I often use Sedo.com to handle a domain name transaction even when I am already in contact with the interested party because they (sedo) handle the payment and assist with the transfer of the domain name into the buyers account. Payment is a risky deal with virtual products and I would rather pay Sedo 10% of the purchase price instead of having the risk of a charge back via credit card or Paypal.
Plus, many buyers have never transfered a domain name before or have done a push and this all takes time and is not something I always wish to deal with.
Since I am not always in contact with the buyer using Sedo, I also do not always here both sides of the story during a transaction. For a recent sale I had, there were some payment issues and an error was displayed when my buyer was making payment. If I wasn’t in contact with the buyer, I would not of been aware of this error in the first place. I wrote a little bit about this and the potential payment issues with Sedo and the error, which I never did hear anything from Sedo even after I sent them an email!
Staying on this same sale and the payment problems.. my buyer adjusted his payment account and resent payment to Sedo via a Paypal eCheck.
When my buyer sent me a copy of his payment receipt is when I was a little shocked to see he paid 3% more than the purchase price of the domain name! This didn’t make me happy, because this could of been another deal breaker and I didn’t want my customer having to incur any more fees than they had to, plus I am already paying Sedo 10%!
One thing that pisses me off, is Sedo clearly states on it’s site:
"If you have purchased a domain through Sedo’s marketplace, you are only required to pay the agreed purchase price and nothing more. The sales commission fee of 10% is covered by the seller."
I do not know what is more clear than NOTHING MORE! It says nothing about a 3% fee or any added fee at all. It states Nothing More!
So on top of the 10% of the purchase price that I am paying Sedo to handle the domain name transaction, they are charging my buyer of 3% of the purchase price as well! Not Cool!
If you were to search on Sedo in a "different place" about what forms of payment Sedo accepts, you would see that:
- Sedo accepts a wire transfer for any amount.
- Sedo accepts Credit Card payments UP TO $500 EUR/GBP/USD but nothing over that amount. (Basically anything over $500, you are forced to use Paypal or a wire)
- Sedo accepts Paypal payments UP TO $5,000 EUR/GBP/USD but considers it an Express Payment and charges a 3% fee
As a seller, I was not aware of this extra 3% "express payment" charge that goes along with the purchase of a domain over $500 but under $5,000 and not paid via a wire transfer! This price range also happens to be the majority of domain names that sell on Sedo! So if a buyer doesn’t wish to spend the extra time (and likely fees of a wire) they are forced into paying a 3% fee on top of the purchase price of the domain name if it’s between $500 and $5,000.
By Sedo stating:
I think this is misleading not only to buyers but it’s sellers as well.
"Nothing More" and "Will Not Incur Any Fees" the last time I checked, those terms didn’t mean 3%!
I can understand Sedo wanting to cover the % that Paypal charges, but they are also charging me (the seller) 10% as well. Payment fees from credit cards and Paypal are just part of doing business! Charging your customer those fees IMO is BS! If you were not aware of this extra 3% that your customer is likely going to have to pay if the purchase price is between $501 to $5,000, you are now.
Spike
I wasn’t aware of this either. I think you should bring it up to Sedo and suggest they make it more prominent for sellers. I’m really starting to think I should create my own sales page and just use that.
Snoopy
It is a direct charge that Sedo is having to pay with Paypal. Probably the alternative to passing it on is just not accepting Paypal. Agree about the “nothing more” though, sounds somewhat deceptive.
Jamie Zoch
My biggest gripe is the deceptive message they come across with. They do not charge any % for the CC payment up to $500 and they are getting hit with a fee for that as well. Paypal charges 2.9% but the more active you are with Paypal, they lower the rate which Sedo likely has. They could also offer Mass Pay as an option, which would cost them nothing in fees.
everything.tv
You are right Jamie its the cost of doing business. Maybe SEDO wants to pass along their hosting fee too.
A lot of sales can be lost by this. I know plenty of people who would never pay 3% and not buy the name.
Snoop makes a point about they could not offer paypal but I think that would mean less sales for SEDO if they only accepter wire transfer. Many would not be bothered to go to their bank to do a wire transfer unless it was a must have domain.
CashDomains
Sedo cannot charge customers for credit card processing fees because it is illegal to do so. Apparently there is a loophole allowing companies to treat PayPal fees differently. Not that I agree with the practice; it is, in my opinion, a form of price gouging.
Aiza2010
The problem with selling domain names on domainer forums and even websites such as Sedo, Bido, and Afternic is that most of the potential customers you will come into contact with are fellow domainers. This means that they want to pay a domainer price versus an end user price.