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.

 

[7363824]

Just tried this and picked up a lnn .co for $1 with 6 months left till expiry and I see some other promising names I'm waiting to come down a bit before buying.

Definatey look forward to scheduling at what price I want to buy and the possibility of having any of my domains at Epik that I let expire go over automatically.

 

[Nametree]

Just sold a couple of names, process was mostly smooth and I may use it again, even though I would wait a few weeks or months until this becomes more popular.

I added a couple of names that weren't expiring immediately and I thought were of decent value, hoping they would sell at $30+, but one just sold for $1. Not a big deal, but the kicker is the name was external, and I just got an email from an Epik employee asking me to transfer it in myself. When you add names and are asked to provide auth codes for external names, the assumption is "I don't have to transfer these in myself" and whoever else, buyer or platform, does it. If I have to pay $8+ to transfer in a name that just sold for $1, well, I will be passing and just letting the name drop.

Strangely, another name that sold for $1 is being transferred without my involvement, as I just got a request from confirmation from Dynadot. Why the difference?

 

[7363824]

Just sold a couple of names, process was mostly smooth and I may use it again, even though I would wait a few weeks or months until this becomes more popular.

I added a couple of names that weren't expiring immediately and I thought were of decent value, hoping they would sell at $30+, but one just sold for $1. Not a big deal, but the kicker is the name was external, and I just got an email from an Epik employee asking me to transfer it in myself. When you add names and are asked to provide auth codes for external names, the assumption is "I don't have to transfer these in myself" and whoever else, buyer or platform, does it. If I have to pay $8+ to transfer in a name that just sold for $1, well, I will be passing and just letting the name drop.

Strangely, another name that sold for $1 is being transferred without my involvement, as I just got a request from confirmation from Dynadot. Why the difference?

That's odd because of couple of the ones I bought off of it were external and they added the transfer fee to the price of the name. Which it makes sense to make the buyer pay for the transfer on external names. Though I wish they would show which names are external. Maybe where it shows the price show it as $x + $y (transfer fee)

 

[NicTraders]

Just sold a couple of names, process was mostly smooth and I may use it again, even though I would wait a few weeks or months until this becomes more popular.

I added a couple of names that weren't expiring immediately and I thought were of decent value, hoping they would sell at $30+, but one just sold for $1. Not a big deal, but the kicker is the name was external, and I just got an email from an Epik employee asking me to transfer it in myself. When you add names and are asked to provide auth codes for external names, the assumption is "I don't have to transfer these in myself" and whoever else, buyer or platform, does it. If I have to pay $8+ to transfer in a name that just sold for $1, well, I will be passing and just letting the name drop.

Strangely, another name that sold for $1 is being transferred without my involvement, as I just got a request from confirmation from Dynadot. Why the difference?

Absolutely - if there's a requirement to transfer you should be informed up-front. Some of the notifications, etc need a little work. When I added my domains the other day I got a message saying I'd added them to my portfolio and I wondered if I had accidentally transferred in or something by mistake. But no - their message says added to portfolio instead of added to NameLiquidate. A few things like that need to be tidied up.

For me, I will just be listing names that I am going to drop until there is proxy bidding and more buyers, which should ensure better sale prices.

 

[NicTraders]

That's odd because of couple of the ones I bought off of it were external and they added the transfer fee to the price of the name. Which it makes sense to make the buyer pay for the transfer on external names. Though I wish they would show which names are external. Maybe where it shows the price show it as $x + $y (transfer fee)

Yeah, it would be handy if they showed the current registrar and domain expiry date - so you know there will be a fee to transfer in. Of course the transfer fee shows when you add it to your cart, which is fine, but having the expiry listed would save me looking them all up manually.

 

[7363824]

Absolutely - if there's a requirement to transfer you should be informed up-front. Some of the notifications, etc need a little work. When I added my domains the other day I got a message saying I'd added them to my portfolio and I wondered if I had accidentally transferred in or something by mistake. But no - their message says added to portfolio instead of added to NameLiquidate. A few things like that need to be tidied up.

For me, I will just be listing names that I am going to drop until there is proxy bidding and more buyers, which should ensure better sale prices.

I can see that. It seems new listings have slowed down, all listings fit on one page as of now, at one point I saw it go up to 3. I for one have been taking advantage of the lack or buyers though to get some good deals. But then I have missed out on some that I wanted because of how cheap I have been. The down side of a reverse auction, I really do prefer a regular auction so I can start low but go higher if needed.

 

[NicTraders]

I can see that. It seems new listings have slowed down, all listings fit on one page as of now, at one point I saw it go up to 3. I for one have been taking advantage of the lack or buyers though to get some good deals. But then I have missed out on some that I wanted because of how cheap I have been. The down side of a reverse auction, I really do prefer a regular auction so I can start low but go higher if needed.

Yeah, I picked up a couple of decent domains too (when I had expecting to be selling only), so that's the advantage on the flip-side. Yeah, I probably prefer regular auctions too. I think the platform could still be really good going forward, but needs a couple of tweaks, and more buyers/sellers of course. All in due course hopefully.

 

[NicTraders]

@Rob Monster I sold a name through NameLiquidate so now have the impressive sum of $0.91 in my Masterbucks. Just wondering - when buying domains on Epik can I part-pay through Masterbucks and part-pay with store credit (to use up the MB balance), or does payment have to be from one source? Thx

 

[Rob Monster]

@Rob Monster I sold a name through NameLiquidate so now have the impressive sum of $0.91 in my Masterbucks. Just wondering - when buying domains on Epik can I part-pay through Masterbucks and part-pay with store credit (to use up the MB balance), or does payment have to be from one source? Thx

You can transfer MB to ISC, if you need to consolidate funds.

We are also making some updates so you can set reserves and so buyers can submit proxy-bids. These changes should be online before NamesCon.

We have some marketing budget to drive up engagement among buyers and sellers and look forward to seeing NameLiquidate continue to mature into a useful part of the domain ecosystem.

So, don't drop ... LIQUIDATE!

 

[NicTraders]

You can transfer MB to ISC, if you need to consolidate funds.

How do I do that?

We are also making some updates so you can set reserves and so buyers can submit proxy-bids. These changes should be online before NamesCon.

We have some marketing budget to drive up engagement among buyers and sellers and look forward to seeing NameLiquidate continue to mature into a useful part of the domain ecosystem.

Sounds good.

 

[Rob Monster]

How do I do that?

https://epik.com/support/knowledgebase/making-payments-with-multiple-payment-sources/

Masterbucks is a source of funds which you can also use to top your your balance.

 

[NicTraders]

https://epik.com/support/knowledgebase/making-payments-with-multiple-payment-sources/

Hmm, that's about multiple payment sources rather than consolidating MB funds to Epik in-store credit. But, for anyone else wondering, I was able to Add funds to my Epik account same as I usually would by Wire Transfer, but when completing checkout you can select MB as the source. All sorted.

 

[7363824]

@Rob Monster I tried listing a couple which appear to not have sold. Perhaps you could send an email notifying me the listing expired without sale. And that for external names I can safely relock it. And maybe stating on which date the domain would be eligible to list again if I wanted. Just a thought.

 

[Rob Monster]

@Rob Monster I tried listing a couple which appear to not have sold. Perhaps you could send an email notifying me the listing expired without sale. And that for external names I can safely relock it. And maybe stating on which date the domain would be eligible to list again if I wanted. Just a thought.

Will review with @DanSanchez and @vitigo -- there should be a confirmation email at end which summarizes the result, and then for the domains that did not sell, give you the ability to:

1. Transfer the domains to Epik.

2 List at BIN pricing until the auth code fails

 

[Samer]

Sometimes, a name goes unsold

OK, people dont want it, even for a $1. (

i want another shot at re-listing it (least twice..)

Samer

 

[Samer]

i dont appreciate being nerfed, being unable to list the name, year to keep supply fresh, w/ risk took $1, least give me a chance to re-list, once

Perks, if DN epik.. i should be able re-list 1x?
OR “application” status; want chance to re-list name most week, b4 ban me, from re-listing on Nameliquidate for a year, it’s just not fair.

Samer

 

[7363824]

Sometimes, a name goes unsold

OK, people dont want it, even for a $1. (

i want another shot at re-listing it (least twice..)

Samer

i dont appreciate being nerfed, being unable to list the name year, keep supply fresh, wit risk took $1, least give me chance to re-list, once.

(maybe, if DN is epik.. OR “application” status apply i want a chance to list my name through a week, before you ban me from re-listing on Nameliquidate for a year, it’s just not fair

Samer

Especially now when even a name can go unsold simply due to lack of buyers.

 

[Samer]

Especially now when even a name can go unsold simply due to lack of buyers.

THANKS! we‘re testers this point good news? initial result promising. they’re on to something!
looved the results i got liquidating my worst 4L.
you cant un-list though, soo worth it, u commit
“$1 no reserve auction” regardless, this like NR $1 no reserve —reversed. ingenious.

Samer

 

[DanSanchez]

THANKS! we‘re testers this point. good news? initial results are promising. on to something!
looved the results i got liquidating my worst 4L.
you cant un-list though, sooo worth it, u comit
in “$1 no reserve auction” regardless, this is

NL like $1 no reserve —reversed. ingenious

Samer

Glad you are seeing the use in removing the emotion out of things! A sale, even at $1, is a good determination of our ability to pick worthwhile assets.

i dont appreciate being nerfed, being unable to list the name, year to keep supply fresh, w/ risk took $1, least give me a chance to re-list, once

Perks, if DN is epik..it should be able re-list 1x?
OR
status apply i want a chance to list my name through a week, before you ban me from re-listing on Nameliquidate for a year, just not fair

Samer

Will discuss this with the team, I don't agree you are being nerfed. This is supposed to be for your end-of-life inventory that will likely be expiring and lost to auction. It is not a ban, but a limitation on the number of relistings you can do per domain. We had an employee wanting to do the same thing and we declined the request because the marketplace depends on the constant stream of different names. We could toy with 90 day limits instead of a year, but we need to hear what buyers think.

@Rob Monster I tried listing a couple which appear to not have sold. Perhaps you could send an email notifying me the listing expired without sale. And that for external names I can safely relock it. And maybe stating on which date the domain would be eligible to list again if I wanted. Just a thought.

I agree with you on this, we need to have a closing statement similar to the backorder statement on a daily basis. Will review with the team to implement this asap.

Especially now when even a name can go unsold simply due to lack of buyers.

Granted the site is not experiencing huge numbers, but there are buyers returning daily. The pre-buy feature will come online next week and hoping the watch list will do so as well. This will dramatically improve your sell rate and ease of use for buyers.

 

[7363824]

Glad you are seeing the use in removing the emotion out of things! A sale, even at $1, is a good determination of our ability to pick worthwhile assets.



Will discuss this with the team, I don't agree you are being nerfed. This is supposed to be for your end-of-life inventory that will likely be expiring and lost to auction. It is not a ban, but a limitation on the number of relistings you can do per domain. We had an employee wanting to do the same thing and we declined the request because the marketplace depends on the constant stream of different names. We could toy with 90 day limits instead of a year, but we need to hear what buyers think.



I agree with you on this, we need to have a closing statement similar to the backorder statement on a daily basis. Will review with the team to implement this asap.



Granted the site is not experiencing huge numbers, but there are buyers returning daily. The pre-buy feature will come online next week and hoping the watch list will do so as well. This will dramatically improve your sell rate and ease of use for buyers.

I think at scale that cool down period would make sense because with enough buyers if it dosent sell for even $1 it's probably not worth it. But right now a name that should sell can fall though the cracks. Scheduled bidding will help for sure but I think it's mostly a matter of increasing numbers of buyers to give all the inventory a fair chance and until you can do that relisting should be allowed with some limits for sure. Maybe if it dosent sell you can relist again once then if it dosent sell again wait 3-6months?

 

[NicTraders]

Will discuss this with the team, I don't agree you are being nerfed. This is supposed to be for your end-of-life inventory that will likely be expiring and lost to auction. It is not a ban, but a limitation on the number of relistings you can do per domain. We had an employee wanting to do the same thing and we declined the request because the marketplace depends on the constant stream of different names. We could toy with 90 day limits instead of a year, but we need to hear what buyers think.

I would support the option for sellers to relist immediately if they wish, but only once. If no buyer wants it again in the next listing then maybe it wasn't as good as the seller thought. This might need to be reviewed once there are higher volumes, but while there are only 200 - 400 domains on there (or less sometimes) a relisting option should be OK I think.

 

[tonyk2000]

I'd say the inventory should always be fresh. No relistings in 1 year. A wise rule. Besides, at this time, it is likely that all potential buyers and sellers are only those who are posting in, or watching this thread. In other words, not too many people. So, what can be expected? I recently sold something for >$1 (I expected this one would remain unsold, but got low two figures for it), and, at the same time, a number of domains that I guessed would be sold for at least $1 - were unsold. I'd bet that they would be grabbed as pre-release or after pendingdelete anyway. So, more buyers and more sellers are definitely needed. More promotion. This is the key
As for buying end - there are still no downloadable lists. It prevents a number of potential buyers, myself including, from performing better analysis.

 

[7363824]

I'd say the inventory should always be fresh. No relistings in 1 year. A wise rule...

Once it gets more users I agree but right now domains are going not selling that should because of a lack of buyers. So as a seller it incentivizes bot listing yet which more listings are precisely what is needed to encourage more buyers.

 

[7363824]

Something else I noticed @Rob Monster and @DanSanchez is for domains I purchased though NameLiquidate they come is on a 60 day lock, whether I had to transfer them to Epik as part of the purchase or even if they were a push. And during the lock period they could not even be pushed to another Epik account without asking Support.

Not entirely unreasonable though perhaps you could allow a push? The real confusing part is because of this is changes how they are displayed is different than any other domain in my account including ones I recently transferred myself, which prompted me to contact support. During this process I was told that the 60 day lock applies to NameLiquidate purchases or new registrations though Epik but not on transfers of my own names, which if this is correct is a good thing but I was under the impression that like every other registrar Epik applies a 60 day lock to transfers of my own names. Can you confirm how this is supposed to be handled because it has left me honestly confused and when I asked support their response was

Here is what our techs came back with.
1. Transfer date doesn't cause lock period at all.
2. Inner push will be available exactly after the 60 days lock for domains registered through Epik or purchased through Epik (Marketplace, backorders etc.)

 

[Rob Monster]

Thanks Ryan.

Since these NameLiquidate names were sold with the express authorization of the prior registrant, I agree no need to enforce a 60-day lock.

We'll review that system policy with @DanSanchez and @vitigo. As you are likely aware, we generally don't enforce 60-day transfer locks.

The one gray area where we have to use some human intelligence is in the case of a domain which is an expiry domain or backorder name which did not go through redemption.

NameLiquidate is designed to give seller liquidity and buyers clear title so we should be able to improve that release experience for you.