I'm Buying A Website, Is This A Scam?

[kebertt]

I was on Craigslist a few days ago and saw an ad for a local domain that looked very profitable. It's a great opportunity for me to open up a directory service, but I'm not sure if it's a scam.

I've been emailing this person, only to realize that the domain owner is not local, but located on the other side of the country. He offered using Paypal but instead I reccomended Escrow and he has sent me the transaction today. He doesn't have any analytics on the site, and the site isn't monetized currently so there is no proof of earnings.

What should I ask for in order to confirm that he is in fact the owner of this website? I've done a lot of work with websites in the past, but never transferred a domain.

 

[SilverSultan]

i wouldn't not trust him, sound odd

 

[KraftyKyle]

Scam written all over it.

What's the site? How much is he asking for it? Without analytics or adsense, you can pretty much expect zero earnings. So if he claims it's making $x/day then he's probably lying.

 

[cherub]

You could ask the owner to upload a html page with a specific name (eg your username) to the site. This would prove he at least has ftp access to the site

 

[Kickflip]

Do you just want it for the domain/content? Ask him to put it on SEDO and SEDO will handle all the escrow and transfer so you don't get scammed.

 

[SmileAtmyWins]

Ask him to verify earnings and verify ownership of the site. If he is able to properly, then fine. But if not, then its a scam and you should walk away from it.

 

[oxonbeef]

Please clarify, are you buying a domain or a site?
In your thread title you say a site yet in your post you say domain.
Now these are two different things. Please stop hurting my brain with
these conundrums it's hard enough answering questions without them
being asked in cryptic.
You say the site is not monetized or has analytics installed so you cannot
be that interested in the content.
If it is just a domain transfer you do it via the domain registrar.

 

[obdcodes]

ask for traffic detail for awstats

 

[bilbo]

if you can see his detaisl via whois then tell him that you are going to communicate to him via the whois email contact. obviously you then know its for real.

escrow and offer to pay for the transaction fees

 

[ppcmaster]

Is he not listed on whois? If you are not dealing the contact listed on whois, then you are not dealing with the owner.

 

[Deleted member 110025]

paypal is fine

ask him to add 5$ and to put the domain as buy it now on eBay - you will get your guarantees

you are welcome

 

[roamer]

I've always used escrow for any domain transaction above $1.5k. So far, no surprises or headaches.

 

[ExpressFans]

I don't understand something. How do you determine it "looked profitable"? You can see hundreds of site online that "look profitable' but without any traffic or any means to get traffic is just some worthless data!

How much is he asking for?

 

[kebertt]

It's a profitable domain for my local city [city]clubs.com with some content. I plan on changing a lot of the content though.

It's listed on the first page of google and in my eyes can be a very profitable business if done correctly. He's asking $400 for it, and isn't currently monetizing it or earning (I'm assuming because he isn't anywhere near my area).

 

[Kickflip]

It's a profitable domain for my local city [city]clubs.com with some content. I plan on changing a lot of the content though.

It's listed on the first page of google and in my eyes can be a very profitable business if done correctly. He's asking $400 for it, and isn't currently monetizing it or earning (I'm assuming because he isn't anywhere near my area).

Well if its [city]clubs.com then ya getting ranked #1 shouldn't be a problem. How big is the city? Do you already have an idea how to monetize it or just jumping on the chance?

Either way, there is absolutely no reason that the site shouldn't be put on SEDO and bought/sold through there.

 

[meathead1234]

Don't put it on SEDO, that's a waste of money. Their commissions are very expensive.

Just use Escrow.com for the transaction. Hope you're not paying too much for it. Assuming you're doing Escrow, there's no real need to verify he owns it as Escrow protects you on that front.

 

[Kickflip]

Don't put it on SEDO, that's a waste of money. Their commissions are very expensive.

Just use Escrow.com for the transaction. Hope you're not paying too much for it. Assuming you're doing Escrow, there's no real need to verify he owns it as Escrow protects you on that front.

I hadn't used SEDO in a long time and just checked the commission, and yes it was quite high. I didn't even realize they took that much from my deals. From what I understand though, the seller pays the fee in SEDO so he might be able to get lucky from that. So ya, for a domain transfer where you already have hooked up with the buyer, Escrow.com looks like a better deal then SEDO.

 

[bontii]

Sounds like a serious scam to me! However, you never know...make sure you check all the details out fully before you pay a single cent.

 

[meathead1234]

Sounds like a serious scam to me! However, you never know...make sure you check all the details out fully before you pay a single cent.

How does it sound like a "serious scam"? Are you just saying that because others did?

I've been in this industry for years, and from what the OP says, I don't see anything that sounds that scammy.

People who want to sell domains on CL, probably don't know what they are doing. So asking for Paypal and having no stats to show is hardly surprising.

 

[Crewchief007]

Is he not listed on whois? If you are not dealing the contact listed on whois, then you are not dealing with the owner.

Actually there is an adjustment to your statement. SEO wise, if your name is on all of your web properties, meaning, your name shows up on your SOAs, you are leaving a huge footprint that is easily tracked.

If you have private BL networks or otherwise own a lot of domains, putting your name on all of your virtual properties would be the death of your network and IM dreams. Yes, you can make them private, but I choose to make some private and some an open book just to keep my competition guessing.

Don't put it on SEDO, that's a waste of money. Their commissions are very expensive.

Just use Escrow.com for the transaction. Hope you're not paying too much for it. Assuming you're doing Escrow, there's no real need to verify he owns it as Escrow protects you on that front.

I second that sentiment! Escrow.com has never let me down.