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%.
