Possible domain name transaction fraud

Plenty of small lawyers use Gmail for their email. Use escrow as you mentioned, try to speak with them over the phone, and don't accept paper checks that can bounce after 2 weeks.

There is a scam that starts like this so be wary.

1) You are contacted by someone who wants your domain and offers a decent price
2) Before they buy they require you get a paid valuation for the site from company X
3) After you pay a couple hundred dollars for the evaluation, the "buyer" disappears

So if they make an offer but want you to pay for a service like a website valuation then stay away, you are being scammed.

Search the forum for the term "appraisal scam" for all the info you could want on this subject.

Most likely, that is what is happening.

Perhaps, if you would like to share the actual wording of the email here (but delete any personal info and the domain itself) we can quickly confirm it for you.



Edit: never mind, I see you just did it. Congrats on avoiding the headache!

I had a conversation with PayPal and they basically stated that there is no danger using PayPal for Domain name sales. I just did one last week and I told the purchaser I only use PayPal and since the domain is registered to me, they are guaranteed to win a dispute if I do not transfer the name to them. The same works for the seller. There is no chance that PayPal will honor a dispute when you can show the name was properly transferred. Escrow companies want to make it complicated. If someone wants your domain name, use PayPal. I never provide evaluations BTW.

Hello there,
Just thought i'd briefly share my similar experience ...
In the last year or two I've accrued 70 some domains and dove head first into blindly teaching myself the ins n outs of buying and selling domains, cashparking etc ... and,
to say the least, I've spent hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, and not even had a single bid on a domain, and made upwards of $2.00-$3.00 altogether with cashparking... Needless to say I am more than a bit frustrated, and I'd like to share a couple experiences that led me to feeling almost altogether defeated ....
For one, when i was buying my domains over the last year or two, al these new extensions were emerging, and i just so happened to step into this brand new world that is being born as we speak ... and in an attempt to be savvy and witty, many of the domain ideas i thought of were business names of larger corporations....
When i was making some of my purchases, Godaddy would sometimes say that these domains were going to be under review for a certain number of days, to basically make sure that I wouldn't be infringing on any trademarks in purchasing them ... and, although some domains were indeed denied from me attaining them, most of them were said by godaddy to be A okay for me to take away ... so, naturally i thought i was safe as can be, and i was really excited about many of my domains purchased as when searching i had noticed that most of the larger corporations had already bought up the new extensions which i was seeking, so i thought for sure that i must be sitting on some REALLY VALUABLE domains .... so, understandably i was rather taken back when i got my first lawsuit form Corning Pyrex and they not only took my domain from me but caused quite a rift in my livelihood ...
Fortunately nothing like that has happened since ... but, to my "Real" point of writing on your Thread here, My first and only offer was an email that I got from a broker, said to be representing a client with $492,000 to invest, offering me $10,000 for one of my DOT ESTATE domains... and short story long, he led me through some hoops, got me to purchase an appraisal and trademark check, and list my domains on DNCERTIFICATES DOT COM, and immediately after just vanished into thin air .... and although this was around 4-6 months ago, it sounds like a remotely slightly different version of the same exact story that you'd told ... so, just my 2 cents,... sad to say though that thee other day, i was so distraught, helplessly watching and seeing so many of my epic domains coming up for renewal, and expiring as we speak, that i went back through old emails and found that website just to desperately persue further investigation of their worthiness in hopes that i might be able to spend a few of my last dollars on one big email blast, or access to their domains wanted page,,, and thats how i stumbled across this forum, which seems pretty cool actually ... so u just might be seeing more of me on here, if i can manage to afford the time that is ....
On that note, i thought I might as well let it be known that i am still seeking any and all pointers and tidbits of advice available, as far as where to share and post my most awesome as well as cheap'O domains ... so, if u can offer up ANY advice, pointers, or suggestions of any sort at all .. .. ... any and every lil thing will be greatly appreciated my friend
Thanx for sharing and likewize allowing me to do the same ... apologies for my oober-long post here .. .. .. :/ LoL
Aloha^

It's not an issue.

I have many branded email addresses, yet I still use Gmail a lot (It's just simplier and faster)

It's not a concern