Escrow Services

Internet fraud has caused many victims to lose millions of dollars every year, but with escrow services, both buyers and sellers are protected from fraud, irresponsibility and deception.

An escrow services company is a regulated and licensed company that acts as a third party between buyers and sellers. For such online transactions with high potential for fraud, the escrow company is responsible for collecting, holding and handing over money from a buyer to a seller. This entire process is based on an agreement between both parties. Generally, once a buyer has received and approved the commodity from a seller within a contracted period of time, the escrow service will send the payment to the seller to complete the transaction. The escrow company hence serves as a trusted third party to prevent any fraud.

In most online transactions that involve a buyer, a seller and high-priced items, escrow services are used because these companies offer protection and security for both the buyer and seller. In the case of website buying and selling, an escrow service comes in after the buyer and seller have settled on the website price. At this point, ownership and control over a domain or website is transferred to the buyer before payment. During this point, the escrow company holds the funds, and once successfully reassigned, payment is forwarded to the seller. This procedure ensures that the buyer does receive the domain or website, while guaranteeing that the seller receives his or her payment once ownership is handed over.

When a buyer pays for a website or domain name through an escrow service, the buyer's funds will sit in his or her account with the escrow company. Once the seller has indeed transferred the ownership and domain/website control, the escrow will transfer the funds to the sellers escrow account. Although both parties need to have an escrow account, it simply ensures that both the seller and buyer involve in fraud-free transactions.

Most escrow services have fees that will be shouldered by the seller of a website or domain. Some even offer value-added features to attract the attention of potential buyers. However, each domain name or website is subject to its own escrow service fee, depending on the price of the item.

Since buying and selling on the Internet can be risky because some people may forge identities, it is best to look for a third party who will act as a middle man in completing transaction, most especially if it involves high risk of fraud such as website selling and domain name transfers.