Domain name appraisal scam moves to a new domain name.

I’m getting tired of writing these articles. But every time I do, a number of people searching for this stumble upon it, so I figure it saves some people from falling for the scam.

The latest incarnation of the domain name appraisal has moved to a new domain name – Fleos.com.

A scammer sends and email to you offering to buy your domain name for a percentage of the appraisal price. He explains that they accept appraisals from Sedo (a well known and reputable appraisal provider) and a no-name service (in this case Fleos.com). The no-name service costs less, so people that receive the email buy an appraisal from it. The no-name service is actually owned of the scammer, who has no intention of buying your domain name.

Previous web sites used in the scam include Pozde.com, NameOrange.com, TropicalNames.com, and FlyAppraisals.com.

A copy of the scam e-mail is below:

from Kevin Hill 2kevinhill@gmail.com
subject Offer for CARGRANTS.COM

We are interested to buy your domain name CARGRANTS.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,

Kevin Hill

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

Review and rate domain name parking companies at Parking Judge.

Related posts:

1. Domain Appraisal Scam Migrates to TropicalNames.com
2. Domain Name Appraisal Scam Now at NameOrange.com
3. Domain Appraisal Scam is Reborn

Domain name appraisal scam moves to a new domain name.

I’m getting tired of writing these articles. But every time I do, a number of people searching for this stumble upon it, so I figure it saves some people from falling for the scam.

The latest incarnation of the domain name appraisal has moved to a new domain name – Fleos.com.

A scammer sends and email to you offering to buy your domain name for a percentage of the appraisal price. He explains that they accept appraisals from Sedo (a well known and reputable appraisal provider) and a no-name service (in this case Fleos.com). The no-name service costs less, so people that receive the email buy an appraisal from it. The no-name service is actually owned of the scammer, who has no intention of buying your domain name.

Previous web sites used in the scam include Pozde.com, NameOrange.com, TropicalNames.com, and FlyAppraisals.com.

A copy of the scam e-mail is below:

from Kevin Hill 2kevinhill@gmail.com
subject Offer for CARGRANTS.COM

We are interested to buy your domain name CARGRANTS.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,

Kevin Hill

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

Review and rate domain name parking companies at Parking Judge.

Related posts:

1. Domain Appraisal Scam Migrates to TropicalNames.com
2. Domain Name Appraisal Scam Now at NameOrange.com
3. Domain Appraisal Scam is Reborn

At the Domain Roundtable conference in Washington, D.C. last month, I noticed a lot of new faces with the Sedo team. As I started talking to them, I realized what was going on. Sedo had hired a number of people experienced selling to businesses. The company was making a focused effort selling to end users, and was hiring the right people to do it. These new employees are not domain industry veterans; they’re B-2-B salespeople.

As part of its push for end user sales, Sedo recently launched monthly themed promotions that it will promote to end users. The current one is for real estate, and future themes include gambling and pharmacy. These themes allow the company to aggregate good domain names and focus marketing to one vertical.

“We’re always trying to reach end users,” said Kathy Nielson, Director of North American Brokerage & Acquisitions at Sedo. “With auctions and themed verticals on a monthly basis it ties it all together. It makes our clients happy, but marketing-wise it’s so much easier to target one vertical and get end users to come to the table and buy domains.”

It has proven successful already. Prior to the current effort, Sedo has marketed a father’s day theme and to the adult industry. The adult industry push included ads in trade publications.

“Our end user sales have just skyrocketed this summer,” said Nielson. “It’s fun to see some of these companies coming in [and buying domains].”

The monthly themes feature fixed price domain names. Sedo (and its competitors) have found that domains with prices or price expectations are much more likely to sell than those without prices. Nielson explains that when buyers come in and see no price indication, the negotiations take longer and are less likely to result in a sale.

Sedo seems to be making all the right moves to sell domains to end users, and the results are starting to prove it.

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

Review and rate domain name parking companies at Parking Judge.

Related posts:

1. Selling Domains 101: Part 5, End User Sales
2. Sedo Fixes Auction User Interface
3. Median End User Domain Name Sales Price $1200