How Safe is Flippa's own Escrow service? Anyone used it?

Hello how safe is it to use Flippa's own Escrow service to sell a site/domain with?

If the buyer gets all the site files/domain/logins etc but doesn't send money do Flippa help me?

Or does buyer have to send them the money which they hold until they get both our approvals?

 

I trust Escrow.com. I don't trust Flippa.

 

Why would you say that Peter? Can you elaborate?

 

Hmmm

 

ive used it a few times. It's gotten a lot better since it initially rolled out a few months ago. Flippa escrow/Promise Pay, works the same as any other escrow service. I haven't had any issues w/ it.

Transaction is initiated > buyer sends funds, approved, and held by escrow > seller transfers goods > buyer inspects + confirms receipt of goods and releases the payment

And you can have the funds released to either your bank account or paypal, which I like.

And it's free, aside from the 10% final success fee your paying on the sale of your listing

I haven't had any issues w/ the buyers failing to "release the funds", but it's a fairly common occurrence w/ any escrow service (escrow.com). Call em' up and have them confirm that the name/goods have indeed been transferred and they'll release the funds.

Always best practice to transfer a name into the new owners information, opposed to leaving it in your own.

 

Escrow.com has never let me down. They've saved me on a number of occasions. I can't say the same about Flippa, I have a very, very long history with them (I've worked with the Flippa people since before there was a Flippa).

 

@sweetpea69 thanks a lot. It says is free other than the 10% success fee. This buyer wants me to send him all the site logins and files and push the domain to him.
It says Flippa Escrow in Progress but on that page it says "Payment is being processed. We have not received payment yet." That mean his payment or mine?
I've asked him if he doesn't want to do it that way but he's not responded yet. I'm a bit sceptical about this buyer he is new user from 2 days ago from Viet Nam
His telephone number says not exist and there was no response from him for a while on flippa or by email I sent to him

His message to me on flippa.

Thu, 21 May 2015 5:54:38 AEST
*******,.:
Hello *******,
Nice to buy your website. Hope the procedure will complete soon.

1. What I need to do.
I will pay via Escrow Flippa. This is good and safe for both.
(Payments take up to 4 business days)
Payment via paypal, when disputes arise, their support is very slow.

2. What you need to do.
* Data
Back up all data of *******,.com, with UpdraftPlus plugin. Search, and install https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/

After you backup, will have 5 files, including Database, Plugins, Themes, Uploads, Other (keep the name of files created by UpdraftPlus, change will cause an error)

You download and upload to Google Drive, shared to me (*******,) so I can download.

(If you have *******,.com subdomains, you need to let me know and you also need to do the same.)

* Send your social networking accounts of *******,.com to me, a word file.

* Domain (final)
https://www.namecheap.com/support/k...-one-namecheap-user-to-another-namecheap-user

My user name: *******,
Authorization code: *******,

* Some detailed questions about how to manage and operate *******,.com, will be when I have mastered *******,.com (your money already on Flippa Escrow)

Any questions and concerns will be discussed here, avoid the regrettable dispute.

Then another short message little while after

Thu, 21 May 2015 6:05:38 AEST
*******,.:
I sincerely apologize for the delay. Because I have some personal work.
Thank you for your patience.

I'm just not sure to take him genuinely.

 

I;ve heard some bad things about the flippa escrow. haven't used it myself but I would tread carefully. I've used escrowhill.com and that's a good one

 

Yeah, dont transfer anything until that payment has been processed and being held by flippa. As it stands currently, its not. Just explain that to the buyer if hes wondering what the hesitation is.

But now that you've mentioned it....typically the payment processing is instant, but i have run into a situation once or 2x where it takes a bit longer, at least at some point over night. May depend on the form of payment theyve chosen.

As for the rest, checks out. But again, dont transfer anything until you receive confirmation the funds have processed.

If he was going to screw you over, he wouldnt recommend using escrow lol

 

This is true. Buyer went ahead and just paid me by Paypal without using Flippa-Escrow so all sorted.

It was an "instant" payment so that means the funds came directly from his PayPal account to mine and he never used a CC payment that he can claw back.

Cheers guys!

 

The buyer safely exchanges the concurred add up to the escrow vault through credit card or wire, where it is bolted away for protection.

 

Wait...I may have missed something? I wouldn't recommend doing payment via paypal. Digital goods aren't covered under the the pp tos. If he does a chargeback, there is next to nothing you can do to dispute the sale.

 

I am more than aware of that. Like I said "It was an "instant" payment so that means the funds came directly from his PayPal account to mine and he never used a CC payment that he can claw back."

He cannot dispute the sale and if he does I will hold flippa responsible.

 

In my experience, Instant Payment is meaningless in the Paypal scheme of things for disputed payments. Your buyer can come back days later (long after you have taken the money out of your PP account) and Paypal will still cancel your payment and demand that you pay it back because the customer is disputing delivery. @sweetpea69 is dead on right about this.

 

It's fine. You are right he probably can.

If he disputes it he disputes it but at some point you have to bite the bullet and choose a payment method.

 

Well good luck Mkcoy!

Would definitely recommend using Escrow though, even marketplaces get stung sometimes.

 

It all went very well. Buyer turned out to be very genuine but yes agree!