>> In the near future BrandBucket plans to send an email to all BB sellers
>> to remind everyone that selling BB published names outside of
>> BrandBucket (including on NamePros) is a violation of their seller terms of use.
>> NOTE: This restriction applies only to BB published names. This restriction
>> does NOT apply to domains that have been reviewed/accepted by BB but have not yet published. -Keith
To add to Keith's earlier post on the above topic.
I had a conversation with a trusted friend (Connie) who has been in communication with Roxanne (BB Support).
The feedback received that Connie shared offline...
1) The "exclusivity clause" that BB requires takes effect at the moment a name is Published on the site, not earlier in the process when a name is initially Accepted. This is the reasoning to why BB published names being listed & sold on NamePros is a TOS violation and the Accepted (not yet published) names are not a TOS violation with BB. In effect, we are paying the $1 for the valuation estimate (pre-approval) to then take a 2nd action - make an informed decision - to decide whether to enter into an exclusive publishing (live listing) arrangement. This 2 tier model makes perfect sense. It is a 2 action process, the 1st action is not a violation, the 2nd action is a violation. Simple & clear cut.
2) Additionally, BB has developed an escalation path (process) for the TOS abuse, starting with Warning Emails and then escalating to names being removed and account closures.
I appreciated the clarification and reasoning behind where the line is drawn (between Accepted vs Published) but also appreciate that there is a structured escalation path and with that leads to consistency in its application.
Consistent for all, is far to all.
Thought I'd share the above insight that Connie shared with me.
-Cougar