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.

 

[Future Sensors]

I don't like anything about this. Does anyone else here like this?

I don't think it's pretty either. It plants a seed in the buyer's head.

 

[Dane]

It plants a seed in the buyer's head.

My thoughts exactly. I don't like it.

 

[Dane]

The 3-day window is intended solely to protect buyers in rare cases where a seller is unresponsive. If we’re unable to transfer the domain due to seller inaction or refusal (which violates our Terms), buyers may request a refund after 3 days.

You already state that in perfect language, here:

"Atom.com Purchase Protection Program - A 100% refund is guaranteed if a domain can’t be transferred to your ownership."

There is zero need to mention a "3-day window"

 

[Gabriel360]

I don't like anything about this. Does anyone else here like this?

@NameGroove - thanks for pointing this out!

Makes ZERO sense!

The explanation makes it worse. Saying that the 3-day refund is in case of an unresponsive seller or a seller who is unwilling to transfer a sold domain name is NONSENSE.

In the event of such cases, the buyer is AUTOMATICALLY entitled to their refund in excess of their 3-day refund period. They paid for something and didn't get it, their refund is non-negotiable.

The 3-day refund is absolute GARBAGE.

It may be a marketing gimmick but it's a misguided one. Domain names are not electronics. They cannot be faulty or defective. The promise of a refund prominently displayed like that is just stupid.

 

[Future Sensors]

You already state that in perfect language, here:

"Atom.com Purchase Protection Program - A 100% refund is guaranteed if a domain can’t be transferred to your ownership."

There is zero need to mention a "3-day window"

Show attachment 278124

Indeed, it can't be stated properly without taking all the nuances into account.

Google's current phrasing suggests you can buy the domain, run a three-day spam blitz, and then simply return it to Atom and get refunded.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I understand concerns re 3 day statement, but would just point out that one of the big domain name sellers has had a 30 day money back guarantee for years. Would be interesting to know their statistics re it.

"HugeDomains provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee on every domain name that we sell through our website. If you buy a domain and are unhappy with it, we will accept the return within 30 days and issue a full refund – no questions asked."

PS I should point out that their extensive ToS set out conditions for the money make including that it never have been used for a long list of negative uses. that it not be on a lease-to-own, that the domain name still be at the same registrar, and is pushed back to Huge Domains and the refund is requested.

 

[Future Sensors]

I understand concerns re 3 day statement, but would just point out that one of the big domain name sellers has had a 30 day money back guarantee for years. Would be interesting to know their statistics re it.

Fair. However, these are their own domains and not those of customers.

 

[DomainBFF]

Here is the link to the benefits at each level. https://www.atom.com/marketplace-benefits

In short, if you have 50 premium listings, you can increase price by up to 50% of approved price (e.g. if approved at $3000, can list at your discretion between $3000 and $4500). Keep in mind their approved price is what they suggest for pricing to be competitive on their market. So in my opinion price flexibility should be used sparingly and after due consideration.

The other benefits are worthwhile as well, in particular the 5 free Super Boosts that will get you better in search results for a period. They have a set number of them. so you won't always be able to use them on a day, and best to try early in the day.

At 100 Premium (Gold) the price flexibility increases to 100% so can double the suggested price.

There is also a Platinum level for those with 500+ premium listings, that allows you to increase by up to 300%.


I have not uploaded logos myself, but normally now the suggested logo, in my experience, is normally the last logo when approved. You can reject that and design one with AI if prefer. If you accept existing logo get a free logo redesign credit. Atom rejects uploaded for premium if they have not met their expectations for the premium marketplace.

-Bob

Note: second part reworded in light of @Future Sensors comment below.

Thanks Bob - I can't tell you how many hours I have spent in Atom's guides and other areas of the website and never once came across this information. It's been a tiny bit troubling how much outdated info and just lack of info is in the help section.

I am also questioning the legitimacy of their premium approval rates..I submitted 65 names in the last 24 hours that are good, but nowhere near my best, and I'm at close to100% approval rate so far. I have 21 more that are still pending, but the rest have all been approved almost immediately (within ~20 mins max of submission)

 

[Dane]

I understand concerns re 3 day statement, but would just point out that one of the big domain name sellers has had a 30 day money back guarantee for years. Would be interesting to know their statistics re it.

Offering a 3-Day money back guarantee sends the wrong message to buyers.

Offering a 100% refund if a domain can’t be transferred to your ownership makes perfect sense. But offering a 3-Day money back guarantee makes it seem like "if you're not happy, you can get a refund, guaranteed!"

I am not HugeDomains. I'm not Walmart, either.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I am also questioning the legitimacy of their premium approval rates..I submitted 65 names in the last 24 hours that are good, but nowhere near my best, and I'm at close to100% approval rate so far. I have 21 more that are still pending, but the rest have all been approved almost immediately (within ~20 mins max of submission)

Since they have gone to this new (without human panels) system for acceptance, when names are recommended for acceptance normally they are accepted within an hour or two.

While there is some chance that names not accepted quickly will be accepted later, it is my experience that more of those than not will end up not accepted, but a few are. As with any semi-automated system, no doubt they reject some that should be accepted, and accept some that should be rejected.

Congratulations on a high acceptance ratio. Mine usually hovers around 45%. I'm not clear on the time window they use for the calculations.

-Bob

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I can't tell you how many hours I have spent in Atom's guides and other areas of the website and never once came across this information. It's been a tiny bit troubling how much outdated info and just lack of info is in the help section.

I know how you feel! Even though I knew exactly what I was looking for, it was. hard to find the link to the table to post here. One downside of such constant innovation is that having documentation staying up to date and findable is a challenge.

-Bob

 

[Atom.com]

You already state that in perfect language, here:

"Atom.com Purchase Protection Program - A 100% refund is guaranteed if a domain can’t be transferred to your ownership."

There is zero need to mention a "3-day window"

Show attachment 278124

Makes ZERO sense!

The explanation makes it worse. Saying that the 3-day refund is in case of an unresponsive seller or a seller who is unwilling to transfer a sold domain name is NONSENSE.

In the event of such cases, the buyer is AUTOMATICALLY entitled to their refund in excess of their 3-day refund period. They paid for something and didn't get it, their refund is non-negotiable.

The 3-day refund is absolute GARBAGE.

It may be a marketing gimmick but it's a misguided one. Domain names are not electronics. They cannot be faulty or defective. The promise of a refund prominently displayed like that is just stupid.

We understand the label might seem off, but it’s important to consider the context.

Our intent is to ensure domains are not only indexed in Google, but they are also included in sections beyond traditional Google search. To appear in other sections of Google, like Shopping and third party partners, a domain must be included in a product feed. These feeds were originally built for retail products, not digital assets like domains.

To run these tests, we’re required to choose from a small set of preset labels, none of which are ideal for domains. Ideally, we’d prefer to show a custom policy or no label at all, but that’s not currently possible. That said, we will be testing few other options.

This is a limited experiment, and nothing has changed in our actual policy: once a domain is transferred, the sale is final. Our Terms are clear, and our cancellation rate remains below 0.5%. We’ll continue monitoring results and will refine the approach based on what improves visibility without creating confusion.

 

[Jannes]

A minor thing amid this 3-day fiasco, but newbies may wonder why something's called "SH review"

 

[Bob Hawkes]

BB terms of service allow a refund if buyer changes their mind, but only for 24 hours and subject to a 5% fee, which would discourage frivolous use.

 

[Dane]

nothing has changed in our actual policy

The policy may not have changed. But the message being sent to buyers has.

Buyers are not going to read the fine print and dig into the legal aspects. They'll just see "3-Day Money Back Guarantee!" and make their own assumptions (correct or not). Bottom line: it's sending the wrong message.

 

[Optimal Names]

Here is the link to the benefits at each level. https://www.atom.com/marketplace-benefits

In short, if you have 50 premium listings, you can increase price by up to 50% of approved price (e.g. if approved at $3000, can list at your discretion between $3000 and $4500). Keep in mind their approved price is what they suggest for pricing to be competitive on their market. So in my opinion price flexibility should be used sparingly and after due consideration.

The other benefits are worthwhile as well, in particular the 5 free Super Boosts that will get you better in search results for a period. They have a set number of them. so you won't always be able to use them on a day, and best to try early in the day.

At 100 Premium (Gold) the price flexibility increases to 100% so can double the suggested price.

There is also a Platinum level for those with 500+ premium listings, that allows you to increase by up to 300%.


I have not uploaded logos myself, but normally now the suggested logo, in my experience, is normally the last logo when approved. You can reject that and design one with AI if prefer. If you accept existing logo get a free logo redesign credit. Atom rejects uploaded for premium if they have not met their expectations for the premium marketplace.

-Bob

Note: second part reworded in light of @Future Sensors comment below.

Is there any indication that when a seller advances to the next tier the domains that they entered from a lower tier are eligible to increase those names which were approved at the lower tier within the same parameters of the higher tier?

Can anyone confirm or deny that?

Thanks Bob for this!

 

[NicTraders]

@Atom.com I notice when searching google, some but not all, of your premium indexed names show a "3 day return policy". Is this a toggle a seller can turn on or off?

For some of my sales, I've been paid before 3 days - does this mean that in these cases, I shouldn't count the money as mine?

Show attachment 278060

Does this mean you can return your AI-generated logo if you don't like it?

 

[Dane]

Does this mean you can return your AI-generated logo if you don't like it?

"Satisfaction guaranteed or your money cheerfully refunded!"

 

[NicTraders]

Still unreachable for me. Not sure why. Firefox and Chrome give the same error. Brave gives a fishing warning then the error.

@Atom.com

Could possibly be your local router. A lot of consumer WiFi routers these days include some form of malware filtering, etc, and I've run into trouble a few times when they get a bit overzealous. That can explain why it works one day and not the next (when they ran an update).

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Is there any indication that when a seller advances to the next tier the domains that they entered from a lower tier are eligible to increase those names which were approved at the lower tier within the same parameters of the higher tier?

Can anyone confirm or deny that?

I had never thought about that. I just checked with one from way back and one recent, and both seem to give me same price flexibility. I am at Gold level now.

-Bob