Discuss your Epik Experience!

[Dandelion]

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.

 

[frank-germany]

how can I immediately delete a .com domain reged at epik?

 

[Embrand]

What a surprise. Rob Monster gives Epik (and his other company Sibyl) five stars in his review at his OWN new rating site TrustRatings that is implemented on all Epik landers and is a rip-off of TrustPilot. But he forgot to mention that he is the owner of both:

https://trustratings.com/users/5d6f4e6dd79f060159c90cf6

As usual, his employees have also been "invited" to do reviews there.

You couldn't make it up...

 

[loredan]

What a surprise. Rob Monster gives Epik (and his other company Sibyl) five stars in his review at his OWN new rating site TrustRatings that is implemented on all Epik landers and is a rip-off of TrustPilot. But he forgot to mention that he is the owner of both:

https://trustratings.com/users/5d6f4e6dd79f060159c90cf6

As usual, his employees have also been "invited" to do reviews there.

You couldn't make it up...

Ouch, that's harsh!

Rob and his employess shouldn't do that as the reviews are obviously biased. He should instead "invite" all of us who use Epik to review the company on Trust Ratings. He'll probably get a few good hundreds of reviews which will help kickstart the TR project.

Trust Ratings isn't a rip-off of Trust Pilot, it's just another reviews website ...rip-off is a wrong word imo ... by your logic Google is a rip-off of Yahoo and Namepross is a rip-off of DNF.

 

[Embrand]

Ouch, that's harsh!

Rob and his employess shouldn't do that as the reviews are obviously biased. He should instead "invite" all of us who use Epik to review the company on Trust Ratings. He'll probably get a few good hundreds of reviews which will help kickstart the TR project.

Trust Ratings isn't a rip-off of Trust Pilot, it's just another reviews website ...rip-off is a wrong word imo ... by your logic Google is a rip-off of Yahoo and Namepross is a rip-off of DNF.

I actually think rip-off is the correct word. It is not just using the same concept. It is using the exact same design and structure - even down to the same wording. Take a look and compare:

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/epik.com
https://trustratings.com/domain/epik.com

 

[Rob Monster]

What a surprise. Rob Monster gives Epik (and his other company Sibyl) five stars in his review at his OWN new rating site TrustRatings that is implemented on all Epik landers and is a rip-off of TrustPilot. But he forgot to mention that he is the owner of both:

https://trustratings.com/users/5d6f4e6dd79f060159c90cf6

As usual, his employees have also been "invited" to do reviews there.

You couldn't make it up...

Michael -- I was testing the new site. It just went live:

https://gab.com/epik/posts/102748072998376548

The domain was bought at NamePros earlier this year and we think the idea is worthy and timely. It is a work in progress but we have solid engineers working on it.

 

[Rob Monster]

Michael -- I was testing the new site. It just went live:

https://gab.com/epik/posts/102748072998376548

The domain was bought at NamePros earlier this year and we think the idea is worthy and timely. It is a work in progress but we have solid engineers working on it.

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.

 

[TCK]

What a surprise. Rob Monster gives Epik (and his other company Sibyl) five stars in his review at his OWN new rating site TrustRatings that is implemented on all Epik landers and is a rip-off of TrustPilot. But he forgot to mention that he is the owner of both:

https://trustratings.com/users/5d6f4e6dd79f060159c90cf6

As usual, his employees have also been "invited" to do reviews there.

You couldn't make it up...

LOL.

 

[loredan]

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 engage in it. 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. In other words, I don't tend to get mad. I get even. Lord-willing, it will happen.

I think TrustRatings can become a great project if you manage to "bribe" some of the busiest websites out there to use it instead of TrustPilot. If a few big fish will use it, more smaller ones will follow. In the end no matter how large or small, any company would love to save $6k a year.

 

[TCK]

(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.

So the answer is to start your own trust/reputation site that you control and give your own businesses top ratings?

 

[Rob Monster]

I think TrustRatings can become a great project if you manage to "bribe" some of the busiest websites out there to use it instead of TrustPilot. If a few big fish will use it, more smaller ones will follow. In the end no matter how large or small, any company would love to save $6k a year.

Thanks @loredan. Classy response.

You nailed one of the core issues. There is very little chance for a bootstrapping company in India, Pakistan, Philippines, or a ghetto in Detroit, that they are going to find $6000 per year to fund a feedback poll for their service. As such, they are excluded from something that is of strategic value in building trust on a relatively lawless internet.

TrustRatings.com will have a very lean cost structure, using AI and Software to maintain integrity in the voting and feedback process. As context, some of the same technology that mitigates credit card fraud is being applied to detect and prevent ballot stuffing.

We are also working to integrate financial data from reputable sources as another trust vector, similar to how credit bureaus and bond rating agencies use data and algorithms to predict the trust/resiliency of a particular financial instrument or institution.

This is going to be a journey. For now, it is running as a division of Epik but we might spin it out into another entity, e.g. Swiss Foundation or other legal structure that is well suited to the mission.

There is one thing I am certain about and that it is needed. The decision to become a registrar in 2011 was actually prompted by this incident:

https://epik.com/blog/bob-parsons-tear-down-your-privacy-wall.html

It was on that day that I concluded that Godaddy would not be the last word in the world of registrars and that alternatives should ultimately emerge. They are. Similar story here. TrustPilot could be empowering humanity, but instead they are playing the familiar Silicon Valley tune and are milking a cow all the way to the bank.

We recently secured a domain called SignDeck.com for use for a Docusign alternative. That project is under way. It too will change the economic model to being one that is universally inclusive -- anyone can get a digital signature and participate, not just rich people and companies with big budgets.

 

[TCK]

TrustRatings.com will have a very lean cost structure, using AI and Software to maintain integrity in the voting and feedback process. As context, some of the same technology that mitigates credit card fraud is being applied to detect and prevent ballot stuffing.

What are you doing to remove the perception of conflict of interest on TrustRatings that your businesses are getting top ratings, and any less than positive ratings are deleted, because you own and control the site.

 

[Mister Funsky]

TrustRatings.com will have a very lean cost structure, using AI and Software to maintain integrity in the voting and feedback process. As context, some of the same technology that mitigates credit card fraud is being applied to detect and prevent ballot stuffing.

We are also working to integrate financial data from reputable sources as another trust vector, similar to how credit bureaus and bond rating agencies use data and algorithms to predict the trust/resiliency of a particular financial instrument or institution.

This is going to be a journey. For now, it is running as a division of Epik but we might spin it out into another entity, e.g. Swiss Foundation or other legal structure that is well suited to the mission.

There is one thing I am certain about and that it is needed. The decision to become a registrar in 2011 was actually prompted by this incident:

https://epik.com/blog/bob-parsons-tear-down-your-privacy-wall.html

It was on that day that I concluded that Godaddy would not be the last word in the world of registrars and that alternatives should ultimately emerge. They are. Similar story here. TrustPilot could be empowering humanity, but instead they are playing the familiar Silicon Valley tune and are milking a cow all the way to the bank.

We recently secured a domain called SignDeck.com for use for a Docusign alternative. That project is under way. It too will change the economic model to being one that is universally inclusive -- anyone can get a digital signature and participate, not just rich people and companies with big budgets.

All the projects are worth while and I am glad you are willing and able to make a stand and put some of your treasure behind the ventures.

If developed and run properly, each one could/would be financially self sustaining in a short time whether under the Epik umbrella or spun out.

 

[Embrand]

It's a shame, really. Until recently, I planned to move most of my domains over to Epik. Because they do indeed have many great things, which I have already praised them for:

- great user interface
- good prices
- many TLDs
- very good support
- good options for sellling domains
- active staff here at NamePros

That is what makes it even more difficult to understand why Rob:

- cancelled my outgoing wire transfer after selling a name at Epik
- disclosed at NamePros both what name I had sold and what name I then bought at Epik after my wire transfer was cancelled
- insinuated that a NamePros member has Nazi ancestors (it seems that post has been deleted)
- continues to allow privacy for .in domains even though they know the registry does not allow it
- steals large company TrustPilot's entire design

I have 15 low-value names left at Epik and will move them out when possible.

I wish Rob Monster all the best with his many, many projects.

 

[Rob Monster]

So the answer is to start your own trust/reputation site that you control and give your own businesses top ratings?

It is actually a level playing field. I offer the same courtesy to anyone. I have no administrator privileges on that service. I am not sure I will ever request them precisely for the reason you are raising here.

In short, if you are stuffing the ballot, the algorithm will detect it and will weight your poll responses with a lower weight until you verify your identity, which is is double-blind from the person being rated.

Again, this is a journey. I have made a career out of (1) listening to my critics, (2) separating the wheat from the chaff, and (3) turning lemons into lemonade. So, by all means, rip that product to shreds. We will be listening to your feedback.

 

[TCK]

It is actually a level playing field. I offer the same courtesy to anyone. I have no administrator privileges on that service. I am not sure I will ever request them precisely for the reason you are raising here.

So everyone has to take your word for it. The perception of conflict of interest persists. You need to remove it if you want TrustRatings to ever carry any weight.

 

[Rob Monster]

It's a shame, really. Until recently, I planned to move most of my domains over to Epik. Because they do indeed have many great things, which I have already praised them for:

- great user interface
- good prices
- many TLDs
- very good support
- good options for sellling domains
- active staff here at NamePros

That is what makes it even more difficult to understand why Rob:

- cancelled my outgoing wire transfer after selling a name at Epik
- disclosed at NamePros both what name I had sold and what name I then bought at Epik after my wire transfer was cancelled
- insinuated that a NamePros member has Nazi ancestors (it seems that post has been deleted)
- continues to use privacy for .in domains even though they know the registry does not allow it
- steals large company TrustPilot's entire design

I have 15 low-value names left at Epik and will move them out when possible.

I wish Rob Monster all the best with his many, many projects.

Thanks @Embrand.

I addressed your concern here and you acknowledged that the summary is factually correct. I call it a success story but for each his own.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/if...g-time-and-money.1119508/page-10#post-7346765

As for the whole Nazi thing, I am obviously not that. The point I was making is that anyone can be accused ignorantly. It is touched upon here:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...and-rob-monster.1128748/page-102#post-7384014

Best wishes.

 

[Rob Monster]

So everyone has to take your word for it. The perception of conflict of interest persists. You need to remove it if you want TrustRatings to ever carry any weight.

TrustRatings will eventually have a dedicated management team, and probably an independent structure for management, finances and governance. We are efficiently incubating it at Epik because we perceive a gap in the market.

For perspective, we did the same thing with Armored.net for cloud storage. There is not much controversy there yet but as it starts drawing folks away from Dropbox, it may become the target of vilification from the Silicon Valley puppetmasters.

 

[TCK]

TrustRatings will eventually have a dedicated management team, and probably an independent structure for management, finances and governance. We are efficiently incubating it at Epik because we perceive a gap in the market.

If you are incubating TrustRatings, you should leave any mention of Epik out of the ratings until it is under an independent management team that will not skew or edit ratings in favor of Epik.

 

[Rob Monster]

If you are incubating TrustRatings, you should leave any mention of Epik out of the ratings until it is under an independent management team that will not skew or edit ratings in favor of Epik.

Well, when we went to production on Friday morning, I did a test, there was a bug when we cleared out all the test ratings. It looked like this:

I am not an admin, but we'll get my reviews removed as soon as there are a few hundred reviews. I did not it want it to be empty when I invited the Gab folks to use it.

Hopefully we get 100+ reviews this weekend. We'll be in a public alpha for the next 3 weeks while we finish the business tools.

Some of the site copy is being updated. The legal review was not done, so we have some placeholder content there now.

 

[Samer]

“TrustRatings” best name, sounds better than Trustpilot.

Good luck, Rob!