Sedo domain appraisal rip-off
at 11:30 am on Friday, 6 July 2007
It is not often that someone manages to sell me a rip-off, but internet companies have managed it twice in the last few months. I will write about my experience with SEO some other time, for now, I will write about the clearer cut case: getting an appraisal for domain name.
The real evidence of the level of professionalism and due care exerted in Sedos valuation lay in the second paragraph:
The domain name ptz.com is comprised of a made-up word (a word that may not be found in every day use of the English language) along with the German .de extension. Such a domain would be especially suited for a company name if the company in question is a German company or a company operating in
Germany.
What domain did they value? ptz.com (which I own) or ptz.de (which someone else owns). What exactly was passing through the mind of the person who wrote this?
The bulk of the six page PDF they sent me consisted of boiler plate text, interspersed with some actual information. Most of the actual information was the output of automated tools that I had already obtained for myself.
I paid $49 for Sedo’s so called “premium domain appraisal”, supposedly “ individually researched by domain industry pros” (their emphasis) to get this!
I complained and asked for a refund. The reply confirmed that the text is partly written by an automated tool. No reply about my demand for a refund though!
I have owned ptz.com for over a decade. I originally used it for my personal site (its the first, middle and last letters of my surname). I am not doing much with it any more, and I am considering selling it.
Not knowing anything about the values of domain names, I decided to get a valuation. I would have been much better advised to do my own research, and I am definitely going to sell the domain through someone else.
If you found this post useful, please link to it so that other people will find and be warned against wasting their money.
Comments(6)
[…] Hey this guy called the Sedo appraisal module a huge ripoff. He gets his money back, and has good reason to. Must read if you plan on paying for their […]
Depending on if the domain is developed your domain based on it’s short 3 character length and being a .com ext should fetch around $25- $35 dollars.
I will give you $30.
JK, Your domains worth around 35K
Sean,
1) Do not bother trying to leave spam links on my blog, they get edited out fas2.
2) I have already sold the domain.
3) I assume you have left two zeros off the price you would be prepared to pay. Otherwise you are attempting the most ludicrous rip-off.
4) Who is JK?
No kidding Sedo sux big time. They have no contact info and dont return calls. If I ever get the address to those@#$@#$ Im going to fly there, find who has money, and beat it back out of them. If your using this site leave now while you can and dont ever send them money whatever you do.
JK means joke
if you read the last line - JK, Your domains worth around 35K
Incase your not clear, ur domain is worth around $35,000.
Guy was jus tryin to help….
Sedo are one of a large group of companies that seem to be intent on ruining the domain name system of the internet for profit because they are unable to make money any way else.
They sit like vultures waiting for domain names to expire and snap them up and park them with dire search pages and trying to sell them for thousands of pounds when in reality they are normally worth very little.
Sedo partnered up with CentralNic in the UK a few years back, they make a good partnership as CentralNic is a completely awful company, god knows how they’ve been going for so long
