Atom / Atom.com - Marketplace (formerly Squadhelp)

[JudgeMind]

Hey Folks,

I've just started using squadhelp.com to list some of my brandable. So far I have 76 domains listed, there is no fee to list. I've had some decent action so far in the way of interested buyers but no sales as of yet. I've only been with them for 1 week now.

A bit of a summary review of SquadHelp:

PROS

• No Listing fee
• No Logo design fee
• Ability to submit your names to end users holding naming contests
• Ability to chat directly or send a message directly to end users.
• Stats of your marketplace domains are shown in the marketplace dashboard.
• Their customer service and support has been great, 24hr a day chat.
• Ability to increase or decrease the list price of your domains or to show a discount. You can decrease or increase the price yourself by $200. If you want to lower more, you can contact support.
• End users can shortlist your domains before they make a decision on which they want to purchase. The number of shortlists is shown in you marketplace dashboard.
• When you submit your names you get to set the price you wish to get. Because their commissions are high I recommend listing at a higher price to offset the commission costs.
• Their landing pages are fairly basic but they work. Because the marketplace is fairly new, I'm sure we will see style improvements in the future.
• One thing I really like is they accept multiple extensions. I have listed .co and .io along with .com
• Each seller gets a direct link to their marketplace portfolio, HERES MY PORTFOLIO. It is handy if your trying to p[promote your portfolio through social media.
• I like that their marketplace doesn't have tens of thousands domain listings like BB. They are fairly strict on the domains they accept to list and so this helps keep the number of domains in the marketplace down and gets your listings more exposure.

CONS

• Their commissions are very high, depending on the domain name they are usually between 30% and 35%. However, there are no listing fees, no logo design fees, so in the end their commission is very similar to brand buckets.
• Their logos are not top quality, in fact I requested to have some of my logos remade.
• I think they have a big backlog of logos to design, the wait time for logo design has been around 1 week, but your names are still listed while the logos are being designed.
• After your names are accepted you need to agree to their commission rate, at this point you also need to apply your own keywords, descriptions etc. I found this was very time consuming.

 

[lambo.com]

Current logo generator build is

 

[Atom.com]

Again, it's NOT the extra time waiting for payment, it's the fact that with an escrow.com transaction, there is ZERO communication from Atom that a transaction has even taken place and it can take 3-4 days before the seller is advised that the offer has been accepted.

I think the problem comes down to Atom's process of "only notifying the seller when the payment has been received" as opposed to "when the offer has been accepted" like it is on many other marketplaces. It's not a huge deal with internal transactions as the delay isn't that great, but with escrow transactions, it can take a long while for them to certify funds have been received, leaving the seller totally in the dark with no idea of what's going on.

One answer is to at least notify sellers when a customer has accepted the offer and chosen to pay via escrow.com, but Atom doesn't want to do this in case the payment doesn't come through. Not sure why, as I've had deadbeats on Afternic, Dan, Sedo, GD, etc. and I'd much rather have all the necessary transaction info than be kept in the dark.

If escrow.com offer acceptances are going to remain hidden for 3-4 days, the second solution is to allow sellers to opt out of escrow.com transactions entirely, and present only the "Pay at Atom" option. If that loses a buyer or two every year or two (escrow.com sales are rare), I'm prepared to accept that in return for not worrying that every "stalled negotiation" could turn out to be a delayed escrow.com payment.

Right now, when I make an offer and it expires, I have to wait at least 3 days before reinitiating contact or providing a lower offer, just on the off-chance they've already accepted my prior offer and paid via escrow.com. That wasted time is costing me money and lowering my STR.

Either let me know when a buyer accepts my offer with escrow.com payment or let me opt out of escrow.com payments entirely.

Escrow.com has become increasingly problematic in recent years. Lots of friction. Transactions just drag on and on and everything is super frustrating. Just the fact that buyers have to verify their account by providing Escrow.com proof of identity is a major obstacle. I think many buyers who choose that option would have probably avoided it, had they known ahead of time that it significantly complicates and slows down the process. I hope Atom will give sellers the option not to offer Escrow.com as a checkout method or explain to buyers what choosing that option means before they choose it.

Yep, understood. Again, my concern is also about the buyer thinking it's taking too long to get their name, not just about waiting a week for payment.

I asked about opting out of Escrow.com and was told "Unfortunately, this is not a service that any seller can opt out of." I already started moving some names out of Atom, I'm not sure yet about moving them all out.

P.S. -- I'm also not happy that Atom doesn't display the Down Payment amount on the landing page unless and until the buyer clicks on "Pay in Installments." ... I feel this is misleading to the buyer and could tank a sale once they realize the extra cost needed. So it's not just about the Escrow.com thing.

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. Our goal is to maximize sell-through rates by offering buyers as many flexible payment options as possible, including Escrow.com.

That said, we understand that some sellers may prefer not to use this option. We're planning to introduce the ability to opt out of Escrow.com on a per-seller basis, and will share updates as that becomes available.

 

[DomainRecap]

That said, we understand that some sellers may prefer not to use this option. We're planning to introduce the ability to opt out of Escrow.com on a per-seller basis, and will share updates as that becomes available.

Don't forget there is a viable secondary option whereby Atom properly advises sellers when a buyer selects Escrow.com as a payment method. That could work too.

 

[Atom.com]

Its a big mess. I'm in the middle of a transaction. On my end it says... Awaiting submission of transfer code. On sellers end it's saying, awaiting payment verification.

Been like that for 4 days. Ridiculous when you think they take 5% of a verified payment. Seller has sent me Auth code in private instead.

Draw your own conclusions.

Thanks for sharing your experience. That’s definitely not the kind of experience we aim to provide. The majority of transfers are completed within 24 hours of payment.

In some cases, we may require a quick verification step from the buyer to help prevent fraud or abuse. While this is typically a fast process, delays can happen if the buyer takes longer to complete it. During that time, we continue to follow up with both parties to keep everyone informed.

If you didn’t receive timely updates, we’d love to look into it. Feel free to DM us your Atom email or the domain name and we’ll investigate right away.

 

[Atom.com]

Would be good if you could send the watcher an offer separate of the marketplace price. @Atom.com

Thanks for the suggestion. We will look into adding this option in future.

 

[Future Sensors]

Hi @Atom.com

For Premium domains, and perhaps for all domains, consider offering a sleek PDF version that potential buyers can download to help convince other decision makers within their organization.

@Atom.com Now you're here, could you implement such a feature, as well?

 

[Atom.com]

OK so just found out from CS the track price option is not available for WLM landers! Along with not having the option of minimal landers I feel like those who have committed their brand to Atom are being left out. @Atom.com why do I only get half a product?

For any new Beta features, we typically roll them out first on the core Atom.com landers, then extend them to WLM pages in a subsequent release. With thousands of active WLM sites, this staged rollout helps minimize risk in case any issues arise.

That said, we have a release planned in the next few days that will include minimal landers and several other improvements for WLM. Appreciate your patience and continued support!

 

[Atom.com]

Atom appraisals are broken, they appear to have lost the data for TLD's taken

There was a temporary glitch on this page which was resolved. Please let us know if you continue to experience any issues.

 

[Atom.com]

Just learned some interesting information. @Atom.com please read

For buyers using credit cards:

• For an outright purchase of a premium listing, the maximum is $50,000, and the minimum is $100.
• For an installment plan, the maximum is $50,000, and the minimum is $500.
• [COLOR=hsl(1, 59%, 45%)]For an outright purchase of a standard listing, the maximum is $5,000.[/COLOR]
• Plus listings, even if accepted into Sapphire are considered Standard listings, with a $5,000 cc cap.
• In addition [COLOR=hsl(1, 59%, 45%)]for ALL credit card payments[/COLOR] (Premium, Plus, Sapphire, Standard) [COLOR=hsl(1, 59%, 45%)]the buyer is charged a 3% processing fee for all transactions $2,500 or more[/COLOR]

This creates certain issues.

1. One must strongly consider whether to price names above $4,854 for any Standard, Plus, or Sapphire listing (that is not Premium). The cc fee will push a $4,855 listing price over Atom's $5k limit, resulting in any cc purchase being declined. I would assume credit cards are easier for buyers (than wire transfers).
   1. This puts the seller in a tough position since a $4999 price results in a 25% commission whereas a $4,854 price results in 30% commission. However, the potential purchase friction may result in lower STR.
2. I realize these policies were probably initiated when there was only Standard vs Premium. With Standard at 7.5% commission, I can understand why Atom may not have wanted to "eat" the credit card processing fees and thus limited the spend amount to $5k. Of course the addition of the fee above $2,500 mitigates any loss. It seems to me when the surcharge was implemented the cap should've went up to match Premiums $50k cap.
3. Further, Plus & Sapphire incur 15% commissions and especially for non Premium Sapphire we're talking about exemplary dictionary terms that likely command >$5k. The current policy severely limits credit card usage among these names and creates an unnecessary hurdle point to purchase.
4. From a buyers perspective why can they use a credit card for this $10k name but not for that $10k name? Same platform, same seller, etc. Creates a weird environment for them. Imagine being told on Amazon you can pay with cc for these items but not for those items. Weird no?

May I suggest a rethink re the credit card caps and surcharges?

In the interim, I'm off to modify my prices that are somewhat near $4,854 to at or below $4,854. I'll just have to risk the extra 5% commission to ensure the least hurdle points for the buyer.

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful feedback.

One of the main reasons credit card thresholds are lower for Standard and Plus listings is the increased risk of fraud and chargebacks. These listings don’t go through the same level of review as Premium listings, which creates a lower barrier to entry — and unfortunately, that occasionally leads to fraudulent domain listings and purchases using stolen cards. This poses a significant financial risk on our end.

That said, we’ve been steadily adding new fraud prevention measures and do plan to increase these limits over time.

Also worth noting: buyers can use several other payment methods that support higher limits and have no processing fees, including BitPay, ACH, Wire, and Escrow.com. We’re also working on expanding the limits for Alipay, which is a commonly used payment method in regions like China.

 

[Atom.com]

I'm confused about this. The email I received from Atom says "We recommend avoiding direct outreach to these companies, as it could create potential trademark issues." So if we shouldn't reach out to them, what should we do with these Crunchbase matches that Atom has found for us?

The main purpose of Crunchbase matches is to serve as a signal of potential value. Domains with a higher number of relevant matches often indicate stronger market fit and overall quality, which can be useful for pricing, negotiation, and renewal decisions.

While outbounding may work in some cases, we generally advise against it, especially if the name is similar to a trademarked brand - as it can carry significant legal risks.

 

[Atom.com]

@Atom.com Now you're here, could you implement such a feature, as well?

Thanks for the suggestion - we’ll look into the feasibility of this. We’ve had several buyers request domain talk audios and images to help pitch domains internally, so offering a downloadable PDF could definitely be a useful addition.

 

[D Haynes]

For any new Beta features, we typically roll them out first on the core Atom.com landers, then extend them to WLM pages in a subsequent release. With thousands of active WLM sites, this staged rollout helps minimize risk in case any issues arise.

That said, we have a release planned in the next few days that will include minimal landers and several other improvements for WLM. Appreciate your patience and continued support!

Great news!

 

[silentg]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1927082971682484473

 

[NameGroove]

One of the main reasons credit card thresholds are lower for Standard and Plus listings is the increased risk of fraud and chargebacks. These listings don’t go through the same level of review as Premium listings, which creates a lower barrier to entry — and unfortunately, that occasionally leads to fraudulent domain listings and purchases using stolen cards. This poses a significant financial risk on our end.

That said, we’ve been steadily adding new fraud prevention measures and do plan to increase these limits over time.

You're welcome, and thanks for the detailed response.

I'm a bit unclear if the seller and buyer are "in on" the fraud - or if it is just the buyer using stolen cards. If it's just the buyer, I'm unclear how Premium listings going through a higher level of review mitigate the issue. However, if it's also the seller, I can see how your coin submission process creates a high hurdle for listing of stolen domains. Perhaps there are also other types of fraud outside stolen domains. So, admittedly with limited information, may I make a suggestion?

How about raising cc limits for Trusted Sellers? A Trusted Seller seems an unlikely candidate for theft of domains and fraud. However since I am unclear who gets the Trusted Seller moniker, if that label is too broad, perhaps only allow Gold & Platinum sellers to have cc limits raised. Or just Platinum sellers (as a benefit of the tier). Or Platinum sellers who have been on platform x years or have x $ sales, etc.

The concept I'm putting forth is whether there is a type of seller that becomes highly unlikely to commit fraud and as such they can sell their Standard, Plus, and Sapphire names with a higher cc limit? The side benefit of this is buyers are able to buy a larger chunk of Atom inventory with cc's creating a more consistent buying experience.

Of course if the issue has to solely do with buyer fraud (and not the seller at all), then my idea is irrelevant. Although that leaves me wondering how Premium vs Standard review matters. A buyer with a stolen card could buy a Premium name with their stolen cc just as easily as buying a non premium Sapphire name.

btw, this is not hypothetical. A few days ago I was forced outside the Atom eco-system to finalize a Standard listing sale where the buyer needed to pay by credit card. It would seem to me it'd be in Atom's best interest to keep sellers like me (Trusted Platinum) within the Atom eco-system for sales like this.

 

[NameFinest]

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful feedback.

One of the main reasons credit card thresholds are lower for Standard and Plus listings is the increased risk of fraud and chargebacks. These listings don’t go through the same level of review as Premium listings, which creates a lower barrier to entry — and unfortunately, that occasionally leads to fraudulent domain listings and purchases using stolen cards. This poses a significant financial risk on our end.

That said, we’ve been steadily adding new fraud prevention measures and do plan to increase these limits over time.

Also worth noting: buyers can use several other payment methods that support higher limits and have no processing fees, including BitPay, ACH, Wire, and Escrow.com. We’re also working on expanding the limits for Alipay, which is a commonly used payment method in regions like China.

So what's your recommendation for standard or plus listings priced above 5k? What should we do? @Atom.com

 

[freety85]

Atom is now an ICANN accredited registrar.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1927314148536250528

 

[NameFinest]

Atom is now an ICANN accredited registrar.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1927314148536250528

What does it mean for us? They will start competing with GoDaddy, dynadot, etc?

 

[Dane]

What does it mean for us?

If history repeats itself... it means GoDaddy will buy Atom and shut them down.

 

[freety85]

What does it mean for us? They will start competing with GoDaddy, dynadot, etc?

They are starting to build it now, they plan to build something different, supporting domain investors. I assume they trying to solve the distribution gap, using ai and other tools, but we shall see, it will take months to build something of this magnitude

 

[SpareDomains]

Good...

Make prices domainer friendly and you'll get domainers domains and can create your own MLS distribution network.
Sharing a percentage of domain drop revenue also good for domainers.

Bad...

Probably just moved Atom up a few notches on the GoDaddy buy and destroy list.