Wanted Domain Liquidation Platform - Seeking input for new Epik project

[DanSanchez]

Dear Namepros,

The team at Epik is exploring the development of a project that aims to shift the painful domain name expiration process into a more profitable experience for domainers. Perhaps you have read my opinions about registrars selling expired domains and refusing to help registrants in recovery. The time to disrupt this with action has come!

In the meantime, since joining Epik last month, I decided to do something about it with the help of some amazing engineers. The goal of this "name liquidate" idea is to sell domains directly to buyers that may otherwise wait to acquire these domains at expired auctions or being filled as registrar backorders which pays zero to the registrant.

The planned solution addresses two domainer pain points,
1. Liquidation of expiring inventory brings much needed capital, meaning you can renew more of your portfolio.
2. Buyers get clear title and dont waste time bidding on names that can be recovered post-expiry.

Here is the process,
1. Submit your domains: you unlock your domains, provide auth codes.
2. Seller acknowledges that a fast-transfer of the domain will occur once domain has a bid.
3. Bidders agree to non-revocable change of ownership if their bid prevails.
4. Sellers receive a large portion (80%?) of auction proceeds.

The process begins with a 7 day reverse auction counting down hourly/daily, down to $1 plus renewal/transfer for delivery. The domain doesn't have to be expired or expiring. You can submit the name multiple times during the life of the name but not more than once per year. Once the auth code is verified:
• Epik parks the domain with auction template with Make Offer pricing so retail bids can come in.
• Wholesale buyers are informed of expired auction inventory update.
• Domain goes through reverse auction in 7 days
• Domains are fast transferred to Epik as soon as one bid is made.
• If seller locks name, all domains will be removed and no further listings will be accepted from seller.
• Domains already at Epik are pre-qualified for "name liquidate" services, but you must opt in manually.
• External domains are eligible once auth codes are verified.
• Data will include number of views, expiration date, and expected delivery.
• Pre-set domain buys will give you the ability to buy any name when a price hits a certain target.
• Once a bid is submitted, it cannot be revoked. All purchases a final non-refundable.
As for brand name, we are considering NameLiquidate.com — very descriptive name and targeted at a very specific audience. That said, open to considering other names. A separate brand naming project is coming shortly for what Rob describes as the “Ultimate Digital Brand Marketplace”. This is separate.

 

[CodingTheDomain]

Name liquidate seems like a great idea, we'll submit some names

 

[DanSanchez]

Hey guys .. looking like there's tons of potential here.

that being said .. just took a peek and seems like there's still some crucial elements needed before you push this.

1 - Help / information / instructions / details: Currently non-existent?

2 - Search: only manual? You should really implement at least some basic advanced search.

3 - Download: Some would like to be able to download the entire list (with available data if possible).

4 - Timing: I see you have some ending at 5am (2am Pacific). Is this really the optimal end time? I really suggest you have them all end at the same time every day. Otherwise there will be too many differing price points and end times and just overall confusion. I also highly suggest you mention when the next pricedrop will be .. it certainly will enhance sales and have some people waiting to jump for the next level.

5 - Pricing: Honestly .. having domains priced at amounts like $682.67 is just silly and distracting. Particularly when talking hundreds of dollars, prices should be rounded to the dollar and even to another higher level ($10s, or $25s .. ei: $680 or $675)

6- SERIOUSLY consider what I said about about adding a second side to stimulate action (increasing bids or proxy BINs)

Hey thanks for the kind words, the site is still a work in progress but we expect to have a lot of the finishing touches completed tomorrow or Sunday.

My responses to your points:
1. Text and copy are being written by me, started yesterday and will push to finish this morning. All pages, explanations, instructions, etc. will make the site feel more complete.

2. Search, the manual search is extremely basic now because the dev team had to focus on the bones first to get the site operational. I provided a mockup search box that is extremely detailed and helps you narrow down your searches, quickly.

3. Download, will be available but it is behind some more important features we want first. Like the search bar.

4. Timing, these auctions are purely the expired stream at Epik for the moment. The auction start time will depend on the expiration process. But dev team is working on implementing a "watch list" to set in automatic buy ins, so you don't have to wait for the auction to end at the lowest price you want to pay to snag up the inventory you want.

5. Pricing, the pricing changes are purely based on hourly reductions to end at $9. The auctions are fast, only 72hrs from start to finish. Once we start seeing the first batch of names ending, you will see what the advantages of a reverse auction for buyers and sellers. The goal is also variety of pricing, I foresee hundreds of domains added per day, the stream will be full of great opportunities.

6. We are implementing an automatic buy-in to bring activity to the best inventory. It is very promising and the idea if fluid, we are happy to hear your input.

Thanks everyone for your excitement and ideas. It helps us! Especially the dev team doing the bulk of the work.

Somehow i missed this thread. And it's super crazily amazing stuff you are cooking guys.

So a question: if i submit my expires, what are the lifespan limits? Like, not later than 10 days to expiry, or not later than 10 days upon expiry if i still can obtain the auth code, or what?

Thanks I get teary eyed when I see this fully working, honestly. My thoughts on your question:

Your expired domain limits are varied depending on the registrar. For example if the domain is at Godaddy, you need to unlock and provide the auth code as soon as possible. Godaddy is known to take domains way before redemption to auction off. It may be prudent to run the auction 15 days post-expiration, at most.

Again, this highly depends on the registrar. I have the experience at most registrars but would appreciate your personal experience at places like NetSol, Register.com, Domain.com, and any others that might be part of your portfolio holdings.

The main goal is to avoid buyers wasting their time, sellers, wait too long to liquidate. This is to fluidity of capital and inventory. Submit your names with time and we will deal with any setbacks as they come.

Exactly!

Just two days ago i had a case. I had a domain in my SEO domain shop priced at $90, nobody bought it thru a year and i decided to drop it. Then i found it while scanning DD drop auctions, and the bid was already $480+! And only few hours left. Of course i jumped to renew it. GUILTY! The next morning found a $200 offer via DD, sold.

Precisely why I fell in love with this concept immediately!

 

[Blitzpotz]

Do you prefer submissions already directly via website upload or by PM for now @DanSanchez ?
How about changing Nameservers (where?), does it make sense for a 3 days auction time?

 

[DanSanchez]

Do you prefer submissions already directly via website upload or by PM for now @DanSanchez ?
How about changing Nameservers (where?), does it make sense for a 3 days auction time?

You can add submissions to the site yourself, but the auctions will start immediately. Make sure you are logged into Epik and go to NameLiquidate.com, the "ADD" button is on the very top of the site.

No DNS changes yet, will update you on this shortly.

 

[Rob Monster]

Thanks I get teary eyed when I see this fully working, honestly.

Dan is a passionate guy. It's true.

I admit that I like working with passionate people.

We are lucky to have him contributing his all to not one but two big projects:

https://namebrokers.com/
https://nameliquidate.com/

It is also a very important synergy that he has BOTH products under his authority. For example, I was going to liquidate Xertex.com, a 23 year old domain and Dan alerts me today.

The man's eye for detail is bordering on supernatural.

His wife is also expecting -- baby due any day now so send him some kind thoughts.

 

[DanSanchez]

Thanks for the kind words @Rob Monster the difference is belonging to one of the highest performing teams in the industry. Perhaps THE highest? With time we should define it as so.

A quick update on the process of the submissions to list on NameLiquidate - We are actively discussing the changes needed to get this fully operational for tomorrow. My content progression has been slow but steady. Should be completed shortly.

When you log into Epik, you can simply navigate to NameLiquidate.com and your accounts will the same.

On the very top of the site you will see the "ADD" button, which will take you here: https://registrar.epik.com/portfolio-liquidate

The 5 boxes you must agree to are absolutely required to list on the site. You cannot re-lock the domains, if you do this by mistake please contact me ASAP. But we will assume it was made to block the ability to transfer external domain transfers. You will be blocked from submissions for 30 days on the first occurrence and 3 times means permanent ban from NameLiquidate. We obviously don't want to ban anyone, so please honor your word and let's liquidate!

Obviously there is no way to verify if you contacted a buyer after making a sale, but we hope the honor system works in this case.

Any questions, suggestions, etc are always welcomed.

 

[Ategy]

4. Timing, these auctions are purely the expired stream at Epik for the moment. The auction start time will depend on the expiration process. But dev team is working on implementing a "watch list" to set in automatic buy ins, so you don't have to wait for the auction to end at the lowest price you want to pay to snag up the inventory you want.

As the developer I understand how you see this .. but just remember to take a step back and remember who your buyers are most likely to be. Probably the same people who use GoDaddy auctions which have 95% of their auctions running from 9am to 2:30pm Arizona time. If you wanted optimal visibility, it would be wise to focus on a specific time of day.

If there's one thing that also really got on my nerves is that registrars base their expiration times on the registry expiration time. It's just annoying and confusing that a domain can expire anytime between 12:01am and 11:59pm. The only day registrars really need to keep the "time" is on the final day (day 42 or 43), any other limits for anything else on any day before that are simply arbitrary non-tangible limits self-imposed by the registrar, so there's no reason to not be set to midnight pacific time. That being said .. I'm talking about renewal limits .. you obviously can and should choose whatever time is most optimal when it comes to auctions/liquidations.

My suggestion is that you have them hit the final tier late in the afternoon or early evening, and then let them linger at $9 until midnight pacific time. (Again, do some testing and find what's optimal).

Might also be an idea for people to allow their Epik domains to stay at $9 indefinitely until the very last day before you kick them back to Verisign (or the respective registry).

Will Epik domains still go to a 3rd party auction site at some point? Or is that ending when this starts?

What is the new "default" schedule for an expiring Epik domain?

Your expired domain limits are varied depending on the registrar. For example if the domain is at Godaddy, you need to unlock and provide the auth code as soon as possible. Godaddy is known to take domains way before redemption to auction off. It may be prudent to run the auction 15 days post-expiration, at most.

Zero GoDaddy domains are removed from GoDaddy accounts before 12:01am on the 30th day after expiration (end of day 29). Generally the process takes about 30 minutes and starts around 12:30am (effectively ~12:30am to 1am) Arizona Time (remember Arizona does not have daylight's saving time .. it's a huge pain in the ass for those of us who extract "time" fields from their data. (Even worse that they use a 12 hour clock instead of a 24 hour clock .. it's like working with Stonehenge with them sometimes .. lol).

I don't really know any registrar (aside from Epik) where domains have the potential to be removed from accounts before day 30. It might be a good idea to make a list/table showing the different limits for each registrar.

As long as a transfer request is received by the losing registrar before the limit, in theory the domain is safe (I know this is the case with GoDaddy, although can't say 100% for other registrars).

You cannot re-lock the domains

One very important factor to keep in mind is that some registrars chance transfer codes on a weekly basis. For some it's not a problem for 3-day liquidations because the 7 days begins when you request the transfer code. But I think for some registrars when they change it is based on an arbitrary date/time for their entire registrar inventory?

So you'll need to keep in mind that sometimes domain owners won't even be aware their transfer codes have expired/changed. This has the potential to be your biggest problem.

To avoid problems, it would be wise that you automatically grab the domain and place it in an Epik owned escrow the moment a first bid/proxy is made.

You cannot contact the buyer

While I respect what you're trying to do, I think this might be a bit too extreme. If someone does not want to be contacted, they will use privacy. In the end you might be giving more people the idea of contacting buyer that way than actually stopping it. (Some people would never think of doing that in the first place). More importantly, it's one checkmark that potentially could scare off buyers if they think it's something you will actively be monitoring (because the first thing they're going to ask themselves is how you're going to check for that .. since for many it won't be obvious it's just an honour system). Best to keep things as clear and simple as possible only making people tick check marks when it's actually necessary.

Hmmm .. about to have chocolate cake and a kid but still not loving it enough to have a smile in your profile pic though!? lol

 

[Blitzpotz]

You can add submissions to the site yourself

I loaded up a few names not registered with Epik. Listing process is easy.

Godaddy is known to take domains way before redemption to auction off. It may be prudent to run the auction 15 days post-expiration, at most.

Within this time frame Godaddy is safe. Other registrars are more dangerous in the sense of lacking domain control, e.g. on Namesilo anybody can start an auction after expiry date afaik. Registrant cannot do anything against it.

Obviously there is no way to verify if you contacted a buyer after making a sale, but we hope the honor system works in this case.

I wouldn´t be surprised if we see third-party sabotage, trolls etc. Like winning an auction on NameLiquidate and in the same moment buying the domain on another marketplace where it is still listed, if serious purchase or not. Just to throw a spanner in the works.

The community will have to gain experience with NameLiquidate and I recommend not to go for draconic punishments in the beginning of this project.

 

[golan]

Added the first bunch of domains; will add much more when get their codes.

A question: how can i add domains that are in Epik?

 

[DanSanchez]

As the developer I understand how you see this .. but just remember to take a step back and remember who your buyers are most likely to be. Probably the same people who use GoDaddy auctions which have 95% of their auctions running from 9am to 2:30pm Arizona time. If you wanted optimal visibility, it would be wise to focus on a specific time of day.

If there's one thing that also really got on my nerves is that registrars base their expiration times on the registry expiration time. It's just annoying and confusing that a domain can expire anytime between 12:01am and 11:59pm. The only day registrars really need to keep the "time" is on the final day (day 42 or 43), any other limits for anything else on any day before that are simply arbitrary non-tangible limits self-imposed by the registrar, so there's no reason to not be set to midnight pacific time. That being said .. I'm talking about renewal limits .. you obviously can and should choose whatever time is most optimal when it comes to auctions/liquidations.

My suggestion is that you have them hit the final tier late in the afternoon or early evening, and then let them linger at $9 until midnight pacific time. (Again, do some testing and find what's optimal).

Might also be an idea for people to allow their Epik domains to stay at $9 indefinitely until the very last day before you kick them back to Verisign (or the respective registry).

Will Epik domains still go to a 3rd party auction site at some point? Or is that ending when this starts?

What is the new "default" schedule for an expiring Epik domain?



Zero GoDaddy domains are removed from GoDaddy accounts before 12:01am on the 30th day after expiration (end of day 29). Generally the process takes about 30 minutes and starts around 12:30am (effectively ~12:30am to 1am) Arizona Time (remember Arizona does not have daylight's saving time .. it's a huge pain in the ass for those of us who extract "time" fields from their data. (Even worse that they use a 12 hour clock instead of a 24 hour clock .. it's like working with Stonehenge with them sometimes .. lol).

I don't really know any registrar (aside from Epik) where domains have the potential to be removed from accounts before day 30. It might be a good idea to make a list/table showing the different limits for each registrar.

As long as a transfer request is received by the losing registrar before the limit, in theory the domain is safe (I know this is the case with GoDaddy, although can't say 100% for other registrars).



One very important factor to keep in mind is that some registrars chance transfer codes on a weekly basis. For some it's not a problem for 3-day liquidations because the 7 days begins when you request the transfer code. But I think for some registrars when they change it is based on an arbitrary date/time for their entire registrar inventory?

So you'll need to keep in mind that sometimes domain owners won't even be aware their transfer codes have expired/changed. This has the potential to be your biggest problem.

To avoid problems, it would be wise that you automatically grab the domain and place it in an Epik owned escrow the moment a first bid/proxy is made.


While I respect what you're trying to do, I think this might be a bit too extreme. If someone does not want to be contacted, they will use privacy. In the end you might be giving more people the idea of contacting buyer that way than actually stopping it. (Some people would never think of doing that in the first place). More importantly, it's one checkmark that potentially could scare off buyers if they think it's something you will actively be monitoring (because the first thing they're going to ask themselves is how you're going to check for that .. since for many it won't be obvious it's just an honour system). Best to keep things as clear and simple as possible only making people tick check marks when it's actually necessary.



Hmmm .. about to have chocolate cake and a kid but still not loving it enough to have a smile in your profile pic though!? lol

Thanks Ategy, I do like those options. The ending times are adjustable and would easier for everyone if they "ended" at those times. Will implement the changes to the queue of requests I have for the dev team.

The Epik domains could be extended for longer "closeouts" periods. We have discussed this internally and it could be implemented now if devs see an opportunity. But it may not be done today or tomorrow. They have been nonstop all December, so they will be off from tomorrow (Saturday) until the first week of January. A well deserved rest in my opinion.

I am building a table of the registrars that I personally have worked for in order to clarify the process of Auth code recovery post expiration. In my experience, most registrars only update auth codes when the domains are locked. Even NetSol kept the same auth codes I requested 3 months ago. But I am aware of some registrars that may update them. We will handle the issue as it comes up. Which registrars are you aware of that regularly change auth codes after 7 days of submission/request?

I have data on the following registrars: Namebright, Godaddy, NameSilo, and NetSol. Any data you can provide (via email preferably) would be insanely beneficial.

Just FYI we capped expired (external domains) to 10 days post-expiration to prevent any loss of time or domains in the liquidation process.

The transfer is started when there is a buyer for the name, we are still working on the proxy/prebid system so it also makes sense for the transfer to begin when a proxy bid is set. Though this will require buyers to have the necessary funds deposited inside the Epik in-store, ready for purchase and delivery.

As far as requesting sellers not to contact buyers with more domains, I think it's important to request this from a professional courtesy point of view. Not because we may be missing out on a 9% commission on future sales, but because buyers may only like ONE of the domains from the seller's portfolio and nothing else. I have heard countless complaints from buyers (domainers) who get spammed by sellers who think they might have more relevant names to sell. Most often, it is not the case at all. We have no way of tracking that, it is not the point of the request. But you are right about giving people the idea of reaching out to the buyer. Will discuss this with the team to see where each of us stands on the matter.

A question: how can i add domains that are in Epik?

Great question, internal domains can be submitted without authorization codes. Auctions start immediately after submission.

UPDATE: Content was sent off to dev team, should be live shortly.

 

[golan]

How do you plan to introduce the auction to domainers? Seems you got a few sellers, but what about buyers? I doubt one this thread would be enough. Maybe talk to @kostaki to include your feed to expireddomains...

 

[Sumeeth]

I have added below domains to NameLiquidate.com platform -

XRP-Chain.com
FinChaine.com
Crypto-Bullion.com

Hope for the best!

Thanks for this beautiful platform to liquidate domains

Thanks,
Sumeeth

 

[DanSanchez]

Crossed the 1,000 domains listed overnight! Have had several folks interested in submitting names. The process is fairly simple:

1. Log into your Epik account, if logged in just go to NameLiquidate. It uses FederatedIdentity automatically.
2. Go to NameLiquidate, mobile users skip to step 4.
3. Find the green "add domains" button
4. This takes you to this page https://registrar.epik.com/portfolio-liquidate
5. List your external unlocked domains with valid authorization codes. Internal epik domains dont need auth codes for submissions.
6. Agree to the terms of the site.
7. Liquidate!

The auctions start automatically after submission. I recommend submitting names around the same hour you want the auctions to end, 72hrs later.

So you want the auction to end on Tuesday 31st at 10am EST, submit them now.

There is a bug with mobile browsers that makes the menu button invisible. Devs have been alerted to the issue. Meanwhile use the direct link to the submissions page.

The first batch of auctions are entering the final 24hr period and prices will begin to enter the sub $100 range within hours. Keep an eye our for those!

If you have a name you want at a certain price point please PM me and prefund your account. We can act on your behalf to snap things up. Should there be more than two buyers, we will make a group email or chat to issue competing offers. Best way I can think of doing it right now, ideas are welcomed.

QUICK EDIT: Aleksey worked some magic and enabled a quick solution to link your domains directly for external marketing or bookmarking.

https://nameliquidate.com/?searchText=notarization.net

Just replace the domain you want to link to and boom! A more permanent solution will be in place soon.

 

[Rob Monster]

Crossed the 1,000 domains listed overnight! Have had several folks interested in submitting names. The process is fairly simple:

1. Log into your Epik account, if logged in just go to NameLiquidate. It uses FederatedIdentity automatically.
2. Go to NameLiquidate, mobile users skip to step 4.
3. Find the green "add domains" button
4. This takes you to this page https://registrar.epik.com/portfolio-liquidate
5. List your external unlocked domains with valid authorization codes. Internal epik domains dont need auth codes for submissions.
6. Agree to the terms of the site.
7. Liquidate!

The auctions start automatically after submission. I recommend submitting names around the same hour you want the auctions to end, 72hrs later.

So you want the auction to end on Tuesday 31st at 10am EST, submit them now.

There is a bug with mobile browsers that makes the menu button invisible. Devs have been alerted to the issue. Meanwhile use the direct link to the submissions page.

The first batch of auctions are entering the final 24hr period and prices will begin to enter the sub $100 range within hours. Keep an eye our for those!

If you have a name you want at a certain price point please PM me and prefund your account. We can act on your behalf to snap things up. Should there be more than two buyers, we will make a group email or chat to issue competing offers. Best way I can think of doing it right now, ideas are welcomed.

QUICK EDIT: Aleksey worked some magic and enabled a quick solution to link your domains directly for external marketing or bookmarking.

https://nameliquidate.com/?searchText=notarization.net

Just replace the domain you want to link to and boom! A more permanent solution will be in place soon.

By popular request::

1 . Direct linkable SEO pages for domain listings will come next month. This is being done by @vitigo .
.
2. Watch lists will be possible from NameInvestors.com widgets. Done soon. This is being done by @Gube.

 

[RJ]

I like the idea of NameLiquidate, and I have added a couple hundred domains to test it out in this early phase.

My concern will using it as a seller is that the platform will simply become a place where buyers just wait around for the names to drop to $9 and race to buy them at that moment. (This is how I will use the platform as a buyer.) With the current setup, I expect 95% of sales will be for $9, and sellers will be hesitant to list anything of value here.

@Ategy's suggestion about using a "double ended" auction is surely needed if you expect buyers to pay more than $9. Instead of waiting for the final price drop, buyers could place a bid that that turns into a purchase when the BIN drops to that level. If buyers could see that other buyers are interested in a name it would stir up more interest and bids.

 

[DanSanchez]

I like the idea of NameLiquidate, and I have added a couple hundred domains to test it out in this early phase.

My concern will using it as a seller is that the platform will simply become a place where buyers just wait around for the names to drop to $9 and race to buy them at that moment. (This is how I will use the platform as a buyer.) With the current setup, I expect 95% of sales will be for $9, and sellers will be hesitant to list anything of value here.

@Ategy's suggestion about using a "double ended" auction is surely needed if you expect buyers to pay more than $9. Instead of waiting for the final price drop, buyers could place a bid that that turns into a purchase when the BIN drops to that level. If buyers could see that other buyers are interested in a name it would stir up more interest and bids.

Glad to see some seller side action, thank you for listing the names! In the future updated we will have a pre-buy interest shown on the individual domains. Meaning the buyers will be able to tell how many pre-buy sets are placed on domains to generate interest and quantify higher dollar sales.

I urge independent sellers to market their names with the direct link method for now. I am working on a thread to instigate some traffic.

Buyers do want good deals, it is to be expected they might wait until the names hits the lowest point. Then again some expired auctions sell quickly and we may see that with better names.

 

[private123]

I added just a external domain. Price show buy now price . But I not added any price .
It's automatically set buy now price ?

Can we edit buy now price ?

 

[DanSanchez]

I added just a external domain. Price show buy now price . But I not added any price .
It's automatically set buy now price ?

Can we edit buy now price ?

The price is set at $998 by default and it drops hourly until it sells. You should read the thread posts above to understand the process a bit better.

 

[tonyk2000]

I somehow missed this thread. Must be because of its localtion - Promotional, not visible in Domain Discusson feed. A great idea. So I'll open an Epik account

Some observations:

1. Domain lock may be placed by the registrar after the expiration date. Even if XXX registrar does not do this today, their policies may be changed tomorrow. Especially since the registrars who are selling their expired domains as pre-relase, in-house or externally, definitely would not like the Name Liquidate project. Similarly, registrars may elect to change domain ownership or change authcodes etc. on the very next day after the expiration, or ask for restoration fee even if the domain is not in redemptionperiod yet. So: it would be wise not to deal with already expired domains on the platform. In other words, a listing must be instantly deleted as soon as the domain expires. Some code change may be needed, to make sure that it would still be offered for the lowest ($9 ?) amount if not purchased earlier.
Normally, registrants do know what they wish to renew and what they wish to drop even before the expiration date. I have this list for Jan - Mar for example, all decided already. So, such a policy (not to list already expired domains) would be only beneficial, and, at the same time, we will still maintain the "idea" - liquidation of something that would not be renewed...

2. I would not compare NameLiquidate project with namejet or godaddy auctions. Very different "animals". Indeed, there are tons of registrars around - but almost nobody shares the $$$ from expired sales with former registrants. So, the main idea of the project - as I see it al least - is to let registrants receive some %%% of their expired/expiring domain sales. And this idea is great.

3. Expecting endusers to join is unlikely. At least as the buyers... So this may end up as domainer-to-domainer serving project. One man's trash is another man's treasure...

 

[Ategy]

@tonyk2000 ... the whole point of this is exactly to serve as a last minute liquidation. With pricing maxed out at $1000, then I actually hope end-users DO NOT start participating in these liquidation reverse auctions, because that would mean less end-users buying at end user prices .. thereby actually shrinking the pie so to speak. So this should actually start with the goal of being a "domainer-to-domainer serving project. One man's trash is another man's treasure" and ironically hope it actually does not become anything more.

As for not comparing with NJ and GD auctions .. again, I don't think anyone is .. it most certainly should not be .. this is about liquidation! That being said .. even if NJ and GD are theoretically open auction platforms, I think it's safe to say that despite what they say or hope, I'm pretty sure at least 90% of auction winners are domainers/resellers, as most certainly most of the domains sold via those auctions are not at anything close to retail pricing.

As for ending auctions at expiration. I don't really see that as necessary. However, the DomainLiquidate team (@DanSanchez, @Rob Monster, etc) will most certainly need to keep regular tabs on the terms and conditions of ALL registrars where the liquidation program is currently allowed post-expiration. Dan already said he was working on a table showing details for all other registrars. On that note ...

Which registrars are you aware of that regularly change auth codes after 7 days of submission/request?

Unfortunately I just have a memory in my head of a transfer and reading something along the way (probably in an automated email or FAQ section) that the code was only valid for a week. I'm sorry to say I have no clue which registrar it was.

My concern will using it as a seller is that the platform will simply become a place where buyers just wait around for the names to drop to $9 and race to buy them at that moment. (This is how I will use the platform as a buyer.) With the current setup, I expect 95% of sales will be for $9, and sellers will be hesitant to list anything of value here.

12, 9, 8, 5 doesn't really make much sense though. The steps should shorten towards the end regardless of what the lowest number will be ...
... 69, 59, 49, 44, 39. 34. 29, 25, 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 7, 5 would make more sense.

It really 1000000% depends on the "Steps". Yes if the price drops are too spread out at the end, then most will wait for the $9 rush. However if the final hours progressively wind down slowly, then people will bite at $15, $20, etc. If the 2nd to last price is $39, then your concern is very justified. I have to say I'm not a big fan of these weird prices like "106.51", they need to figure out a good common sense progression with smaller spreads as the price approaches the final hours.

@Ategy's suggestion about using a "double ended" auction is surely needed if you expect buyers to pay more than $9. Instead of waiting for the final price drop, buyers could place a bid that that turns into a purchase when the BIN drops to that level. If buyers could see that other buyers are interested in a name it would stir up more interest and bids.

Again .. yes more than 1000000%! lol

 

[tonyk2000]

that the code was only valid for a week

I also remember this. Snapnames related? Mydomain maybe...

 

[Rob Monster]

@tonyk2000 ... the whole point of this is exactly to serve as a last minute liquidation. With pricing maxed out at $1000, then I actually hope end-users DO NOT start participating in these liquidation reverse auctions, because that would mean less end-users buying at end user prices .. thereby actually shrinking the pie so to speak. So this should actually start with the goal of being a "domainer-to-domainer serving project. One man's trash is another man's treasure" and ironically hope it actually does not become anything more.

As for not comparing with NJ and GD auctions .. again, I don't think anyone is .. it most certainly should not be .. this is about liquidation! That being said .. even if NJ and GD are theoretically open auction platforms, I think it's safe to say that despite what they say or hope, I'm pretty sure at least 90% of auction winners are domainers/resellers, as most certainly most of the domains sold via those auctions are not at anything close to retail pricing.

As for ending auctions at expiration. I don't really see that as necessary. However, the DomainLiquidate team (@DanSanchez, @Rob Monster, etc) will most certainly need to keep regular tabs on the terms and conditions of ALL registrars where the liquidation program is currently allowed post-expiration. Dan already said he was working on a table showing details for all other registrars. On that note ...



Unfortunately I just have a memory in my head of a transfer and reading something along the way (probably in an automated email or FAQ section) that the code was only valid for a week. I'm sorry to say I have no clue which registrar it was.




It really 1000000% depends on the "Steps". Yes if the price drops are too spread out at the end, then most will wait for the $9 rush. However if the final hours progressively wind down slowly, then people will bite at $15, $20, etc. If the 2nd to last price is $39, then your concern is very justified. I have to say I'm not a big fan of these weird prices like "106.51", they need to figure out a good common sense progression with smaller spreads as the price approaches the final hours.


Again .. yes more than 1000000%! lol

Great input there.

Some UX and pricing improvements are coming.

The site content was also developed by @DanSanchez but not yet put online. The engineers prioritized function over form with the year-end development triage.

We should absolutely round those numbers. The pennies makes no sense. I agree.

The last hours should also just drop fast, e.g. it could go from $69 to $9 in 1 hour, at $1 per minute. This is how Dutch auctions normally work. They are fast-paced. You snooze you lose.

@vitigo

 

[Ategy]

I don't really think speed is an issue at the end. We need to remember that 95%++ of these domains unfortunately will not sell even if they were at $1 (+renewal).

The real key is to pull out as much value as possible from the domains that do sell. Get those $15 sales that otherwise would have been $9. So it's important those final stages actually not be too fast.

Two very key crucial features that would have a significant effect of inflating final prices are:

(1) The already mentioned increasing proxy / bidding (effectively the same thing)
.. AND ..
(2) Showing a timer to the next price drop.
(Be sure to include wording/info that covers the final hour at $9)

Here's a very quick suggestion for prices instead of the current $13.93 steps. Probably find something a bit better if you looked at it a bit deeper as I came up with this in a few minutes. Basically $20 drops until $250, then $10, then a gentle progression at the end.

_OLD_ NEW
998.00 999
984.07 979
970.14 959
956.21 939
942.28 919
928.35 899
914.42 879
900.49 859
886.56 839
872.63 819
858.70 799
844.77 779
830.85 759
816.92 739
802.99 719
789.06 699
775.13 679
761.20 659
747.27 639
733.34 619
719.41 599
705.48 579
691.55 559
677.62 539
663.69 519
649.76 499
635.83 479
621.90 459
607.97 439
594.04 419
580.11 399
566.18 379
552.25 359
538.32 339
524.39 319
510.46 299
496.54 279
482.61 259
468.68 249
454.75 239
440.82 229
426.89 219
412.96 209
399.03 199
385.10 189
371.17 179
357.24 169
343.31 159
329.38 149
315.45 139
301.52 129
287.59 119
273.66 109
259.73 99
245.80 89
231.87 79
217.94 69
204.01 59
190.08 49
176.15 39
162.23 35
148.30 32
134.37 29
120.44 26
106.51 23
092.58 20
078.65 18
064.72 16
050.79 14
036.86 12
022.93 10
009.00 9

 

[SuperBrander]

Just bought a domain from NameLiquidate. Very good experience. Regular Epik checkout and the domain landed in my account immediately. It's definitely refreshing to get a domain a nanosecond after the purchase! I very rarely get fast transfers via Afternic.

@DanSanchez Even though I wasn't surprised to see a renewal price added to the domain's price because I'm used to it from closeouts etc.- I think it could be beneficial to have some sort of clarification about renewals so any potential buyer would know exactly what they should expect even before clicking on Buy It Now. For example- are renewals automatically added to all purchases or just to expiring domains? Since the platform isn't only for expiring domains- I think this is an important matter to clarify to potential buyers. IMO full transparency from the first moment someone lands at a marketplace or an auction platform is something that's lacking from most venues and it could add to NameLiquidate's credibility and be a differentiation factor.

 

[Ategy]

Since the platform isn't only for expiring domains

Actually .. it is .. (which is actually a good thing)!