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.

 

[namemarket]

I am slowly moving my names here. I applied for a loan last night when I had some issues with my cards and Rob quickly approved it for me and I did not lose the names. Amazing service really. Keep up the good work @Rob Monster

That seems like a nice benefit if cash is needed fast, How does the loan work and what percentage of value do they lend and how is valuation determined?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

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)?

Let me first emphasize that I hugely like both DAN and the Epik landers. I also find that Efty is a really good solution for many as well.

But just about DAN and Epik as you asked, they both

• are in my opinion elegant,
• build trust from the potential purchaser in the transaction process,
• allow descriptive narratives to a greater degree than some other options.
• Also, both platforms allow payment options to be easily implemented.
• The principals in both are highly responsive on NPs.

I have not had an Epik transaction, but all of the ones at DAN, including one since the introduction of the DAN transfer system, have been fast with rapid payout. Both landers launch fast most of the time (maybe tiny edge to Epik, but I am physically closer to their servers).

What do I particularly like about each?

Epik pros

• I hugely like the possibility of having links (I think the aftermarket has failed with first time end users partly because they don't get all the information they need easily and directly. Expanded text with links can overcome this. Also, it really helps to highlight similar domain names for sale.)
• I like the power, flexibility and simplicity of setting up payment plans (DAN have them but I think only for $500+ sales and with fewer options).
• If the domain name is at a registrar, there are advantages to selling it at that registrar (not just true at Epik, but all the registrar places) I've sold through other registrar marketplaces and just like that it all happens and I get a notice.
• I like the provided images and the ease of uploading them
• Not re lander per se, but I like the tools Epik provide the how many times Whois was queried and Estibot valuation on domains registered at Epik that I am selling.

DAN pros

• For a beginner, the DAN interface is simpler. It takes me almost no time to get a listing that looks elegant and has some basic information up. They allow a tiny bit of text customization like italic and bold etc. I am still learning Epik. It has more bells and whistles, but also more overhead in knowing where to access them.
• I think the DAN automation transfer system is forward looking and smart and will catch on and is a plus valuable for those of us who have domains across many registrars (I use 10 currently).
• To my knowledge (possibly wrong!) Epik does not have something like the logo on business card/letterhead presentation that is really elegant in DAN. If I am right that it is in DAN but not Epik for certain domain listings that is a plus for DAN. I know that feature is important to you for at least some of your listings @namemarket.
• I have not yet used the corresponding Epik feature, but the ability to have all my DAN domain names for sale at a single place with a link I can share is really nicel I can customize that with an image and text about me.
• The DAN dashboard and Portfolio are both informative and intuitive. Easier to use and see at a glance your names, prices, their traffic, etc. (you can do all this with Epik, and much more, just I think DAN is more user friendly).

You know me and not wanting to take sides. I think most domainers will be incredibly well served by either. For those who have limited time, are just starting out, or want to deal with only one marketplace, I would suggest DAN. For those who want to essentially develop tiny mini sites which provide a wealth of information on individual domain names, Epik is a powerful solution offering power features.

Just in further balance, of course should be pointed out that the huge networks with agents speaking multiple languages of Sedo and Afternic have distinct advantages in closing sales and getting good prices, and there are many other registrar sites with nice features (I like NameSilo landers a lot too!).

Bob

Edit: In case relevant for disclosure here is my personal plan. I plan to use Epik and NameSilo and Dynadot as the primary stop for the domains registered with each of them, and to use DAN as my location for listing the majority of my domains, and to continue to use Sedo and Afternic (not as many listings, increasingly focus on fast transfer eligible) as well as the Namecheap Marketplace (where I have actually the largest number of sales). I partly use a lot to learn about each directly.

 

[Abdullah Abdullah]

That seems like a nice benefit if cash is needed fast, How does the loan work and what percentage of value do they lend and how is valuation determined?

You request a certain amount and you put forward a collateral domain. They determine if the domain is worth the loan you need then if all is ok they approve you and you accept and you agree on payment date.

 

[namemarket]

........You know me and not wanting to take sides. I think most domainers will be incredibly well served by either. For those who have limited time, are just starting out, or want to deal with only one marketplace, I would suggest DAN. For those who want to essentially develop tiny mini sites which provide a wealth of information on individual domain names, Epik is a powerful solution offering power features...........

Thanks Bob for you time and great in-depth analysis and incredibly helpful details on Epik and Dan. I know you don't want to take sides as I asked you to do so sorry about that!

It's a fabulous benefit with Epik allowing links on the pages (I was not aware of it) and offering fast domain loans said by Abdullah Abdullah (didn't know they did loans) which I am real impressed by. To me the links alone are a game-changer since I can put helpful links up for SEO benefits and also add to sales potential and overall traffic.

In addition, the payment plans at Dan seem less flexible and I also didn't know was only for plus $500 sales. I also like the idea of an image gallery to select from and can say it is far from easy to setup images at Dan which must be sized right and be your own images and only in .PNG format for some reason.

So those are more nice pluses for Epik. A possible and important negativity is at first glance and without much Epic experience the platform looks to be not nearly as easy to navigate and use vs Dan.

In fact, I am so impressed by links at Epik (and loans, more payment plans and images) that I just sent DAN.COM a message asking if they can also do links and more If not, in all likelihood will start moving some important domains to EpIk, which are now at Dan however I really like the great ease of use by Dan and the cool business cards on the page with a well-placed image doable on the cards.

 

[Rob Monster]

Thanks Bob for you time and great in-depth analysis and incredibly helpful details on Epik and Dan. I know you don't want to take sides as I asked you to do so sorry about that!

It's a fabulous benefit with Epik allowing links on the pages (I was not aware of it) and offering fast domain loans (also didn't know they did it) which I am real impressed by. To me the links alone are a game-changer since I can put helpful links up for SEO benefits and also add to sales potential and overall traffic.

In addition, the payment plans at Dan seem less flexible and I also didn't know was only for plus $500 sales. I also like the idea of an image gallery to select from and can say it is far from easy to setup images at Dan which must be sized right and be your own images and only in .PNG format for some reason.

So those are more nice pluses for Epik. A possible and important negativity is at first glance and without much Epic experience the platform looks to be not nearly as easy to navigate and use vs Dan.

In fact, I am so impressed by links at Epik (and loans, more payment plans and images) that I just sent DAN.COM a message asking if they can also do links and more If not, in all likelihood will start moving some important domains to EpIk, which are now at Dan however I really like the great ease of use by Dan and the cool business cards on the page with a well-placed image doable on the cards.

There is no question that DAN and Epik are out-innovating Sedo and Afternic. Anyone still using PPC landers is missing the boat completely notably for anything other than names that actually make money with high traffic or very high CPC. There is plenty of opportunity to go around for both DAN and Epik as we finally see a massive shift away from archaic PPC landers.

 

[Kassey Lee]

I spent some time last night playing with the configurable landers for the Epik Marketplace.

I want to thank Bob for the time put into trying and then reporting the Epik lander features. I plan to transfer some domains to Epik as they expire and try the landers. Very powerful indeed.

One feature I want is the ability to FTP images and texts to set up lander(s) for domain(s). This is important because I manage all my domains in a database locally. Being able to create a landing page programmatically will save a lot of my time. Is the FTP option possible?

 

[Mr De]

And now we drop the price to $9 for the last hour. We'll see what difference that makes.

@Rob Monster, if I got you right the cost of purchase from diamond list is 9$ plus renewal fee if price drop to 9$ at last hour?

 

[pooky]

Bob - in your domain Manager:

Show attachment 124586

It is a feature under Reports. It generates a jazzy-looking PDF certificate. See attached example. I think this is especially helpful for resellers and people who are buying on behalf of others on a full-service basis. A .COM domain might cost you $8 but too some low-tech client, the printed piece of paper might be worth a lot more than that due to peace of mind and literal paper trail.

Would be helpful to mention the date of generation of the certificate.

 

[Rob Monster]

@Rob Monster, if I got you right the cost of purchase from diamond list is 9$ plus renewal fee if price drop to 9$ at last hour?

Yes, correct -- it is another domainer happy hour so to speak -- the very last hour of the 24 hour countdown. I saw some bargain sales last night. Happy for the buyers.

 

[Rob Monster]

Would be helpful to mention the date of generation of the certificate.

Good suggestion there -- we'll incorporate that in an update.

 

[Rob Monster]

I want to thank Bob for the time put into trying and then reporting the Epik lander features. I plan to transfer some domains to Epik as they expire and try the landers. Very powerful indeed.

One feature I want is the ability to FTP images and texts to set up lander(s) for domain(s). This is important because I manage all my domains in a database locally. Being able to create a landing page programmatically will save a lot of my time. Is the FTP option possible?

Thanks @Kassey Lee.

That is a good suggestion there - the SSL landers are great, but indeed could be even better for large portfolio holders as the content can be programmatically populated via API.

For those not aware of the robust Epik API, the how-to is here:

https://www.epik.com/support/knowledgebase/the-epik-com-domain-name-registration-api/

The API documentation is here:

https://docs.userapi.epik.com/v2/

We'll add some methods for populating the SSL landers via API, including the ability to upload custom graphics and custom text which could be quite helpful for SEO.

@Ala Dadan

 

[Kassey Lee]

We'll add some methods for populating the SSL landers via API, including the ability to upload custom graphics and custom text which could be quite helpful for SEO.

That would be great feature for investors managing large number of domains. Look forward to its availability. Thanks.

 

[Rob Monster]

That would be great feature for investors managing large number of domains. Look forward to its availability. Thanks.

The engineering task is written up -- we'll see how quickly we can turn that around. The immediate emphasis is on SEO and retargeting capabilities for maximizing organic traffic and sell-through. However, the idea of empowering domain portfolio holders to scale best practices through the API fits well.

 

[Kassey Lee]

the idea of empowering domain portfolio holders

I must say that you are a forward thinking and visionary leader. I hope you folks will lead the domain industry by continuing to launch new features to help domain investors. One thing I feel strongly is the commission rates charged by some marketplaces -- some up to 30%. If domains are digital addresses, then the commission rate has to come down to 5% or so to be comparable with the real estate industry in the physical world.

 

[Rob Monster]

I must say that you are a forward thinking and visionary leader. I hope you folks will lead the domain industry by continuing to launch new features to help domain investors. One thing I feel strongly is the commission rates charged by some marketplaces -- some up to 30%. If domains are digital addresses, then the commission rate has to come down to 5% or so to be comparable with the real estate industry in the physical world.

Thanks for the kind words.

As for the commission rate, Epik is on the low end of the market. We charge nothing to use our tools even if the domains are registered elsewhere. Keep in mind that most marketplace transactions are small, and with transactions being done with card-not-present payment methods which carry a chargeback risk.

That being said, if you have a transaction where you are sourcing the buyer, then your go-to method can be to clear the transaction on the basis of managed escrow, in which case the commissions can be very low -- e.g. 1.5% and even free. See here.

 

[frank-germany]

I recommend you spend less time in using all these configuration features
and simply acquire domains that a buyer will wan to own

he/they won't care much about your nice LP

just about negotiation / price / BIN

 

[Rob Monster]

I recommend you spend less time in using all these configuration features
and simply acquire domains that a buyer will wan to own

he/they won't care much about your nice LP

just about negotiation / price / BIN

I think it comes down to the talents and resources of the individual domain investors.

Someone who is long on time but short on cash might be indeed better off investing time in optimizing and merchandising the few domains they have in order to realize a sale, and to then reinvest proceeds.

On the other hand, someone who is short on time but long on cash would be a good candidate to buy great domains for fair prices and wait patiently for a retail buyer.

At the end of the day, organic traffic from a well-executed landing page might be the best option for a domain bootstrapper. It might not be right for you and that's fine but don't knock it.

 

[Windoms]

Hello @Rob Monster , nice thing you've built right there.

For this case scenario.
I have a transaction on the epik marketplace.
My domain is registered elsewhere.
I didn't bring the buyer. Buyer visited epik lander and bought the domain.
I don't want my funds to be held in masterbucks.

In this case scenario, how much do I pay in total to use the epik marketplace?
Including the 5% masterbucks cashout fee.
5%? 6.5%? 9%?

From what I understand, if the domain is registered elsewhere and if I bring the buyer, it would be 6.5%.
5% if the domain is registered at epik.

How much if buyer simply visits the epik lander and buys the domain.

Thank you.

 

[Rob Monster]

Hello @Rob Monster , nice thing you've built right there.

For this case scenario.
I have a transaction on the epik marketplace.
My domain is registered elsewhere.
I didn't bring the buyer. Buyer visited epik lander and bought the domain.
I don't want my funds to be held in masterbucks.

In this case scenario, how much do I pay in total to use the epik marketplace?
Including the 5% masterbucks cashout fee.
5%? 6.5%? 9%?

From what I understand, if the domain is registered elsewhere and if I bring the buyer, it would be 6.5%.
5% if the domain is registered at epik.

How much if buyer simply visits the epik lander and buys the domain.

Thank you.

There is actually no 5% cashout fee. The commission is deducted at the time of the transaction and the funds are fully redeemable without fee, or can be spent at Epik.

 

[Larion]

Dear Rob,

you mentioned that SEDO-Landing-Pages are not visible, when using a "Standard Ad Blocker".
I am using 2 different Ad-Blockers with FireFox and SEDO's landing-pages are actually showing fine for me.

Which Ad-Blocker are you using, which is blocking SEDO`s pages ?

Many thanks!

 

[Rob Monster]

Dear Rob,

you mentioned that SEDO-Landing-Pages are not visible, when using a "Standard Ad Blocker".
I am using 2 different Ad-Blockers with FireFox and SEDO's landing-pages are actually showing fine for me.

Which Ad-Blocker are you using, which is blocking SEDO`s pages ?

Many thanks!

Check any Sedo domain:

https://securitytrails.com/list/ns/ns1.sedoparking.com

This is what you get in the Brave browser for example:

 

[frank-germany]

Check any Sedo domain:

https://securitytrails.com/list/ns/ns1.sedoparking.com

This is what you get in the Brave browser for example:

Show attachment 124724

that is not a sedo "for sale" page
but a sedo parking page

 

[frank-germany]

I think it comes down to the talents and resources of the individual domain investors.

Someone who is long on time but short on cash might be indeed better off investing time in optimizing and merchandising the few domains they have in order to realize a sale, and to then reinvest proceeds.

On the other hand, someone who is short on time but long on cash would be a good candidate to buy great domains for fair prices and wait patiently for a retail buyer.

At the end of the day, organic traffic from a well-executed landing page might be the best option for a domain bootstrapper. It might not be right for you and that's fine but don't knock it.

even if you have a lot of time
and are short on cash

you will do better to finding the nuggets
within your potential reach of domain names
then tweaking your landing page
in order to rank for SEO


there is no way you can rank a domain for sale landing page
for a meaningful keyword related to a commercially interesting keyword
aginst a company actually acting in that area

Google wouldn't want you to be positioned that way
their whole concept goes against it

it's about links and content


how can you make a fast-loading webpage
serving the 2 purposes of being extremely well designed
in telling the visitor that the domain is for sale
and how to buy it

and at the same time
serve extremely well for SEO for a completely different topic?


you waste your time


Rob wants you to register domains at epik

the epik landing page is not for external domains
as far as I understand it

so take the information here with a grain of salt

 

[Windoms]

There is actually no 5% cashout fee. The commission is deducted at the time of the transaction and the funds are fully redeemable without fee, or can be spent at Epik.

I found it.

''Epik Marketlace commissions are for passive listings where the buyer finds YOU:
9% for direct purchase
5% for monthly Payment Plan

Epik escrow is for active transactions where you find your own buyer and bring them to Epik to finalize the deal:
1.5% escrow fee (no marketplace commission)''

No cashout fee for namepros users.

 

[Mr De]

that is not a sedo "for sale" page
but a sedo parking page

@frank-germany What is Sedo for sale page DNS?