Atom / Atom.com - Marketplace (formerly Squadhelp)

NameGroove said:

Likely most deals/offers come through reg path (and not landers).

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Not sure if serious.

No, usually the top option for domain discovery is through type-ins (reg path is second), and for years, I have received LOTS of offers through Atom using my nameservers with very few inquiries coming from non-traffic marketplaces like Afternic and Spaceship.

To be more concise, my question is this:

After a long period of getting a high level of Atom leads/sales and an extremely low level of Afternic, Spaceship et al leads, why has this pattern totally reversed itself, with Atom leads dropping off to virtually nothing while I now get a much higher level of inquires from Afternic, Spaceship, GD brokers, private brokers, WHOIS inquiries, etc.?

It makes no logical sense, other than something is up with Atom. I'm not doing anything different than I always have, but my results are 100% different, so either buyers are shying away from using Atom or their system is forcing them away.

* I think I need to stop posting, as it's becoming quite obvious people are not comprehending what I'm saying.

DomainRecap said:

Not sure if serious.

No, usually the top option for domain discovery is through type-ins (reg path is second), and for years, I have received LOTS of offers through Atom using my nameservers with very few inquiries coming from non-traffic marketplaces like Afternic and Spaceship.

To be more concise, my question is this:

After a long period of getting a high level of Atom leads/sales and an extremely low level of Afternic, Spaceship et al leads, why has this pattern totally reversed itself, with Atom leads dropping off to virtually nothing while I now get a much higher level of inquires from Afternic, Spaceship, GD brokers, private brokers, WHOIS inquiries, etc.?

It makes no logical sense, other than something is up with Atom. I'm not doing anything different than I always have, but my results are 100% different, so either buyers are shying away from using Atom or their system is forcing them away.

* I think I need to stop posting, as it's becoming quite obvious people are not comprehending what I'm saying.

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Please don't stop posting. Now that you've explained it a little more, I completely understand what you're saying and you're bringing up an excellent point.

Most of the domains I have listed on Atom are Premium. They have all sold on Atom. But that's understandable, since if they look on Afternic or Spaceship the prices will be higher. But you do make me wonder if I'm losing sales because a buyer doesn't like something about Atom and doesn't want to pay more elsewhere.

Perhaps @Atom.com would like to comment on @DomainRecap 's experience.

Does anyone know how long appeals are currently taking? I have 2 appeals that just hit their 3 month anniversary. When I first submitted them, support told me 2-3 weeks. They're a little off..

UPDATE: I guess 3 months it is. Both were evaluated a couple hours ago. One approved, one rejected.

Already removed nearly half of my Atom Premiums, about to go a whole year without a single sale there. Meanwhile Afternic is keeping things alive.

draco said:

wonder if I'm losing sales because a buyer doesn't like something about Atom and doesn't want to pay more elsewhere.

Perhaps @Atom.com would like to comment on @DomainRecap 's experience.

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Interesting question - where is the hitch? Is the checkout process stalling or failing? Is identfication/KYC of buyer a roadblock like it can be on Escrow.com? Are potential buyers offered attractive alternatives on Atom.com? Are the servers overloaded and timing out? Or is something else making potential buyers not want to use Atom.com?

Not so easy to get info about the buying experience, maybe Atom could provide stats on abandoned carts, payment failures etc.

DomainRecap said:

I'll clear this up quick:

ALL MY TRAFFIC IS GOING TO ATOM.
ALL MY DOMAINS HAVE THE EXACT SAME MINIMUM BID EVERYWHERE.
ALL THESE DOMAINS ARE MAKE OFFER EVERYWHERE.

There are no differences and no data to grasp onto here. If there was, I wouldn't be posting this.

There is absolutely no reason for this to be happening, other than something is fucked up at Atom that is discouraging buyers (technical issues, upselling, new buyer requirements, etc.) or buyers are avoiding Atom outright and choosing to make offers elsewhere.

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DomainRecap said:

Not sure if serious.

No, usually the top option for domain discovery is through type-ins (reg path is second), and for years, I have received LOTS of offers through Atom using my nameservers with very few inquiries coming from non-traffic marketplaces like Afternic and Spaceship.

To be more concise, my question is this:

After a long period of getting a high level of Atom leads/sales and an extremely low level of Afternic, Spaceship et al leads, why has this pattern totally reversed itself, with Atom leads dropping off to virtually nothing while I am now a much higher level of inquires from Afternic, Spaceship, GD brokers, private brokers, WHOIS inquiries, etc.?

It makes no logical sense, other than something is up with Atom. I'm not doing anything different than I always have, but my results are 100% different, so either buyers are shying away from using Atom or their system is forcing them away.

* I think I need to stop posting, as it's becoming quite obvious people are not comprehending what I'm saying.

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Fair questions, and we did dig in on this. Inquiries on your portfolio are down over the past few weeks - that's real, we're not disputing it.

A few weeks is a short window for portfolio-level offer flow, though, which is naturally lumpy - especially on make-offer domains, where a handful of buyers entering or leaving the market can swing inquiry counts significantly.

It's also worth separating how the two listing types work. Premium listings get active discovery across the Atom ecosystem. Standard listings mainly provide a lander and a transaction path for buyers who already have a name in mind - and a buyer who arrives that way can start an offer wherever they land first, whether that's your nameservers, a registrar, or another marketplace. Which channel catches a given inquiry isn't fully in any one platform's hands.

What we can rule out is a platform change on our end. Marketplace-wide offer starts, completions, and conversions are all up over the same period. There are no registrar upsells or new buyer requirements in the offer flow. Buyers verify their email after submitting, and sellers are notified even when an offer goes unverified. And to be clear, if something were quietly suppressing offers, it would cost us too - we only make money when a domain sells, so that's not something we'd overlook.

In the meantime, if you want to check the buyer side yourself, it's a quick test - submit an offer on one of your landers from a different email and you'll see exactly what a buyer does.

draco said:

But you do make me wonder if I'm losing sales because a buyer doesn't like something about Atom.

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I think Atom should develop a feature that gives buyers two options: either receive the auth code to transfer the domain or keep the purchased domain within Atom’s registrar system, similar to how Dan operates. Some customers may prefer to use other registrars. Aftanic and Gd are {oldskol} established "brands", and their users often don’t mind the renewal costs.

Atom.com said:

Fair questions, and we did dig in on this. Inquiries on your portfolio are down over the past few weeks - that's real, we're not disputing it.

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I'd say that sales and offers have been noticeably down for the past month and a half, and there is an overall downward trend (though less drastic) at Atom over the longer term. But the limited offers and zero sales in June is the low point to be sure.

But that's only the half the equation, and the other side is that offers and sales through (non-nameserver/traffic) venues like Afternic and Spaceship are way up, and lately I'm receiving more inquiries from DomainAgents than from Atom, which is absolutely bizarre.

I'll give it another month and see what happens, but if July is like June, and non-Atom offers keep vastly outstripping Atom offers, then I think I'll have to make a decision on where to forward my not-unsubstantial traffic.

Thanks for the reply though.

DomainRecap said:

Not sure if serious.

No, usually the top option for domain discovery is through type-ins (reg path is second), and for years, I have received LOTS of offers through Atom using my nameservers with very few inquiries coming from non-traffic marketplaces like Afternic and Spaceship.

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2 large sellers in the industry shared approx 6 yrs ago reg path/lander was split about 50/50 but nowadays it skews 60/40 or 70/30 in favor of reg path. The two numbers differ because each had a different number for their folio sale discovery. Either way, they both find reg path has climbed while lander has dropped (over time).

My admittedly small dataset over the past 2+ years shows a 50/50 split (reg path vs lander). Perhaps I'm living in the past

Another important question is whether Atom is getting incremental sales via discovery and marketing. Which is a different question than whether their lander converts. That is to say, if someone is going direct to a lander, then one shouldn't use Atom Premium since their commission rates are higher than other landers. Atom Premium only makes sense for names that need surfacing. Ones where the buyer isn't typing it in and going to the lander. If they are going direct to a lander - then one would be better off choosing a lander where commissions are low(er), or perhaps using Atom's standard 7.5% commission lander.

If a buyer who visits a lander doesn't trust the brand supplying it or the process is too cumbersome, then I assume they (i) contact the entity, like Atom in this case (ii) try registration paths, or (iii) WhoIs the seller. One would think a buyer wouldn't just disappear if they truly wanted the name. Of course friction is real so there must be a subset who walk if any issues arise. Obv minimizing this friction is in the interest of all involved.

I have bought names through Atom (as a buyer - not wholesale) and found the process less than optimal. I offered some suggestions, but do not know if they were ever implemented.

I have payment at Escrow.com disabled at the moment. Has anyone had a significant number of Atom sales finalize at Escrow.com?

I wonder if it is an important option to give buyers, or if it just confuses them.

Embrand said:

I have payment at Escrow.com disabled at the moment. Has anyone had a significant number of Atom sales finalize at Escrow.com?

I wonder if it is an important option to give buyers, or if it just confuses them.

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I've had it disabled since they added it. Since Atom is easily reachable, if a buyer must have it, I figure they'll ask Atom re using it and then Atom can reach out to me as a one-off. But having been on the buy side using Escrow, it's an awful process imo and I avoid it as a seller where I can.

Embrand said:

I have payment at Escrow.com disabled at the moment. Has anyone had a significant number of Atom sales finalize at Escrow.com?

I wonder if it is an important option to give buyers, or if it just confuses them.

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It's only from a small sample size, but about 12.5% of my sales have used Escrow.com.

I don't think you are missing out on too much, there's every chance they would have gone through with the sale anyway if it was disabled.

Luckily in my case I didn't have any issues though, it only added about 1 extra week to the transfer of the funds.

NameGroove said:

I've had it disabled since they added it. Since Atom is easily reachable, if a buyer must have it, I figure they'll ask Atom re using it and then Atom can reach out to me as a one-off. But having been on the buy side using Escrow, it's an awful process imo and I avoid it as a seller where I can.

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Yes, as a buyer I haven't been too happy with Escrow.com either. And I guess buyers will reach out to Atom if they insist on using Escrow.com

Chris Co said:

It's only from a small sample size, but about 12.5% of my sales have used Escrow.com.

I don't think you are missing out on too much, there's every chance they would have gone through with the sale anyway if it was disabled.

Luckily in my case I didn't have any issues though, it only added about 1 extra week to the transfer of the funds.

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That is interesting, thanks. So I guess some buyers do prefer Escrow.com. Maybe @Atom.com can provide more figures.

DomainRecap said:

I'll clear this up quick:

ALL MY TRAFFIC IS GOING TO ATOM.
ALL MY DOMAINS HAVE THE EXACT SAME MINIMUM BID EVERYWHERE.
ALL THESE DOMAINS ARE MAKE OFFER EVERYWHERE.

There are no differences and no data to grasp onto here. If there was, I wouldn't be posting this.

There is absolutely no reason for this to be happening, other than something is fucked up at Atom that is discouraging buyers (technical issues, upselling, new buyer requirements, etc.) or buyers are avoiding Atom outright and choosing to make offers elsewhere.

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I just flipped all of my domains to point to my Atom white label to see if I can notice results similar to all the other places I've used over the years or if results seem drier than normal as been a bit since I've sent a lot of traffic to Atom.

SpareDomains said:

I just flipped all of my domains to point to my Atom white label to see if I can notice results similar to all the other places I've used over the years or if results seem drier than normal as been a bit since I've sent a lot of traffic to Atom.

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Do you mind sharing what your sample size is?

New feature showing up on some domains, you get an email when a buyer runs this on your name and you can showcase them in the pop-up when someone else tries it.

King said:

Show attachment 306207
New feature showing up on some domains, you get an email when a buyer runs this on your name and you can showcase them in the pop-up when someone else tries it.

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I saw this yesterday before ya posted this and said what's this as haven't used Atom in a bit and tried one myself. Pretty cool as really lets a possible buyer see a sample site of their possible dream. I guess my only concern would be if you have a domain that could lean clean one way and lean trademark the other way depending on usage and a possible buyer builds your domain into the trademark route then you've given them a little ammo to add to their filing against you.

NicTraders said:

Do you mind sharing what your sample size is?

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I didn't do all of my domains as got sidetracked debating if me/cousin get the boat on the water this extended weekend with a forecast of rain/storms but just shy of 500 domains are pointing to my white label as of yesterday.

King said:

Show attachment 306207
New feature showing up on some domains, you get an email when a buyer runs this on your name and you can showcase them in the pop-up when someone else tries it.

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This is pretty cool. Potential buyers can even get a brand guide sent by email with information about color palette, typography, voice and tone, tagline and more.

I am not so sure the option for sellers to save the mockup on the landing page is such a great idea, though. The potential buyer might see this as though we are revealing their idea/plan to other people.