When buying a website or a domain, please note that you are not protected through PayPal. In fact, PayPal really only “works” to protect you if you have made a purchase through their company Ebay.

In the case of website and domain purchases, fraudsters are given the upper hand through PayPal. Case in point, let’s say someone offers to sell you DailyArticle.com and can even send you and email using the DailyArticle.com domain. This is proof that they are the owner, right? Wrong. But, what if they can receive mail to the DailyArticle.com domain? Still not enough. It could easily be a disgruntled former employee whose email account hasn’t been closed. Trust me I left a job 7 months ago and still check my emails there daily.

And so, you send a payment through Paypal and wait for the website to be transferred. Only, the seller (or fraudster) has nothing to provide you. They stop answering your emails, and you say, “No way, I’ve been scammed”.

Your next move it to call PayPal to report it, or place a claim ticket in their resolution center. Make sure you escalate it immediately so that it can be “investigated” by the excellent support team at PayPal who “Protect You Against Fraud”.

The next day you receive a standard email that states:

You have chosen to escalate your dispute to a PayPal claim. By ending
communication with the seller, you are asking PayPal to investigate the
case and decide the outcome. As part of our investigation, PayPal reviewed
any communication you may have had in the Resolution Center.

Our investigation into your claim is complete. As stated in our User
Agreement, the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods. It
does not apply to complaints about the attributes or quality of goods
received. Therefore, we are unable to reverse this transaction or issue a
refund.

YOUR INVESTIGATION?!!!!

WHAT INVESTIGATION?!!! PayPal asks no questions, they ask for no proof, nothing. And, the kicker is that they sent the crook your funds (to a bank account that has been verified by them nonetheless).
IMHO PayPal doesn’t even try.

Why can’t they hold the funds until a real investigation is performed? Why can’t they perform a real investigation? Why can’t they give me the seller’s information so that I can get my funds back in person ?

PayPal’s terms of service state:

PayPal Buyer Protection covers tangible, physical items or goods that can be posted, other than a motor vehicle or an item prohibited in the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy. PayPal Buyer Protection coverage does not extend to any other items, such as intangible goods, services, gift vouchers, downloadable or streamed content.

And, although we look at a domain as tangible (because it can be bought, sold, transferred, gains worth, loses value, etc), PayPal does not. So buyers please beware!

PayPal beware also, if you can’t protect intangible goods, then you should not allow the use of your services in intangible sales. One day you are going to leave the wrong person unprotected.

We’ve been on the web since before Al Gore invented it. That being said, we know a bit about getting traffic on the web. In general, traffic ‘builds up’ over time. So, initially you may have 30 visitors in a month then the next month you may have 50, and the third month you might have 150 as the word spreads about your products and services. Now, unless you have something viral (like the Million Dollar Website or classic pics of J-Lo giving birth), are doing MAJOR advertising, or have a niche that people have been waiting for since the birth of the web, then you’re more than likely going to follow the pattern we described above.

The follow shows the traffic patterns for our ‘fun’ sites, NotesFor.com

We call NotesFor.com ‘fun’ because we don’t do a whole lot with it. Google indexed it pretty early on, and it’s great for people looking for notes for almost anything and we add content…whenever. No porn, no viral product, just a regular site with original content like most sites you’ll find on sale. Notice how the traffic progresses (less than 100 in its first month, and then new visitors monthly). Now, if you’re doing more with a site you can of course expect a better return.

Now let’s look at fake traffic, like the ones in the following sales that are currently on DigitalPoint forums. Below is a screenshot of fake traffic.

Hopefully the difference is crystal clear. In the first case, the traffic grows progressing from a few clicks, to a few more and so forth. In the second, the traffic just appears. In most cases, the seller has bought traffic (you can easily get 10,000 *visits* a month for less than $10) to enhance the ad by appearing to have a thriving website.

Now, don’t get us wrong, some websites that are doing special campaigns like online advertising, radio commercials, etc., might be able to pull off traffic landing in their laps out of nowhere. Keep in mind that these sites are typically not for sale (I mean, would you sell an automated cash cow?!!)

Before purchasing a domain based on an abundance of traffic, be sure that the traffic being sent is legitimate. Force the seller to add Google Analytics for a day or two, since Google has a tendency to weed out bots. The seller will probably give you one of those “For sale today only” responses, or “I have a ton of other buyers lined up” deals. At which point, kindly let them choose another chump.

A new breed of people are being born. A breed who is sick of being scammed online. If you know how to directly track down the persons listed below, we can offer you a reward of $500 if your information leads to the detainment, arrest and/or return of funds to those scammed.

Our lead scammer is:

Scammer Name : Annie Jimenez Garzon (PayPal Registered Name)
Email address used: absolutelyflawless@yahoo.fr
Website used for scam: webmaster-talk.com
Username on site: W3bmast3r
Amount of scam: $2000.00
Details: Annie (W3bmast3r) hacked a website and uploaded PayPal screenshots for the website being sold. After initial payment ($2000 deposit), scammer sent bogus files and refused all future contact.

The actual paypal screenshots that were uploaded to the domain:

We can stress the amount of scams that are occurring online over and over, and still, at this very moment, someone is being scammed out of hundreds (or worse) thousands of dollars. Why people don’t believe in karma is beyond me. I digress.

When buying a domain without using escrow, ALWAYS VERIFY THE DOMAIN’S OWNERSHIP through a service such as http://webpermit.net/whois.php. And ONLY use the email address listed in the whois page to perform transactions.

If the seller cannot RECEIVE emails at the email addresses listed in the whois, then do not do business. This is a definite RED flag.

And keep in mind that emails being sent can be spoofed, so don’t trust an email that is sent, unless you can verify the address when your message is replied to.

1. Send a test email to the email address listed in the Whois data to verify that the seller is in fact the owner of the domain.

2. Send a deposit of at most 75% of the price of the domain.

3. Upon domain transfer (which should take at most 24 hours), send the remaining balance.

Even the best research and preparation cannot insure that you won’t be scammed when buying a website or domain. The rule of thumb we always follow when buying a domain or a website with escrow is:

1. Pay a deposit that is NO MORE THAN 1/2 the asking price of the domain or website.

2. If it is a website, the deposit should be sufficient for a domain transfer. Remember, the domain is usually the valuable piece, especially if it has traffic. In addition, it’s so easy for websites to be copied that you don’t want the website’s files as they could just be a hack of the real thing.

3. Once the domain has been transferred, a 2nd (and final) payment should secure the files for a website purchase, or seal the deal on a domain purchase.

Our rational in this division is that an initial deposit buys you the online real estate’s foundation that you can easily build upon. If you only receive the files, then you are still missing out on the domain and the traffic that was promised through the domain.

If you haven’t jumped into social networking with your own profile page, a network of friends, and joining countless communities of interest, you might want to think about where you were on the social ladder in high school. Social networking is today’s online popularity contest, a chance to connect with like-minded people and promote yourself. Social networking gurus have created their own following with blog posts, active community participation, and attempts to make themselves known. Showing off their roster of friends and people ‘in the network’ are just a few ways to get noticed.

Are you social networking savvy and climbing the ranks? It’s the same game you played (and perhaps lost) in high school; here are a few reasons why:

1. You have to get out there and talk to people. Even if you’re a wallflower at heart, social networking requires active and diligent participation. Keeping in touch with people in the community, whether you know them or not, is how you build your reputation. Be consistent, and you’ll start building loyal friends.

2. Wit and humor prevail. Snarky comments and intelligent banter do matter-it shows you’ve got some personality–so you need to arm yourself with a few witty quips, intelligent quotes, and (smart) commentary whenever possible.

3. You have to show off what ‘ya got. A website, a blog, or a link to something interesting is going to get you the attention you need for your online party. If you’ve got it, learn how to work it!

4. The good looking people usually win. A super-attractive website or blog will be under scrutiny here;although a good picture of you couldn’t hurt either.
5. You get to be a namedropper. Talking about high-profile websites, bloggers, or connecting yourself with other sites is a simple way to boost your status. What you see is what you get, and any links or references to high-profile sites will do you good.

6. Associations make a difference. Being a member of such-and-such.com helps you create a unique online identity; people make instant judgments of ‘where you came from’ so it’s in your best interest to share your best qualities.

Social media has changed the way we communicate, a chance to reach out with our hobbies, interests, and passions and connect with millions of people around the world. Now anyone can enjoy a ‘hey, look at me!’ moment with a few clicks and enter a new community of people with similar interests. Online dating was just one step towards this phenomonen; today, social networking is a popularity contest that can help promote a website, boost business sales, and bump up those traffic counts after a little strategy. If you’ve recently joined a social networking community, consider using some of the tried-yet-true strategies that worked in those pre-college days. . .