Discuss your Epik Experience!

[dande]

I think Epik is building the best ever Domain Lander in the history of domaining, and it really needs to be talked about extensively. That's why I am creating this discussion thread. A lot of thought process really goes into the project. And I can see (for the first time) a landing page that is built from the stand point of domainers rather than for just the marketplace itself.

Everything you have ever dreamt of getting or seeing in a professional landing page can be found in the new Epik marketplace landing page design.

Some of my Favorites Features:

1. The ability to optimize your "domain for sale" landing page to actually rank on Google, displaying your sales pitch/domain description. I just did that with few of my generic domain names such as ASAP.TV, targeting certain keywords, and they are showing pretty well on Google. That's a huge plus in my marketing effort.

2. Being able to change background image is another huge one for me. If you are good with pictures and images, you will surely find this very useful. I did that with Nagasaki.org and the result was truly amazing, showing the city of Nagasaki right at the background.

There are too many positive features and I don't want to mention all of them, all alone

So I am leaving you guys to share and discuss what you loves most or dislike about the new Epik marketplace and the landing pages.

The only negative for me is the checkout process. There are too many terms and conditions buttons to tick before checking out. It will be nice if they can streamline those into one beautiful big button

They also need to place the checkout button directly under the payment options. Right now it is awkwardly place somewhere below at the sidebar, which I don't find cool at all.

Sales experience is also welcomed in this discussion. I haven't had any sells so far at Epik because I started using the marketplace just recently, but the future is looking so bright.

 

[vij]

Hi Bob,I know you have experience with Dan and Epik so the question is if you absolutely must choose only one Epik.com or DAN.com (possibly because it can be too much work and get complicated using both platforms - at least for me) which one 1 of the 2 would you select (without reflecting any negativity on the other, since they are both excellent overall)?

As a side note, the way EPIK allows links on your page can be of very high value and also help SEO, etc. which is something DAN unfortunately does not do, last time I checked.

P.S. I apologize for putting you on the spot with such a difficult question (thanks to your opinion being of immense value).

check this poll

 

[DomainBanana]

Hmm... a site that owns its own 3rd-party trust reputation site and doesn't disclose it?? Doesn't seem right to me. The entire purpose of a 3rd-party reputation site is objectivity.

care to comment on the ethics of this @Rob Monster?

For those who don't know the context of TrustRatings.com, it is worth knowing the backstory about why we embarked on this project.

There are two parts:

(1) Commercial: When Epik wanted to add TrustPilot seals on a large number of sites, we were quoted an outrageous price of $6000 per year for each site. For what? A single question poll that promotes someone else's brand. No thanks. We want to empower anyone to get feedback, be discovered and take authority over managing reputation.

(2) Philosophical: I have first-hand experience with reputation sabotage. Both my businesses and my wife's businesses have been targets of reputation sabotage since I took a reasonable stand on lawful free speech. Efforts to fix these issues at Yelp and Google in particular have been pointless exercises.

When it comes to reputation sabotage, and weaponization of the Internet, I should add that I have also seen this type of unaccountable nonsense play out with Wikipedia. I have called that nonsense out on Twitter as well:

https://twitter.com/robmonster/status/1160620833020293120

When it comes to dealing with nonsense, I generally try to constructively engage with the parties that practice nonsense. If a battle is required, I try to pick and sequence them so that there is a cohesive strategy. Where logic fails, entrepreneurship has a role to play.

 

[Votumejero]

please I am finding it difficult to forward a domain for verification from Epik to another market place. What do I input at the subdomain and forward to boxes?

 

[Rob Monster]

please I am finding it difficult to forward a domain for verification from Epik to another market place. What do I input at the subdomain and forward to boxes?

It is pretty versatile. You can forward subdomains in different ways, and choose between forwarding a full URL or forwarding the domain. You also have the option of masking the forwarder so that the domain appears at the top of the browser.

Here is an example:

The how-to is here:

https://www.epik.com/support/knowledgebase/domain-forwarding-wildcard-redirect-or-url-forwarding/

 

[Rob Monster]

Pro Tip to share:

If you have domains you are planning to not renew somewhere, I recommend to add them to the Epik marketplace and price them under $79. People are actively scanning the Epik marketplace for bargains -- $79 seems a good price point for domain liquidation. As the domain gets closer to expiry, you can adjust downward as needed. Better to get some $ for your domains than to let them expire.

Also, Epik will buy domains from the bargain list too. So, there is some extra liquidity coming into the market this way, especially for decent .com for under $100, including hyphen names which we like just fine in many cases. It is free to list domains there, including domains at other registrars.

Moments ago, I bought the domain N-DA.com from @creataweb. I did that because I think it could be a good domain for hosting a cloud-based NDA template system. The idea fits with our forthcoming SignDeck project which is under development to give everyone an alternative to Docusign that everyone can afford.

If folks would like, we can also add a way to be alerted in real-time when a new bargain domain is added to the Epik marketplace inventory. We are looking at the least annoying way to do that since you could get a lot of alerts.

@Gube @Ala Dadan

 

[DomainBanana]

Thanks, Rob. Looking forward to your thoughts on the ethics of TrustRatings.com

 

[Rob Monster]

Thanks, Rob. Looking forward to your thoughts on the ethics of TrustRatings.com

Sure thing.

Although the site is still in development, I am fairly confident that TrustRatings.com will be an impressive product and highly viral soon after we launch it. Companies will be able to send unlimited invites to the customers with which to get their customers to rate them. That will definitely get the party started. We have a major update for companies and organizations coming online on October 1. It appears to be on schedule.

Some quick thoughts.

1. We do have a reference to Epik in the footer -- see on lower right.

2. We have formed a stand-alone corporation for this project. At the moment, Epik owns it, but it will have its own capital structure, its own governance and increasingly segregated resources.

As for the ethics of TrustRatings as a free service for evaluating trust, actually, it was ethics that prompted the need for it. See this example from Google Reviews:

That is my wife's business. When a bunch of activists decided to brigade Epik, they also went after my wife's business posting fake reviews and organizing a local boycott. She has done an amazing job and had 5 stars . She now has 4.1 because people who are not her clients decided to post fake reviews.

Requests to get the obviously weaponized and bogus reviews have gone unredacted. Now, this is not some rare thing. It is actually rampant. So, I can either get mad about it, or I can do something about it.

ICYMI, we are also building our own Smart, Anonymous, Search Aggregation platform. It is being staged on a site called Toki.com, which is a domain I bought right here on NamePros. And so in the future when you search for a business, you can expect to see a rating engine powered by TrustRatings.

And lastly, we have a search in progress now to secure a domain name to be used for a new service that will help people to Certify, Protect and Insure their domains. That search is described with a related poll here:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/poll-for-name-protection-product-concept.1155658

The same engineering that is building TrustRatings, will shortly also be working on the new project for domain protection products together with @bhartzer. We are a few weeks from having TrustRatings fully operational but it is going to be great. I am also really excited about the Domain Protection service.

Yes, Epik Holdings, Inc, is the parent company of these projects. Yes, I am the CEO of Epik Holdings. Do you have a problem using Google products when Google also does ratings and decides how much to pay your parking PPC vendor? Do they abuse their power sometimes? What are you doing about it?

 

[DomainBanana]

I appreciate the thoughtful response and wish you luck with TrustRatings.

My only hope is that, given the ownership conflict, TrustRatings will have absolutely nothing to do with Epik.com. There should be no references on Epik or any Epik site to TrustRatings.

Otherwise, this obviously undermines the trust of both sites.

 

[JB Lions]

Sure thing.

Although the site is still in development, I am fairly confident that TrustRatings.com will be an impressive product and highly viral soon after we launch it. Companies will be able to send unlimited invites to the customers with which to get their customers to rate them. That will definitely get the party started. We have a major update for companies and organizations coming online on October 1. It appears to be on schedule.

Some quick thoughts.

1. We do have a reference to Epik in the footer -- see on lower right.

2. We have formed a stand-alone corporation for this project. At the moment, Epik owns it, but it will have its own capital structure, its own governance and increasingly segregated resources.

As for the ethics of TrustRatings as a free service for evaluating trust, actually, it was ethics that prompted the need for it. See this example from Google Reviews:

Show attachment 130454
That is my wife's business. When a bunch of activists decided to brigade Epik, they also went after my wife's business posting fake reviews and organizing a local boycott. She has done an amazing job and had 5 stars . She now has 4.1 because people who are not her clients decided to post fake reviews.

Requests to get the obviously weaponized and bogus reviews have gone unredacted. Now, this is not some rare thing. It is actually rampant. So, I can either get mad about it, or I can do something about it.

ICYMI, we are also building our own Smart, Anonymous, Search Aggregation platform. It is being staged on a site called Toki.com, which is a domain I bought right here on NamePros. And so in the future when you search for a business, you can expect to see a rating engine powered by TrustRatings.

And lastly, we have a search in progress now to secure a domain name to be used for a new service that will help people to Certify, Protect and Insure their domains. That search is described with a related poll here:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/poll-for-name-protection-product-concept.1155658

The same engineering that is building TrustRatings, will shortly also be working on the new project for domain protection products together with @bhartzer. We are a few weeks from having TrustRatings fully operational but it is going to be great. I am also really excited about the Domain Protection service.

Yes, Epik Holdings, Inc, is the parent company of these projects. Yes, I am the CEO of Epik Holdings. Do you have a problem using Google products when Google also does ratings and decides how much to pay your parking PPC vendor? Do they abuse their power sometimes? What are you doing about it?

What happens if those people come to this new site and give bad reviews? Do they get deleted? How can you tell real reviews from fake? Is there some kind of verification process? With Amazon, I look more at Verified purchases reviews.

 

[Rob Monster]

What happens if those people come to this new site and give bad reviews? Do they get deleted? How can you tell real reviews from fake?

For business/organization customers, we are implementing a "Challenge" work process whereby business owners can request ID verification of the reviewer by TrustRatings staff. The reviewer's identity remains anonymous but TrustRatings will be able to attest that the person who submitted the review is a real person exercising their right to lawful free speech. Now that being said, the person's verified identity could later on be discovered through subpoena. We think it provides a check and balance -- allowing free speech, but also allowing consequence for making false statements in case of injurious outcome.

 

[DomainBanana]

I own a business.

Maybe I'll create a "trust site" and point a bunch of positive reviews to my company.

 

[Rob Monster]

I own a business.

Maybe I'll create a "trust site" and point a bunch of positive reviews to my company.

I can think of more interesting things to do with your life, but sure, go for it.

Alternatively, just do what most people do, and get an account at TrustPilot, Trustratings, or whatever, and send your customers the review link and have them review you.

In my case, I saw a problem in the weaponization of consumer reviews. As a former CEO of an online market research company acquired by WPP Group, I decided there was a gap in the market.

However, yes, the more the merrier. I am all for free market alternatives to "winner take all" monopolists that abuse their market power or have abdicated their role as responsible stewards.

 

[DomainBanana]

Of course I wouldn't do that. I understand the inherent ethical problem with falsely claiming third-party objectivity to enhance the reputation of my business. I would hope Epik does as well.

It's just commonsense.

 

[Rob Monster]

Of course I wouldn't do that. I understand the inherent ethical problem with falsely claiming third-party objectivity to enhance the reputation of my business. I would hope Epik does as well.

It's just commonsense.

Yup, of course. I expect within 3-6 months we'll have this firewalled. The first step was a separate capital structure. The second step is separate governance, though Epik will initially have a board seat. The third step, overlapping with the second, is more diversified ownership. As we see the revenue engine working there, we'll see who comes forward to invest in that and also whether to spin it out completely. In the meantime, I am happy that all Epik customers can have a ratings widget on their sites without setup cost and without service cost so that access to balanced reputation management is affordable to everyone.

 

[DomainBanana]

In my view, it's a meaningless ratings widget that actually damages the credibility of anyone who uses it.

I'm all for TrustRatings' success as an independent venture, but until it is firewalled, a trust site owned and operated by Epik that pretends to independently certify the trustworthiness of Epik and Epik vendors only hurts Epik's reputation.

Trust is earned, not bought. There are no shortcuts in the reputation business. Those who try them end up harming their business in the long run.

 

[Rob Monster]

In my view, it's a meaningless ratings widget that actually damages the credibility of anyone who uses it.

I'm all for TrustRatings' success as an independent venture, but until it is firewalled, a trust site owned and operated by Epik that pretends to independently certify the trustworthiness of Epik and Epik vendors only hurts Epik's reputation.

Agree to disagree there.

Keep in mind that TrustPilot wanted $6000 per year to do this for Epik.com alone and would not let us put it on SSL landers. That's the point.

Dan.com is doing this too. See here:

http://decallab.com/

What do you see there?

1. No SSL certificate

2. A trust pilot seal that is (probably) not supposed to be there. The badge in the upper is a static image and not a followable link.

Epik has the more sustainable approach if you ask me. We disagreed with TrustPilot's policies and pricing model and instead set up our own solution and company to pursue it.

We did this for Anonymize.com too when ICANN told us that the registrar could not be the WHOIS privacy proxy. Anonymize, Inc is an ICANN-compliant solution to their policy.

Sometimes, you just have to think outside of the box.

 

[DomainBanana]

Seeing TrustPilot on DAN is one of the things that made the DAN landers attractive to me (that badge in the upper right is an active link, by the way).

I'm familiar with TrustPilot. I've used TrustPilot. And I know they won't sell out if someone writes a review that a company doesn't like because they have no ownership conflicts.

What's the point of a trust site that no one can trust?

Good luck

 

[NickB]

I have personally removed the trust rating from most of my landers - need to do the rest.

You have the option not to have it on there. I personally do not like it, but it is an option for the domain owner whether to use it or not....nice to have that control.....

 

[Rob Monster]

Seeing TrustPilot on DAN is one of the things that made the DAN landers attractive to me (that badge in the upper right is an active link, by the way).

I'm familiar with TrustPilot. I've used TrustPilot. And I know they won't sell out if someone writes a review that a company doesn't like because they have no ownership conflicts.

What's the point of a trust site that no one can trust?

Good luck

Well, trust is earned, not conferred. So, we'll work to earn trust. We manage domain portfolios worth hundreds of millions of dollars. People do trust us not lose them, and to help them use them when they need to do so. Sometimes that means going the extra mile for people. We have done that many times.

Surely you have figured out by now that I am reasonably capable of breathing life into new ventures. I choose to do this within the context of Epik Holdings as a diversified capital structure, but the principles of providing value for money, and being governed by principles is quite demonstrated.

 

[DomainBanana]

I'm not attacking you or your business acumen, Rob. Your work at Epik is admirable.

I'm just questioning the validity of TrustRatings until it is wholly independent from Epik.

Good luck

 

[Rob Monster]

I have personally removed the trust rating from most of my landers - need to do the rest.

You have the option not to have it on there. I personally do not like it, but it is an option for the domain owner whether to use it or not....nice to have that control.....

Yes, good reminder. Much of the lander is now fully configurable. See in the configuration dialog -- at the bottom:

 

[Cal2]

Review sites on TrustPilot, starting with 1.5 star rating, then 1.8 star rating, jumping to 4.5, 3.5, 4.3. Which to believe:

https://www.google.com/search?sourc.........0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131.MQcyWXnxDhc

 

[Kassey Lee]

If you have domains you are planning to not renew somewhere, I recommend to add them to the Epik marketplace and price them under $79

Good idea. Thanks. Just transferred another small batch of domains to Epik. Smooth process.

 

[Rob Monster]

Review sites on TrustPilot, starting with 1.5 star rating, then 1.8 star rating, jumping to 4.5, 3.5, 4.3. Which to believe:

https://www.google.com/search?sourc.........0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131.MQcyWXnxDhc

That is a brilliant customer acquisition strategy. If it works, I owe you a bounty. Thank you for co-creating.

@DomainGraduate

 

[equity78]

Good idea. Thanks. Just transferred another small batch of domains to Epik. Smooth process.

Well I just regged 10 names with the special $5.49 coming to an end. Kassey one is for you, you don't have a way to pm here, but I will ask @Rob Monster to push from my account, just about every first name male or female in the plural is taken, Vinces.com just sold for $20,000 Roberts.com sold for $19,500 and several others. So I regged Kasseys.com and would like to give it to you for all you have contributed here on all things China.