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Not all domain name appraisals are scams. If you want to estimate the
value of your domain, one way is to get it appraised. However, an appraisal
is suposto be neutral and there should be no interaction between an
appraisal company and a potential domain name buyer.
Domain name appraisal scams are based on potential buyers expressing
interest in a domain name and then they try and convince you that they need
the domain name appraised by a particular appraisal company before they
will buy it. Obviously if you do fall for it they will make another excuse as to
why they are no longer interested. Please get familiar with these emails to
give you an idea of what to look out for.
EMAIL SCAM #1
Hi,
I'm writing regarding your domain for sale I saw about
two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was busy and could not contact you at
that time.
Is it still available for sale? Have you received any bids from other buyers?
Please email me your asking price.
If I can afford your domain I will contact you. Please keep my email
address and our correspondence confidential.
I run a software development company. Selling & buying names is not my
main business. Just another way to invest free money and make some
income.
Kindest regards,
Tinto Berger, CEO Chammer Consulting
Cost Analysis & Revenue Assurance Software.
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Reality Check
After you buy the appraisal, the 'buyer' suddenly loses interest. How
convenient- especially considering he probably works for the appraisal
company and had no interest in your domain name to begin with.
And you are out of $60 bucks. And the appraisal itself is often worthless
As you can see by the professionalism of the email it may not be obvious at
first that these are scams this is one of the tactics scam artists use. One
thing that you should gain from this is to realize never to buy an appraisal
from a particular company if somebody has contacted you by email to do so.
Unless of coarse this is somebody who you know is a legitimate buyer.
By using titles such as CEO, PHD or President the scammer can trick the
mark (victim) into thinking he has a lot of money and is a professional
domain name buyer. This is a textbook example of a con.
And if the 'buyer' really had an interest in the domain name he would pay for
the appraisal himself instead of having you pay for it.
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