Best way to put up a domain for auction?

[Damion]

What would be in your oppinion the best way to put up a domain for auction?

What i want is to put up a domain for auction with no set asking price but to let the potential buyers bid against each other...and also a possibility if i find the result not satisfactory after the period of the bids are being made to decline the so called winning bid.

For instance if i have a price in mind of $2000 and after a period of 5 days the last bid is $500... so therefor in theory the winning bid is $500 and since i have already have set an asking price that is lower to get the auction started i would in theory have to sell it to this bidder...eventhough i am not satisfied with the bid and think there is more potential.

I am not sure if i have drawn the right conclusion so if anyone would care to join in and share some light on this i would greatly appreciate it.

So in short which sites do you use to auction a domain as described as above? And how would i set this up?

 

[fonzie_007]

You will rarely get any bids at auctions unless the price for the domain is low or you do substantial work pre-auction to get people interested in the auction.

You can set up auctions here, ebay, and at tdnam. I am sure there are other services too, but these are the ones I am familiar with. Your best bet may be to go to the auction place (whichever company you are going to set up your auction with), look at other auctions, and see what is the preferred method of setting up the auctions. Overall, I would make sure you explain things clearly and have all material issues laid out in the auction terms.

 

[Damion]

Yes, i am doing some ''homework'' right now to find potential interested parties.
When i am done i will have a list for sending out emails.

Would above situation i described be possible with eBay?
Thanks for your reply.

 

[NameClerk]

On Ebay, simply set a reserve price for the auction. You will not be obligated to sell it unless the reserve is reached and you can still start the bidding at a low price. Even if your reserve is not met, you might generate enough interest or leads to sell the domain after the auction.

Choose the 10 day auction option on Ebay. It's a cheap upgrade and allows you more time to promote it.

Be careful with your email solicitations. Some recipients might consider them spam and I'm pretty sure it's against Ebay's TOS to send out unsolicited emails pointing to an Ebay auction. If you choose to do this, send each message individually, addressing the reciepient by name. Do not send out a generic letter to the entire list!

Note: It's been my experience that setting a reserve price discourages participation however, it's the only way you can guarantee a minimum price. Setting a reserve is more effective than starting the bidding at your minimum price.

Feel free to take a look at my auction formats. You can find them in my sig. I came up with these by studying what worked for others on Ebay.

 

[Damion]

Thanks for your reply Nameclerk and your advise.

I do however want to ask you some questions,
So if i set my reserve price to the amount that would be satisfactory to me the buyer that makes the bid that matches the reserve price automaticly wins the auction then?
But the reserve price can not be seen by the buyers right?

And then there is a trust issue... so some sort of escrow option would be ideal but i don't see eBay offering this service or maybe i missed it.
How do you handle this?

And the buyers can see the current bids right?

Sorry for the noob questions but i need to get a clear picture on this.

 

[NameClerk]

So if i set my reserve price to the amount that would be satisfactory to me the buyer that makes the bid that matches the reserve price automaticly wins the auction then?
But the reserve price can not be seen by the buyers right?

The auction does not end once the reserve price is met. You are only obligated to sell it once the reserve price is met. The price can end up going higher than your reserve price. Buyers cannot see your reserve price.

And then there is a trust issue... so some sort of escrow option would be ideal but i don't see eBay offering this service or maybe i missed it.
How do you handle this?

If you don't trust Ebay's feedback system or Paypal's buyer protection, it's possible to use Escrow.com. Many sellers offer it, including myself. I've never actually had to use it so I cannot comment on the process.

And the buyers can see the current bids right?

Yes.

 

[fonzie_007]

Remember that ebay will charge you to set a reserve price (I believe that the amount differs depending on how high the reserve price is). I agree with NameClerk that setting a reserve price does discourage participation. Normally, when I am scanning through ebay auctions, I will rarely give the time of day to an auction that has a reserve price unless the reserve price is stated in the auction description.

 

[Damion]

And would i be obligated to mention if there is a reserve price or would it automaticly be listed that there is a reserve price?

Also if i wouldn't list a reserve price and let the aution take it's course would i be obligated to sell to the last highest bidder?

If i am obligated to sell in the latter situation then i would rather choose for a auction with a reserve price so i can be sure i would not have to sell for a price that is not satisfactory to me.

 

[NameClerk]

And would i be obligated to mention if there is a reserve price or would it automaticly be listed that there is a reserve price?

It's automatically listed right under the current bid price.

Also if i wouldn't list a reserve price and let the aution take it's course would i be obligated to sell to the last highest bidder?

Yes, you're obligated. If you don't sell you'll receive negative feedback and 1 strike from ebay. If your only feedback is negative, nobody will take you seriously after that and you'll be done on Ebay.[/QUOTE]

If i am obligated to sell in the latter situation then i would rather choose for a auction with a reserve price so i can be sure i would not have to sell for a price that is not satisfactory to me.

My advice: Practice and build up some feedback before you list a domain name that has a lot of value to you. People will be skeptical if you list some amazing domain and have no feedback at all.

 

[floatingworld]

And would i be obligated to mention if there is a reserve price or would it automaticly be listed that there is a reserve price?

Also if i wouldn't list a reserve price and let the aution take it's course would i be obligated to sell to the last highest bidder?

If i am obligated to sell in the latter situation then i would rather choose for a auction with a reserve price so i can be sure i would not have to sell for a price that is not satisfactory to me.

Question 1: ebay would auto list that there is a reserve price.
Question 2: yes.
Question 3: you can set a high start price which is your minimum and forget a hidden reserve.
The cheapest listing fee is to start a sale with 1c start price...all other options incur higher ebay charges.

 

[Damion]

This would be my first sale on eBay so this would automaticly unfortunately be a reason for being skeptical but if Escrow.com is involved in the listing this would hopefully be a reason to take this away.

So in theory Nameclerk... someone could buy one of your domains for dirt cheap if there aren't any more bids coming in that would for instance be higher then $2?
Since you haven't set a reserve price.
This sounds quite risky to be honest.
Maybe i am missing something here but at this point this is my assumption.

 

[NameClerk]

This would be my first sale on eBay so this would automaticly unfortunately be a reason for being skeptical but if Escrow.com is involved in the listing this would hopefully be a reason to take this away.

So in theory Nameclerk... someone could buy one of your domains for dirt cheap if there aren't any more bids coming in that would for instance be higher then $2?
Since you haven't set a reserve price.
This sounds quite risky to be honest.
Maybe i am missing something here but at this point this is my assumption.

Yes, I could end up having to sell those domains for dirt cheap. They cost me $7.95 so it wouldn't be the end of the world. Any way you look at it, I'm still gaining a new customer.

Grandma always said "You gotta give to receive"

Actually my grandma never said that, but someone did.

 

[Damion]

I have been thinking about it and i am going to auction the domain combined with a reserve price.
I can't imagine why a reserve price would scare potential buyers away.

They can make their bids and see wich bids have came out and if it's in their oppinion they can do better then they will make another bid.
I really don't want to give the domain for next to nothing so i guess the reserve price system is all i got to protect myself.

Is it possible to make a comment about the reserve price in the advertisement?
Or would it only say that there is a reserve price?

Thank you for replying to my posts Nameclerk, i really appreciate it.