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.

 

[oldtimer]

OK, I have corrected my default profile and applied that to the domains in my account. Thanks Rob!

I might be wrong, but I believe when you set a default profile for your account (to be used for whois) it only works for new domain registrations and transfers, the domains that are already in your account still need to be set to the correct whois info manually, unless of course if you sat the default profile for whois at the time that you opened your account before you had any domains (like me) which in that case you should be okay. IMO

 

[Optimal Names]

I might be wrong, but I believe when you set a default profile for your account (to be used for whois) it only works for new domain registrations and transfers, the domains that are already in your account still need to be set to the correct whois info manually, unless of course if you sat the default profile for whois at the time that you opened your account before you had any domains (like me) which in that case you should be okay. IMO

Existing names in my account had the correct PO Box because I had manually changed them when my PO Box changed, but I totally forgot about the default profile.

When I transferred names in recently I just assumed the WHOIS was correct (dont know why I did but.....) so I never checked their WHOIS. I just assumed the WHOIS data would transfer over from the WHOIS data at the losing registrar.

Yesterday I corrected the default profile so my guess is that the next reg or transfer will have the correct WHOIS.

 

[Embrand]

Any update regarding becoming a registrar for .ng? Would be great to have .ke as well.

 

[Rob Monster]

Any update regarding becoming a registrar for .ng? Would be great to have .ke as well.

It is a question for @Sufyan Alani . I expect .NG will come first as we have @domainexpert77 on the ground there and a fast-growing client base. I know the application process is in motion.

 

[Windoms]

Existing names in my account had the correct PO Box because I had manually changed them when my PO Box changed, but I totally forgot about the default profile.

When I transferred names in recently I just assumed the WHOIS was correct (dont know why I did but.....) so I never checked their WHOIS. I just assumed the WHOIS data would transfer over from the WHOIS data at the losing registrar.

Yesterday I corrected the default profile so my guess is that the next reg or transfer will have the correct WHOIS.

If you add those domains to Uniregistry and you hover onto a domain, it shows admin contact, you'll notice it shows old information on many domains.
whoxy.com/whois-history/
whois lookup always works fine.

 

[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.

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.

Just to followup here, Trustratings.com is being assigned to the NewCo called Toki, Inc. This assignment is in progress. The entity formation was confirmed this morning by the WA Secretary of State:

Digital Empowerment initiatives will be operated inside of Toki (for profit) and the upcoming Non-profit that is being named this week:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/poll-for-the-goodwill-of-domains-digital-empowerment-brand.1157478

The TrustRatings.com site is looking decent. Epik will start to use it shortly, replacing our current home-brew solution that was here:

https://www.epik.com/about/love/

We are working on governance and ownership progress -- this can ultimately be completely owned and governed by persons and entities other than Epik. It is Epik that incubated it and bootstrapped it.

 

[Sufyan Alani]

It is a question for @Sufyan Alani . I expect .NG will come first as we have @domainexpert77 on the ground there and a fast-growing client base. I know the application process is in motion.

We've just mailed our final application to the registry in Nigeria. The process is a bit lengthy because of the current requirements of sending actual signed paperwork (and all supporting documents) physically to the registry by courier. But, we're on track for this one.

Should probably be up and running by end of this month.

 

[Embrand]

We've just mailed our final application to the registry in Nigeria. The process is a bit lengthy because of the current requirements of sending actual signed paperwork (and all supporting documents) physically to the registry by courier. But, we're on track for this one.

Should probably be up and running by end of this month.

That sounds great. Thanks for the update.

 

[Rob Monster]

Pleased to add Nhi Doan to the Epik team in Vietnam:

https://www.namepros.com/members/nhi-doan.1028436/

Our Vietnamese user base has grown steeply in the last few months.

What else can you expect from Epik in Vietnam?

- .VN direct registry accreditation is in progress.

- Vietnam Content Delivery Network node for fast local local loading

- Vietnamese language coverage for UX and support

Thanks to @franka46 and @Tin Nguyen for teeing this up.

 

[Kassey Lee]

I have a domain profile set up as my default, which includes using Epik parking nameservers. This means domains created or transferred in have default landing pages set up automatically. This feature is handy as I'm moving domains to Epik and sometimes I'm too busy to set up my own landing pages right away. Great feature! Not sure if this default landing page can further be customized.

 

[Rob Monster]

I have a domain profile set up as my default, which includes using Epik parking nameservers. This means domains created or transferred in have default landing pages set up automatically. This feature is handy as I'm moving domains to Epik and sometimes I'm too busy to set up my own landing pages right away. Great feature! Not sure if this default landing page can further be customized.

Yes, Domain Profiles are a nice time-saver fore sure.

Will check with @Ala Dadan about allowing you to save a SSL lander profile and associating that witha default domain profile. Seems reasonable.

 

[NicTraders]

Yes, Domain Profiles are a nice time-saver fore sure.

Will check with @Ala Dadan about allowing you to save a SSL lander profile and associating that witha default domain profile. Seems reasonable.

That would be handy for sure.

 

[NicTraders]

Hey @Rob Monster - any update on whether that new SMS authentication engine (for 2FA) has been implemented yet? Or is it still coming?...

 

[Rob Monster]

Hey @Rob Monster - any update on whether that new SMS authentication engine (for 2FA) has been implemented yet? Or is it still coming?...

Yes live and working like a champ.

 

[Kassey Lee]

Yes, Domain Profiles are a nice time-saver fore sure.

Will check with @Ala Dadan about allowing you to save a SSL lander profile and associating that witha default domain profile. Seems reasonable.

Yes. Great time-saver. Would be an excellent feature if we can customize and then save an SSL lander to be included in our default domain profile to automatically apply to all new or transferred domains.

 

[comati]

Domain Profiles are a nice time-saver fore sure.

true

what i don't see is the option to get my auth codes in bulk. and that's a time waster for large portfolios.
also you should have the list of transfers in reverse chronological order (not a big issue, just annoying)

 

[NicTraders]

true

what i don't see is the option to get my auth codes in bulk. and that's a time waster for large portfolios.
also you should have the list of transfers in reverse chronological order (not a big issue, just annoying)

Yes, I have always thought transfers should automatically be listed with the newest transfers first - and highlight any that have failed. I was always surprised that Epik doesn't send an email for any that have failed actually. No big deal as I know where to look now, but at the start that was a surprise since I would expect a notification about a purchase that has been made but failed...

 

[NicTraders]

Yes live and working like a champ.

Brilliant. I'll give it a go now...

 

[NicTraders]

Yes live and working like a champ.

I enabled and waited while the 5min timer counted down. Sadly no SMS confirmation received. So I manually removed the leading '0' from my mobile number and it worked. Yay! A lot of sites don't require that, but at least it's working now. Might be a handy tip for any other international domainers reading along...

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

Who is responsible for the misleading TLD banners on Epik main page?
This issue is traditional... many times reported via LiveChat... but repeats and repeats continiously...

Live example: .life and .world banners of $2.49 - but actual checkout price is ~$35 and ~$41 accordingly.
For NON-premium domains.