Something similar has probably been posted before, but I thought I'd chime in on my experience with BrandBucket, and why I will never consider using them.
I signed up for BrandBucket a while ago, and submitted a handful of names. Most were refused, but one was accepted. I was presented the option to pay the $10 listing fee, which I tried to do. My payment was declined, as paying them using a Canadian credit card is problematic. Got an email a couple of days later from a guy named Khalan asking if he could assist with payment, and offering to let me send paypal instead of using my Canadian credit card. After receiving this email I took the opportunity to read their terms and conditions, and sent an email to Khalan with a few questions.
I have 2 issues with their terms and conditions. The minor one is the exclusivity clause. If you list your domain at BrandBucket, you are forbidden from listing it anywhere else. No big deal.
My second issue is that if you request to have your name removed from the website, they will wait 30 from the date of your request to actually remove the name. I ran the following scenario by Khalan:
I list a name at BrandBucket. Sometime in the future an end-user who has never even heard of BrandBucket does a whois check and sends me an email expressing interest in buying my name. I sell the name to the end-user, and request that it is removed from BrandBucket. 2 weeks later (within their 30 day removal freeze) somebody clicks on the name on the BrandBucket site in order to purchase it. Since I sold the name to the BrandBucket oblivious end-user two weeks ago, I no longer have the name and obviously am unable to complete the BrandBucket transaction. What happens then?
Short answer, my account is flagged and removed. He did say that in that particular case I would be able to contact BrandBucket and negotiate a lower commission fee. For what? BrandBucket didn't help me with this sale (end-user found me through whois), so why should I pay them commission? Why would I have to pay them anything?
His exact reply is as follows (copy & paste):
The 30 day rule was implemented quite some time ago to prevent external sales which are prohibited for the duration of the BrandBucket listing. Though we would be happy to assist you in securely selling and transferring a domain at a discounted rate to a potential buyer, we require 30 days of advanced notice before a name can be sold or listed externally. We run a constant check to ensure that names have not changed hands, and pull offending names from the market to prevent the purchase of an unavailable name. However, if we discover that a domain has been sold externally without notice, the user's account would be flagged (as you mentioned) and likely terminated by our team.
My recommendation for anybody looking to sell on BrandBucket is to make 100% sure you are willing to turn down any offers from end-users who find you via whois, or be prepared to pony up some of the funds from the sale to BrandBucket. To me, this is bad business. You can't expect to hold your hand out and collect funds for something you had no part in. If the name sells on your platform, yes, you are entitled to commission. If your platform had nothing to do with the sale, I'm not paying you commission.
I've requested that Khalan remove my account, as I won't be using BrandBucket. I am happy to say that he did comply, and my account has been removed.
Seller, beware. Make sure you read their terms and conditions. If you agree with their terms, list away. If you do not agree, list your name on another marketplace that doesn't have these ridiculous terms.