Changes to Epik

[CJ6]

I didn't see this posted, so I'm posting. (Delete if is a repost.) Big changes towards the end of the email, which Epik sent out an email this afternoon...
-------------------------------

Some ambitious changes are underway at your Epik domain marketplace.

More ways to Monetize your Domain Portfolio

If you are a power customer, then you're already using our system to earn monthly revenue with customizable, automated Payment Plans.

Visitors to your domains have 3 ways to pay you: "Buy Now" + "Make Offer" + "Start Now". Convert those leads even faster with our marketplace name servers: Market1.Epik.com / Market2.Epik.com

Is your inventory scattered at other registrars? No problem. Epik welcomes external domains. You can add your domains in bulk, and start receiving offers!

For anyone with a domain portfolio, bulk editing is important. With Epik's new CSV import tool, it's easy to control all your marketplace listings via spreadsheet. You can also try our upgraded API.

To increase offer volume, your Epik domains can also get maximum exposure through the Afternic / Sedo syndicated listing networks.

We're not done. More upgrades are coming:

• Improved Landing Pages - Dozens of mobile-friendly designs.
• Negotiation Manager - Transparency, tracking, & tools to close deals.
• Integrated Escrow - Secure and flexible, as always. But more streamlined.

Epik continues to support major cryptocurrencies. You can pay or get paid in popular cryptos such as BTC and ETH! And to secure your assets, choose either Google Authenticator or text messages for 2-factor authentication.

Investing in Growth

Looking ahead, Epik is accelerating the pace of development and investing in strategies to bring more leads for your domains. To fund these goals (and encourage domain leasing), we are introducing a commission structure of 5% on monthly payment plans and 9% on direct sales.

If you keep your earnings at Epik, to be reinvested in your own portfolio, then 5% / 9% is all you'll pay. Don't forget: Epik balances are non-taxable until redeemed. That's a significant benefit.

If you decide to cash out, then the usual fee will apply (roughly 5%). This redemption fee offsets what Epik loses in fees paid to payment processors and related overhead, notably chargebacks.

This commission structure starts August 6. It doesn't apply to Payment Plans initiated prior to this date. And, of course, your existing account balances won't be affected.

Epik remains committed to offering core services free of charge: WHOIS privacy, email and domain forwarding, domain parking, and more.

Of course, if you find your own buyers, then you can start an escrow transaction for as low as 1.5%. The marketplace commission is only for leads we bring you - not leads you bring us.

Shared growth - that's the goal.

Let's build a better domain market, put domains into the hands of end users, and make money together! We look forward to working with you and thank you in advance for choosing Epik. Please contact us anytime in case of questions.

Sincerely,
Epik Team
Epik.com

 

[CJ6]

For me, the biggest part of this email was this...

"we are introducing a commission structure of 5% on monthly payment plans and 9% on direct sales."

Through their sales, I like the monthly option and have 1 domain currently being bought this way, through 12 month financing. So, I'm a little disappointed, but I do understand it.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Strangely, notifications are enabled in my Epik account but I didn't receive this email even in Spam.

 

[creataweb]

Strangely, notifications are enabled in my Epik account but I didn't receive this email even in Spam.

Mine was in spam. Had to move it to inbox manually.

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

So no more 0% on their marketplace?
Now 9% for sales?

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

9%
+ 5% + $40 (for withdrawal via international SWIFT) = 14% + $40 total loss.
I understand correctly?

 

[CJ6]

@robepik, Perhaps you can explain

 

[Rob Monster]

The Marketplace has become a material business. However, without charging a commission, it was not creating any margin, particularly when accounting for chargebacks, overhead and transaction support costs. We are not a wasteful company but we do need to cover our operating costs, particularly with rising fraud rates requiring manual review of each transaction.

In summary:

1. For customers who actually consolidate domains at Epik and renew here, the deal remains excellent -- 5% all-in and still tax-free.

2. For folks who just sell and cash out, we are still cheaper than the major domain marketplaces.

3. For large transactions, we have a price competitive escrow product and with the exit of Payoneer from that business, I expect that business will grow.

Our hope is that new and existing customers will focus on door #1. We want to grow the registrar while providing a real-time and tax-free domain marketplace for selling and leasing.

 

[ramkumaritrvs]

%
+ 5% + $40 (for withdrawal via international SWIFT) = 14% + $40 total loss.
I understand correctly?

$50 fee for wiretransfer

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

$50 fee for wiretransfer

Already $50?
In 2017 they replied "$40".

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

$20 SWIFT at escrow.com and 15 EUR on Sedo...
Just for comparison.

 

[Rob Monster]

As for SWIFT, we'll review those bank transfer fees and see what we can improve there. Again, the folks who use proceeds on Epik will find the best value for money. ACH, Check and PayPal are all free. Crypto is also free though subject to Coinbase exchange rate.

 

[Slanted]

So, I'm a little disappointed, but I do understand it.

Our goal here is to bring you more revenue – more Buyers, more Renters, faster conversion of leads into income. What's a 5% or 9% commission if Epik can increase your earnings by 20% or 50%?

That's not far fetched. Already, Epik has built the industry's best system for "Start Now" monthly payment plans. If you haven't seen all the customization options for Rentals / Financing / Optioning that we launched during 2018, then you're in for a nice surprise. Check it out!

Really, if you're not using this tool for your negotiations or passive listings, then you're missing out. These days, I never turn down anybody's offer. Instead, I just say: "Yes ... as a down payment." Then we negotiate from that starting point – what they're already willing to pay – tweaking the ongoing monthly terms.

It's amazing that Epik has built a marketplace – which is in some ways (notably Payment Plans) more advanced than any competing venue – without that marketplace bringing in any money. Sedo and Afternic and other venues charge 15% - 30%. That gives them a budget to spend on upgrades and marketing.

Imagine what Epik could do with a similar budget, given what we've already done with nothing. We have to pay programmers and designers. Money has to come from somewhere. And the fairest way is to charge a commission – so that customers help pay for the marketplace ONLY WHEN it is making them money. And why? So that it can make them MORE money.

We can accomplish a lot more, a lot more quickly, if we reinvest some of the revenue our marketplace is generating. That reinvestment will benefit all our customers. Upgrading the website, building new seller tools, shining a spotlight on inventory – I think you all agree, it's worth doing. The other marketplaces, which have always charged higher commissions, have barely upgraded their sites in a decade – let alone reinvented the overall market for domains. Meanwhile, Epik is innovating. It's our turn. Given a decent budget to modernize and invent, let's see what we can do.

As domainers, we can tweak our prices slightly to compensate for a 5% / 9% commission. End users don't care too much whether they're paying $2400 or $2525. The main stumbling block is that 4-digit price range itself. Their YES / NO decision isn't going to be based on the tiny 5% price difference. Rather, it's based on the big amount they're asked to pay up front.

So instead of just pitching them $2400 up front, consider also pitching them $199 per month for 12 months – which is the same thing. Or better yet, $199 down + $99 per month in perpetuity. (That's more than $12k, but it looks much cheaper.) Throw in a 10% annual rent increase, and you can earn a consistent long-term income as a digital landlord. Why sell your assets at all?

By the way, Epik escrow is still just 1.5%. And you can ask the BUYER to pay that fee. So it would be 0% for you. Granted if you cash out, there is a disbursement fee. But only on the cash you withdraw. As domainers, we all have holding costs. A portfolio of 1000 domains is roughly $10k per year to maintain. Roughly $1k per month. So we don't usually need to withdraw 100% of a sale as cash. We can use a large chunk of that on renewals / transfers / registrations ... to maintain our portfolio. Then we skim off the profit as a withdrawal. And only on that portion would the cash-out fee apply.

For example, if I find my own buyer for a domain, then I will set up an Epik escrow transaction. I will ask the buyer to pay the fee. Maybe my sale is $10,000. Anticipating that I have a few thousand domains to maintain, perhaps I leave $6,000 in my Epik balance – to cover my portfolio, some new hand-reg speculation, and perhaps some aftermarket purchases of my own. Then I might withdraw the $4,000. And I'd pay a 5% cashout fee on that $4k. That's $200 altogether. Fine. So I pay $200 based on my $10,000 sale. Effectively that's just 2% because I'm keeping some of the money to be used on my own portfolio and domainer speculation. Not a bad deal, really.

The 5% / 9% commissions apply to the marketplace - not escrow. Think of the marketplace as a venue for passive sales. You create the listings, and the buyers / renters find you. So the commission applies only if our marketplace is delivering results. On your own deals, you can go through Epik escrow and avoid that commission. We still want you to bring your deals to us, and we're not charging a commission on those. We will be streamlining the Epik escrow process to make this even easier.

 

[creataweb]

I'm using the Epik MP right now and do like the 5 Year Payment Plan option and all the variables. No one one has an excuse to not buy the domain because of a price when they can put down next to nothing as a down payment to keep that domain on hold while paying the rest in installments.

 

[Beezy]

Shots fired at undeveloped, it seems. Competition is good.

 

[korganian]

Our goal here is to bring you more revenue – more Buyers, more Renters, faster conversion of leads into income. What's a 5% or 9% commission if Epik can increase your earnings by 20% or 50%?

That's not far fetched. Already, Epik has built the industry's best system for "Start Now" monthly payment plans. If you haven't seen all the customization options for Rentals / Financing / Optioning that we launched during 2018, then you're in for a nice surprise. Check it out!

Really, if you're not using this tool for your negotiations or passive listings, then you're missing out. These days, I never turn down anybody's offer. Instead, I just say: "Yes ... as a down payment." Then we negotiate from that starting point – what they're already willing to pay – tweaking the ongoing monthly terms.

It's amazing that Epik has built a marketplace – which is in some ways (notably Payment Plans) more advanced than any competing venue – without that marketplace bringing in any money. Sedo and Afternic and other venues charge 15% - 30%. That gives them a budget to spend on upgrades and marketing.

Imagine what Epik could do with a similar budget, given what we've already done with nothing. We have to pay programmers and designers. Money has to come from somewhere. And the fairest way is to charge a commission – so that customers help pay for the marketplace ONLY WHEN it is making them money. And why? So that it can make them MORE money.

We can accomplish a lot more, a lot more quickly, if we reinvest some of the revenue our marketplace is generating. That reinvestment will benefit all our customers. Upgrading the website, building new seller tools, shining a spotlight on inventory – I think you all agree, it's worth doing. The other marketplaces, which have always charged higher commissions, have barely upgraded their sites in a decade – let alone reinvented the overall market for domains. Meanwhile, Epik is innovating. It's our turn. Given a decent budget to modernize and invent, let's see what we can do.

As domainers, we can tweak our prices slightly to compensate for a 5% / 9% commission. End users don't care too much whether they're paying $2400 or $2525. The main stumbling block is that 4-digit price range itself. Their YES / NO decision isn't going to be based on the tiny 5% price difference. Rather, it's based on the big amount they're asked to pay up front.

So instead of just pitching them $2400 up front, consider also pitching them $199 per month for 12 months – which is the same thing. Or better yet, $199 down + $99 per month in perpetuity. (That's more than $12k, but it looks much cheaper.) Throw in a 10% annual rent increase, and you can earn a consistent long-term income as a digital landlord. Why sell your assets at all?

By the way, Epik escrow is still just 1.5%. And you can ask the BUYER to pay that fee. So it would be 0% for you. Granted if you cash out, there is a disbursement fee. But only on the cash you withdraw. As domainers, we all have holding costs. A portfolio of 1000 domains is roughly $10k per year to maintain. Roughly $1k per month. So we don't usually need to withdraw 100% of a sale as cash. We can use a large chunk of that on renewals / transfers / registrations ... to maintain our portfolio. Then we skim off the profit as a withdrawal. And only on that portion would the cash-out fee apply.

For example, if I find my own buyer for a domain, then I will set up an Epik escrow transaction. I will ask the buyer to pay the fee. Maybe my sale is $10,000. Anticipating that I have a few thousand domains to maintain, perhaps I leave $6,000 in my Epik balance – to cover my portfolio, some new hand-reg speculation, and perhaps some aftermarket purchases of my own. Then I might withdraw the $4,000. And I'd pay a 5% cashout fee on that $4k. That's $200 altogether. Fine. So I pay $200 based on my $10,000 sale. Effectively that's just 2% because I'm keeping some of the money to be used on my own portfolio and domainer speculation. Not a bad deal, really.

The 5% / 9% commissions apply to the marketplace - not escrow. Think of the marketplace as a venue for passive sales. You create the listings, and the buyers / renters find you. So the commission applies only if our marketplace is delivering results. On your own deals, you can go through Epik escrow and avoid that commission. We still want you to bring your deals to us, and we're not charging a commission on those. We will be streamlining the Epik escrow process to make this even easier.

I have been setting up parked pages at Epik on my domains after I get inbound inquiries on them and telling the prospect to go to the domain and click the "buy it now" button. Will I be charged a 9% commission for those direct sales?

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

I have been setting up parked pages at Epik on my domains after I get inbound inquiries on them and telling the prospect to go to the domain and click the "buy it now" button. Will I be charged a 9% commission for those direct sales?

Yes.
But from Aug'6.

 

[Keith]

@robepik

It’s not worth starting a new thread but I have to put this out there -

I placed a BO for an expired domain which was registered at epik. The confirmation email stated that the domain was expected to drop on August 4, 16 days after expiration. Phone support also confirmed that the domain would change accounts on the 16th day after expiration.

Now, after almost 30 days of expiration the domain gets renewed. I launched a support ticket and was told that 99% of customers lose their domain after 16 days of expiration if a BO is placed, but, 1% have 32 days to renew after expiration.

I guess it’s my bad luck in this case to hit the 1% but more importantly, why would epik.com give special privileges to 1% of their customers? This is the kind of thing that makes me want to never use a registrar that operates like this.

Please explain why 10 customers out of 1000 get to play by a different set of rules and why my confirmation email was incorrect since the domain wasn’t moved by the specified date!

Thanks

 

[alcy]

well I guess cashing out for 5% fee to paypal.. which was essentially same fee as getting a direct paypal payment.. couldn't last forever..

I do find epik interface.. very slow... outdated.. not pleasing to eye.. the landers are also not appealing.

someone mentioned this is competition to undeveloped.. but in terms of functionality and looks its not even close (epik not being the winer here).

so I do hope major changes in redesign do occur.. improved templates etc.. so the new fees are justified. else there will be just no reason to go to epik.

jmo

cheers

 

[Keith]

@robepik

It’s not worth starting a new thread but I have to put this out there -

I placed a BO for an expired domain which was registered at epik. The confirmation email stated that the domain was expected to drop on August 4, 16 days after expiration. Phone support also confirmed that the domain would change accounts on the 16th day after expiration.

Now, after almost 30 days of expiration the domain gets renewed. I launched a support ticket and was told that 99% of customers lose their domain after 16 days of expiration if a BO is placed, but, 1% have 32 days to renew after expiration.

I guess it’s my bad luck in this case to hit the 1% but more importantly, why would epik.com give special privileges to 1% of their customers? This is the kind of thing that makes me want to never use a registrar that operates like this.

Please explain why 10 customers out of 1000 get to play by a different set of rules and why my confirmation email was incorrect since the domain wasn’t moved by the specified date!

Thanks

The more I talk about this with other domain pros, the more I realize that epik is just another scammer. Unreal industry...