Help me spot of this domain seller is a scammer or not please!

Hi guys

I'm looking at purchasing a .com to go with my .co.uk domain and currently it's being held by a guy calling himself Jefe Vargas.

He calls himself a "domain name volunteer" taking expired domains that have been put back on the market before they are taken by big companies...rubbish...he's just trying to make a quick buck, but fair enough if that's what he wants to do.

This is the holding site he uses (an example) and he has been emailing me offering me the .com.

Unfortunately I really don't know enough about this stuff to make an informed decision so I'm in a bit of a muddle...

Everything about it reads like a scam to me...

He says he is based in Panama (it's hardly down the road is it)

He lies about why he has got the domains (I suppose some people are taken in)

He is asking quite a lot ($197) for the name.

He says it will take 24-48 hours to transfer the details to me.

He says he offers a 30 day money back guarantee (yeah right)

BUT...and it's a big one...

He appears to use Paypal, so if there was a problem would I be able to open a dispute and get my money back?

I can't find anything about him on Google with regards to rip offs or scams and I wondered if anyone could offer any suggestions about the safest way of getting the domain?

I have considered Sedo but their fees seem very high.

Any thoughts or advice would be very much appreciated!


Many thanks

PayPal only helps for eBay purchases really. Use a domain escrow service when buying and it should be okay.

Thanks for your post

Could you recommend a domain escrow service? It's all new to me

www.sedo.com is probably the most well known. $197 is very cheap for an aftermarket domain though.

daz said:

www.sedo.com is probably the most well known. $197 is very cheap for an aftermarket domain though.

Click to expand...

This, I've used it twice for selling domains and the seller will have 10% knocked off as their fee so the price may increase. It's certainly safer method over paypal.

Has he been emailing you without you asking - tell him to knock the price down or you will report his site, him and all his IP addresses as spam

If you go for it via PayPal, use your credit card - if he screws you charge it back, your money back and he gets pain from PayPal!

Thank you all for your replies it's much appreciated!

Sedo sounds like the domain broker to go with then if they only charge 10%, that's not too bad.

If I dealt with him directly (the link does seem to go to the Paypal site - Firefox certainly likes it), would I be covered by Paypal guarantees should he not transfer the site to me?

I've used Paypal very little so I'm not sure where I would stand with it.


Many thanks.

Paypal's guarantee doesn't cover virtual goods or services - you wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

just pay it, if he was going to scam you he would be fishing for more than $197.

as above $197 is very cheap for an aftermarket domain.

which is why it smells fishy. I wouldn't like to lose approx £100. Go through the Broker if i were you.

Perfect, thanks for the info!

Right, Paypal is definitely out!!!

So a domain broker it is, I'm looking at Sedo or Escrow who are apparently cheaper.

Has anyone used Escrow and are they a reliable company especially if anything goes wrong?

Also, how is the domain registration details / login details (whatever is needed) transferred between owners? I've never had to do it before so I'm at a bit of a loss with it!


Many thanks