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discuss Should like names have their own marketplace?

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ThatNameGuy

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I own a pretty good domain/name Marketplace to showcase my domains. However I have domains that are specific to certain industries like financial services and healthcare. Then I have extension specific domains like .Golf and .Homes. Finally, I have "first name" specific domains like; "Savor/Savour" domains and "Incredible" domains. For example, a friend from Canada owns a marketplace site of his .homes domains; Premium.homes.

I guess my main point is if you were marketing/selling domains to home builders or realtors, and you owned 50 or more names, wouldn't it be smart to develop a site that gives the appearance that it caters just to builders and realtors? Otherwise I think you domains might get lost in the domain jungle?

I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks
 
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Yes, it makes perfect sense:
;)
Thanks Eric...I've finally hooked up with a technical "equity partner" who shares my vision for doing DomainsMyWay™ vs. the old timer way. This has taken a littler longer than I expected, but it's coming together. Plans for our "niche" marketplace under the umbrella of DomainGourmet™ are to have a half dozen "cookie cutter" sites marketing domain names to specific industries. Further plans are being made to target those industries via email, trade shows, and personal contacts. Thanks again.
 
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I think, and have stated before, that specialized marketplaces make sense, both specialized in offering a certain country code and by topic/industry as you suggest. Now you can use the Sedo and Afternic categories to go part way toward what you want, but certainly not as specialized (and I find the interface awkward, but maybe that is just me :xf.wink:). Also as you have noted previously, none of the main marketplaces have name recognition among many business owners, particularly small business owners I would say. Dofo is a step in the right direction in the simplification of searching for domain names for sale.

I think the real issue is making running such a marketplace cost effective. For someone seeking say a domain name in vacation rentals to be able to visit a marketplace with only that kind of names would be a real convenience, but would the commission earned pay for the effort?

I think a model that might work would be a company set up all the technical aspects to make running a marketplace easy, and then franchise it to someone who would actually run it. I think to work the person running it would have to curate names, like the brandable marketplaces do now, and know the business.

Thanks for starting an interesting thread @ThatNameGuy ! I hope that others will contribute.

Bob
 
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to me, at first sight of the url
I would think Premium.homes, was a realtor site, not a domain marketplace

and, I would go further and say, that the general public would think so too

only a domainer would possibly think it was a showcase site for selling domains, using the .homes extension.

because the average joe, doesn't know jack about .homes

imo...
 
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Another issue of running a very specialized marketplace is getting traffic. Even the big players who have been in it for years are actually not super high on web visit stats. Some of your other ideas @ThatNameGuy like trade show promotion might work well hand in hand with the specialized marketplace to get over that, however, and give out personalized items with the domain on them. BTW I tend to agree with @biggie re likely first impressions of those hearing the name you propose using.


Bob
 
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Further plans are being made to target those industries via email, trade shows, and personal contacts. Thanks again.
the good thing about niche tradeshows are most are free to attend. You can find a plethora of ways to engage niche audiences in person at those free shows, Which are found in places like eventbrite.com meetup.com, etc.

The wife and I have attended assorted free events for similar reasons over the years.
 
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While I admire your brevity (something I struggle with :xf.sick:) could you explain your answer a bit. Not sure if it is to the post just above, one of the aspects of the OP, or .....
Thanks,
Bob
 
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the good thing about niche tradeshows are most are free to attend. You can find a plethora of ways to engage niche audiences in person at those free shows, Which are found in places like eventbrite.com meetup.com, etc.

The wife and I have attended assorted free events for similar reasons over the years.

And to add, all you need is a Generic company name, sometimes a business license to sign up and fill out a few forms, there are many in Las Vegas so if you search the Vegas Convention center schedule, you can plan ahead.
https://www.vegasmeansbusiness.com/planning-tools/convention-calendar/
 
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It just occurred to me that Efty could make such marketplaces easy to construct. With Efty you can use one of your domains to be your Efty Marketplace with you listings with integration of PayPal/Escrow, now with chat integrated, etc. it could be a really effective marketplace if one had say a large number of golf domain names (although only works for one owner's domains, so not as a marketplace with contributions from several people). To get SSL one wants a growth or professional plan, and if you had many specific marketplaces the monthly costs might add up. I am not sure if they have any discount if the same company/individual wanted to have multiple accounts, or if there is a way to have more than one marketplace with one account. Tagging @Doron Vermaat.

It is of course easy to make a link that will show domain names that include a word that might work. I did this using Dofo to cover the main marketplaces, only domains with prices, for domains in some way incorporating boat if looking for a boat sale site.
https://dofo.com/search/?contains=boat&on_sale=y&sale_type=1,3,2&website=n

Bob
 
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While I admire your brevity (something I struggle with :xf.sick:) could you explain your answer a bit. Not sure if it is to the post just above, one of the aspects of the OP, or .....
Thanks,
Bob
yes.

Alternatives exist that make this redundant.

Having 'your own marketplace' is a nice vanity move and perhaps a quick feel good buzz.. sure it can give rise to lots of temporary emotions of pleasure but no matter how much time is burned on choosing the best logos or wordpress themes, a cow with lipstick is still a cow and even if you put lipstick on all the cows... you are no more likely to have someone want to kiss your cow.

Instead, take your cows to the fair (godaddy, sedo).

I like parking my names at Uniregistry so I can close deals myself or in some cases, have the Uniregistry ranchers promote my bulls (and their semen), to prospective buyers.
 
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I think you mean, no more likely to have someone want to kiss your cow.
 
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a cow with lipstick is still a cow and even if you put lipstick on all the cows... you are no less likely to have someone want to kiss your cow.

lol

that made me laugh out loud

can't wait till .cow extension comes out

:)
 
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While seeing the point of view of @MarketingStrategies.com that you can spend a lot time on a site and it might have no return at all, I think I could see, if it was fast and easy and cheap enough to do, that it could be valuable, if you concentrated in a few narrow niches. I think the test is whether if someone was Googling a term like "company names xxxx yyyyy" or "xxxx domain names" would find your site with domains suited to the xxxx or yyyyy niche. I have been successful with the latter form in getting to the top of page one today on Google for example with "biotech domain names" (without quotes) but many others I am nowhere in the top 5 pages. I am pretty SEO beginner, so i am sure that others could achieve much better.

But the number one priority, before anyone even thinks of a specialized marketplace, should be to have a working and good lander. Nothing else is nearly as important as that in my opinion.

Bob
 
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can't wait till .cow extension comes out
with .dog and .cat and .horse, why no .cow TLD? :xf.grin: Surely a legal class action by cow owners is in order?
 
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No. I don't think it's necessary nor does it make any sense
 
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I think it is a waste of time as it is unlikely to really yield more sales.

Portfolio sites in general are vanity plays. They don't really drive sales.
If you want a portfolio site, just add sections. You don't need a bunch of separate websites.

The vast majority of sales come via direct traffic on landers and via popular venues.

If you want more sales you need solid landers and to list your domains on popular venues.
That is where most buyers find them.

Brad
 
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The vast majority of sales come via direct traffic on landers and via popular venues.
We all know that NameBio reports only a portion of sales (maybe 10 to 20% of sales over $100 I would guess). Many sales do occur privately. Does anyone know of research on the stats of how those private sales resulted? Like what fraction from lander (maybe ultimately via a marketplace but the lander was the key step), marketplace search, promotion on social media, various forms of outbound, etc.? Would be interesting intelligence to have. I tend to think most come from landers, but don't know of research to show that. Thanks for any links to evidence, people. Have a nice day!
-Bob

ps I have also wondered if there are regional differences.
 
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We all know that NameBio reports only a portion of sales (maybe 10 to 20% of sales over $100 I would guess). Many sales do occur privately. Does anyone know of research on the stats of how those private sales resulted? Like what fraction from lander (maybe ultimately via a marketplace but the lander was the key step), marketplace search, promotion on social media, various forms of outbound, etc.? Would be interesting intelligence to have. I tend to think most come from landers, but don't know of research to show that. Thanks for any links to evidence, people. Have a nice day!
-Bob

ps I have also wondered if there are regional differences.

I can only speak from my personal experience, but the bulk of my sales start with a contact form being filled out on the lander. I only have a portion of my portfolio priced and listed on popular venues like GoDaddy, so if I had more domains listed there the balance might change a bit.

Even with fewer domains listed, GD/Afternic listings do yield quite a few sales.

Inquiries via my portfolio site happen, but are far less than via direct traffic.

I also get some inquires via direct email, but those have gone down a lot since GDRP took effect and many registrars redact WHOIS information.

Brad
 
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to me, at first sight of the url
I would think Premium.homes, was a realtor site, not a domain marketplace

and, I would go further and say, that the general public would think so too

only a domainer would possibly think it was a showcase site for selling domains, using the .homes extension.

because the average joe, doesn't know jack about .homes

imo...
Biggie...sorry I made a mistake. The industry specific name for .homes is HomesDomains.com, not Premium.homes. As another example for "Savor" domains I own SavorDomains.com. btw, I own about a hundred .homes and homes.com names as well, and I plan on using something like RealtorandBuilder.domains for my Marketplace.
 
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Another issue of running a very specialized marketplace is getting traffic. Even the big players who have been in it for years are actually not super high on web visit stats. Some of your other ideas @ThatNameGuy like trade show promotion might work well hand in hand with the specialized marketplace to get over that, however, and give out personalized items with the domain on them. BTW I tend to agree with @biggie re likely first impressions of those hearing the name you propose using.


Bob
Bob...i made mistake by saying another friend of mine from Canada was using Premium.Homes as his Marketplace. It's HomesDomains.com. I plan on using something like RealtorandBuilderDomains.com for my marketplace or RealtorandBuilder.domains.

On another note email marketing is also part of my plan to attract customers. For example, if you were a realtor/builder and you got an email from me that showed the name Hawkes.Homes on a business card, might you be interested in learning more how you could obtain the name Hawkes.Homes?
 
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the good thing about niche tradeshows are most are free to attend. You can find a plethora of ways to engage niche audiences in person at those free shows, Which are found in places like eventbrite.com meetup.com, etc.

The wife and I have attended assorted free events for similar reasons over the years.
Eric...generally industry specific trade shows aren't free. For instance, to have a booth at a mortgage banker trade show, or a healthcare trade show it would run thousands of dollars for a 10x10 both. I realize the kind of trade show you're referring to is more generic, it would be great for a popup trade show display that I mentioned on a previous thread.

If I were to franchise parts of my domain business I would probably provide a popup display for franchisee's to use at tradeshows. I've priced it out, and I can provide a professional looking display for around $500.
 
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Eric...generally industry specific trade shows aren't free. For instance, to have a booth at a mortgage banker trade show, or a healthcare trade show it would run thousands of dollars for a 10x10 both. I realize the kind of trade show you're referring to is more generic, it would be great for a popup trade show display that I mentioned on a previous thread.

If I were to franchise parts of my domain business I would probably provide a popup display for franchisee's to use at tradeshows. I've priced it out, and I can provide a professional looking display for around $500.
I never said to sponsor or pay for a booth.

The wife and I found that attendees at free events are there for a reason and if your model/asset is a solution to their reasoning to be there, then you have a potential buyer.

The free 100 to 1000 attendee events all over the country are crawling with niche specific investors/startups hungry for solutions to every day scaling and branding problems.

If one is shy and can't strike up 20 conversations about a niche asset in the same industry as 500 people interested in that industry, they probably shouldn't be trying to sell anything and might want to hire someone less shy and more outgoing.

A booth is cool for bigger brand exposure, but free engagement with hundreds of niche targeted people works too, free.

To each their own though.

Everyone does things different.

What works for one may not work for another.

For perspective, think about how many domains are sold between attendees at namescon that didn't get a booth. Obviously namescon isn't free admission, but the point is the same.

If you have a steel mill asset and in a room of 500 steel mill prospects at a steel mill event. Don't you think 1 or 2 of that 500 might be interested in an asset related to the niche they came to the event for in the first place?

Like a website. An ad about baseball won't convert well on a swimming website. But it will on a baseball website.

1 + 1 = 2
 
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I plan on using something like RealtorandBuilder.domains for my Marketplace.

I would pick a different domain. "Realtor" is a major trademark issue that is protected aggressively by NAR.

Brad
 
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