Hmmm… it might be my threats that work for me. lol JK

Maybe I’ve just been lucky. You still haven’t indicated what sort of payment method you depend on, and at what price level you kick that method in.

just curious…

The point is every interaction I’ve had with PayPal has been poor. Whenever I’ve challenged a transaction in which it was a “service” instead of a physical product, I got a canned response that PayPal won’t do anything about it b/c they only protect product purchases.

The point is well-taken, but I don’t know the specifics of how you were ripped off by a company that is run by one of the largest online funds transaction company in the world, eBay.

There’s all the factors to take into consideration, of course, before you make a sale, either buyer or seller, (Verified Paypal account, recognition of the buyer/seller, a written contract to specify the purchase agreement terms, etc.).

So I’m not saying “just use paypal in any domain sale” and depend on that to keep you safe in your purchase of the domain. I’m saying “once the research has been done and the party has been vetted and verified, make a purchase agreement and Paypal will be fine for under $5K purchases”.

I would like to know what sales processing entities, as in escrow on a purchase where the price is high enough for you to consider using, are your favorite. Escrow.com? A registrar losing/gaining the domain? A simple bankwire? What methods do you prefer for a domain selling for what minimum price, beyond Paypal, or even any other method?

I’ve heard horror stories even about Escrow.com (mainly in the amount of time they take to complete a payout, even after receiving the domain/payment). I personally have not had problems with Escrow.com.

This might be a subject for a different article though.

thanks..

That said, if you’re willing to take the risk you can go right ahead.

Any domain sale for under $5k is great for Paypal. Contrary to your comment that Paypal “offers absolutely zero protection to domain buyers”, Paypal is one of the safest way to sell a domain name under $5k, and being owned by eBay gives it a lot of credibility.

Three years ago, I had a buyer of one of my domains pay me $300 for the domain, then he forgot to initiate the transfer of the domain to his registrar. After about a week, he didn’t get his domain. I tried to tell him how to proceed correctly, but he was so freaked out, he botched every bit of instructions I gave him.

Ultimately, he filed a complaint with Paypal, and my whole account was frozen. It wasn’t until i showed Paypal resolution team my emails and the guy finally got the transfer right, did he release his “dispute” and my paypal account. So yes, Paypal DOES protect a buyer’s payment.

My concern with your post saying that Paypal “doesn’t protect buyers” is a strongly “wrong” statement to make, especially since most domain sellers for low cost domains use Paypal exclusively. You should retract that, or get more information on Paypal protections for buyers, because eBay doesn’t fool around with fraud transactions. They’re hardcore on top of them… and most domain sales below $5k are done by Paypal.

Also be wary of deals that appear too good to be true, even if the seller is legit. Often, accounts get compromised and a thief may pose as the legitimate owner.