BrandBucket Experience

[xtremex]

hello

I am new to BrandBucket. Before getting my hands on this

I wish to experience about brandbucket from my fellow members


Thanks

 

[DomainBanana]

An Update from Exile
Feb. 20, 2021

Hi, friends.

As many of you know, I was kicked out of the BrandBucket Slack on Feb. 2, the same day a group I created, Branders Union, published a report concerning the BrandBucket search.

This report stirred up a great deal of controversy in the BB community. Many sellers in the BB Slack have expressed opinions about it. Some have seen merit in the report. Others have ignored its results. Some have disparaged or attacked me and Branders Union for publishing it.

Most everyone has an opinion on this report, but the one person the BB community hasn't heard from is the person who assembled it -- me.

I think this is wrong.

This 40-page BrandBucket Search Evaluation is respectful and well thought-out. It is not an attack on BrandBucket as BB seems to perceive it to be. In fact, the report calls BrandBucket a "treasured institution in the domain community" and doesn't claim any malicious intent from BB. It presents real and serious concerns of the seller community in a careful and methodical way, and it respectfully asks BrandBucket to address these concerns.

The concerns in the report are not the ravings of one disgruntled seller. It wasn't even my idea to create it. The report represents the concerns of many BB sellers. The BU community discussed this report for months and many there helped to shape it every step of the way. The report had several contributors, not just one.

So the fact that I've been singled out and banned from the BB Slack for it has been very disappointing.

BB has said I wasn't tossed out of the Slack for writing the report. This is hard to believe. Last year, BB and I came to an agreement, based on my personal circumstances, that ensured my account would remain in good standing after removing some domains. By removing me from the Slack now, a year later, immediately after publishing the report, BB broke its agreement with me. As a result, my good standing is damaged beyond recovery.

There are two ways to handle constructive criticism. You can take it seriously, listen to it carefully, and use it to help make you better. Or, you can deny it. Attack the source. And try to bury it.

By pushing me out of the BB slack, kicking my account into bad standing, and not allowing me to discuss the report with the BB community, I think BB has made the wrong choice. It has sent a message to the seller community that our concerns will be punished, not heard.

The BB Slack, as I understand it, is now largely an echo chamber, filled with the empty praises of loyal fans. BB might be satisfied with this, but in my view it's tragic when any organization bans critics and tolerates only praise. The inability to admit imperfection, to listen to criticism, and to improve from it is -- in my view -- the surest and fastest way to ruin.

Branders Union has been professional, respectful, and truthful throughout this controversy. We have not resorted to personal attacks. We have not misrepresented facts. We continue to stand for truth and fairness, and we are here to advocate for all sellers in the brandable space.

It is not too late for BrandBucket to do the right thing and allow me back into the BB Slack.

Until then, I'll drop in here and update everyone on my status once in a while.

Best to all of you.

 

[Brandworthy]

published a report concerning the BrandBucket search

Where can we find said report, please?

I analysed their search algo a few years back when I was one of their top sellers. I'm very interested to read your findings/opinions, and to see how their search works today now that they have the bones of 100K names listed.

 

[Embrand]

Where can we find said report, please?

I analysed their search algo a few years back when I was one of their top sellers. I'm very interested to read your findings/opinions, and to see how their search works today now that they have the bones of 100K names listed.

You can find it here:

https://brandersunion.org/BUBBSearch.pdf

 

[Brandworthy]

Very interesting. If you were able to find it, I also hypothesised that listing age had a considerable impact, and that this indirectly favoured insiders as they tended to be the longest lived sellers on BB. At that time they did have different tiers for sellers, and I also had a suspicion that these tiers may have also played a role in search.

The only faults I'd find with your analysis was the limited sample size and lack of breadth. I do think also that perhaps some conslusion and commentary could be misconstrued. There was a lack of nuance in some of those replies from both sides imo.

The bottom line is that BB is a private business, and they are free to run it as they please. That's the way it always has been, and I don't expect their business style to change under current ownership. But it would be very, very hard for anybody to fault their busines success.

 

[DomainBanana]

I also hypothesised that listing age had a considerable impact, and that this indirectly favoured insiders as they tended to be the longest lived sellers on BB.

...

The only faults I'd find with your analysis was the limited sample size and lack of breadth.

...

The bottom line is that BB is a private business, and they are free to run it as they please.

Re: listing age -- We now know that listing age does indirectly favor some insiders. However, two of the favorite five were relatively new to BB. So we conclude the favoritism is not limited to a domain's BrandBucket age.

Re: sample size -- We feel the sample size is sufficient to prove the point. If anyone isn't convinced by the findings, I'd urge them to do their own study and draw their own conclusions.

Re: private business -- BB has long maintained that its search is objective, based solely on relevance, and does not favor anyone. We believe this report shows otherwise.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Charybdis]

Is it allowed now to list a BrandBucket domain name on Afternic? This page says that it is not allowed: https://www.brandbucket.com/help/faq/sellers#can_i_list_the_domain_for_sale_elsewhere

But I read on Namepros that now you can list your BrandBucket domains on Afternic.

I use only SH currently, I don't have a BrandBucket seller account, but I am planning to submit my SH-rejected names to BrandBucket. However the largest network is the Afternic Fast Transfer network, so if BB doesn't allow me to use Afternic, then I think I will use Dan instead.

 

[Joakim]

Is it allowed now to list a BrandBucket domain name on Afternic? This page says that it is not allowed: https://www.brandbucket.com/help/faq/sellers#can_i_list_the_domain_for_sale_elsewhere

But I read on Namepros that now you can list your BrandBucket domains on Afternic.

I use only SH currently, I don't have a BrandBucket seller account, but I am planning to submit my SH-rejected names to BrandBucket. However the largest network is the Afternic Fast Transfer network, so if BB doesn't allow me to use Afternic, then I think I will use Dan instead.

You can list your names there.

 

[Charybdis]

You can list your names there.

It would be great.
And do you know the rules? Like what price to use at Afternic, what commission to pay to BB when the domain is sold at Afternic?

 

[Joakim]

It would be great.
And do you know the rules? Like what price to use at Afternic, what commission to pay to BB when the domain is sold at Afternic?

You can download a list of prices and minimum offers thru your BB dashboard. Apart from that, I don't have any info. I assume they have information on their end. I know because I recently received an email from BB to update my Afternic prices, they were slightly off. But never sold a domain listed at BB thru Afternic.

 

[BRANDERX]

You can find the terms & conditions under "expanded promotions" in your account area.

 

[Charybdis]

I like the BrandBucket website, it is easy to navigate, the logos look great, search options are great.

But I think that SH has more agressive marketing. They have about the same amount of domains, but SH has more visitors, according to Similarweb:

https://www.similarweb.com/website/brandbucket.com/
https://www.similarweb.com/website/squadhelp.com/

For this reason I like SH better, what do you think?

 

[Rhinnnn]

I like the BrandBucket website, it is easy to navigate, the logos look great, search options are great.

But I think that SH has more agressive marketing. They have about the same amount of domains, but SH has more visitors, according to Similarweb:

https://www.similarweb.com/website/brandbucket.com/
https://www.similarweb.com/website/squadhelp.com/

For this reason I like SH better, what do you think?

BrandBucket ranks better in the US - that's where most of the money comes from.

 

[Charybdis]

How do you contact BrandBucket as a seller? I only have their email address, but I have been waiting for 2 weeks without any answer.

 

[wwwulff]

You can contact them via [email protected] or through their slack channel

 

[Charybdis]

Yes and they don't answer.

 

[wwwulff]

It sounds weird, I've always heard from them relatively quickly, so give it another try - Have you tryed via slack?

 

[Steven McEvoy]

Anyone else notice a longer wait time for domain review? im over 6 weeks now...

 

[Name Trader]

IMHO. Anything over 1 week, is way too long. To have to wait 6 weeks is ridiculous. IMHO. I'm talking generally, not about BB in particular. They should be adding staff, if they are taking 6 WEEKS to review domains.

 

[karmaco]

IMHO. Anything over 1 week, is way too long. To have to wait 6 weeks is ridiculous. IMHO. I'm talking generally, not about BB in particular. They should be adding staff, if they are taking 6 WEEKS to review domains.

Its been 4 to 6 weeks wait for at least 4 years. It’s intentional.

 

[Steven McEvoy]

Its been 4 to 6 weeks wait for at least 4 years. It’s intentional.

It’s been longer then 6 weeks going on 8 now

 

[Charybdis]

When you are about to submit domain names for review, you can see the expected waiting time there in days, is that accurate?

 

[Embrand]

When you are about to submit domain names for review, you can see the expected waiting time there in days, is that accurate?

Yes, currently 35 days.

 

[Charybdis]

Yes, currently 35 days.

I mean when they promise that the waiting time will be 35 days, then is it accurate, will it be really 35 days?

 

[Embrand]

I mean when they promise that the waiting time will be 35 days, then is it accurate, will it be really 35 days?

Not 100 percent. I just received reviews yesterday for names I had submitted on March 12. It is a long time to wait, but on the other hand it shows how popular BrandBucket is among sellers.

 

[Charybdis]

The current waiting time is 40-45 days (for sellers, when you submit domains to the marketplace for consideration).

I don't like the fact that published domains are in "editorial" status, and during this status the landing page of the domain is displaying nothing. It creates downtime, the landing page of the domains should work immediately, they could add the description and the logo later.

I think many sellers don't know that now BrandBucket syndicates the domains to Dan and Sedo, and sellers can list the domains on Afternic Fast Transfer.

But this is important, since it means that the BrandBucket marketplace + Afternic Fast Transfer Network + Dan + Sedo will drive traffic to your domains, which is a huge exposure.