Payment Advice

[WiganWebs]

Hi, sorry, I couldn't find somewhere to post this, so I thought it appropriate here. Please feel free to move mods

I am after some advice about taking payment for a website I am selling. The website is going for a 4 figure sum so its not a small amount of money, but this is the first time I have sold a website and I'm not sure what the best way forward is.

Can anyone please point me in the right direction?

Should I only transfer the website when payment has cleared in my bank? I dont think using Paypal for this amount of money is wise? I am assuming the fees involved would also be big? How much does Escrow charge and is that the best option?

How secure is payment by BACs?

Thank you

 

[GreyWing]

BACS is never totally secure and neither are cheques, they may appear secure but in reality both can be reversed at any time. Of course it is harder for fraudsters to send BACS than paypal, but it is possible.

If you don't know them then I would ask for cleared funds before transfer.

 

[WiganWebs]

Hi Greywing, thank you for answering. I ruled out Paypal and Escrow simply as the sum of money would be crippled with charges. Is it probably better to go direct wire transfer straight to bank then? Just send them my sort code and account number so they can make the transfer (I am assuming that is safe enough?)

The guy I dont know, but he has a competitor website that has been registered 10+ years so he has been in the business for a long time, and my website is also up there with his so it makes sense if he buys me out he has a bigger audience to sell his products to.

 

[Whibs]

If you are concerned and the competitor is a known company, have a contract prepared (Mail me can send you one).

Always wait till funds clear before transfer, but you could offer to change the nameservers over.

It sounds to me like the buyer is more likely to be trusted not to reverse payment.

Good luck

 

[richardc]

I have always found Escrow.com to be good and the charges aren't too bad. Perhaps you could suggest splitting the escrow fees?

 

[accelerator]

Hi Greywing, thank you for answering. I ruled out Paypal and Escrow simply as the sum of money would be crippled with charges. Is it probably better to go direct wire transfer straight to bank then? Just send them my sort code and account number so they can make the transfer (I am assuming that is safe enough?)

The guy I dont know, but he has a competitor website that has been registered 10+ years so he has been in the business for a long time, and my website is also up there with his so it makes sense if he buys me out he has a bigger audience to sell his products to.

I'm assuming it's a Sterling payment. My choice would be payment via BACS, and yes, it is OK to send someone your sort code and account number. You can create an invoice with your payment details and E-mail it to them.

If you don't trust your buyer, further things you could do are:
- Say you will post the invoice to them instead of e-mailing. That way you have a physical address for them.
- Ask if you can call them at a landline number during the week. That way you have a bit more contact info on them, but then you can have a quick word to suss out whether they are genuine.
- Another one that just occurred to me, although haven't thought it through fully regarding anti-fraud, is ask them to send you an e-mail from a domain that is registered to their name and address.

It's all about building up a picture to reassure yourself they are genuine. Every little bit of info helps to build the picture.

Rgds

 

[WiganWebs]

I'm assuming it's a Sterling payment. My choice would be payment via BACS, and yes, it is OK to send someone your sort code and account number. You can create an invoice with your payment details and E-mail it to them.

If you don't trust your buyer, further things you could do are:
- Say you will post the invoice to them instead of e-mailing. That way you have a physical address for them.
- Ask if you can call them at a landline number during the week. That way you have a bit more contact info on them, but then you can have a quick word to suss out whether they are genuine.
- Another one that just occurred to me, although haven't thought it through fully regarding anti-fraud, is ask them to send you an e-mail from a domain that is registered to their name and address.

It's all about building up a picture to reassure yourself they are genuine. Every little bit of info helps to build the picture.

Rgds

Its not the buyer I dont trust, its the Internet as a whole. People can prove themselves to be honest traders but there are scammers out there and as this is the Internet you never know when you are talking to one. I guess a lot of people think like this when they make their first big money sale? I guess I'm just being careful. I've been reading over many threads on different forums about people asking the same questions after I posted here.

To also be fair they have emailed me from their primary domain and they come across pretty well in their emails to me.

Thanks everyone for the advice anyway. I think I'll ask him to transfer by BACs or Escrow. I can meet in the middle for the Escrow fees which would be about £40 each, so its not too bad.

WW