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SquadHelp: A Game with Too Many Rules ?

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DomainBanana

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Yesterday, SquadHelp launched a new policy of charging $1/submission to their premium marketplace, a marketplace that accepts only 9.79% of names. A major cash grab by SH, this escalates the cost of listing a single name on the SH marketplace to over $10.

Even before this damaging move, I found something about SquadHelp frustrating: the whole site is designed like a giant game.

There are ranking boards to show who's in the lead, sellers earn points for things like winning contests or getting a name approved, and now they've introduced SquadHelp coins to pay for submissions.

Gamifying business can be fun, if done well.

SquadHelp has gone to the extreme and gamified everything, two or three times over. All their points and coins and rules are dizzyingly convoluted and feel demeaning and manipulative. When it comes to listing domains and getting paid for my work, I want a clean, simple, professional, streamlined interface.

I don't want to play Candyland.

Yet, playing a childish boardgame is exactly what SH is making me do to participate in their brandable marketplace, and now this childish boardgame is ridiculously expensive to play.

I'm not interested in points or coins or rankings or any other childish, manipulative games.

I won't pay high prices and high commissions for the privilege of rolling the dice at brandable Candyland.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I give SH credit for responsiveness, but let's consider the new policy update. In over 2,000 words, SH rolls out eight convoluted changes. This is not seller-friendly. I don't have time for this!

We have continued to receive overwhelming feedback from the sellers about the recent changes announced related to Marketplace.

It is clear that a large number of sellers do not wish to pay the upfront $1 fee in lieu of reduced commissions. At SH, our goal has never been to use these fees to generate additional revenue. Our primary goal is to continue to offer the best sell through rates in the industry, while offering the shortest approval times as well as best in class customer support and platform features for our sellers.

As a result of this feedback, we have eliminated the requirement to use Squadhelp coins for ALL SELLERS. [1] :xf.smile:

You still have the option to use Squadhelp Coins in lieu of reduced commissions [2], however if you prefer to stay with the original commission rates, you can simply adjust your preferences in Marketplace Seller Preferences page. :xf.rolleyes:

If you are not using SH coins, your account may be limited to how many domains you can submit at a time, and your review and approval times may be a bit longer than usual. [3] O_o In addition, we may decide to remove the free submission option from those seller accounts which are not in good standing [4], have too many irrelevant submissions [5] or have requested an excessive number of domains to be delisted from their account. [6] :bored:

Note: If you are submitting unregistered domains, you will still be required to use Squadhelp coins if you choose to register the domains yourself. [7] :wtf: This requirement is necessary to manage the overwhelming amount of unregistered domains that are submitted every day for review.

If you have already purchased Squadhelp coins and do not wish to use them for your future submissions, simply contact our support team and we will be happy to give you a refund. Note: In the near future, you will also be able to use Squadhelp coins for other aspects (such as Logo redesigns, Lifestyle images and few other benefits) [8] O_o

At Squadhelp, our mission is to continue to improve our platform every day. While we may not get all the changes right the first time, we are committed to making swift adjustments based upon the feedback from our user community. :sleep::sleep::sleep:
Why spend so much time and energy on issues at a marketplace that is CLEARLY not your favorite?
What do you gain?
 
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Why spend so much time and energy on issues at a marketplace that is CLEARLY not your favorite?
What do you gain?

Just editorializing and providing fodder for discussion among the domaining community.

If you don't find my thoughts useful or constructive, feel free to ignore me.
 
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Just editorializing and providing fodder for discussion among the domaining community.

If you don't find my thoughts useful or constructive, feel free to ignore me.
Wish you will just ignore SH too.
 
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Wish you will just ignore SH too.

I'm hoping more sellers speak up so the marketplace thrives and becomes better for everyone involved.

The intricacy of the policy update I discussed is totally absurd.
 
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I'm hoping more sellers speak up so the marketplace thrives and becomes better for everyone involved.

The intricacy of the policy update I discussed is totally absurd.

The best place to discuss a problem you have with Squadhelp is with Squadhelp directly. There has been plenty of discussion on this issue and if you want change, you should talk to them. They always listen.
 
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The best place to discuss a problem you have with Squadhelp is with Squadhelp directly. There has been plenty of discussion on this issue and if you want change, you should talk to them. They always listen.

I've discussed with SH. I also feel NP is a valuable venue for discussing these concerns.

SH isn't always transparent. They censor comments in their discussion boards, they don't allow mention of other brandable marketplaces, and they recently deleted their article, "The Real Costs of Listing Domains in Marketplaces" because they don't want people to see how they abandoned their founding principles.
 
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1) When I was on BB, I had to buy $1 credits to review my names because I had not been on BB long enough to earn any
2) I thought I read that BB acquired BP?
3) Squadhelp listens and this issue has been resolved.
 
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1) When I was on BB, I had to buy $1 credits to review my names because I had not been on BB long enough to earn any
2) I thought I read that BB acquired BP?
3) Squadhelp listens and this issue has been resolved.

You're missing the point of the OP -- it's not a single issue, it's their entire approach.

BB charges $1/submission but, as mentioned previously in this thread, their overall approval rate is much higher so the effective cost of listing names is low.

BB acquired BR -- so what?
 
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You're missing the point of the OP -- it's not a single issue, it's their entire approach.

BB charges $1/submission but, as mentioned previously in this thread, their approval rate is much higher so the effective cost of listing names is low.

BB acquired BR -- so what?

I clearly disagree with you but that is fine. It's best if you go where you are happy. I am not missing anything about your post. You are unhappy with SH and want to tell people publicly. I get that. I did NOT find BBs approval rate to be higher - mine on SH is much higher than average. The thing about the acquisition was in reference to someone else who was talking about the two as if they are two entities when I thought it was BP they acquired. Is it BR they acquired or BP?

The problem I think that occurs on SH is pricing. Domainers are coming there will extremely high expectations on pricing and that is bringing approval rates down. SH knows their customers.

Oh well, be happy where you choose to be! I know I am.
 
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Another questionable SH policy:

SH will reg an approved name for free and give sellers a 25% commission for the first year.


After one year, sellers pay a $10 reg fee/name. SH retains ownership of the name and takes a 75% commission on all sales!

Once you let SH register a name that you've come up with, they own it forever, even if you cover 110% of the reg fees!
 
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SH's latest scam:

SH will reg an approved name for free and give sellers a 25% commission for the first year.

After one year,
sellers pay a $10 reg fee/name. SH retains ownership of the name and takes a 75% commission on all sales!

Once you let SH register a name that you've come up with, they own it forever, even if you cover the cost of the reg fees!

Well, that's a concern for me too. At first, I was very enthusiastic about the option with SH registering the domains (also, I was not aware that the option to register the domain by yourself after approval was actually working, my bad). Unfortunately, my sales experience was so bad and many of the domains already needed renewal. I would never pay the renewal fee for a domain I don't own, so I choose the option for SH to pay the renewals too. But that diminishes your potential commission even further. I will post this there too, as I guess they should come out with a promise in the lines of '' we will never take more than X commission for a domain we register and pay renewal fees for''. Another concern is if SH would allow us at some point to take over the domains, if they decide they're not interesting for their marketplace anymore.
 
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Well, that's a concern for me too. At first, I was very enthusiastic about the option with SH registering the domains (also, I was not aware that the option to register the domain by yourself after approval was actually working, my bad). Unfortunately, my sales experience was so bad and many of the domains already needed renewal. I would never pay the renewal fee for a domain I don't own, so I choose the option for SH to pay the renewals too. But that diminishes your potential commission even further. I will post this there too, as I guess they should come out with a promise in the lines of '' we will never take more than X commission for a domain we register and pay renewal fees for''. Another concern is if SH would allow us at some point to take over the domains, if they decide they're not interesting for their marketplace anymore.

To be clear: once SH owns a name, they retain ownership but ask sellers to cover 110% of the renewal fees while they collect a 75% commission on the sale.

If you choose not to pay the renewal fees, they just increase their commission (to 90%? 95%??)
 
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To be clear: once SH owns a name, they retain ownership but ask sellers to cover 110% of the renewal fees while they collect a 75% commission on the sale.

If you choose not to pay the renewal fees, they just increase their commission (to 90%? 95%??)

What a scam!

This is my concern too, regarding a minimum you would get if the renewal fees are constantly paid by SH for a longer term (and with the huge increase of portfolio, you can now expect these domains to not sell even for 10 years). I raised these questions on SH's forum and we'll see what's their view on this. Initially, no one cared about these things that much, as selling rates were really, really high.
 
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SH's latest scam:

SH will reg an approved name for free and give sellers a 25% commission for the first year.

After one year,
sellers pay a $10 reg fee/name. SH retains ownership of the name and takes a 75% commission on all sales!

Once you let SH register a name that you've come up with, they own it forever, even if you cover 110% of the reg fees!

Reposting my response from the other thread that was recently added regarding the same topic

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We typically do not participate in discussions unless specifically tagged but using words like "Scam" is going a little too far, so I am offering a response here.

First of all, we offer three ways to participate in our Marketplace:
  • Submit names that you already own
  • Submit names that are still unregistered, you will register if they are approved
  • Submit names that are still unregistered, SH will register if they are approved
If you are an active domain investor, it certainly makes sense to register the names yourself - not only do you pay a significantly lower commission compared to SH registered option, you also retain full flexibility to remove your domains from marketplace and sell them elsewhere if you prefer. The SH registered option is for those people who do not wish to take an investment risk for upfront reg fees and/ or for ongoing renewals.

Within the SH registered option, there are two ways we handle renewals. You can continue to have SH pay for any renewals or pay $10 (or $5 + 500 points) to keep your original commissions.

Most people choose to have SH continue to pay for their renewals - so they have zero investment risk for the entire lifespan of the marketplace listing but in that case the commission reduces slightly every year. For example, if your domain is initially approved to receive 25% in the first year, you may receive 22% of the selling price in the next year, 20% in the following year, and so on. We have not had a situation where the commission of a seller has dropped below 18% and we do not intend to do go below that number. It is, however, possible (and likely) that after few years we may stop offering renewal options on that domain because we can not pay for renewals in perpetuity - in that scenario the domain will be dropped.

Many creatives on SH platform are not domain investors. Several of them do not wish to take investment risk for their domains, and they choose the SH registered option to protect their names so that they can continue to submit their names to contests, and build a portfolio in the Marketplace at the same time.

At the end of the day, there are several ways to participate in the marketplace so that sellers/creatives can decide for themselves what method works the best in their situation. The rules for each method are clearly stated in our Marketplace Terms.
 
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Reposting my response from the other thread that was recently added regarding the same topic

____
We typically do not participate in discussions unless specifically tagged but using words like "Scam" is going a little too far, so I am offering a response here.

First of all, we offer three ways to participate in our Marketplace:
  • Submit names that you already own
  • Submit names that are still unregistered, you will register if they are approved
  • Submit names that are still unregistered, SH will register if they are approved
If you are an active domain investor, it certainly makes sense to register the names yourself - not only do you pay a significantly lower commission compared to SH registered option, you also retain full flexibility to remove your domains from marketplace and sell them elsewhere if you prefer. The SH registered option is for those people who do not wish to take an investment risk for upfront reg fees and/ or for ongoing renewals.

Within the SH registered option, there are two ways we handle renewals. You can continue to have SH pay for any renewals or pay $10 (or $5 + 500 points) to keep your original commissions.

Most people choose to have SH continue to pay for their renewals - so they have zero investment risk for the entire lifespan of the marketplace listing but in that case the commission reduces slightly every year. For example, if your domain is initially approved to receive 25% in the first year, you may receive 22% of the selling price in the next year, 20% in the following year, and so on. We have not had a situation where the commission of a seller has dropped below 18% and we do not intend to do go below that number. It is, however, possible (and likely) that after few years we may stop offering renewal options on that domain because we can not pay for renewals in perpetuity - in that scenario the domain will be dropped.

Many creatives on SH platform are not domain investors. Several of them do not wish to take investment risk for their domains, and they choose the SH registered option to protect their names so that they can continue to submit their names to contests, and build a portfolio in the Marketplace at the same time.

At the end of the day, there are several ways to participate in the marketplace so that sellers/creatives can decide for themselves what method works the best in their situation. The rules for each method are clearly stated in our Marketplace Terms.

Reposting my reply from this thread:

@GrantP, SH's convoluted rules cannot hide the fact that you're asking people to cover 110% of the reg fees while SH retains ownership of the name and keeps 75% of any sale.

This is unequivocally wrong and yes, a scam.

Note: all of my SH domains have been removed b/c I disagree with these terms. This is how SH deals with dissent -- denial, censorship, banning users from the marketplace.
 
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Thank you for your feedback.

We do not remove domains from the marketplace unless there is a violation of our Terms. If someone lists their domains after agreeing to the Terms, and later informs us that they are no longer in agreement with the Terms under which those domains were added, unfortunately we can not continue to list their domains in our Marketplace.
 
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Thank you for your feedback.

We do not remove domains from the marketplace unless there is a violation of our Terms. If someone lists their domains after agreeing to the Terms, and later informs us that they are no longer in agreement with the Terms under which those domains were added, unfortunately we can not continue to list their domains in our Marketplace.

@GrantP Given that SH changes its terms almost daily, it's extremely difficult to know what SH's terms are.

That said, simply disagreeing with SH's policy does not mean that I legally won't abide by your terms. Please don't use semantics to try to excuse SH's crude, draconian behavior.
 
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@GrantP Given that SH changes its terms almost daily, it's extremely difficult to know what SH's terms are.

We do not change the Terms that are the basis of our Marketplace listings. However, you are correct in that we do make very rapid/ iterations to our platform features based upon end user feedback. This is part of our DNA, and we believe this allows us to improve and innovate at a much rapid pace. We have come a long way over the last several months and still have a lot more to accomplish to build a truly unique experience for our users.

We recognize that some of the changes can be too rapid - this is a fair criticism and we need to do a better job in communicating these changes, keeping in mind that we now have thousands of new users on our platform who may find these changes too overwhelming. In the near future, we plan to make several changes to simplify the seller onboarding process as well as listing process.

That said, simply disagreeing with SH's policy does not mean that I legally won't abide by your terms. Please don't use semantics to try to excuse SH's crude, draconian behavior.

I am sorry if you felt I was using semantics to explain our policies. Individual account issues are best discussed privately, so let me try to offer one final response to this specific situation. You have listed several SH registered domains since May, and have recently informed our team that you are not in agreement with the SH registered domain policy and you have asked for those domains to be transferred to your ownership.

I see that you have been in communication with our support team, and I suggest to continue the discussion directly with the support team to discuss the status and next steps for your listings.
 
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@GrantP all of my listings--not just the SH-owned names--were abruptly taken down because I said I disagree with your policy, not because I said I would no longer abide by your terms.

It is extremely unprofessional for a marketplace to sabotage a seller due to disagreement.

To be clear, I fully agree to abide by SH's terms. Please reinstate my SH listings immediately.
 
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@GrantP Regarding the leaderboard, can you please clarify if the number of domains sold includes only premium listings or does it include basic / basic plus listings as well? If it includes both, would it be possible to include a breakdown of basic / basic plus and premium sales? I believe sales of premium listings are most relevant to the performance of the marketplace and I believe all sellers would be interested in that information.
 
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