BrandPa.com Experience (Brandable Domain Marketplace)

Chris Hydrick · Feb 20, 2017

BrandPa.com has announced their presence on NamePros...

Jowita Emberton said:
Hi there! I'm sorry your experience with BB wasn't pleasant :/ If you'd like to try our marketplace please don't hesitate to do so We're new in the domaining industry but very eager to learn! Let me know what you think or if you have any questions This is us: https://brandpa.com/ (or if you'd like to read about the sellers' rules visit this page: https://brandpa.com/start-selling)

Look forward to hearing from you!

Granted, the above post is from the BrandBucket experience thread, and will likely be deleted for being off topic / wrong thread, it was the first time I heard of them. The founder, @Jowita Emberton, had introduced herself in an earlier thread:

Jowita Emberton said:
Hi guys! NamePros is a great website to get invaluable information about the domaining industry. As a reader, I'm here pretty much every day. As a writer, I'm starting today

I'm the founder of Brandpa (brandpa.com), a domain name marketplace similar to BB, BR or Namerific. We use AI and human knowledge to create and judge the names’ value according to how easy to pronounce and catchy they are.

I'm here to learn, get to know you and your recent experiences with other brandable name marketplaces We're still developing the business so any insight on our site (brandpa.com) or anything you're missing from other marketplaces will be very useful

Thanks!

I'm creating this thread to discuss their marketplace, and for those who have experiences with them.

Here's what I know so far:

The founder, @Jowita Emberton, runs two other online businesses according to her LinkedIn page.

Delighten.co.uk - Web / brand design firm.

Weddination.com - Polish wedding services

According to her LinkedIn, she has been operating BrandPa since August 2016. Though, the last cached Archive.org screenshot is a server error on October 4, 2016 HERE

BrandPa.com (2006) is registered to Oliver Emberton, founder and managing director of SilkTide.com.

Currently, there are 562 domains published / listed on BrandPa. It appears most domains listed are handregged by the owners. Not 100% on this; I will run a check when my program is working again.

After reviewing their listings, I found two errors.

The domain regged is MonoRaptor.com, but the text reads ManoRaptor.com

The domain regged is UnknownVenues.com, but the text reads UnknownVenus.com

At first look:

Pros

No Listing Fee
FREE Logos
Domain Owner sets price ($1,000+)
Forwards all offers for sellers consideration
Brandpa is a pretty memorable / catchy brandable domain.
Select 'On-Sale' marketing section

Cons

Low Alexa Ranking (4,557,819)

New site. Assuming low organic traffic, and low type-in traffic due to quality and quantity of inventory.
Piggy-back branding off BrandBucket in site footer see below

Reviews are all from .co.uk domains, yet BrandPa doesn't sell any .co.uk domains. A quick glance at other domains owned by the reviewers and I wasn't able to verify any brandable .com's with history tracing back to BrandPa.

Personal thoughts: I respect that they "allow the seller to submit more domain names" by not charging a listing fee. To me this shows they are willing to work for your exclusivity. Should they gain popularity, I wonder if they'll sustain this business model and/or if their logo / listing quality will decrease over time when resources are spread across the masses.

@Jowita Emberton = Feel free to comment / fill in any of the blanks.

karmaco · Apr 6, 2020

Peak.Domains said:
It seems to me that the value these brandable marketplaces bring to the table is the eyeballs they can put on our domain names that wouldn't have otherwise seen the names, by ranking and buying traffic for keywords like "domains for startups" and "business name ideas", and earning media coverage, etc.

They're taking these massive commissions in exchange for generating the leads for us and getting eyeballs on our names, which is solid. It makes sense, if they can find a buyer who wouldn't have otherwise been able to find our names - and suggest those names to them, and get us these huge $2000 sales for basically handregs and random brandables, that's a win for everyone.

BUT if your domain name is desirable and gets type-in traffic and that's how somebody finds it, you're giving up a big chunk of money, and exclusivity, and having to wait 30 days to sell elsewhere, for nothing. If the buyer already wants your domain, then using these marketplaces is a bad idea since you're giving up such so much when you've generated your own lead without the help of the marketplace. You're bringing all these potential buyers into the marketplace too, and paying a high price to do it.

So by opening up the floodgates and removing quality control, it seems to me that a brandable marketplace is going to dilute itself. If you as a domainer have a quality name that buyers are actively seeking out, you're shooting yourself in the foot by using a brandable marketplace since people are going to find your name on their own because they're looking for it and you risk the buyer finding something else they like better at the marketplace.

If you have handreg, lottery-ticket type names, you're more incentivized to list them since you're a lot less likely to generate those leads on your own and you benefit more from the traffic other people bring into the marketplace since you aren't bringing in your own, and you may luck out by having a buyer that somebody else brought to the table deciding to buy your name instead.

But if you have the quality names that are bringing in traffic and buyers, you risk losing those leads, and for what, the privilege of paying 25%, 30%, plus $8, plus not being able to promote it anywhere else?

Sure, you might still get sales, but how do you know you wouldn't have gotten that sale anyways, and been able to keep ~21%+ more of the money by using dan.com or your own lander instead? Not to mention having it listed on Afternic, Sedo, etc.

Which, imo, leads to an overall reduction in quality of listings and value that the marketplace can offer to people with decent domain names.

It seems like opening things up to many more names is shortsighted, or at least works against the people with the best quality names.

It means people with higher quality names are punished because they're bringing in the traffic, paying a huge commission if their names sell, and helping promote a bunch of lower-quality names that aren't bringing traffic into the ecosystem.

So people with the names that a brandable marketplace would WANT to list (the names that can bring in leads and sell on their own merit with inherent value), are the ones who are punished by a lower barrier to entry.

If it's $8 to list a name, and the logo designers are paid $5, that leaves $3 to promote each name. It doesn't seem like it's going towards SEO since I'm not really seeing any notable organic rankings for BP, so what does that buy in paid traffic... a couple of clicks maybe? Are they even running paid campaigns, and if not - what is BP doing to generate traffic for our domain names?

I like BrandPa and my limited dealings with them have been pleasant and I wish them the best, I'm just trying to wrap my head around how this change is a good move for domainers with great names.

Since BP make all of their money from commissions, I'd imagine BrandPa would want to encourage the most sellable names to be on their platform, but by diluting the value of their platform, they're encouraging the lower quality names and discouraging great names imo. I hope this works out for them, but I can't really wrap my head around it.

Not sure why you are aiming this at Brandpa. The other two SH and BB have significantly higher amount of domains and dilution as you said. They also charge higher commission and charge for the privilege of looking at your names.

The point of the $8 is to make sure they don’t become the unruly beast the other two are too fast. Brandpa has been going over 3 years now and they have only 13,500 names. SH has two and a half times that and BB even more.

You pay Afternic, GoDaddy,Dan, Sedo,everyone a commission. There are benefits to being on a brandable market and thats why so many do so. Fielding fake offers, low ballers and non paying bidders from DAN etc gets real old and is time consuming. Brandpa pays pronto too and the other two don’t.

You do what works for you. But if you are criticizing Brandpa and leaving the other two who also have significant flaws out it seems rather targeted and disingenuous.

Peak.Domains · Apr 6, 2020

@karmaco Yes, this is a thread about BrandPa where I discuss the issues I have with their recent changes to the approval process where I explained, in great detail, my concerns.

If your only response to my actual critique is "well, BrandPa's competitors aren't any better!" ... Ok? I tend to agree? So wouldn't that be a sign that BP should not follow in their footsteps?

Did BrandBucket remove their approval process? I missed that. If so, then yes - all of the above critiques apply to them equally. They, too, don't deserve such a high % if they aren't bringing enough eyeballs to the table after diluting their marketplace. A lot of my constructive criticism and thoughts were stated broadly and do apply to other companies. Notice I mentioned 25% and 30%?

I didn't realize that I can't comment about one company, in a thread about that specific company, after this company has done a major overhaul to the way they operate, without comparing them to every other company in their industry. My bad! What an incredible standard to try to put on somebody.

If I'm in a thread about Nike shoes, am I allowed to acknowledge that I don't really like the way their new shoes look, without having to mention that it's possible that Adidas and New Balance also might make shoes I don't care for?

As for SH, I haven't used them, but I'll take your word for it that they have the same issues as BrandPa. I have no reason to doubt you. I wasn't aware that SH didn't have an approval process, I also wasn't aware that BB got rid of their approval process. If that's not the case, then maybe you misunderstood the entire point of my previous post. I'll forgive you, it was quite long-winded so I can see how that could happen.

If you're acknowledging that SH and BB are diluted and that this is a bad thing, then surely you can see the problem with BP following in their footsteps, right? Isn't that okay to talk about?

It's not "targeted", this is literally a thread about BP and they're the marketplace I have the most experience with, who just announced a MAJOR overhaul to the way they operate. What an odd thing for you to take issue with.

I even said that I like BrandPa, have had an overall pleasant experience, and I want to see them do well so to call this "targeted" is, in your own words, disingenuous, as is bringing up Dan who charge 9% and are in an entirely different category with Sedo, Afternic, etc.

karmaco · Apr 6, 2020

Peak.Domains said:
@karmaco Yes, this is a thread about BrandPa where I discuss the issues I have with their recent changes to the approval process where I explained, in great detail, my concerns.

If your only response to my actual critique is "well, BrandPa's competitors aren't any better!" ... Ok? I tend to agree? So wouldn't that be a sign that BP should not follow in their footsteps?

Did BrandBucket remove their approval process? I missed that. If so, then yes - all of the above critiques apply to them equally. They, too, don't deserve such a high % if they aren't bringing enough eyeballs to the table after diluting their marketplace. A lot of my constructive criticism and thoughts were stated broadly and do apply to other companies. Notice I mentioned 25% and 30%?

I didn't realize that I can't comment about one company, in a thread about that specific company, after this company has done a major overhaul to the way they operate, without comparing them to every other company in their industry. My bad! What an incredible standard to try to put on somebody.

If I'm in a thread about Nike shoes, am I allowed to acknowledge that I don't really like the way their new shoes look, without having to mention that it's possible that Adidas and New Balance also might make shoes I don't care for?

As for SH, I haven't used them, but I'll take your word for it that they have the same issues as BrandPa. I have no reason to doubt you. I wasn't aware that SH didn't have an approval process, I also wasn't aware that BB got rid of their approval process. If that's not the case, then maybe you misunderstood the entire point of my previous post. I'll forgive you, it was quite long-winded so I can see how that could happen.

If you're acknowledging that SH and BB are diluted and that this is a bad thing, then surely you can see the problem with BP following in their footsteps, right? Isn't that okay to talk about?

It's not "targeted", this is literally a thread about BP and they're the marketplace I have the most experience with, who just announced a MAJOR overhaul to the way they operate. What an odd thing for you to take issue with.

I even said that I like BrandPa, have had an overall pleasant experience, and I want to see them do well so to call this "targeted" is, in your own words, disingenuous, as is bringing up Dan who charge 9% and are in an entirely different category with Sedo, Afternic, etc.

oh now you are critiquing the bot reviewing names? People reviewed BB and SH have some real crap names.

Somehow in your long first dissertation you failed to mention THAT was your issue. You mentioned many other things that apply to all marketplaces in one way or the other and I responded to your targeted criticism. I do hope if you are unbiased you will post your critiques on SH and BB threads but I see you didn’t do that. Have a lovely day.

Rhinnnn · May 7, 2020

Has anyone here sold anything on BrandPa in the last few months?

I mean, I'm sure plenty of domains are being sold at BP monthly, but I was wondering if NP users have had sales.

kalr · May 7, 2020

Rhinnnn said:
Has anyone here sold anything on BrandPa in the last few months?

I mean, I'm sure plenty of domains are being sold at BP monthly, but I was wondering if NP users have had sales.

You can find it in this thread with the keywords BP / Brandpa. I saw several sales in the past few months
https://www.namepros.com/threads/report-completed-domain-name-sales-here.83628/page-791#post-7748200

Rhinnnn · May 7, 2020

kalr said:
You can find it in this thread with the keywords BP / Brandpa. I saw several sales in the past few months
https://www.namepros.com/threads/report-completed-domain-name-sales-here.83628/page-791#post-7748200
Show attachment 153629

Now I remember that I saw those sales too. And even liked them. I didn't really care about the venue because I'm only now starting to list some names on BP.

It's good to see sales made by NP users.

Haroon Basha · May 7, 2020

Rhinnnn said:
Has anyone here sold anything on BrandPa in the last few months?

I mean, I'm sure plenty of domains are being sold at BP monthly, but I was wondering if NP users have had sales.

Yes I sold at Brandpa.com last month.
Domain name: PENSIBLE.COM
Sale price: $ 1650
https://www.namepros.com/threads/report-completed-domain-name-sales-here.83628/page-784#post-7708469

Yusupbabay · May 8, 2020

Rhinnnn said:
Has anyone here sold anything on BrandPa in the last few months?

I mean, I'm sure plenty of domains are being sold at BP monthly, but I was wondering if NP users have had sales.

this is my sales at BP the last few months
esqro.com
zeventa.com
eqope.com

cillx · May 9, 2020

Yusupbabay said:
this is my sales at BP the last few months
esqro.com
zeventa.com
eqope.com

How many domains do you have with brandpa?

Yusupbabay · May 9, 2020

cillx said:
How many domains do you have with brandpa?

the number of domains in Bp is 179

Jevsim · May 9, 2020

As I remember 2 of them You bought from me:
EQOPE and Zeventa

Glad tham my handregs have found an end-user.
Evidence that my handreg strategy works.

So far i have sold 7 domains on BP but the last one was closed in june 2018.
8 sale has not been completed as the buyer returned the domain after 3 installments out of 12.

belmar313 · May 19, 2020

Hi, how are you doing? Does BP have an approval stage like SH and BB? or is it only the automated appraisal and that's it? Thanks

varmuk · May 19, 2020

belmar313 said:
Hi, how are you doing? Does BP have an approval stage like SH and BB? or is it only the automated appraisal and that's it? Thanks

not right now, you can list anything now, based on their automated apparsal. they was doing this 1-2 month ago,

Rhinnnn · May 19, 2020

belmar313 said:
Hi, how are you doing? Does BP have an approval stage like SH and BB? or is it only the automated appraisal and that's it? Thanks

You can list any domain (although I assume they will block the ones that contain offensive words and such).

Regarding their automatic appraisal - that's offered only as guidance. You have the liberty to set any price you want. But prices can't be changed too often once they're set.

domainicate · Jun 21, 2020

So, I am new to using Brandpa. I have listed a few decent domains there, however it is the first time I am using an exclusive site and I am struggling because:

a. The recent changes which seem to dilute the market

and

b. The fact that I will miss opportunities by having my domains tied up there.

I am also curious how people are selling domains that are listed on brandpa for next to nothing here at NamePros. First, it seems counter-intuitive, but secondly, wouldn't violate the exclusivity clause?

Would love to hear thoughts from those who have been using them for a while.

Thanks!

karmaco · Jun 21, 2020

The other 2 have over 50K and over 100K domains so Brandpa having 18K ish the term dilution is in the eye of the beholder, I have been there 3 years and they have done well for me.

If you have any doubts, you can remove your name or names without punishment with the 30 day notice, unlike the other 2. Most know to sell their names privately or on the slack channel when you are invited there.

erchaman · Jun 21, 2020

I had some sales on BrandPa the time they were taking names and getting reviewed for free and they did pretty good job.

Once they changed and can almost everybody can upload any domain paying 6$, my trustment with them get down as I think it is not an exclusive market as it was and there is almost no filter for quality brandables as before. So if I noticed that, buyers will notice too and it is possible they could pass to other site.

To sum up, I don’t like how they focused now the business model, I really fall in love with the old Brandpa , but of course is my opinion and not everybody will support my statement.

Just make sure where to set your domain accordingly to today, as time changes everyday and trends do so too.

Yusupbabay · Jun 21, 2020

Jevsim said:
As I remember 2 of them You bought from me:
EQOPE and Zeventa

Glad tham my handregs have found an end-user.
Evidence that my handreg strategy works.

So far i have sold 7 domains on BP but the last one was closed in june 2018.
8 sale has not been completed as the buyer returned the domain after 3 installments out of 12.

Hi @Jevsim
Your henreg is great, I got these 2 domains from you
zeventa.com
eqope.com

thank you for selling it to me

best regards

Yusupbabay · Jun 21, 2020

Jevsim said:
As I remember 2 of them You bought from me:
EQOPE and Zeventa

Glad tham my handregs have found an end-user.
Evidence that my handreg strategy works.

So far i have sold 7 domains on BP but the last one was closed in june 2018.
8 sale has not been completed as the buyer returned the domain after 3 installments out of 12.

Hi @Jevsim
Your henreg is great, I got these 2 domains from you
zeventa.com
eqope.com

thank you for selling it to me

best regards

domainicate · Jun 21, 2020

karmaco said:
Most know to sell their names privately or on the slack channel when you are invited there.

I have heard of the slack channel, however being a new member and not having a massive portfolio there, I have not received an invite.

I agree it is less competition, my concern is limiting my audience to one site/community.

Thanks for your feedback and congrats on your sales!

domainicate · Jun 21, 2020

One other challenge as a new member was not realizing that I could not change prices, so you have to be pretty dialed in as to what price you want going on. We learn as we go.

karmaco · Jun 21, 2020

You can change the prices no sooner than every 90 days. I think thats too long. You should be able to do a shorter term “sale” price.

domainicate · Jun 22, 2020

@karmaco - since you have had some success here, I would like to ask how (if at all) shown in the dashboard compared to sales.

For example, I have a domain that has had about 6,000 views in about a month and another that has had almost 4,00 views in 2 weeks. Normally, these would seem like strong numbers, but I have not seen any offers.

Also, with regard to "hotness", what level (if at all) did the domains that you sold attain? I have had some in the 25+ range, but it fluctuates.

Lastly, did anyone use the "favourites" feature before buying from you?

Many thanks for your time. I am just trying to get a feel for how valid those metrics are as they relate to real world sale.

wwwulff · Jun 22, 2020

I would not put too much into the different metrics - I have some names that have between 100 and 200K visitors over the last 90 days and I doubt it can bee true (194,999 is the highest) - Regarding hotness and favorites then I would not put anything in to it - The last name I sold had a low hotness score and only 1 favorite selection and many of the other I have sold did not score high on any of the metrics mentioned - But maybe there are someone with other experiences?

domainicate · Jun 22, 2020

wwwulff said:
I would not put too much into the different metrics - I have some names that have between 100 and 200K visitors over the last 90 days and I doubt it can bee true (194,999 is the highest) - Regarding hotness and favorites then I would not put anything in to it - The last name I sold had a low hotness score and only 1 favorite selection and many of the other I have sold did not score high on any of the metrics mentioned - But maybe there are someone with other experiences?

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am still learning all about Brandpa.

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