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

 

[cocaseco]

What about the logo fees? Does anyone have any empirical results that link quality ($ spent) to a quicker sale? What value do most people use? I usually am at $100 for suggested prices between X and Y, then $200 between Y and Z, etc. But I have no real data to support that plan.

 

[hookbox]

@trelgor

I like the Ambassador program pretty well. The people running BrandBucket and the other Ambassadors are all very competent and smart individuals. They have been working hard to address any bottlenecks in the submission process and we are starting to see the results of that effort. It is a very entrepreneurial and open environment and a strong meritocracy. For these reasons i've really enjoyed working with them.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a portfolio of domain names on BrandBucket but I had a large number of brand names on my site Brandiogo.com. BrandBucket felt that my brand names were good enough to be listed on their site and they invited me to be a Brand Ambassador.

I think anytime BrandBucket sees a site that has a good list of over 250 names they approach the owner and tell them how good their names are and that they would love for them to be part of BrandBucket. In reality it is just a way for them to be in control of the competition. They approached you, MediaPlow (Michael Krell), Excitemental etc…….and many more to come. They know the other two big marketplaces in BrandRoot and Namerific became competition and this is how they prevent it now.

It's simple business, control the competition and you control the brand space.

 

[AndrewRice]

It's definitely a good business decision from BB's perspective. It's also a good decision from my perspective because BB is really good at selling brand names. I'd advice anyone starting out to focus on finding good quality brand names for BB and let them handle the marketing and selling of these names.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

I think anytime BrandBucket sees a site that has a good list of over 250 names they approach the owner and tell them how good their names are and that they would love for them to be part of BrandBucket. In reality it is just a way for them to be in control of the competition. They approached you, MediaPlow (Michael Krell), Excitemental etc…….and many more to come. They know the other two big marketplaces in BrandRoot and Namerific became competition and this is how they prevent it now.

It's simple business, control the competition and you control the brand space.

This is also how I perceive the ambassador program as well. BB has seen how sellers tend to branch off and start their own site and they want to reverse that trend as it dilutes the marketplace. The ambassadors have their names listed on BB and on their own site but under the auspices of BB and sales are processed through BB. (At least that is how it appears. The ambassadors can correct me as needed.) BB gets a nice commission but Ambassadors get increased exposure and can factor the sales commission into their pricing if needed just like we all do at other domain marketplaces like GD and Flippa.

I think its a smart approach and is going to make competing with BB for market share even more difficult. I think having 2-3 central brandable market places is good as competition keeps things sharp. However the current situation of having 30+ places for brandables dilutes the marketplace to the degree that clients get confused and turned off.

Here's a partial list along with each website's Alexa ranking (a low Alexa number means higher web traffic):

28,990 Brand Bucket
40,794 BrandRoot
127,713 Namerific
156,594 YourBrand
227,172 NameStall
365,882 ExciteMental
469,538 MediaPlow
731,968 Vibrand
787,074 Brand Flip
887,868 BrandLance
938,920 Clickable Names
1,193,000 Domain Name Nexus
1,200,000 BranDo
1,505,458 Catchy
1,713,000 Domaintricity
1,755,000 NamePerfection
1,878,000 ICBrands
2,144,000 BrandStarters
2,168,000 NameKraft
2,419,000 JustTheWord
2,504,000 Domain Geek.net
3,000,000 BustaBrand
3,133,064 Crispbrands.com
3,604,000 ShopTopDomains
4,700,000 Name Brandable
4,800,000 Elite Brand Names
6,363,000 NameStrap
7,051,000 Viper Domains
7,728,000 ReadyMade Names
10,500,000 Brandable Names
11,000,000 Nameably
13,000,000 BrandChovy

 

[Doron Vermaat]

@Keith DeBoer since you seem to love stats and data you should check out http://www.similarweb.com/ - it's like Alexa but on steroids.

 

[Lightthrower]

Great list Keith, I did not know there were this many brands marketplace out there with 11 of them in the top 1 million.

 

[Beezy]

Shout out to whoever writes the descriptions on brand bucket. I admit I'm lazy and give them very little to work with and they almost always come up with something compelling in 240 characters (or whatever it is).

 

[12345]

What about the logo fees? Does anyone have any empirical results that link quality ($ spent) to a quicker sale? What value do most people use? I usually am at $100 for suggested prices between X and Y, then $200 between Y and Z, etc. But I have no real data to support that plan.

Yeah, I normally do the same thing. I can't say for certain that there is a difference. Putting a higher logo reward will definitely get it published faster since those are the first ones taken by the logo designers.

Shout out to whoever writes the descriptions on brand bucket. I admit I'm lazy and give them very little to work with and they almost always come up with something compelling in 240 characters (or whatever it is).

Thanks! I will pass this message onto the copy staff!

 

[thekiller]

@michaeljkrell How is the review process going?
My one domain submitted on April 7 and one on April 14 reviewed on 25 May and nothing after that.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

I've had some names reviewed through April 25 but I also have lots of names still pending review for the period April 16-25. So they are skipping around a bit in an effort to speed up the process. Some names that are obviously good or bad are rated right away. Others require more consideration. Just be patient. They'll get to all them!

 

[DomainVP]

Great list Keith, I did not know there were this many brands marketplace out there with 11 of them in the top 1 million.

Being in the top 1 million is like being the highest pile in the trash heap. Any site in the 100k range is getting some very good, convertible, traffic; I've been there before.

Gotta give it to Brand Root for getting up there in a post Penguin Google atmosphere.

Still not a fan of any of these 'marketplaces'. I wonder how many people came to their marketplace because they already wanted a specific domain, and it was sold for a pittance (minus insane fees and a forced logo) compared to a potential sale handled by the actual owner of the domain.

It's like taking your gold to a pawn shop instead of finding a buyer who will pay spot price.

 

[trelgor]

Being in the top 1 million is like being the highest pile in the trash heap. Any site in the 100k range is getting some very good, convertible, traffic; I've been there before.

Gotta give it to Brand Root for getting up there in a post Penguin Google atmosphere.

Still not a fan of any of these 'marketplaces'. I wonder how many people came to their marketplace because they already wanted a specific domain, and it was sold for a pittance (minus insane fees and a forced logo) compared to a potential sale handled by the actual owner of the domain.

It's like taking your gold to a pawn shop instead of finding a buyer who will pay spot price.

I've looked at it that way. Unfortunately it was not economically viable. The entry level paired with the risk of speculating on higher-end domains is quite high. And the competition is brutal. It would mean finding a unique modus to beat the system. That takes time and resources that atleast I do not have.

I see BB as a stepping stone. I think many do.

That said I do agree with you that quite a number of sales are made to existing businesses finding a bargain, and not to fledgling startups.

 

[namezest]

LOL nice work on providing the list I tend to agree with DomainVp here. My site will probably be on that list eventually but I have real ideas. Seems too many sites are just trying to milk the little guys.

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Just sold S T A R T F O X . C O M on BB.

 

[namezest]

How long was it up on there for? And congrats!

 

[Doron Vermaat]

How long was it up on there for? And congrats!

Since April this year.

 

[thekiller]

Just sold S T A R T F O X . C O M on BB.

Congrats! Those sales are encouragement for those whose domains are listed.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

Just sold S T A R T F O X . C O M on BB.

Nice name, congrats!

 

[TimCulpepper]

Just sold

B E N O R O [dot] C O M

Hand reg'd in feb 15 with a $1.49 Godaddy coupon

took 2 months to go live on BB; sold about 2 weeks later

I've seen a few haters on this thread who think BB is useless, that we'd be better off selling our names on our own; but there are some types of names that are just never going to sell unless they get seen in a marketplace.

whois tells me the name was purchased by a venture capital firm for one of its startups... probably bought it off the BB newsletter

I'm sorry folks, but this name would have taken forever to sell on my own

I am VERY happy to give BB its commission; they earn it

 

[12345]

Congrats on the sale!

 

[namezest]

Congratulations!

 

[mjamescork]

@Domain.BUZZ Well done! great job...will be interesting to check back in 12 months and to see how they've developed.

 

[cocaseco]

Still not a fan of any of these 'marketplaces'. I wonder how many people came to their marketplace because they already wanted a specific domain, and it was sold for a pittance (minus insane fees and a forced logo) compared to a potential sale handled by the actual owner of the domain.

It's like taking your gold to a pawn shop instead of finding a buyer who will pay spot price.

Fair critisicm of the industry as a whole. BUT, at its roots is the same philosophy that made 7-11 and Pawn Shops, a mainstay in American consumer landscape. It is all about CONVENIENCE. I can buy a gallon of milk from the dairy for $1 (illustrative purposes only), or I can but the same gallon of milk at the supermarket for $2.50, and lastly I can buy the identical product at a 7-11 for $5. Many people would laugh at the guy going to 7-11 and call him a fool and wonder why he would pay so much. But to him, it makes sense because he doesn't have time to drive to the dairy or wait in a long line at the supermarket. So this consumer is willing to pay for convenience, though many are not. It's the same with shipping a package at UPS for $10 or going to a PostNet store and shipping the identical package, also with UPS, but paying $30. There are countless examples of this business strategy and I see BB as exactly the same.

Sure I could market the domain myself and close my own deal, I often do. But sometimes I just don't want to hassle with it and BB saves me time and energy. If I use that time doing something else that earns me more money, I think its a win. To use any convenience service you need two things, ability and desire. many people don't have the ability, i.e. they don't have the cash to spare, even though they really want to use the service. And on the other side of the coin are people who can afford to pay the premium, but would never spend money on having someone do what they can do themselves. Hence desire and ability become critical, and when I have both I turn to a convenience solution for whatever I am transacting.

I would also add that we do need to keep in perspective that we are one of the very few industries I can think of where a 2000% markup is deemed a compromise because you had to pay for a 30% commission. I see it all the time and am guilty of it myself. We often buy, especially brandables, for $10 and then sell for $2000, netting$1400 after commission is crazy margin! Many businesses are happy to make 30 or 40%. The main business I am in nets about 3%.

 

[DKN]

Just sold

B E N O R O [dot] C O M

Hand reg'd in feb 15 with a $1.49 Godaddy coupon

took 2 months to go live on BB; sold about 2 weeks later

I've seen a few haters on this thread who think BB is useless, that we'd be better off selling our names on our own; but there are some types of names that are just never going to sell unless they get seen in a marketplace.

whois tells me the name was purchased by a venture capital firm for one of its startups... probably bought it off the BB newsletter

I'm sorry folks, but this name would have taken forever to sell on my own

I am VERY happy to give BB its commission; they earn it

Well said!

Congrats

 

[Nazz]

Good to see a decent number of people getting sales!