My next answer will be F*** OFF !
If you get one of these e-mails, just ignore it.
Felicity says
I had an email from Winski in March offering 10,000 euros for one of my domains. I thought I would get a valuation for a site just to prove they were a waste of money. sure enough the company that winski suggested didn’t even send a valuation which was supposed to be a personal appraisal. I argued for a few months with the company but they keep saying they sent it.
I would never waste my money again on such add ons as they are meaningless.
Chris says
I today received one of these old appriasal scams again, first one for a year or so. Alarmingly, it suggested visting 3 sites for an appraisal, sedo (nothing fishy), accuratedomains.com and another. This is particularly alarming as the second site, which I am not familiar with, bears a strikingly similar name to my own site name. Is it a scam site? If so, I don’t know what to do about my own site- it will be costly to change domains- does anyone have any experience of it?
Sergio says
We recently received this version of it. Sedo and Moniker are obviously the legitimate options, the othe two I believe to be fake. Any comments welcome:
“Dear sir,
we are interested to buy your domain name (domainname).COM and offer to buy it from you for 70% of the appraised market value.
As of now we accept appraisals from either one of the following leading appraisal companies:
sedo.com
pozde.com
moniker.com
accuratedomains.com
If you already have an appraisal please forward it to us.
As soon as we have received your appraisal we will send you our payment (we use Paypal for amounts less than $2,000 and escrow.com for amounts above $2,000) as well as further instructions on how to complete the transfer of the domain name.
We appreciate your business,
Thanks,
P. Jackson
(with a yahoo email)”
Pablo says
I just received a nearly identical message to the previous comment except they only offered 65% of the appraisal price. Darn prices are falling, must be the economy 🙂
Anyway the email recieved was sent by a Richard Thomas of DNR Inc. via a gmail account.
where do we turn in these scammers?
Andrew Allemann says
Pablo – pretty much the only thing you can do is try to get their hosting account shut down for sending spam.
Another says
Just got the same email from
Earl Waldman
CEO
Elite Brokers LLC
[email protected]
– delete –
Andreas says
Here is my contribution to the list of scammers. Received today:
Charles Johnson wrote:
>
> Dear Sir or Madam,
>
> We are interested to buy your domain name *******.COM and offer to buy it from you for 65% of the appraised market value.
>
> As of now we accept appraisals from either one of the following leading appraisal companies:
>
> sedo.com
> nameorange.com
> accuratedomains.com
>
>
> If you already have an appraisal please forward it to us.
>
> As soon as we have received your appraisal we will send you our payment (we use Paypal for amounts less than $2,000 and escrow.com for amounts above $2,000) as well as further instructions on how to complete the transfer of the domain name.
>
> We appreciate your business,
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Charles Johnson
Bill says
Here’s another one I received just like it…
It came from [email protected]
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are interested to buy your domain name ********.COM and offer to buy it from you for 65% of the appraised market value.
As of now we accept appraisals from either one of the following leading appraisal companies:
sedo.com
podzz.com
accuratedomains.com
If you already have an appraisal please forward it to us.
As soon as we have received your appraisal we will send you our payment (we use Paypal for amounts less than $2,000 and escrow.com for amounts above $2,000) as well as further instructions on how to complete the transfer of the domain name.
We appreciate your business,
Yours truly,
J. Harris
Dave says
Here’s mine:
Kevin Parker wrote:
>
> Dear Sir or Madam,
>
> We are interested to buy your domain name BODHISTORE.COM and offer to buy it from you for 65% of the appraised market value.
>
> As of now we accept appraisals from either one of the following leading appraisal companies:
>
> sedo.com
> flyappraisals.com
> accuratedomains.com
>
>
> If you already have an appraisal please forward it to us.
>
> As soon as we have received your appraisal we will send you our payment (we use Paypal for amounts less than $2,000 and escrow.com for amounts above $2,000) as well as further instructions on how to complete the transfer of the domain name.
>
> We appreciate your business,
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Mr. Parker
Dilip says
Huh… I got one too but thank god sedo.com alarmed about this kind of domain appraisals scam and they also wonderfully included this domainnamewire.com web page link for more details.
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are interested to buy your domain name BOLLYWOODED.COM and offer to buy it from you for 65% of the appraised market value.
As of now we accept appraisals from either one of the following leading appraisal companies:
sedo.com
flyappraisals.com
accuratedomains.com
If you already have an appraisal please forward it to us.
As soon as we have received your appraisal we will send you our payment (we use Paypal for amounts less than $2,000 and escrow.com for amounts above $2,000) as well as further instructions on how to complete the transfer of the domain name.
We appreciate your business,
Yours truly,
Mr. Parker
yydd says
Thank you, I received the exact email and I searched [email protected]
and found this site. Well, I could have use the money but I do not want to be scammed. lol
sjl says
haha i did better than you, my scammer D Wilson used the same email but offered me 80%
I feel special..
mfz says
I just got this today. Sounds like a scam:
We are interested to buy your domain name .COM and offer to buy it from you for 80% of the appraised market value.
As of now we accept appraisals from either one of the following leading appraisal companies:
– fleos.com
– sedo.com
If you already have an appraisal please forward it to us.
As soon as we have received your appraisal we will send you our payment (we use paypal for amounts less than $2,000 and escrow for amounts above $2,000) as well as
further instructions on how to complete the transfer of the domain name.
We appreciate your business,
Yours truly,
Mark Evans
Ian says
Yep,
I got one too tonight…
Email1
——————————————
[email protected] to me
Hello,
We have seen your domain listed for sale. What are your expectations in
Euros or US dollars?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid
investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and
web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Gilbert Reuter
CEO
BON Office Group
========================================================
NOTICE – This communication may contain confidential and privileged
information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any
viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by
unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message
and deleting it from your computer.
Reply
————————
Hi Gilbert,
I’m looking at somewhere in the ballpark of US$20,000. I’ve had a couple of
offers approaching $20K, but the highest offer I’ve received so far (at
$18,000) is from a chap who wants to pay the amount over a few months, and
I’d prefer to finalise full payment sooner than that.
The domain is listed on Sedo, as is and
I’ll consider offers over US$20K for
Cheers,
Ian.
Email2
————————————-
Can you accept 19800 USD?
Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?
Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.
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-07-2009/81345627.htm
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.
Reply 2
—————————————–Dear Gilbert,
Yes, please feel free to have an evaluation of the domain done. It is certainly worth you spending the $20 or so to verify the value of the domain. At the present time, I would be happy to sell it to you for US$19,800.00 but it is not my responsibility to ascertain the value of my domain. That is solely your obligation.
If you are selling domains, also be aware that some people (not you of course) are trying to trick sellers into having their domain evaluated. Some people believe anything. You can read more about the duplicitous practice here http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=430411
Take care,
Best wishes,
Ian
John says
Hi, Ian,
I’ve just received the exact same one as you. I’m glad you posted here. I’m just going to ignore it, I think, and wait to see if he gets back to me…
Regards,
John.
Giles says
I just had an identical email from a certain
Gilbert Reuter,
thanks..to you and google, i didn’t follow it up.
feha says
Hi I received the same from Gilbert 🙂
I wanted a minimum $7500 he offered $15000 ?????
🙂
The site : bonbon.net might be a real company and I think has nothing to do with “Gilbert” but someone tricking email
When I checked the last sent IP in email headers it show it is from Russia .
Be aware and careful as they while communicate with you can sniff your passwords of pop3 and smtp …
The domain he wanted: feedpixel.tv 🙂
My last reply was:
“Also why would you pay $15.000 if I asked $7500 ?”
feha
vision.to
Drew says
Yea this Reuter guy offered me 15 grand, I accepted his offer and he still wanted an evaluation. If I offer you 5 dollars for a watch and you say yeah, do I say, lets get it appraised 1st? Nope!
Mark says
How do I unsubscribe to this? I don’t want to get notified of followup comments. Just don’t see any way to unsubscribe.
Andrew Allemann says
Mark – just click the link in the emails you get.
websmith says
Hello
I also received same email from Gilbert . Thanks to IAN for warning us.
I got doubt after I tried to find BON Office Group in Google but it fetched no result , so after some change in keyword / email tracing i reached this page.
Thanks to IAN once again.
—email——
Hello,
We have seen your domain listed for sale. What are your expectations in
Euros or US dollars?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid
investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and
web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Gilbert Reuter
CEO
BON Office Group
========================================================
NOTICE – This communication may contain confidential and privileged
information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any
viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by
unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message
and deleting it from your computer.
========================================================
—-end of email—
19876 says
REceived the same email but with a different CEO name:
—email——
Hello,
We have seen your domain listed for sale. What are your expectations in Euros or US dollars?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Gregory Halverson
CEO
BON Office Group
Matt says
I’m glad that I researched this. I received this e-mail today.
From: [email protected]
Subject: 1mob.com (sent 09/18/09)
Date: Friday, September 18, 2009, 7:17 AM
Hello,
We have seen your domain listed for sale. What are your expectations in
Euros or US dollars?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid
investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and
web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Gregory Halverson
CEO
BON Office Group
========================================================
NOTICE – This communication may contain confidential and privileged
information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any
viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by
unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message
and deleting it from your computer.
========================================================
Diana says
Wow, the same happened to me, too! I listed my domains on sedo and I got the exact same email from Gregory halverson. I googled it now but I only found this forum..Thanx God! 🙂
Diana says
And I forgot to add that these guys didn’t contact me through Sedo, but sent email directly to my email address.
The problem is when I transferred my domaisn to SEDO, I disabled whois guard but when they were listen then, I forgot to enable them again :((
Luigi says
Hi guys,
yesterday i received this..i see it is the same mail sent to many people,with differents names.
have you ever tried to say:ok! now ,you can pay me the amount, we are agree ….and after,what is happened’? i am stopped..i was going to go..ahead!!! argggghhhh!!
SPAM MAIL?…………..
Hello,…………….
We are interested in the domain in the subject line of this letter. What
are your expectations in us dollars or euros?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid
investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and
web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Martin Bradley
Vice President
BON Office Group
========================================================
NOTICE – This communication may contain confidential and privileged
information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any
viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by
unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message
and deleting it from your computer.
========================================================END..MAIL…
Drew says
u think I didn’t accept his offer? He offered me 15k, I said ok, then he hit me with the “we need an appraisal game.” I’m thinking if I offered u 5k for a car and u said yes, would I say, “Ok let go check Kelly’s blue book 1st then we’ll adjust the price accordingly.” The site they send u 2 is not even a forum site, and they only recommend 1 site to get the manual appraisal so we know who he’s working for.
Simon says
I also received the following email for my domain YouShouldShutTheHellUp.com, and responded (See below). It wasn’t until after I responded that I thought to Google BON office group and the only result was a link to here 🙁 Is it advisable for me now to change my passwords to gmail/PayPal?
Hello,
We are interested in the domain in the subject line of this letter. What
are your expectations in us dollars or euros?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid
investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and
web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Martin Bradley
Vice President
BON Office Group
========================================================
NOTICE – This communication may contain confidential and privileged
information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any
viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by
unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message
and deleting it from your computer.
========================================================
Hi Bradley,
You’re the third person this week who has expressed an interest in this domain name (admittedly one of them is a friend of a friend who heard I’d registered this domain name). I originally bought it as I was planning on developing a website with content satiring comments from people in the media who spoke out of turn such as politicians and celebrities. I believe the domain to be brand-able enough to sell T-shirts etc too.
However due to the interest I am willing to sell to the highest bidder if the price is significant enough for me to reconsider develping the website. I do have other projects on the back burner waiting for me to raise the investment to get started that I’d love to begin.
As I have told the other two interested parties please forward me your best offer for me to make a decision by Friday 10/02/2009. I will not show the other parties your bid, and neither will I show them yours. The initial highest bidder only will receive consideration for the sale.
The only other doman name I’m willing to sell presently is http://www.referralstone.com
Best regards and thank you for your interest.
Vishal says
I have received an exactly similar mail from Martin Bradley, Vice President, BON Office Group.
luigi says
well,now..after all of this messages ..with the same subject..we know..BON GROUP is a….SCAM!!!!!!!!!
a coup of coffee together mr bradley?
Keith says
*sample domain scam email #1
Hello,
We are interested in the domain in the subject line of this letter. What are your expectations in us dollars or euros?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Anthony Bradley
Vice President
Real Invest LLC
Keith says
*sample scam email #2 (after i replied back)
Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?
Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.
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-07-2009/8152719.htm
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.
Keith says
sample domain scam email #3 (after i suggest he appraise them himself, he did offer me $12,000 for 6 names so i figured he could afford the 400 dollar easier than me)
It’s a standard practice to show independent valuation to buyers/resellers. Nobody will do business without it. I’m a businessman and have no intention of changing rules which help both parties to avoid additional risks.
Of course, investors never take into account auto-generated valuations. So manual valuation is a “must” too.
I read the following information about appraisals at:
http://webdiscuss.007sites.com/Archive-07-2009/8152719.htm
Thank you for understanding. I’m looking forward to do business with you.
Keith says
Just be careful. While I agree its not a scam to request an independent appraisal. When he is sending you to sites that are not proven as well as referencing forum sites beware. Also the names on the fake forum he links to are the same as i’ve found in other scam discussions…”don williams”, “nameseller”, “mr. bradley” its just humorous to me… his last response was “just aprase one then please” hahaha too funny
Kit says
Hi i recieved this email yesterday, I almost fell for untill reading all this lot, Thanks everyone.
Hello,
We are interested in the domain in the subject line of this letter. What
are your expectations in us dollars or euros?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid
investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and
web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Anthony Bradley
Vice President
Real Invest LLC
Kit says
I think im gonna play with this anthony bradley for as long as i can just for the fun of it.
sameer says
Even i have receive this same mail
Is it a scam or not.
Hes forcing me for appraisal.
Hi i recieved this email yesterday, I almost fell for untill reading all this lot, Thanks everyone.
Hello,
We are interested in the domain in the subject line of this letter. What
are your expectations in us dollars or euros?
We are in real estate but invest in web project too. We have a solid
investing budget and our company is very interested in Internet names and
web sites.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Anthony Bradley
Vice President
Real Invest LLC
Kit says
Yes it is definetly a scam: namesaleshop.com was only created about 2 months ago, If you type namesaleshop into google the second result is a forum about it being a scam. namesaleshop by the way is the website that he will try and get you to appraise ur domain at, no matter which other site you suggest he will bring you back to it.
I suggest you have a bit of fun with him and try and waste as much of his time as you can.
MR says
Another domain name appraisal scammer that tried on me:
[email protected]
David Long says
I was approached by Joseph Young of EliteHosting.com this morning. Having read a few different blogs it seems that the common factor is Sedo.
I listed my domains for sale on that site earlier this week, and it seems that quite a few others have had the same approach within a few days of joining Sedo.
olie says
I also got one too. He want me to get appraisal at http://www.bestdomainexperts.com/
at $76.90 per domain. WTF, after that. He never email me again.
Daniel Goncalves >>>>>i got email from him
Bruce says
Daniel tired the same crap on me a couple of weeks ago. I hope the little &#($* enjoys his time in jail.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1249353313133550.xml&coll=1
Chris says
Someone else is at it again. Not 4 days after joining Sedo and listing a domain I get this email:
Hello,
I’m reaching out on behalf of Dennis Thompson who is interested in this domain. Please email us your price.
He is also looking for easy-to-remember names with different extensions for his online businesses.
If you have other names for sale please email us your list with prices.
Can we get your answer this week if possible?
Regards,
Charles Venturi
Sales Executive
Name Investors Union LLC
FOLLOWED UP WITH THIS:
Dear Christopher,
Can you accept 18,000 usd?
Our client has a 30,000 usd budget for several names. Have you had your domain names evaluated by certified valuation experts in the past? Even if your domain has no web site it’s possible to appraise it. Without a valuation certificate our client cannot be sure in the sale price. Moreover, our accountant and tax services always ask for valaution certificates. On the other side, it’s very important for him in terms of reselling too. Of course, we must engage an independent valuation company with a real manual service. So I will only accept valuations from independent sources our client trust. We don’t have certified experts in domain valuations and use independent reliable companies for appraisals.
To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies. Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and buyers:
http://www.thenamepros.com/Archive/935175246.htm
If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price accordingly..
After you send us the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to obtain it) we’ll continue the process. Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name? Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.
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.
Paul says
This just happened to me… thanks for the insight!
here are the emails I was sent:
EMAIL #1:
Hello,
We are going to purchase your domain name.
Our company is in hosting and domain name business.
Please email us your desired price in USD or euros for the domain name in the subject line.
If you have other names for sale please email us your domains with prices.
Looking forward to doing business with you.
Regards,
Anthony Taller
Vice President
Brand Name Services Inc
EMAIL #2
This domain name can be very profitable with right marketing. 1600. Ok.
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://www.thenamepros.com/Archive/84639521.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.
Dave says
I recently received a domain appraisal scam attempt from buy-domain-hosting.com, This contact started off with stating his name is Michael but, after doing a little bit of research I was able to uncover this company’s true meaning to scam domain owners into getting an appraisal but not continuing to make any legit offers for my domains.
DO NOT TRUST BUY-DOMAIN-HOSTING.COM THEY ARE DOMAIN APPRAISAL SCAMMERS!
Mayz says
Man, I got scammed by such scammer. I was happy at first when they offer a huge price for one of my domain and lead let to fallen in their trap. I hope I can dispute them and get my money back.