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services BrandBucket's Michael Krell Resigns

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Silentptnr

Domains88.comTop Member
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Pretty big conflict of interest there that endured for an awful long time.
 
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Seems like there are all sorts of conflicts of interest on many sites in domaining, including bidders (shill), registrars (front running) and even website managers/owners (monitoring domains for profit). As an industry there should be a way to clear all of this up ...
 
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Seems like there are all sorts of conflicts of interest on many sites in domaining, including bidders (shill), registrars (front running) and even website managers/owners (monitoring domains for profit). As an industry there should be a way to clear all of this up ...

Easy to do

The thing that appears to be missing is

The website needs an automated randomly displayed system that brings the names welded to the bottom and rotates all names evenly so everyones names get a fair bite of the cherry and no ones names are always seen etc

I have about 7 names on there and I could search for them constantly for a month and never find them

Which means if I can't find my names how on earth will a potential buyer etc

Which is good news for the likes of undeveloped.com etc where you can list what you like and write your own vision for your domain and price it accordingly etc and no listing fee etc
 
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Pretty big conflict of interest there that endured for an awful long time.
Unfortunately the conflict of interest is not going to get over. Margot (Founder of BB) also owns one of the largest BB published portfolios and was on an equal footing (if not higher) as Michael.
 
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I still don't understand why people use BrandBuckets for 99% of the names submitted today?

Serisouly .. nothing against them personally as I think that they have a fantastic business model .. people pay them to give them exclusive rights to selling your domains! They make more money adding more names .. great for them .. but as they add more names ... your names get more and more lost in a sea of tens of thousands of names.

If you have a super unique domain that they will promote a bit more than usual (ie. makes the top of their newsletter) then it could certainly be worth it as they have tons of eyeballs on their newsletters and marketplace .. but for your run of the mill made up brandable not only does the math not make any sense .. but it doesn't even come close to making sense. Maybe if it were still free to list .. or cost $1 .. but at $10 a name for a under a 1/1000 chance of selling at this point they are making more money from domainers than buyers.

Again .. no discredit to them .. I'd invest in them as an owner if I could .. lol .. if domainers can't do the math and want to pay them .. then more power to them .. but it's simply not something that makes sense to me as a recent domainer who would need to pay $10 per name to list.

Also .. it still is a private platform .. they have all the right in the world to place whatever domains they want at the top of searches .. again .. good for them .. but it's also part of the factors that you as a domainer need to judge about actually paying them to list your names at the bottom of their massively huge list .. I ask myself all the time why would anyone actually do that today (although I completely understand why people would have years ago when the math actually made a lot of sense).


All that being said .. if you do have a great brandable with real words (nothing with extra or repeating letters or simply made up), then the marketing power of BrandBuckets could certainly be well worth the $10 .. but it's got to be a name that makes the top of their list .. otherwise you're just throwing your money and your leads away .. and actually paying them to do so !? lol
 
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but it's got to be a name that makes the top of their list ..
I fully agree with the entirety of your comment. I just wanted to reply to this specific statement. I think you're wrong there in that a really good name might make it to the top of their list. Highly unlikely. Basing the rest of my comment on investigation performed by others, most notably, @Grilled , insider domains rank high for almost all searches, irrespective of the quality of domains. These searches also include domain names that, at the face of it, do not even appear to be relevant or related to the search being performed; over domains that seem more relevant.
 
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Seems like there are all sorts of conflicts of interest on many sites in domaining, including bidders (shill), registrars (front running) and even website managers/owners (monitoring domains for profit). As an industry there should be a way to clear all of this up ...
I’ve noticed just about EVERY huge domain auction/sales site plays favorites. Very obvious.
 
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Funny I don't usually hear much about their landing pages. I wonder if they are any good?

I don't like the exclusivity thing. I have to be free to sell at will.
 
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I think you're wrong there in that a really good name might make it to the top of their list. Highly unlikely.

You're right in what I might have wrote .. lol .. but what I meant by that is being at the top in the specific cycle you add you name .. the one time newsletter type of thing. After that first possible flash awareness of your name being added to their network I definitely agree with you. I just meant that the $10 could be worth it simply for being at the top of their newsletter one time. Beyond that if it doesn't sell in a couple of months then your best bet would be to remove it and go on your own unless you're getting regular offers via their platform (and not the actual landing page for your domain).

Total disclaimer .. I've never actually used BrandBucket as the math just doesn't make any sense to me .. but I've been thinking of trying them just as a test with one or two of my sentence brandable domains like "YoureOnTheAir" and see what happens. Who knows .. maybe the actual quality of domain makes a bigger difference than I think with them .. because let's be very honest .. most of the domains on their platform are totally garbage .. extra repeating letters DO sell .. but at such low rates that I just don't see the value in holding them given the odds unless something derived from a super ultra premium (maybe something like Cryptoo.com .. while even Crrypto.com is a totally worthless domain) .. (and then add $10 cost to actually not allow yourself to list it anywhere else and the math actually just becomes a pile of poop .. lol)
 
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I only got 5 names on brandbucket, but they were already published when i purchased them.

They will probably never sell though
 
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I only got 5 names on brandbucket, but they were already published when i purchased them.

They will probably never sell though

Never say never. Some of my BB sales have been names that I thought would never sell because they had been listed for years, whereas others that I thought would sell very fast are still sitting there with their "For Sale" sign :)
 
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Total disclaimer .. I've never actually used BrandBucket as the math just doesn't make any sense to me
Same here. Doing a copy-paste to save typing :sneaky:

Their business model is heavily tilted toward their own interest, rather than the owners':
  • you pay to list
  • you give exclusivity thus locking in the domain
  • you give them all the traffic, forfeiting possible parking revenue
  • you pay a big commission
  • you pay for a logo
  • ...
They have the charges and obligations of all venues combined.
 
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I hated the concept you are competing with ownership, and management who can easily manipulate the process in their favor. Use your traffic, and domains to drive traffic to their site, where their domains are showcased.

On top of that you have to pay to list, pay a logo maker, and a top rate industry commission

Where do I sign up? :banghead:
 
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Unfortunately the conflict of interest is not going to get over. Margot (Founder of BB) also owns one of the largest BB published portfolios and was on an equal footing (if not higher) as Michael.

And as I have said in numerous BB threads, this isn’t how “normal” companies, with normal sales organizations work. Ethical companies choose either direct sales or outside indirect sales. Period. The end. They may change back and forth over the years but its one or the other, and no “house”, especially like this company with being run like a rinky dink antique shop of consigned merchandise. I have had similar situations in my career where the house “accounts” screw sales people out of their commissions. This game isn’t new. Seen it for years. Thanks to Grilled and DNbolt and their investigating and data being shared the real story is told.
 
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Michael krell, GOT FIRED!!! hahahahahahahaha! :ROFL::xf.laugh::xf.grin::hilarious::joyful::smuggrin:
Trump meme.jpg
 
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What does a Managing
Michael krell, GOT FIRED!!! hahahahahahahaha! :ROFL::xf.laugh::xf.grin::hilarious::joyful::smuggrin:
Show attachment 79125
Sounds like a firing, managing director of brand bucket sounds like a pretty sweet work from home gig. Who would want to quit that, probably BrandBucket is feeling a pinch, and needed to cut costs, they will never admit that though.

What is the going salary of a managing director of a domain sales brandable site these days, glassdoor?
 
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Fired? Do you know this as a fact?
 
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Fired? Do you know this as a fact?
yea, I got the Official email from the CEO and founder of Brand Bucket: Margot Bushnaq

Basically, she said that Michael is looking forward to new "opportunities" outside of the domain industry bla bla bla... In other words the LACK of GOOD RESULTS as a "director" of brand bucket got him Fired!! In resume, No Big Sales and Profits for brand bucket and his Poor Performance etc etc. WHAT A PUBLIC HUMILLIATION!! LMAO!
 
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yea, I got the Official email from the CEO and founder of Brand Bucket: Margot Bushnaq

Basically, she said that Michael is looking forward to new "opportunities" outside of the domain industry bla bla bla... In other words the LACK of GOOD RESULTS as a "director" of brand bucket got him Fired!! In resume, No Big Sales and Profits for brand bucket and his Poor Performance etc etc. WHAT A PUBLIC HUMILLIATION!! LMAO!
I guess it's back to clipping $1 godaddy coupons, Why is it that so many domainers have a detest for him?
 
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Basically, she said that Michael is looking forward to new "opportunities" outside of the domain industry bla bla bla... In other words the LACK of GOOD RESULTS as a "director" of brand bucket got him Fired!! In resume, No Big Sales and Profits for brand bucket and his Poor Performance etc etc. WHAT A PUBLIC HUMILLIATION!! LMAO!

Come on Omar .. lol .. I think you've got a fantastic dictionary .. made out of strong weed .. and then smoked it .. lol

Seriously .. while he could have indeed been asked to leave (/fired), in no way is there anything in the email that leads to that even being a possibility (unless you have more inside information).

The fact he's keeping his domains there hints that there actually isn't any fallout between them (although admittedly it doesn't necessarily mean the opposite either)

I think the only reason it was mentioned as new opportunities outside of domains is to show that he's not jumping ship and going to the competition .. which could indeed look bad to some.

The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of great opportunities outside of domains .. so it could indeed be true .. I'm not saying it is .. but I am saying is that there is nothing in the text of that email that even hits at anything else.
 
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yea, I got the Official email from the CEO and founder of Brand Bucket: Margot Bushnaq

Basically, she said that Michael is looking forward to new "opportunities" outside of the domain industry bla bla bla... In other words the LACK of GOOD RESULTS as a "director" of brand bucket got him Fired!! In resume, No Big Sales and Profits for brand bucket and his Poor Performance etc etc. WHAT A PUBLIC HUMILLIATION!! LMAO!
No, I don't think that he got fired, is just what you wish for. The last domain listed by MK at brandbucket was on 31 august 2017, so over 3 months before the email sent by Margot, Michael refused to list any more domains there and he was listing them at his own marketplaces, so it was Michael's decission not to list anymore. I think that he wanted more power, because he was investing a lot in names and owned over 7k names and Margot didn't wanted to let him run things as he wanted.
 
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