Sedo sold my domain. Buyer never paid. Now what?

I considered it but most major marketplaces — Afternic, Dan, even the smaller ones — scrape or cross-check WHOIS against their own sold lists. If Sedo's proxy is showing in WHOIS, some of them flag it as already listed elsewhere. I tried with one boutique broker and they asked about the Sedo status before they'd take it on.

Might work with a direct buyer who doesn't care about marketplace verification, but that narrows the pool.

Wait, so Namecheap pays you before you transfer? That's actually more seller-favorable than most. I thought they were buyer-pays-first like everyone else.

Following. This exact scenario — "sale completed," transferred to escrow, buyer gone, relisting fee demanded — was discussed on NamePros last month. Different seller, same LLLL .com category. Consensus there was that Sedo's buyer verification for instant sales is automated and flags payment issues too late, after the seller has already been notified and initiated transfer.

The WHOIS proxy is standard on their "parked" inventory now, apparently. Not new, not malicious, just their way of masking availability until payment clears. Except in cases like this where payment never clears and the mask stays stuck.

Someone in that thread mentioned getting the fee waived by threatening a chargeback on their Sedo parking earnings, if you have any. Nuclear option but apparently effective.

I went back and checked my old Sedo account from 2017-2019. Eleven sales, all completed without issue. The process was: buyer pays, I get email, I transfer, I get paid. Somewhere between 2019 and now they introduced this "escrow transfer" intermediate step that I don't remember existing before. Maybe that's when the timing got weird — the congratulatory email now fires at commitment rather than clearance.

Could be wrong. Memory is fallible. But the process definitely feels different reading this thread versus my own experience.

For anyone tracking alternatives: I recently sold through Sav.com's marketplace. Tiny compared to Sedo/Afternic, but their flow is buyer pays → funds held → seller pushes → funds released. No intermediate "escrow" account at the platform level, just direct hold. One sale, no issues, but sample size of one.

The broader point this thread keeps circling: domain marketplaces optimized for liquidity and speed are structurally bad for seller security. The ones that protect sellers have less liquidity because buyers want instant gratification. Pick your poison.

Late to this but has anyone mentioned that Sedo's terms explicitly allow them to charge "administrative fees" for cancelled transactions? I just pulled their current TOS, section 5.3 or thereabouts. It's vague enough to cover almost anything, but the 10% relisting fee seems to be their standard interpretation.

Not saying it's fair or enforceable, just that they probably have a lawyer who thinks they're covered. Whether that's true in AU, EU, or anywhere with actual consumer protection is another question.

ACCC doesn't care about size for pattern complaints. If they get enough of these, they aggregate. Worth filing even if nothing happens to your individual case.

This thread answered my question before I asked it — was about to list a portfolio cleanup on Sedo next week. Going direct with escrow.com for the good ones and probably just letting the rest expire. The time cost of these platforms isn't worth it for sub-$500 names anymore.

Thanks all, especially nerdbann for the detailed timeline and everyone who confirmed the pattern. Saved me a headache.