BrandPa.com Experience (Brandable Domain Marketplace)

[Chris Hydrick]

BrandPa.com has announced their presence on NamePros...

Hi there! I'm sorry your experience with BB wasn't pleasant :/ If you'd like to try our marketplace please don't hesitate to do so We're new in the domaining industry but very eager to learn! Let me know what you think or if you have any questions This is us: https://brandpa.com/ (or if you'd like to read about the sellers' rules visit this page: https://brandpa.com/start-selling)

Look forward to hearing from you!

Granted, the above post is from the BrandBucket experience thread, and will likely be deleted for being off topic / wrong thread, it was the first time I heard of them. The founder, @Jowita Emberton, had introduced herself in an earlier thread:

Hi guys! NamePros is a great website to get invaluable information about the domaining industry. As a reader, I'm here pretty much every day. As a writer, I'm starting today

I'm the founder of Brandpa (brandpa.com), a domain name marketplace similar to BB, BR or Namerific. We use AI and human knowledge to create and judge the names’ value according to how easy to pronounce and catchy they are.

I'm here to learn, get to know you and your recent experiences with other brandable name marketplaces We're still developing the business so any insight on our site (brandpa.com) or anything you're missing from other marketplaces will be very useful

Thanks!

I'm creating this thread to discuss their marketplace, and for those who have experiences with them.

Here's what I know so far:

The founder, @Jowita Emberton, runs two other online businesses according to her LinkedIn page.

Delighten.co.uk - Web / brand design firm.

Weddination.com - Polish wedding services

According to her LinkedIn, she has been operating BrandPa since August 2016. Though, the last cached Archive.org screenshot is a server error on October 4, 2016 HERE

BrandPa.com (2006) is registered to Oliver Emberton, founder and managing director of SilkTide.com.

Currently, there are 562 domains published / listed on BrandPa. It appears most domains listed are handregged by the owners. Not 100% on this; I will run a check when my program is working again.

After reviewing their listings, I found two errors.

The domain regged is MonoRaptor.com, but the text reads ManoRaptor.com

The domain regged is UnknownVenues.com, but the text reads UnknownVenus.com

At first look:

Pros

• No Listing Fee
• FREE Logos
• Domain Owner sets price ($1,000+)
• Forwards all offers for sellers consideration
• Brandpa is a pretty memorable / catchy brandable domain.
• Select 'On-Sale' marketing section

Cons

• Low Alexa Ranking (4,557,819)

• New site. Assuming low organic traffic, and low type-in traffic due to quality and quantity of inventory.
• Piggy-back branding off BrandBucket in site footer see below

• Reviews are all from .co.uk domains, yet BrandPa doesn't sell any .co.uk domains. A quick glance at other domains owned by the reviewers and I wasn't able to verify any brandable .com's with history tracing back to BrandPa.

Personal thoughts: I respect that they "allow the seller to submit more domain names" by not charging a listing fee. To me this shows they are willing to work for your exclusivity. Should they gain popularity, I wonder if they'll sustain this business model and/or if their logo / listing quality will decrease over time when resources are spread across the masses.

@Jowita Emberton = Feel free to comment / fill in any of the blanks.

 

[urlurl]

I did pay them lol. But now my names are removed and I lost the fees along with that.

if the names are listed outside of BP - i think the names are removed until they are sold to another BP seller, once the transaction is gone through the names get reinstated. im not 100% sure, but i think that was posted on slack or their blog

 

[creataweb]

if the names are listed outside of BP - i think the names are removed until they are sold to another BP seller, once the transaction is gone through the names get reinstated. im not 100% sure, but i think that was posted on slack or their blog

Lesson learned, but I will not bother re-listing now. I already lost the traffic because I didn't receive the notice immediately and then had to quickly go change my nameservers to another place instead.

I asked here because I have seen multiple auctions with BP names and was wondering if anyone else randomly received the same notice. It would have been nice to have a warning via email like BB does then I could have rectified it. But like I said lesson learned, I guess I'll take the loss of fees and sell them somewhere else. Ironically I just got an offer on one and I guess the other MP will get the % instead.

 

[urlurl]

did you have them listed at more than one market place?

 

[creataweb]

did you have them listed at more than one market place?

NP and no BINs anywhere else.

 

[Brandworthy]

NP and no BINs anywhere else.

In fairness, think about an end-user who searches Google for a name they see on Brandpa and finds the same name listed on Namepros with wholesale pricing? Most would simply assume that the marketplace with end-user pricing was a scam. I wouldn't blame any marketplace trying to market your names at end-user pricing for removing names you promote elsewhere at <5% their pricing.

 

[creataweb]

In fairness, think about an end-user who searches Google for a name they see on Brandpa and finds the same name listed on Namepros with wholesale pricing? Most would simply assume that the marketplace with end-user pricing was a scam. I wouldn't blame any marketplace trying to market your names at end-user pricing for removing names you promote elsewhere at <5% their pricing.

Right, but look at all the others selling their BP names on here for $20... mine were at least priced closer to BP pricing. Anyway, lesson learned. Thanks.

 

[Recons.Com]

In fairness, think about an end-user who searches Google for a name they see on Brandpa and finds the same name listed on Namepros with wholesale pricing? Most would simply assume that the marketplace with end-user pricing was a scam. I wouldn't blame any marketplace trying to market your names at end-user pricing for removing names you promote elsewhere at <5% their pricing.

So buyers assume that wholesale prices are the same as retail?

 

[BrandCougar]

@creataweb -

FYI...

The structure at Brandpa is if you plan to list published Brandpa names on NamePros, you are required to send them an email prior to doing so. If you don't send them an email heads-up and they find your BPA live domains listed on NamePros, they will suspend your domains on the Brandpa site.

Brandpa recently did a "smack down" on those who were listing published names on other marketplaces (NamePros being one of those external marketplaces they now monitor).

Brandpa's TOS specifies an "exclusive arrangement" when listing names with them. They are now taking action on those who have been bending those guidelines.

Sorry to hear you were blindsided by the names being suspended. Curious, did you email them about the topic and receive a response from their support/help line? Anna (support) is prompt with responding normally within a 24 hour period.

 

[karmaco]

I think you are supposed to remove your names from Brandpa if you intend to list them anywhere else including NP. You are encouraged to sell them on the Slack channel or in private to another Brandpa seller.

My next question is it ok to sell accepted names here which aren’t listed yet. I am currently bidding on an accepted name and it just occurred to me.

 

[creataweb]

@creataweb -

FYI...

The structure at Brandpa is if you plan to list published Brandpa names on NamePros, you are required to send them an email prior to doing so. If you don't send them an email heads-up and they find your BPA live domains listed on NamePros, they will suspend your domains on the Brandpa site.

Brandpa recently did a "smack down" on those who were listing published names on other marketplaces (NamePros being one of those external marketplaces they now monitor).

Brandpa's TOS specifies an "exclusive arrangement" when listing names with them. They are now taking action on those who have been bending those guidelines.

Sorry to hear you were blindsided by the names being suspended. Curious, did you email them about the topic and receive a response from their support/help line? Anna (support) is prompt with responding normally within a 24 hour period.

Thanks for the reply. I didn't know about this and that's my fault to a degree I suppose. With that said, I have already sold 2 names with BP and hoped that something like this would have been dealt with differently. An email to give me a heads up first would have been sufficient. I would have complied immediately.

However, removing the names first and then sending me an email afterward left a bad taste in my mouth. I had to scramble to change the NS and make sure my names are live somewhere and not a dead end page on BP's website.

Not to mention, these listings (in theory) could have been from an old owner of my names and BP could have never known that and neither would I.

Lastly, all the fees I paid to list there are now lost along with my listings.

 

[BrandCougar]

@creataweb -

Thanks for sharing the details that transpired.

It sounds like there has been some miscommunication between them and you. Sorry to hear that.

After reading your post, I reflected on where specifically I heard about their position on the topic and recall I read a piece posted by Jowita. Now that I think about it, I think she had posted it on their Slack channel.

Since everyone is not on the Slack channel, it might be a good suggestion for them to x-post it here on NamePros as there seems to be a wide audience of Brandpa members on this site (this thread).

Again, thanks for sharing your situation with us.

 

[creataweb]

@creataweb -

Thanks for sharing the details that transpired.

It sounds like there has been some miscommunication between them and you. Sorry to hear that.

After reading your post, I reflected on where specifically I heard about their position on the topic and recall I read a piece posted by Jowita. Now that I think about it, I think she had posted it on their Slack channel.

Since everyone is not on the Slack channel, it might be a good suggestion for them to x-post it here on NamePros as there seems to be a wide audience of Brandpa members on this site (this thread).

Again, thanks for sharing your situation with us.

Yes I am not in the Slack channel and that could be a reason for the miscommunications. Thanks.

 

[Brandworthy]

Right, but look at all the others selling their BP names on here for $20... mine were at least priced closer to BP pricing.

Sorry, I'm not in touch with wholesale selling of BP names, but I do remember from the old BB times that wholesale offerings were a major problem since the information tended to surface in search engines.

So buyers assume that wholesale prices are the same as retail?

The average domain buyer is shocked (and often disgusted) to find out there is an aftermarket, let alone that there are retail and wholesale sub-segments within that market.

 

[hookbox]

The wholesale aftermarket kills brandable domain sales to end users. Above the fold on page 1 of Google under "brandable domains" is the brandable domains for sale link to Namepros. How many startups search for brandable domains and come across Brandroot, Brandbucket, Brandpa etc.....and also come across the Namepros brandables for sale threads. Who in their right mind would pay a couple grand or more for a name that they could easily buy at Namepros for 20 bucks. Every single one of these websites should ban any of their members that sell those same names on Namepros. I absolutely would if I ran the show. It kills sales for any brandable seller not just the members of these sites.

 

[creataweb]

The wholesale aftermarket kills brandable domain sales to end users. Above the fold on page 1 of Google under "brandable domains" is the brandable domains for sale link to Namepros. How many startups search for brandable domains and come across Brandroot, Brandbucket, Brandpa etc.....and also come across the Namepros brandables for sale threads. Who in their right mind would pay a couple grand or more for a name that they could easily buy at Namepros for 20 bucks. Every single one of these websites should ban any of their members that sell those same names on Namepros. I absolutely would if I ran the show. It kills sales for any brandable seller not just the members of these sites.

Exactly why I asked here lol. I saw a bunch of people selling their names for $20 here and wondered if they got suspended as well, but seems like no one is talking about it for whatever reason.

Cheers.

 

[Abdullah Abdullah]

Here is the link to their seller violations page.
https://support.brandpa.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002069752

and a quote from there says

" If, however, you personally try to sell your names elsewhere, the 7-day period will not apply. Your names will be deleted from Brandpa, their logos reused and descriptions removed. The new owner will have to wait 30 days before submitting the names to Brandpa, email us if they wanted to do so, and pay a $5 listing fee."

 

[bazabizo]

How many names are there on Brandpa.com? Are they getting crowded like BB? Also, what is their average Sell through rate? I am considering to list some names in there. Thanks in advance!

 

[BrandCougar]

Approx 2,300 to 2,500 published (live names) at the moment from my understanding.

The Brandpa site only accepts 5 domains (per user) per day and their average acceptance rate is running at 10 to 15%. (some weeks its running at 15%, some weeks it seems to throttle down to a 10% acceptance rate - but it has been somewhat consistent in that acceptance range for the past 5 months is my observation)

So from a volume perspective - you will be lucky to get 3-4 domains accepted per week to the site (based on 35 submits per week @ their 10-15% acceptance rate).

The path to building a portfolio with them is long and takes patience. Recently, from what I've observed, they don't accepted bulk "BB portfolios" transfers to the site. It is a simple matter of plugging along submitting 5 names per day and wait 3-4 days for each batch to be review to see what has been accepted. Slow and steady - they aren't looking to choke on bulk submissions.

Why do they do this?

To avoid submission overload like BB went through back in early 2015. They are throttling the input volume to tightly manage their processes and keep a pulse on their review & publish cycle. Recently they even "turned off" the submissions process for a 2 week period in early March to catch up on their review volume. Clearly a disciplined group.

Once a domain is accepted, it might take 2-3 weeks to get the name live. (which is reasonable)

Sales rate: not published, but we consistently hear of sales from various members on the site so Brandpa is moving product, but no hard data on what their rate of sales are.

I hope the feedback is helpful. They are worth a try, but don't expect open arms to a bulk transfer from BB/NR/etc. They don't seem overly horny over BB recycling.

Personally - I like their approach.

 

[bazabizo]

Approx 2,300 to 2,500 published (live names) at the moment from my understanding.

The Brandpa site only accepts 5 domains (per user) per day and their average acceptance rate is running at 10 to 15%. (some weeks its running at 15%, some weeks it seems to throttle down to a 10% acceptance rate - but it has been somewhat consistent in that acceptance range for the past 5 months is my observation)

So from a volume perspective - you will be lucky to get 3-4 domains accepted per week to the site (based on 35 submits per week @ their 10-15% acceptance rate).

The path to building a portfolio with them is long and takes patience. Recently, from what I've observed, they don't accepted bulk "BB portfolios" transfers to the site. It is a simple matter of plugging along submitting 5 names per day and wait 3-4 days for each batch to be review to see what has been accepted. Slow and steady - they aren't looking to choke on bulk submissions.

Why do they do this?

To avoid submission overload like BB went through back in early 2015. They are throttling the input volume to tightly manage their processes and keep a pulse on their review & publish cycle. Recently they even "turned off" the submissions process for a 2 week period in early March to catch up on their review volume. Clearly a disciplined group.

Once a domain is accepted, it might take 2-3 weeks to get the name live. (which is reasonable)

Sales rate: not published, but we consistently hear of sales from various members on the site so Brandpa is moving product, but no hard data on what their rate of sales are.

I hope the feedback is helpful. They are worth a try, but don't expect open arms to a bulk transfer from BB/NR/etc. They don't seem overly horny over BB recycling.

Personally - I like their approach.

Thanks a lot mate that’s really helpful

 

[kaposzta]

According to the Slack channel, they have 2500 names at the moment.
I also don't know the sales rate, but it's very high for me I started at Brandpa last March with a handful of names, and I gradually built up my portfolio up to 74 domains by the end of 2017. I had two sales in January, in two days, so my sales rate on an annual basis must be over 5%.

This is a smaller platform, definitely not crowded, I think the inventory size won't ever exceed 4 figures. The UI is beautiful, I really like the logos (even the minimalistic ones), Jowita is very kind and professional, and they are very keen on always improving the platform. There's been so many improvents in the last couple of weeks... (mostly affecting the seller's dashboard). There's just one thing I regret: I didn't register and submit domains like there's no tomorrow when I had the chance (and when I had >30% approval rate). Now it's very difficult to put any domain to Brandpa...

 

[Brandworthy]

How many names are there on Brandpa.com? Are they getting crowded like BB? Also, what is their average Sell through rate? I am considering to list some names in there. Thanks in advance!

I've spoken with them recently and in many ways quite impressed by what they've done. They did share some stats with me which are also impressive. They appear to be focused on quality over quantity, so that's a good indicator. Not listed any names, but still in discussions about how this might happen. As a test they selected 10 of my names and provided indicative listing prices - 5 were pretty much spot-on, but other 5 were very much under my value expectations. Still discussing this with them, but I think they might still be building experience with higher-value brandables. Definitely, an interesting venue to watch/consider.

 

[Brandworthy]

There's just one thing I regret: I didn't register and submit domains like there's no tomorrow when I had the chance (and when I had >30% approval rate). Now it's very difficult to put any domain to Brandpa...

You'll probably end up looking back on this with gratitude. Think about all the crap names listed on BB which will never sell, but still be renewed year after year by owners who believe that the listing ensures quality.

 

[kaposzta]

You'll probably end up looking back on this with gratitude. Think about all the crap names listed on BB which will never sell, but still be renewed year after year by owners who believe that the listing ensures quality.

I think you're right, but you may never know what crappy names endusers like

 

[MitchH]

I see they have a 2 step review process. If you make it to step 2, are your chances greater for approval or is that just the standard process? Thanks.

 

[DotKing]

My last 2 submissions were rejected after step 2, so... it's either standard two-step process or step 2 is "another chance"