Sedo

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
The businesses response is unsatisfactory. I strongly encourage Revdex.com to step in here. The company is continuing to scam people into giving people money for a cancelled/non-complete purchase. A simple search indicates that I'm not the only one that has this kind of experience with the company. While they claim there was a contract, I cease to believe its valid since it wasn't anything that was presented to me clearly, or knowingly.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear [redacted], We are sorry that you have this experience using Sedo's marketplace. We understand your perspective on this matter and would like to clarify our policies as it relates to this complaint. Per our terms of use agreement, which all Sedo customers agree to when opening an account,...

it is stated that "when listing a domain for sale, sellers agree to keep any data which they have added to the domain database up-to-date. If a domain has been sold, the seller must remove it from the database."Furthermore, in accordance with Sedo's Domain Marketplace Agreement, section 3, "Once Buyer and Seller have entered into an agreement for the purchase and sale of a Domain, should the payment and transfer of the respective Domain fail for reasons unrelated to a breach by Sedo of the Domain Transfer Agreement, Sedo reserves the right to collect any applicable commission fee for the sale from that party who has violated his/her obligation to cooperate in the completion of the transaction."Once again, we understand your perspective on this matter. But this is the agreement that you accepted when opening your account with Sedo to list your domain for sale. Again we apologize for any confusion or frustration as a result of this.  We are not able to cease and desist our request for payment of the commission as a result of your breach of Sedo's terms of use. Best Regards, [redacted]Sedo, North America

Hi [redacted], We appreciate your thoughtfully worded response.  We do apologize that we cannot come to an agreement on this matter. As far as the disagreement concerns our terms of use, those are the terms you agreed to when opening your account and conducting business with Sedo.  If you did not like the rules regarding failed transfers, then you could have chose not to proceed with the business relationship. As far as your perspective on this policy as a predatory policy, I would remind you that the success of our business as a marketplace for buyers and sellers, relies on our reputation as a trustworthy platform to conduct business, this includes trusting that when you buy a domain over Sedo, you will be getting the domain you have purchased.  You see this as predatory, where we see this as a failed transfer, the likely loss of a buyer who has a weakened perspective of the legitimacy of our marketplace, and we suffer as a business.  There are millions of domains listed at Sedo, and it is not possible for us to monitor, daily, the ownership of those domains.  Therefore, it is clearly stated in the terms of use, that this is the responsibility of the domain seller. Again, we understand your perspective, but are unable to change our position on this matter. Best Regards, [redacted]Sedo, North America

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business.I would like to communicate to the business that I appreciate their looking into this issue. I would like to encourage them to incorporate, as part of their future best practices, the option of having sellers use an alternative email address they (the sellers) have control over, before suggesting to the sellers that a SEDO-managed email address be used. I firmly believe the seller-managed email option would add to the transparency of the transfer process and it would be perceived, at least by some sellers, as less intrusive than the current best practice. The SEDO-managed email option can still be kept as a Plan B or Plan C.That said, I have determined that the response from the business, and the offer to not pursue commission fees any further, does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #[redacted]. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello,  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We are currently reviewing the customer’s account and following up with them. Although Sedo does have a check process when listing domains for sale, it is up to the sellers to maintain their listings and remove anything they no...

longer own. Sedo does place accounts under review when we find someone has failed to keep their listings up to date. Any such issues can be reported to us directly to look into by using our general customer support contact: [redacted]  Best Regards, Sedo.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. I understand that Sedo have themselves fully covered with their terms & conditions. However that will not stop me disagreeing fully with this predatory policy. I will continue to state publicly, loudly and clearly, that Sedo engages in unethical business practices in this regard. Their reply that my domain wasn't re-listed by its new owner is disingenuous.  My claim was never that the domain was listed for sale twice. The domain is currently parked with Sedo under a different account. Parking may well be a different service to the domain marketplace but it is still indisputable evidence in Sedo's control that the domain is no longer mine. The conclusion is quite simple. Sedo has little business interest in maintaining an accurate but smaller domain marketplace database. They'd prefer to ignore glaring deficiencies in their marketplace to extract dishonest commissions for failed sales. Also the larger (inaccurate) database is more impressive to new prospects. Customers beware. Sedo will make no effort to remove stale offerings from their marketplace. They will not contact you after publicly available domain records have been updated indicating a change of ownership. They will contact you suggesting you review your listings. They will not even contact you when the domain is hosted by them under different ownership for the simple reason that it's not in their business interest. They'd prefer that a 'sale' will be requested so that their prefatory [redacted] can extort an extra commission from customers who don't attend to the details sufficiently. Shame on you Sedo. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello, We understand you're upset and we share your wishes to complete the transaction as quickly as possible. For some reason there seems to be an issue where the transfer requests from [redacted].com are not being received. We can confirm that the email which is being used for the domain contacts is...

active and checked throughout the day. We have also reviewed the spam and sub-folders to see if the emails were misplaced but nothing has been found. With regard to the request to have the admin email changed, we have previously explained that the domain is in a Sedo account at the current registrar. As such we can not update the contacts for security reasons. Beyond that the current registrar is also not easy to work with regard to updating such information and it can take time for such changes to go through even if it wasn't a security issue. We have recommended to use another domain registrar to complete the domain transfer. We have also filed a ticket with our IT team to see if there is anything more they can do with the email settings to allow the [redacted].com emails to come through. We will provide an update to the transfer center in the Sedo account as soon as they respond. Please let me know if there is anything further or if you have any questions. Best Regards, [redacted]

Hello [redacted], Firstly allow me to apologize for any confusion or frustrations you may have experienced while using Sedo’s transfer service. We of course want all of our customers to be happy with the experiences they have over our Marketplace. In reviewing the communication around the transfer,...

we understand how some of the statements and messages could have been handled better and we have therefore canceled and will not pursue Sedo’s commission fee. Please be assured that the intent of the transfer agent was to expedite the process and not to pressure you and that the unfortunate apology statement was a language mistake by a non-native speaker attempting to extend an apology, not demand one. We have reviewed these communications with the transfer agent to try and ensure there aren’t any misunderstandings moving forward. I do need to note the fact that the Domain Transfer Agreement that you agreed to in advance of the sale does outline that the Seller agrees to provide an invoice if requested and that Sedo cannot provide legal advice (which would include how to properly format an invoice or tax document in compliance with any regulations in your jurisdiction). The Domain Transfer Agreement also outlines that Sedo will provide best practices for the transfer process and we have found that updating the admin email to Sedo is a best practice that expedites the transfer process and has never caused problems because the address is rarely used for anything outside domain transfer emails. Although these processes are standard at Sedo, we understand that the explanation by the transfer agent for both left something to be desired and reiterate that we wish they had gone better. Please be aware that waiving the commission fee in this case does not change the fact that you failed to complete the domain transfer. The Purchase and Sale agreement that you made with the Buyer may still be legally binding and the Buyer may still opt to pursue legal action if they wish. Again we do take all feedback seriously and continuously work to make improvements for all of our customers. We hope this has helped to address your outstanding concerns.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
Stale listings that are years old (and nobody even remembers signing up for your scam site) .  Sedo MUST make an effort to verify accuracy over long period of time.  It's willful negligence on the company's part.  It's part of their business model to extract commissions in perpetuity regardless of listing accuracy. Unfortunately, I will now have to deal with this legally and via social media and online media campaigns if Revdex.com cannot help secure a satisfactory solution.  
[redacted]

Hello, Thank you for the reply. Although we do understand your wishes to both know the outcome of our review as well as to complete the transaction, we ask for your understanding as this is not possible. With regard to our review and follow up with the customer, this is an internal matter that Sedo is working on with the customer that had the domain listed for sale. Much in the same way we would not talk about an account that you had with us with another party, we cannot provide additional information on this customer’s account to you. We can confirm that the domain has been removed from the marketplace while we look into the matter with the seller. Secondly please note that the Sedo and [redacted] marketplaces are two separate companies which do not currently have any connection to one another. As your purchase for this domain happened outside of Sedo’s marketplace we cannot complete or work on your transaction. We would recommend following up with [redacted] as you stated that your purchase was made through them. They should be able to provide you with additional information in this matter. We hope this has helped to clarify the situation. Best Regards, Sedo.com

Hello [redacted], It seems there might be some confusion. From what you previously posted to us it looks like you thought the purchase price was showing in Yen and not USD. As was previously communicated, our site does not support Yen as a currency unfortunately and all of our pricing is done in either...

USD, EUR or GBP. Also we want to make sure you understand that if you do agree to purchase a domain over the Sedo marketplace, you enter into a legally binding agreement. Although we understand you made a mistake this does not void the agreement as you have entered into it with a seller and not Sedo itself. We simply want to make sure you are aware of this should you wish to make purchases moving forward. Sedo must try to uphold the agreement where possible and we cannot simply cancel as there’s another party involved. With regard to your payment, we can confirm that a refund was issued to you a few days ago and we posted in the Transfer Center of your Sedo account once that was done. Kindly note that credit card refunds can take a number of business days to reflect on your credit card statement. We recommend that you follow up with your credit card company to get a better idea of when the refund should show on your end. As it stands you do still have an active transaction and we kindly ask that you follow the steps on the new payment request to resend the funds. If you have additional questions we ask that you follow up with us directly through the Transfer Center in your Sedo account. You can also contact our customer support by submitting a ticket in your Sedo account or by email at: [email protected]  We hope this has helped to clear up any confusion.  Best regards, [redacted] -- Transfer and Customer Care Supervisor Sedo.com

Hello [redacted],   We understand that you have some frustrations, however we would like to point out again that our site does not use Yen as a currency. Also you must confirm a purchase on a second screen that comes up after you click on the Buy Now button. This screen asks you to confirm your purchase and also asks you to reconfirm acceptance of our terms of use. Finally we also see that you tried to remit payment with your credit card three times before the payment actually went through. The purchase price would have been visible on any of these screens.  We understand that mistakes can happen and we will of course work with our customers to the best of our ability. Again the main issue is that you entered into a binding agreement with a seller over our marketplace and Sedo must try to uphold those agreements. If you’re unwilling to complete the transaction as it stands we ask that you follow up through the Transfer Center in your Sedo account.  Again we hope this has helped to clear up any confusion.  Best regards, [redacted] -- Transfer and Customer Care Supervisor Sedo.com

Hi [redacted], Thank you for contacting us. I am writing to confirm that following your complaint we had the Supervisor of Transfers, [redacted], contact you to discuss the issue relating to the authorization codes.  Per your requested settlement, we were able to resolve the issue...

related to the authorization codes, and I can confirm you have been paid in full for the sale of the domain via our marketplace.  Thank you for your patience in this matter. Best Regards, [redacted]Customer Service, [redacted]

Hello [redacted], We understand you're upset about the credit card form and that
you do not wish to complete it for our security team. As it stands the credit
card and [redacted] options are available at Sedo’s discretion. In the same way
that we do not allow for credit card or [redacted] purchases over a...

certain amount,
we may also not allow one or both of those options for a customer to make
payment if we feel there might be a possible security issue.A number of companies take the same approach and will have
such forms to help validate someone is real. The point of the credit card form
is to ensure your security as much as Sedo’s. Sedo always allows payment to be
remitted by bank wire should the other two options not be available. As we spoke on the phone today I’m hoping this will give our
security team the information they need and allow the credit card option to be opened
again. We will let you know through the transfer center of your Sedo account
once we have an update for you. I hope this has helped to answer any questions you have
regarding our payment options. Best regards,[redacted]--Transfer and Customer Care SupervisorSedo.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  
Sedo's statement with respect to their "check" and the obligations of the seller fail to provide the customer adequate protections against fraudulent sale of domains. I request that Sedo provide the results of the "check" so as to complete the transaction with the sites owner. If Sedo has determined that the seller does not have the authority to complete the transaction, I ask Sedo to provide the information of the individual that does have the authority. Additionally, given the nature of this transaction and laws governing the transaction, advertisements, and seller/buyer rights, sales are final and thus Sedo is not simply a middleman but instead more of a holding company responsible for guaranteeing each transaction is in compliance with their claims of authority.  
Regards,
[redacted]

We understand that when a domain is lost this can be a trying and upsetting experience. We would like to clarify a few points as there seems to be some confusion about Sedo and who currently owns the domain. Sedo.com is a marketplace for domain names and we don’t own any domains being sold on our...

marketplace. People that own domains can list them for sale so potential buyers can purchase them. In this case we do see that the current owner of the domain, [redacted], does have it listed for sale as a make offer. This means that buyers can place a bid on the domain through our marketplace and it’s up to the seller to respond.   In general if someone loses a domain due to expiration we recommend following up with your registrar to see if it can be recovered. If a domain expires, it typically will be released to a general pool for anyone to register. Unfortunately, previously owning the domain does not guarantee that you will be able to get it back if it does drop and enters this pool. In order to prevent such things from happening, we recommend following up with your registrar to ensure steps are taken to prevent domains from expiring in the future. In this case you can either try to purchase the domain back from the current owner or follow up with a lawyer to see if it can be reclaimed through legal channels.   Regarding the contact you made to our support team, our intent is to always service our customers as efficiently and effectively possible. Upon looking into this further, only one request linked to your account was found which was received on a Friday and responded to the following Monday. We can confirm that we did have some delays due to a mail server change however the response time was in line with our timeframes as we don’t have working hours over the weekend. We also noticed that there have not been any bids placed on the domain over our marketplace. If you do wish to try to purchase the domain from the seller, we would recommend logging into Sedo and placing a bid. If you have any questions on how this process works or if you run into any issues with your account, please feel free to contact us at [redacted] or call our support team Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM EST ###-###-####.   Finally, we just want to confirm that [redacted] and Sedo are two separate companies. Also the content that is currently on the domain is what the current owner has placed on it and is outside of our control.   We hope this has helped to clear things up and again, please contact us if you need any further assistance.