$20K domain name sale? How to escrow
 

I have recieved an offer for about $20K for one of my domain names. I'm wondering if anybody can suggest an escrow company that takes care of sales like that and is located in the US.

I believe I'm dealing with an out of country ( non-US ) buyer so I don't want to get screwed with a scam.

Also, what is the best appraisal company to go with?

ive done a few escrows, hit me up (see sig)

Escrow.com

if they want an appraissal before buying, its a scam, and forget about it and dont ask further questions ;)

yeah i've only heard good things about escrow.com

How much do they charge?

www.moniker.com - now has escrow service
I've never used it but see it when I login..

Really? Why do you say that? And why would they offer to use an escrow company for the transaction? How can you scam someone through an escrow company?

i hate explaining this in particular cause no one ever explained the domain biz to me, but well here we go,

they contact you with a high offer, which you want to accept

they construct the email in such a way that it sounds profeessional and makes them look trustworthy, so e.g they mention that the sale will proceed via escrow etc (BTW when sending domain offers i always mention escrow too, heh, but im not a scammer!)

but they also say they want to do an appraisal before they buy it cause they cant risk overpaying etc
then they recommened an appraisal company to you (their own), you pay $300 or whatever for the appraisal and then you never hear from them anymore

quite sure its the case here, althoguh i dont know all the details and don't care enough, but be warned

It depends, many times they will tell you they only want it appraised at one place, which they happen to own. They will under appraise it, take your appraisal fee then back out of the sale. If you post their initial email and response here it will be easy to tell if its a scam. Out of curiosity, had you ever received an offer for that domain close to what they are offering and do you think its worth that much?

All of the info you need is on their site, including all of the steps involved in the escrow process.

Their fee depends on the amount of the escrow transaction.

https://www.escrow.com/support/calculator.asp

One also has the option of choosing who pays the escrow fee (i.e. buyer, seller, or split.)

escrow.com hands down for .com transfers

OK. So, it seems that it's a scam. Never mind. Back to work :-)

Wow, i'm really happy we have people who make posts like this one. Thanks PA, just something I would not have been ready for but now I am should the situation arise.

moniker is serious bidness :thumbsup

that sig is crazy, thought you actually put my username on there :D