Alter.com Marketplace

[Deven Patel]

Hi all,

I wanted to introduce a new premium domain marketplace we just launched called Alter. I would love to hear your thoughts! As the world’s largest community of domainers, your feedback would be invaluable.

Let me introduce myself. Although I’m new to NamePros, I’ve been around the block. I’ve been buying and selling domains for my own startup ideas for over 20 years. As a serial entrepreneur, I founded a number of startups across various industries like marketing, web hosting, social networking, blogging, and SaaS. This experience has helped me understand how indispensable a brand name is to a business.

Most new entrepreneurs don’t think twice about their company name. Our goal is to change that! A brand name literally has the power to make or break their business. This is more true today than ever before now that there are countless alternatives to every product or service imaginable. Sure, every business may have their own world-changing differentiator but from the outside they all look the same at which point the main differentiator ends up becoming their brand name. In a world full of distractions, we no longer have the attention span to thoroughly research what we buy so we rely on our emotions. This is why large businesses like Apple and Amazon spend billions on their “brand” alone because they understand that customer perception is everything.

Anyway, I noticed that most marketplaces that exist today are focused more on the seller rather than the buyer. Our goal is to reverse the equation and prioritize buyers because I think they are the key to success in any industry. The domain industry is no exception. Without buyers, there’s no money. This is why we’ve made it our mission to help entrepreneurs succeed!

And what’s with the 30-35% commission rate most of these marketplaces are charging? Unless they’re doing more work than a human broker, I don’t think anything over the industry average of 15-20% is warranted. We’re changing that. Alter has one of the lowest rates in the industry, an all-inclusive 10% commission fee when a name sells. There are no other fees or restrictions.

What do you think? Are we on the right track or barking up the wrong tree?

Deven

This was a promoted post.​

 

[Deven Patel]

I added a domain and it was instantly published after I did the verification but I didnt like the description of the domain, is there any way I can change it?

Yes, click on the "Edit Domain" button found next to your domain name on the Domains page. Please reach out to support in the future for faster help with these types of questions.

Also, why don't you manually review the names? Won't this just bombard your marketplace with not so useful domains and ultimately pushing the sales down?

Please see the "Rethinking Premium" section of our last announcement here. TLDR.. our search algo will ensure quality names stay on top.

With a smaller, specialized inventory, there is always a chance that someone might land on your names and buy them. With an increasing number of unfiltered domains, there's a diminishing chance that someone finds your name due to the sheer volume.

In my view, a perfect brandable marketplace should be the one brining traffic to your domains (not the other way round) and you'd be paying massive commissions and listing fees to have the privilege of listing your domains there. This is logical.

It all boils down to customer acquisition cost (CAC) which would be unsustainable for any small/specialized marketplace that doesn't use type-in traffic. If it costs you $3,000 to acquire a buyer that purchases a $1,000 domain then is it worth it? That's the crux of the problem.

You don't have to take my word for it. If you want to test this, just set up a whitelabel marketplace with your own small inventory without pointing your domains there and spray it with ads. Then after a few sales, total all your marketing spend up until that point and divide it by the number of sales to determine your CAC.

Again, there's a reason other brandable marketplaces continue to increase their inventories despite charging you 30% and forcing exclusivity (100K+ names). That's anything but small.

What if somebody searches for the keyword ''tech'' and your name shows up 1000th on the list? And you've already said that a small number of people are undecided buyers in the first place.

If a seller's name shows up 1000th on the list then it's a quality problem which I'm afraid no amount of marketing would help fix. At that point worrying about which marketplace they're using would be the least of their problems.

That said, it's not that simple because the ranking of your name could change based on what the buyer is searching for (i.e. it could show up first for a very relevant query).

There are some names which you simply won't find in any other way than browsing through marketplaces. The best example would be made up brandables. These can be quite good actually but unless the buyer specifically thinks of a name like that, they are never going to find it unless they get it shown to them in some way.

You're right. Buyers are less likely to type made up words into their browsers which is why we do the additional marketing on top of relying on type-in traffic.

I doubt they get spotted, realistically, on Alter with this business model.

Why do you doubt it? Here's a small sample of our current results:

• Generic Business Names
• Health Business Names
• Startup Business Names
• Food Business Names
• Crypto Business Names

You don't think these are good enough?

If most buyers came for the name then landed on; and let's presume that the ones who are distracted away from your names are counteracted by the ones who get distracted by your name from other names, then what's the point exactly?

The point is that it increases the likelihood of you getting a sale because the leads would be better targeted. If someone ends up on a marketplace with 10 names and doesn't find what they're looking for, then you're not going to make a sale at all. With a larger marketplace, that person may still be able to find something they like and vice versa.

Again, if you have quality names and you believe in them then there's no reason to be afraid of a little competition. Just think about the fact that GoDaddy has every single name any buyer could ever want available in countless different extensions at $10 a pop. That would be considered distraction overload! Yet, they sell so many aftermarket names.

Anyway, as I mentioned before if you're super worried about that then just disable the similar names section on your landers. Your problem solved.

That's the million dollar question. Your presumption is that it's true. I'm cautious. Time will tell.

It's not a presumption. The brandable leaders charge you 30% commission and the non-brandable leaders charge you 11-20% (including buyer fees) for less than what Alter offers in most cases (i.e. some don't have installments, most charge buyer fees, none offer logos, most don't do any marketing at all). Even if we did no marketing, Alter would still be a better value at 10% compared to most other regular marketplaces.

Also, put yourself in the buyer's shoes and see which marketplace you like better. The one with a boring list of hyperlinks or the one with super attractive logos that help you visualize what you're about to buy.

Anyway, your selection doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. Rather than choosing one marketplace, why not use them all for the widest coverage? That way you pay the least amount possible for the most probable sales channels (direct + extra exposure through our marketing) and you still won't miss out on a potential sale elsewhere. Win-win.

 

[Handmade life]

Hello Deven

When I activate similar names ,all appeared similar names are dot com and I checked that.

So, what are my benefits if I have other extensions like xyz,org,co

Then similar names will appear on my alter landing page while my names will not appear as similar name on others landing page !!!?

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Another question

Some times I have fake marketplace visitors appeared on my dashboard.

Like all my m,n,o beginning domains have marketplace visitors within few minutes !!


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My domains not appear on epik and other marketplacea as you said here


This setting allows you to choose whether you want us to automatically list your "Buy Now" domains on over 650 partner marketplaces and registrars for maximum exposure including:

• Sedo, DAN.com, IONOS, Namecheap, Network Solutions, Name.com, Epik, NameSilo, Hover, Dynadot, Register.com, BigRock, 101domain, SnapNames, Sav, Hexonet, Internet.bs, Moniker, Rebel, InterNetX, Dofo, WebNames, and more

As an added benefit of us listing there on your behalf, you don't have to worry about dealing with different companies, updating prices across accounts, re-verifying domains, etc.

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I hope the best for you as I have + 1.2K with you and I have one sold domain 3 months ago !!! , i continue with you and increase my portfolio daily with you

 

[Deven Patel]

When I activate similar names ,all appeared similar names are dot com and I checked that.

Can you please send support some examples of this behavior so we can look into it?

Some times I have fake marketplace visitors appeared on my dashboard.

Like all my m,n,o beginning domains have marketplace visitors within few minutes !!

Can you please send support some of your specific domains that are experiencing this? We're not aware of any fake traffic but happy to look into it for you to see what's going on.

My domains not appear on epik and other marketplacea as you said here

This setting allows you to choose whether you want us to automatically list your "Buy Now" domains on over 650 partner marketplaces and registrars for maximum exposure including:

• Sedo, DAN.com, IONOS, Namecheap, Network Solutions, Name.com, Epik, NameSilo, Hover, Dynadot, Register.com, BigRock, 101domain, SnapNames, Sav, Hexonet, Internet.bs, Moniker, Rebel, InterNetX, Dofo, WebNames, and more

As an added benefit of us listing there on your behalf, you don't have to worry about dealing with different companies, updating prices across accounts, re-verifying domains, etc.

Again, can you please send support some of your specific domains that are aren't being syndicated properly so we can troubleshoot better?

I hope the best for you as I have + 1.2K with you and I have one sold domain 3 months ago !!! , i continue with you and increase my portfolio daily with you

Awesome! Congrats on the sale. Keep rocking!

 

[ecomslice]

I am very curious what your logic is behind not allowing search feature on the " All Business Names " page, and the lack of search by tld's, sharing .com space with other tld's forcibly is a turn off for many sellers.

 

[Future Sensors]

I am very curious what your logic is behind not allowing search feature on the " All Business Names " page, and the lack of search by tld's, sharing .com space with other tld's forcibly is a turn off for many sellers.

The search function on continuing pages is only visible for buyers (when you're not logged in as a seller).

But I do think that the dark gray search bar in the header is difficult to notice, that could perhaps be made a little more noticeable.

 

[Reyginus]

Two things I'd like to see if Alter. An app and reports of sales. Any hope? @Deven Patel

 

[Sameh]

@Deven Patel

- Can you exclude Seller Visits from all stats?

- Can you make the Most Visited widget honor the Letter Case from Domains tab? EX: If I added domainname.com to my account for the first time, it would always show as domainname.com in Most Visited widget even if I changed it later to DomainName.com.

 

[Deven Patel]

I am very curious what your logic is behind not allowing search feature on the " All Business Names " page, and the lack of search by tld's, sharing .com space with other tld's forcibly is a turn off for many sellers.

Thanks for the feedback. As @Future Sensors mentioned, the search bar is visible for all visitors/buyers. Sellers who are logged in don't see it because their navigation bar is already super crowded and they're also not our target market.

That said, we just added a "filter" button next to the headings on all relevant pages to make searching easier.

I do think that the dark gray search bar in the header is difficult to notice, that could perhaps be made a little more noticeable.

I appreciate the constructive feedback. We just made the search bar a little brighter.

Two things I'd like to see if Alter. An app and reports of sales.

Thanks for the suggestions. Regarding the app, any specific reason you would want it rather than using our already mobile-friendly website? If an app doesn't provide much more value then we would rather invest that money into marketing instead.

Can you exclude Seller Visits from all stats?

Thanks for the suggestion. It would be difficult to do this because it's hard to determine the difference between a buyer vs a seller especially since sellers aren't always logged in. Also, remember that sellers can also buy domains so technically they can be classified as buyers too.

Not sure what you're trying to achieve with this but my suggestion would be not to worry about seller traffic too much because all your domains would be equally impacted by it which would cancel out any anomalies in the grand scheme of things.

Can you make the Most Visited widget honor the Letter Case from Domains tab? EX: If I added domainname.com to my account for the first time, it would always show as domainname.com in Most Visited widget even if I changed it later to DomainName.com.

It should already. You may be seeing the old casing if you're looking at data for older timeframes before you updated it. Try setting your dashboard's date range to "Today" and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Reyginus]

Nothing in particular. I just find it easier using an app. Your point is solid. @Deven Patel.

 

[Sameh]

Thanks for the suggestion. It would be difficult to do this because it's hard to determine the difference between a buyer vs a seller especially since sellers aren't always logged in. Also, remember that sellers can also buy domains so technically they can be classified as buyers too.

I meant logged-in sellers. What are the chances that a seller is going to buy a domain from your marketplace versus sellers who are experimenting with your Search and trying to see if their domains are showing up? I guess it's less than 0.0001%

It should already. You may be seeing the old casing if you're looking at data for older timeframes before you updated it. Try setting your dashboard's date range to "Today" and see if it makes a difference.

You are correct. Thank you!

 

[Sameh]

I see you are trying to promote non-keyword domains to interested buyers but it looks like you giving a very little boost to the domains that contain the search term. It's rare that a domain that contains the search term will show up on the first page.
Can you give a boost to domains that contain the search term a bit? I think it makes a lot of sense. I predict your CTR will increase if you did that. Just try an A/B test between search results that contain the term VS that don't contain the term.

 

[ktyong]

Sold my second name via Alter - icona.net $899 (non Premium listing)
Great experience, Thanks to Alter @Deven Patel

 

[tomcarl]

Suggest:

- Bulk verify option after names are already submitted.
- Bulk category editor.
- 'Description refresh' button (set a new/correct description based on new categories assigned)

 

[geekjojo]

Sold my second name via Alter - icona.net $899 (non Premium listing)
Great experience, Thanks to Alter @Deven Patel

Congrats. How many domains you have on Alter?

 

[ktyong]

Congrats. How many domains you have on Alter?

Thank you~ "geekjojo" parking domain may be one hundred~ period 2 months~

 

[ddesigns]

Thank you~ "geekjojo" parking domain may be one hundred~ period 2 months~

Thanks for sharing. How's the traffic you are seeing, I mean getting more from marketplace, partners or direct? And does this helps in selling your domains

 

[Reyginus]

Does Alter alert people who already favourited your names when you reduce prices like SH? @Deven Patel. It will be a great feature if not already in place.

 

[ktyong]

Thanks for sharing. How's the traffic you are seeing, I mean getting more from marketplace, partners or direct? And does this helps in selling your domains

Thanks for "geekjojo" the traffic is direct 84%, marketplace 11%, partners 5%

 

[Armageddon]

I think i have one of the coolest portfolio link ( nickname ) on Alter
webmaster
First time on Alter let's see how work

 

[Frand]

the search engine is not good. For ex, I put "poker" and in the first 10 or 15 pages appear unrelated domains like ribil, joiti, sonsic, orifund, skabble ... up to page 17 some domains related to Poker begin to appear. The same if I look for "crypto", "blockchain", "business", "money", etc ... Beyond the design, I think the most important thing about a Marketplace is the search-engine.

 

[Armageddon]

the search engine is not good. For ex, I put "poker" and in the first 10 or 15 pages appear unrelated domains like ribil, joiti, sonsic, orifund, skabble ... up to page 17 some domains related to Poker begin to appear. The same if I look for "crypto", "blockchain", "business", "money", etc ... Beyond the design, I think the most important thing about a Marketplace is the search-engine.

Maybe you need to clear your cookies ( i don't know ) for me work
First results for "poker" are first results - they are only 4 domains that have "poker" as simple search on advanced are more

 

[Isibor Imieka]

Thanks to the team at Alter, I managed to sell the only name I have listed there. I've had this name for 2 years tried to list it at SH but it was rejected, I knew the name had some sort of value so submitted the name at Alter in January 2021 and it was accepted.

Did not get the price it was listed for but I am happy the team managed to get the deal over the line, thanks to Jane and the team at Alter lift//crew,,,com found a new home. Will submit more names at Alter to see if my STR will improve.

 

[Lord Antares]

I was just wondering, do you have any stats like to average favorites-to-sale ratio or visits-through-marketplace to sale ratio etc.? Would be helpful in some calculations.

EDIT: Also, it would ne nice having an option to show number of favorites for domains which are favorited. Might add a sense of urgency in buyers.

 

[zomainhacks]

Just moved 1/3 of my portfolio to Alter. Domains already listed on SEDO and Arternic, does it make sense accepting this form?

 

[geekjojo]

Just moved 1/3 of my portfolio to Alter. Domains already listed on SEDO and Arternic, does it make sense accepting this form? Show attachment 199252

How do you get the syndication option?