New ask Hacker News story: Ask HN: Namecheap charged my card, didn't deliver, then upped the price
Ask HN: Namecheap charged my card, didn't deliver, then upped the price
60 by paige_d | 27 comments on Hacker News.
Buyer beware if you're looking to purchase a domain on Namecheap. I've been eyeing a .co domain for a while, but it was pretty pricey at $3900. I thought it over for a while, decided I wanted to go through with the purchase. To my luck, I see that Namecheap is having a 'birthday sale' and the price has been marked down to $31. I was ready at that point to buy it for $3900, but hell yeah, I'll definitely take it for $31. I click the 'Buy Now' button, my credit card is charged, and I even see the domain in my account. I'm unable to manage/setup the domain, but that's ok, I didn't need it right away. Eleven days later after my purchase, I get an email from Namecheap support saying the $31 price was a mistake and the actual price is $3900. Ugh. This is annoying, but again, I really wanted the domain so I agreed to pay the $3900. The support agent asks if I'm ready to proceed with the purchase and I say yes. I don't hear back for three days. When I do, the support agent tells me the $3900 price is invalid and the new, 'actual price' is $8000. Mind you, this entire time, I can see the domain name in my account and my credit card had been charged the $31. Apparently, this domain was owned by a seller who listed the domain under Namecheap's 'Buy Now' tool, which according to NameCheap, is only intended for fixed price, non-auction sales. How is it fair then that I'm being forced into an extortionary negotiation post-sale, after I've already paid money, the transaction has been posted in my bank account, and the seller has been made aware of my interest? Because the domain was listed as a fixed price 'Buy Now' and not an auction, I expected to be able to make a straightforward purchase and receive the domain I paid for. Instead, I've been forced into haggling with a seller that I now have no leverage with because Namecheap revealed my interest and intent to buy and is then allowing the seller to try to negotiate with me retroactively. Does Namecheap have no responsibility to facilitate a fair, transparent transaction? It's like calling an Uber, agreeing on the price, and then having the driver increase the fare by 200x while you're already in the back of the car. I've been a loyal customer of Namecheap for years. I always thought they were the good guys of the domain world. To say I'm utterly disappointed is an understatement and I'd advise anyone buying a domain, especially a premium one, to reconsider using Namecheap.
60 by paige_d | 27 comments on Hacker News.
Buyer beware if you're looking to purchase a domain on Namecheap. I've been eyeing a .co domain for a while, but it was pretty pricey at $3900. I thought it over for a while, decided I wanted to go through with the purchase. To my luck, I see that Namecheap is having a 'birthday sale' and the price has been marked down to $31. I was ready at that point to buy it for $3900, but hell yeah, I'll definitely take it for $31. I click the 'Buy Now' button, my credit card is charged, and I even see the domain in my account. I'm unable to manage/setup the domain, but that's ok, I didn't need it right away. Eleven days later after my purchase, I get an email from Namecheap support saying the $31 price was a mistake and the actual price is $3900. Ugh. This is annoying, but again, I really wanted the domain so I agreed to pay the $3900. The support agent asks if I'm ready to proceed with the purchase and I say yes. I don't hear back for three days. When I do, the support agent tells me the $3900 price is invalid and the new, 'actual price' is $8000. Mind you, this entire time, I can see the domain name in my account and my credit card had been charged the $31. Apparently, this domain was owned by a seller who listed the domain under Namecheap's 'Buy Now' tool, which according to NameCheap, is only intended for fixed price, non-auction sales. How is it fair then that I'm being forced into an extortionary negotiation post-sale, after I've already paid money, the transaction has been posted in my bank account, and the seller has been made aware of my interest? Because the domain was listed as a fixed price 'Buy Now' and not an auction, I expected to be able to make a straightforward purchase and receive the domain I paid for. Instead, I've been forced into haggling with a seller that I now have no leverage with because Namecheap revealed my interest and intent to buy and is then allowing the seller to try to negotiate with me retroactively. Does Namecheap have no responsibility to facilitate a fair, transparent transaction? It's like calling an Uber, agreeing on the price, and then having the driver increase the fare by 200x while you're already in the back of the car. I've been a loyal customer of Namecheap for years. I always thought they were the good guys of the domain world. To say I'm utterly disappointed is an understatement and I'd advise anyone buying a domain, especially a premium one, to reconsider using Namecheap.
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