The reserve price has been met, which means that we will definitely sell the domain name to the highest bidder (no flake!)

Here are some details about the 3MW.com auction on Sedo.com that you might want to know:

• Reserve met
• Auction ends May 14th 2010 (05:09 PM EST)
• Valued by estibot.com at $1,300
• Domain age is 5.67 years
• Registered with Go Daddy

Click here to visit the Sedo auction page.

Happy bidding!

• $7.49 .com domains and manual renewals: Use Go Daddy coupon code ZINE10, GOO3, or OK9.
• 25% discount on orders of $100+: Use Go Daddy coupon code OK25.
• 30% discount when you buy any .COM domain: Use Go Daddy coupon code OK30.
• $12.99 SSL certificates: Use Go Daddy coupon code GOOSSL, OKSSL, or ZINESSL.
• Hosting promo code – 20% off hosting:  Use Go Daddy coupon code OK20H, ZINE20H1, or GOO20H.
• 10% off any size order: Use Go Daddy coupon code OK7, GOO1, or ZINE8.
• $5 off on on any order of $30 or more: Use Go Daddy promo code GOO2 or ZINE9.
• 20% off on any order of $50 or more: Use Go Daddy coupon code OK8.

These Go Daddy promo codes have been verified to be valid and working as of this writing. If you tried any of these codes and they didn’t work, let me know so I can remove them from the list. Thanks!

Your request for an Auth Code has been received and your information will be validated for security reasons. If your request is approved, you will receive your Auth Code by email in 4-5 days.

Well, WTF. I used to be able to retrieve the authorization code immediately as soon as I click the Obtain Auth Code button. Now I have to wait five days?

I thought they changed this already. A few years ago, you had to call Register.com to get the authorization code. I called them about this issue once and suggested that they make it easier for people obtain the authorization code. Maybe other domain registrants complained as well because after a few months, they updated their Website and made the authorization code available immediately, just like other domain registrars. But now they’ve changed the process of retrieving the authorization code again.

Times must indeed be tough on Register.com that they’re resorting to desperate measures to hold on to customers.

I am transferring my domain name from Register.com to GoDaddy.com because the renewal cost is too expensive — $35 per year. I can get them for $7.49 with GoDaddy.com

And with this new process of obtaining the authorization code that sucks, I will continue transferring my domain names out of Register.com. Even if I have to wait for five days.

For this, I think Register.com sucks. They’re too expensive and their service isn’t exactly the best in the industry. If you’re a big business and you bring them lots of revenue by buying other services like web hosting, they might treat you better. But if you’re only buying domain names from them, they probably won’t be as nice to you because you’re not bringing them enough cash.

Got a “Register.com Sucks” story? Share it by leaving  a message below.

YourLyrics.com is great domain name for a music site. Lots of potential! You could set up a profitable lyrics Web site (like the popular www.azlyrics.com), a music portal, a community for songwriters, etc. Other major extensions (net, org, info) are already taken.

To place your bid, click the following link:

http://www.sedo.com/auction/auction_detail.php?language=e&auction_id=58428&tracked=&partnerid=14460&language=e

The scammer, with user name possible49sm on the DigitaPoint forums, contacted me via private message and asked for my list of domain names for sale. He had 70 iTrader ratings, so I assumed that he was a reputable member, reputable enough for me to accept payment via Paypal. He even negotiated with me for a lower price (they say scammers don’t usually negotiate).

Everything was perfect until I received his payment. It seemed strange that his Paypal email address was erinleawearne@hotmail.com (I was pretty sure that he was a guy), while the Gmail account that he was using to chat with me was umutbalonlari@gmail.com. The guy had a couple of links on his forum signature at DP, so I checked out the WHOIS record for those domains — they say he’s from Jordan. The Paypal account that he used, however, showed that the owner was from Australia.

Still, I did not jump into a conclusion. I replied to the Paypal payment notification (from erinleawearne@hotmail.com) and politely asked that he reply with his Go Daddy customer number and email address so I could transfer the domains. He also told him on Gtalk that I need him to reply to my email first so I can push the domains. What do you know? He said he did not receive my email (Of course! You don’t have access to the Paypal owner’s email account; you only have access to her Paypal account). I even resent my email message, in case he was telling the truth. Still, he hadn’t received my email.

I already knew he was a scammer. After about five more minutes, I received an email from Paypal with the following message:

~~~~~~~~~

Dear Domibot,

A review of recent transactions indicates that you might have received a
payment that the PayPal account holder did not authorize.

To protect you from problematic transactions, we sometimes request
additional information about PayPal payments.

We need more information about this transaction. Please log in to your
PayPal account, click the “Resolution Center”tab, and provide more
information by 6/3/2009.

We recommend that you not ship the item until our investigation is
complete. If you’ve already shipped the item, please log in and let us know
where you shipped it.

We have placed a temporary hold on the funds until we complete our
investigation.

If you need to provide information by fax, click and print a cover sheet:
https://www.paypal.com/tw/cgi-bin/?cmd=_complaint_resolve_tracking_fax&cid=PP-713-787-213.

Please fax proof of shipment or proof of refund to 65-6510-4597.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
PayPal

~~~~~~~~~

So there you go — I was able to survive another scam attempt. Remember, when dealing with Paypal, be very, very careful. Here are a few tips:

• Verify that the person you’re dealing with indeed owns the Paypal account. One way to do this would be to send him an email at his Paypal email address (and pray that he hasn’t hacked the Paypal owner’s email address as well).
  
• When in serious doubt, ask for a number that you can call to verify his identify. The more hoops you make him jump, the more likely you’ll flush him out if he’s a scammer. Most genuine buyers will understand if you’re taking precautions. Scammers get impatient most of the time when you make them jump hoops.
• If you want a payment method that does not charge back, use Moneybookers. Scammers love Paypal because it looks like Paypal accounts can easily be hacked. And if a scammer pays you with a hacked Paypal account, the real owner can just claim that it was an unauthorized payment and Paypal will get the money back from you. You have no chance of winning the dispute because domain names are intangible goods and Paypal does not protect sellers of intangible goods.
• If the amount involved is substantial, use the escrow service that escrow.com provides. The escrow fee is at least $25 but you can split this with the buyer.

If you learned something from this post, please let me know by leaving a comment. Have a scam-free day!