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.

 

[SuperBrander]

@DomainBanana Regarding offering incentives to post about the platform (positive reviews are much more likely based on the premise)- totally agree. IMO SH shouldn't have done that and should stop offering that ASAP. The sooner the better.

As for the other two- from what I've read about your specific case and my interpretation of it: They made a decision that according to them is based on you posting domains from the platform in an attempt to prove the review system is flawed. Even though it was brief and you deleted those names, they took that as a sort of an attack on the users whose domains you posted. They communicated with you, via the chat and over the phone. They made a decision you refuse to accept and the only possibly solution as far as you're concerned is to reverse things to the way they were, preferably with an apology. They don't want to do that. So you're at an impasse.

I'm not saying that you can't be harsh with criticism. I've been harsh with them too when some things were really getting my goat. But doing things like demanding a public apology, saying/insinuating that they're not being truthful etc.- not super helpful. There's a way to get things done and being super confrontational and antagonizing- usually doesn't achieve great results. Even if you're sure you're right- you need them more than they need you so your whole approach, then and now, isn't/wasn't wise, IMO.

I still hope that things will work out for you. Try an olive branch instead of a machine gun. It might work better.

 

[DomainBanana]

@DomainBanana Regarding offering incentives to speak well about the platform- totally agree. IMO SH shouldn't have done that and should stop offering that ASAP. The sooner the better.

As for the other two- from what I've read about your specific case and my interpretation of it: They made a decision that according to them is based on you posting domains from the platform in an attempt to prove the review system is flawed. Even though it was brief and you deleted those names, they took that as a sort of an attack on the users whose domains you posted. They communicated with you, via the chat and over the phone. They made a decision you refuse to accept and the only possibly solution as far as you're concerned is to reverse things to the way they were, preferably with an apology. They don't want to do that. So you're at an impasse.

I'm not saying that you can't be harsh with criticsm. I've been harsh with them too when some things were really getting my goat. But doing things like demanding a public apology, saying/insiunuating that they're not being truthful etc.- not super helpful. There's a way to get things done and being super confrontational and antagonizing- usually doesn't achieve great results. Even if you're sure you're right- you need them more than they need you so your whole approach, then and now, isn't/wasn't wise, IMO.

I still hope that things will work out for you. Try an olive branch instead of a machine gun. It might work better.

To clarify:

They accused me of targeting sellers by calling them out by name, which I did not do. They revised this accusation on NamePros, but they did not admit that they falsely accused me and they did not apologize for the false accusation. They should do both.

As I've explained, the post where I listed specific domains was done as a case study and it was only live for 15 minutes before I decided I didn't want to drag out the issue further.

So they falsely accused me and they restricted my account for an objective case study that was live for 15 minutes at 1:30 in the morning. Give me a break.

Re: communication -- they have refused to communicate with me by phone about this. They have refused to listen to my side of the story or discuss the issue with me whatsoever.

Re: the olive branch and the machine gun -- I prefer the olive branch and I know that sometimes I need to find a better approach. At the same time, it's not easy to be passive and peaceful when a company deliberately messes with my account and my reputation.

Re: "you need them more than they need you" -- this may be true, but I hope I would be able to stand for the principles of justice and integrity while maintaining a relationship with Squadhelp. If Squadhelp forces me to choose between my integrity and the marketplace, I'll keep my integrity and move my domains elsewhere, being sure to let others know about my experience.

 

[SuperBrander]

@DomainBanana SH took a stance regarding this specific incident and you won't be satisfied until things are restored to the way they were. So you've put them in a position where they either have to give in to what you want or stick to their decision, which they think is right. Since you've decided to battle them in public, you've also made it very hard for them to change the decision. And unless your approach to this matter changes, IMO they're also not likely to communicate with you here or elsewhere in a productive manner because you're coming at them with guns blazing and demanding the result you want. So justice and integrity aside- I don't think your reputation is on the line. You have a disagreement with them and all they did was revert you to a certain submission method, which all things considered, isn't the end of the world. You're still there and can make some money. BB makes us all wait a hell of a lot more for reviews. Take a deep breath and don't turn this matter into a matter of principle you're willing to fight over "to the death". As you yourself say, despite all of the issues, SH has some advantages as a platform and you want to be there. So don't shoot yourself in the foot. Don't be right (whether you're right or not). Be smart.

 

[Recons.Com]

@GrantP

There were quite a few sales reported here on NP of the names owned by SH and suggested by a creative.

All were $xxx sales. I was wondering why are you competing on the price point with your own sellers? You don't see this kind of behavior on BB or BP, they own lots of names, but are not engaged in damping against their sellers.

This practice is absolutely wrong. It might help boosting artificially your sell through stats, but it hurts you and everyone else in so many ways.

And, by the way, for me personally, SH is performing the worst not only compared to BB and BP, but even to Afternic and those guys don't even require the names to be forwarded and take only 20% commission.

 

[karmaco]

I saw that when SH posted it. I don't like it either. As for myself, I'll make it perfectly clear: I've never written anything about SH in exchange for any sort of benefit- coins, points or otherwise. Some things they do that I like. Some things they do that I don't like.

I've been trying to get a little balance into an otherwise pretty hostile discussion about a platform that despite its faults and sometimes hasty decisions, does innovate the brandable industry and provides people options to make money, even without an initial investment. I understand that each user has a different experience and that some people feel like the platform has done or is doing them wrong, but you can give feedback and it'll either resonate or not. Being continuously hostile towards the platform and some of its users isn't the right way to go. Focus on domaining and try to make positive impact by giving constructive feedback.

I respect you greatly but we can criticize a brandable platform trying to taint this platform with compensated posts and reviews. If everyone did that this forum is useless.

I don’t see it like you do. They underprice and overcharge and are in the business of screwing over the sellers any way they can. This is just one further indication of a lack of integrity.

People want to sell their name for peanuts and give a huge chunk away thats their perogative but invading this forum with reward motivated postings without full disclosure is unacceptable.

 

[SuperBrander]

@karmaco Thanks. Regarding this specific matter- as I said, I totally agree. SH shouldn't have done it and should remove it. Period. But the addition of "Now we know why all the SH lackeys started posting here sometime back. They are encouraged to do so and compensated. If you are shilling for SH you need to disclose it. " was uncalled for, in my opinion. If a platform offers something and people accept the offer and get something in return- then they did nothing wrong. Would it have been better if people who posted something in order to get something in return disclosed it? Sure. But I don't think attacking them for not doing it is the right thing to do.

 

[Atom.com]

The policy in question specifically prohibits using any promotional content. Here are the specific content guidelines stated in the policy:

"Please keep your content original, balanced and factual. Please avoid posting promotional content. We recommend sharing your own experience with specific facts such as specific domain sales, or any other relevant information. ".

With that said, it is understandable how this can be misinterpreted. More importantly, it can call into question the experiences shared by individuals even if they did not receive any coins.

As a result, we will be terminating this policy effective immediately. However we encourage everyone to continue sharing their feedback (positive or negative).

 

[Atom.com]

There were quite a few sales reported here on NP of the names owned by SH and suggested by a creative.

All were $xxx sales. I was wondering why are you competing on the price point with your own sellers? You don't see this kind of behavior on BB or BP, they own lots of names, but are not engaged in damping against their sellers.

This practice is absolutely wrong. It might help boosting artificially your sell through stats, but it hurts you and everyone else in so many ways.

The SH registered domains (which are hand-regged on behalf of other creatives) are initially priced at $1699. Immediately upon publishing, the creatives have the option to increase the price by $600 to $2299. In addition, creatives who have a Silver, Gold or Platinum status, can increase the prices significantly higher. While some creatives exercise this option to increase the prices, others may choose to set a discount or reduce prices from time to time.

Our team also evaluates the stats on the domains from time to time, and where appropriate, we increase the prices on the domains based upon ongoing buyer interest. When we do receive an offer on a SH registered domain, SH team has the ability to offer a discount - however we tend to keep any discounts reasonable, typically in line with any discounts offered by sellers for seller owned domains.

In the past, there were significant restrictions in the ability for creatives to increase or decrease the prices, however over the last several months, we have added significantly greater flexibility in creative's ability to increase their domain prices if they prefer to do so. Our philosophy is to continue to shift the pricing decisions more and more towards sellers, with some reasonable oversight by SH to ensure overall integrity of the Marketplace.

 

[DomainBanana]

@DomainBanana SH took a stance regarding this specific incident and you won't be satisfied until things are restored to the way they were. So you've put them in a position where they either have to give in to what you want or stick to their decision, which they think is right. Since you've decided to battle them in public, you've also made it very hard for them to change the decision. And unless your approach to this matter changes, IMO they're also not likely to communicate with you here or elsewhere in a productive manner because you're coming at them with guns blazing and demanding the result you want. So justice and integrity aside- I don't think your reputation is on the line. You have a disagreement with them and all they did was revert you to a certain submission method, which all things considered, isn't the end of the world. You're still there and can make some money. BB makes us all wait a hell of a lot more for reviews. Take a deep breath and don't turn this matter into a matter of principle you're willing to fight over "to the death". As you yourself say, despite all of the issues, SH has some advantages as a platform and you want to be there. So don't shoot yourself in the foot. Don't be right (whether you're right or not). Be smart.

@SuperBrander, this thread is not about me, it's about Squadhelp. I know many people are tired of this story so let's try to keep any further discussion about this private.

To respond to your points:

• "You won't be satisfied until things are restored to the way they were" -- while I see no good reason for the acts against my account, and I have not been able to get any clarification on the issue after explaining my side of the story (that the post did not target seller-reviewers by calling them out by name as they said it did, that the post was live for 15 minutes), all I am asking for on NP is that SH admit that they falsely accused me and apologize
• "Since you've decided to battle them in public" -- I only made this incident public because they have refused to communicate with me about what I see as retaliation against my account for providing fact-based criticism of their review policy. I would much rather spend my time and energy on growing my business.

I sincerely hope that my relations with the marketplace improve. I have reached out to them peacefully in many ways -- through phone, email, and chat -- and have been ignored.

 

[SuperBrander]

@DomainBanana I agree. Hopefully things will get sorted out. Let's get this thread back on track. It looks like the perks for SH reviews issue is a thing of the past so that's good. On to the next experience/question/rant/battle.

 

[Recons.Com]

The SH registered domains (which are hand-regged on behalf of other creatives) are initially priced at $1699. Immediately upon publishing, the creatives have the option to increase the price by $600 to $2299. In addition, creatives who have a Silver, Gold or Platinum status, can increase the prices significantly higher. While some creatives exercise this option to increase the prices, others may choose to set a discount or reduce prices from time to time.

Our team also evaluates the stats on the domains from time to time, and where appropriate, we increase the prices on the domains based upon ongoing buyer interest. When we do receive an offer on a SH registered domain, SH team has the ability to offer a discount - however we tend to keep any discounts reasonable, typically in line with any discounts offered by sellers for seller owned domains.

In the past, there were significant restrictions in the ability for creatives to increase or decrease the prices, however over the last several months, we have added significantly greater flexibility in creative's ability to increase their domain prices if they prefer to do so. Our philosophy is to continue to shift the pricing decisions more and more towards sellers, with some reasonable oversight by SH to ensure overall integrity of the Marketplace.

Thanks for the reply. SH effectively owns these names, as it pays the renewals and gets 75% of the sale.

So why creatives are allowed to set almost 50% discount?

This is cannibalizing sales for your sellers as someone who had $2k budget could settle for similar name at under $900.

 

[Ntmt]

Key Marketplace Insights from Squadhelp
"May 2020 resulted in a record number of domain sales (40% higher than any previous month) Check out additional Marketplace insights here":
https://www.squadhelp.com/blog/key-marketplace-insights-from-squadhelp/

 

[NameWell]

Key Marketplace Insights from Squadhelp
"May 2020 resulted in a record number of domain sales (40% higher than any previous month) Check out additional Marketplace insights here":
https://www.squadhelp.com/blog/key-marketplace-insights-from-squadhelp/

@Ntmt, thank you for sharing! It was an interesting and useful read

 

[Recons.Com]

Key Marketplace Insights from Squadhelp
"May 2020 resulted in a record number of domain sales (40% higher than any previous month) Check out additional Marketplace insights here":
https://www.squadhelp.com/blog/key-marketplace-insights-from-squadhelp/

Names that have two or less syllables are much more desirable, compared to names with more syllables.

Huh???

SH analytics: 34.9% > 38.5%?

 

[karmaco]

@karmaco Thanks. Regarding this specific matter- as I said, I totally agree. SH shouldn't have done it and should remove it. Period. But the addition of "Now we know why all the SH lackeys started posting here sometime back. They are encouraged to do so and compensated. If you are shilling for SH you need to disclose it. " was uncalled for, in my opinion. If a platform offers something and people accept the offer and get something in return- then they did nothing wrong. Would it have been better if people who posted something in order to get something in return disclosed it? Sure. But I don't think attacking them for not doing it is the right thing to do.

I guess I was right since they rescinded the policy the very same day. We have different ideas about what is right and wrong behavior on somebody else’s platform. You are obviously a bit biased.

You see nothing wrong with compensation based posting and reviews here without full disclosure?Fine but apparently the optics of it going public made them stop the policy. So somebody got my point.

There have been numerous new postings from SH people the last year tooting their horn. Now anything anyone said before yesterday was likely compensated and of no honest review value. Never heard of any competitor asking for reviews compensated or not here.

 

[SuperBrander]

I wrote a whole thing, but I'm editing and deleting it because it's kind of pointless. There's too much negativity in this thread for my personal taste so like wiser people than me have done in the past- I'll simply unfollow it. Good luck to all and see you around NamePros.

 

[Amphibia07]

Can you see expert vote results when domain is also reviewed by SH internal team?

Recently submitted 7 names with SH coins, none were accepted. Some were auto-rejected after 12 votes - for these at least you can see reviewer votes, eg. 1/12 - 0/12 so you get some sense on the direction what names SH is looking for, and it's a faster process. Others were waiting 3-5 days until they got 16-17 expert votes, only to get to Not Approved with only tag "Reviewed by SH Internal Team". These were some of the better names, some accepted by BB others got offers in the past, so I would like at least to see how reviewers saw them, but it seem internal vote overrides everything and you get 0 feedback.

 

[h2o]

I joined Squadhelp on March 30 of this year and I am happy to report that I just sold my first domain Cleansey dotCom on their platform! I just posted sale this on NP Official Sales Thread, but I will add more relevant SH Details here.

Cleansey dotCom - Sold for $2599

Platform: Squadhelp

Date: May 28

Take Home Commission: 1819

Acquired on Godaddy auctions for $277.16 on 4/27

Hold Time: 31 Days

Net Profit: $1542

Here is a screenshot of my SH dashboard as of today for further context:

It is important to note that out of the 18 domains I have listed as Premium on SH, I have acquired 14 on the aftermarket for $99 or more and only 4 domains have been hand regged for about $8.

After submitting many domains you get a feeling for which names will most likely be accepted, but it is much easier to get an aftermarket domain acquired for about $100 on their premium listings than a hand registered domain. That's the reason why my approval rate is about double the site average. It would be every domainer's dream to sell a $2500 domain they acquired for $8 about a month or two ago but it's not always realistic (though it did happen with my Shield Silver sale I just reported a few weeks ago)

Cheers!

 

[h2o]

By the way, it helps to purchase domains you personally would use in case the domain does not sell within a reasonable amount of time. In the back of my mind, I had an idea for Cleansey as a cleaning supply affiliate site so it helps to justify the initial $250+ purchase, but of course I would welcome the sale, especially a quick sale of about 30 days

 

[JudgeMind]

The latest squadhelp update limits the amount of super boosts one seller can have active at a time to just 4. So a small portfolio holder who has just 4 names listed can boost their entire portfolio. A large portfolio holder can only boost a very small fraction of their portfolio. This is a ONE TWO PUNCH. Increase the competition in the marketplace by adding tens of thousands of new names and take away the ability to increase the marketing of your names.

essentially what this has resulted in is no sales over the past few weeks. Prior to this new update, sales were on target to cover costs and maybe show a return.