Domain Liquidation Platform - Seeking input for new Epik project

[DanSanchez]

Dear Namepros,

The team at Epik is exploring the development of a project that aims to shift the painful domain name expiration process into a more profitable experience for domainers. Perhaps you have read my opinions about registrars selling expired domains and refusing to help registrants in recovery. The time to disrupt this with action has come!

In the meantime, since joining Epik last month, I decided to do something about it with the help of some amazing engineers. The goal of this "name liquidate" idea is to sell domains directly to buyers that may otherwise wait to acquire these domains at expired auctions or being filled as registrar backorders which pays zero to the registrant.

The planned solution addresses two domainer pain points,
1. Liquidation of expiring inventory brings much needed capital, meaning you can renew more of your portfolio.
2. Buyers get clear title and dont waste time bidding on names that can be recovered post-expiry.

Here is the process,
1. Submit your domains: you unlock your domains, provide auth codes.
2. Seller acknowledges that a fast-transfer of the domain will occur once domain has a bid.
3. Bidders agree to non-revocable change of ownership if their bid prevails.
4. Sellers receive a large portion (80%?) of auction proceeds.

The process begins with a 7 day reverse auction counting down hourly/daily, down to $1 plus renewal/transfer for delivery. The domain doesn't have to be expired or expiring. You can submit the name multiple times during the life of the name but not more than once per year. Once the auth code is verified:
• Epik parks the domain with auction template with Make Offer pricing so retail bids can come in.
• Wholesale buyers are informed of expired auction inventory update.
• Domain goes through reverse auction in 7 days
• Domains are fast transferred to Epik as soon as one bid is made.
• If seller locks name, all domains will be removed and no further listings will be accepted from seller.
• Domains already at Epik are pre-qualified for "name liquidate" services, but you must opt in manually.
• External domains are eligible once auth codes are verified.
• Data will include number of views, expiration date, and expected delivery.
• Pre-set domain buys will give you the ability to buy any name when a price hits a certain target.
• Once a bid is submitted, it cannot be revoked. All purchases a final non-refundable.
As for brand name, we are considering NameLiquidate.com — very descriptive name and targeted at a very specific audience. That said, open to considering other names. A separate brand naming project is coming shortly for what Rob describes as the “Ultimate Digital Brand Marketplace”. This is separate.

 

[Ategy]

The other benefit you have with 9% is that it's the same as your marketplace .. so less confusion.

Honestly .. I didn't think 20% was the end of the world considering most domains actually let expire likely won't make tons of money (and you do need to make up your costs). I think the standard 15% would have been what I expected. But at 9% nobody can say anything .. it's a fantastic number that I think is more than fair and that should remove any commission concerns from anyone thinking about sending their domains there. Plus Epik also makes a few more cents on the renewal portion.

12, 9, 8, 5 doesn't really make much sense though. The steps should shorten towards the end regardless of what the lowest number will be ...

... 69, 59, 49, 44, 39. 34. 29, 25, 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 7, 5 would make more sense.

 

[Rob Monster]

The other benefit you have with 9% is that it's the same as your marketplace .. so less confusion.

Honestly .. I didn't think 20% was the end of the world considering most domains actually let expire likely won't make tons of money (and you do need to make up your costs). I think the standard 15% would have been what I expected. But at 9% nobody can say anything .. it's a fantastic number that I think is more than fair and that should remove any commission concerns from anyone thinking about sending their domains there. Plus Epik also makes a few more cents on the renewal portion.

12, 9, 8, 5 doesn't really make much sense though. The steps should shorten towards the end regardless of what the lowest number will be ...

... 69, 59, 49, 44, 39. 34. 29, 25, 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 7, 5 would make more sense.

Truth be told, the engineers said it would take many days off of the development schedule if we stayed consistent with the existing rates for marketplace and lease. And since we are about co-creating abundance and returning liquidity back to domainers, it made sense to just be very lean on commission. I have asked the engineers to deliver fully operational V1 before month-end along with the escrow dashboard which is currently in staging for QA. We have some more surprises coming.

 

[Ategy]

That being said .. I think you're missing out on an opportunity to increase purchase prices on the better names ... as "the heat of the moment" most certainly comes into play when people are engaged in an auction and they fear losing out to somebody else.

Double ended auction (BIN goes down > < Bids go up)
Also .. have you considered what I said about about the double sided auction by having bids going up until it means the current BIN?

I think that would really boost the final sales amount on the better inventory thanks to some last minute BINs from people who want to beat the competition.

 

[Mister Funsky]

- Closeout prices: Ending in 24hrs or less will be priced at 12, 9, 8, and 5 before ending.

Whatever the starting price (truly irrelevant other than the fact that if it is too low I, and others, may not participate) so lets say it starts at 1200 on day seven. There should be a logical downward daily progression, slowly at first of course, to allow someone to stumble onto the auction and grab a name they have been wanting whether retail or wholesale buyer. A higher sale price means more money for both of us (seller and epik) plus you get the 'onboarding' of domains/domainer as I assume the 60 day lock is mandatory.

The significant drop should not begin before the 48 hour (maybe 36) period countdown begins. There should be a consistent hourly price reduction ending with a steady and predictable $5 an hour for the last 36 hours (or 48) so an investor watching will know when he/she should be ready to jump in to ensure the name is 'caught' before someone else gets it (otherwise, people will wait for the next big drop to buy the name if the tiers are irregular and too steep...not what either of us want). The expectation for the bidder/buyer should be created such that someone else may take the name at any time is essential to keep the energy/activity up.

Ending time is important as well. Will it be EST, PST or Zulu. Whatever the time is, it should be logical as to when most domain investors are active (easy enough to determine...plenty of data out there). For example, I will not get up at 4am my time to jump into an ending auction...ever.

 

[Ategy]

100% agree with @Mister Funsky that the start should be VERY slow to allow for discovery. In fact .. I'd go so far as to say NO price drop in the first 24 hours.

That being said .. when it comes to hourly small BIN price-drops vs less frequent bigger BIN price-drops, I'm not so sure. I think on the other side if there are more distanced drops, then people would be more likely to be there waiting to pull the trigger. With slower drops people might simply keep saying .. I'll let it drop one more .. but then keep doing it.
(Ever play a game of Sid Meier's Civilization .. "Just one more turn" .. yeah riiiiight .. lol)

And yes .. also give some serious thought as to the timings .. it isn't the end of the world since it's progressive price dropping, but make sure they are all timed more or less together with a bit of a spread in time .. but of no more than an hour.
(I think GoDaddy just kills people with 5.5 hour long auction days)

 

[Mister Funsky]

So, what are the parameters? I can see the 9% commission and I'm pretty sure it is a 72 hour countdown...and based on a post above it bottoms at $9.

I looked on the nv page but didn't spot rules and regs...if I missed them, please let me know...if not, it would be helpful to have them clearly stated.

 

[Rob Monster]

So, what are the parameters? I can see the 9% commission and I'm pretty sure it is a 72 hour countdown...and based on a post above it bottoms at $9.

I looked on the nv page but didn't spot rules and regs...if I missed them, please let me know...if not, it would be helpful to have them clearly stated.

It is still being fully deployed but is in progress with work from @DanSanchez and @vitigo's engineering team. Nevertheless, the preview of the NameLiquidate site is live:

https://nameliquidate.com/

People can start adding inventory to it from here:

https://registrar.epik.com/portfolio-liquidate

There is live inventory on it now with countdown started -- it is a 3 day auction and it bottoms at $9.

Epik will buy some names just to make sure folks don't waste their time.

The team is working to have this all done by Saturday as the first batch of liquidation inventory counts down. The hard parts are all done.

 

[Mister Funsky]

It is still being fully deployed but is in progress with work from @DanSanchez and @vitigo's engineering team. Nevertheless, the preview of the NameLiquidate site is live:

https://nameliquidate.com/

People can start adding inventory to it from here:

https://registrar.epik.com/portfolio-liquidate

There is live inventory on it now with countdown started -- it is a 3 day auction and it bottoms at $9.

Epik will buy some names just to make sure folks don't waste their time.

The team is working to have this all done by Saturday as the first batch of liquidation inventory counts down. The hard parts are all done.

Ok...thanks. I've been distracted with typical holiday drama the last couple days and thought I missed an update (found out niece has a new tattoo sleeve, another nieces surgeon husband hoards spatulas, my much older sister has been keeping significant family secret).

I'm gonna write a book when it's all done.

 

[Rob Monster]

Just checked::

https://nameliquidate.com/

There are already more than 600 domains in this liquidation cycle. There are going to be some deals in this mix for sure. We'll be interesting to see at what price point domains get taken out. I see some solid 3 and even 4 figure domains in these lists -- including some "shoot the moon" candidates!

If folks want to finance some domain purchases, PM me and we'll see what we can do. The end-goal is to get domains into the hands of end-users. For the folks who have more time and talent, but less treasure, we'll do what we can to help there.

Also, very important, you are free to front-run! So, in other words, try to find a buyer, and then once your buyer is confirmed, then you can snipe the domain.

 

[DanSanchez]

So, what are the parameters? I can see the 9% commission and I'm pretty sure it is a 72 hour countdown...and based on a post above it bottoms at $9.

Correct, right now we are still testing key functions and adding content. The stream of domains is now ALL epik expired domains, if any names sell, the account which the expired domain belonged to will be credited automatically.

Have to say, I am extremely proud to be part of the Epik family. This is going to shift things so much!

By Saturday we should have full functionality.

 

[RJ]

Looks interesting. At the end of the 3 day auction, if the domain does not sell for $9 then it is removed from the NameLiquidation platform and we are free to sell elsewhere again?

 

[Rob Monster]

Looks interesting. At the end of the 3 day auction, if the domain does not sell for $9 then it is removed from the NameLiquidation platform and we are free to sell elsewhere again?

Correct.

There is a suggestion to keep the domain listed in a "Bargain Bin". That should be something that you opt into though since indeed some folks might not want that. However, for someone with expired/expiring domains that could be a great option since there are often folks coming to these marketplace sites looking for bargains. The new NameInvestors.com widgets will make it increasingly easy to present relevant domains to folks as the widget framework learns and adapts to user preferences.

If you don't know about that one, it was introduced here:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/so...to-the-domain-industry-this-christmas.1169741

 

[Ategy]

Hey guys .. looking like there's tons of potential here.

that being said .. just took a peek and seems like there's still some crucial elements needed before you push this.

1 - Help / information / instructions / details: Currently non-existent?

2 - Search: only manual? You should really implement at least some basic advanced search.

3 - Download: Some would like to be able to download the entire list (with available data if possible).

4 - Timing: I see you have some ending at 5am (2am Pacific). Is this really the optimal end time? I really suggest you have them all end at the same time every day. Otherwise there will be too many differing price points and end times and just overall confusion. I also highly suggest you mention when the next pricedrop will be .. it certainly will enhance sales and have some people waiting to jump for the next level.

5 - Pricing: Honestly .. having domains priced at amounts like $682.67 is just silly and distracting. Particularly when talking hundreds of dollars, prices should be rounded to the dollar and even to another higher level ($10s, or $25s .. ei: $680 or $675)

6- SERIOUSLY consider what I said about about adding a second side to stimulate action (increasing bids or proxy BINs)

 

[golan]

Somehow i missed this thread. And it's super crazily amazing stuff you are cooking guys.

So a question: if i submit my expires, what are the lifespan limits? Like, not later than 10 days to expiry, or not later than 10 days upon expiry if i still can obtain the auth code, or what?

 

[golan]

It might help with the psychology part of it. I cant tell you how many times I've failed to sell a name on here for even $20, only to see it get sold at expired auction for $80+

Exactly!

Just two days ago i had a case. I had a domain in my SEO domain shop priced at $90, nobody bought it thru a year and i decided to drop it. Then i found it while scanning DD drop auctions, and the bid was already $480+! And only few hours left. Of course i jumped to renew it. GUILTY! The next morning found a $200 offer via DD, sold.

 

[Purchased]

Name liquidate seems like a great idea, we'll submit some names

 

[DanSanchez]

Hey guys .. looking like there's tons of potential here.

that being said .. just took a peek and seems like there's still some crucial elements needed before you push this.

1 - Help / information / instructions / details: Currently non-existent?

2 - Search: only manual? You should really implement at least some basic advanced search.

3 - Download: Some would like to be able to download the entire list (with available data if possible).

4 - Timing: I see you have some ending at 5am (2am Pacific). Is this really the optimal end time? I really suggest you have them all end at the same time every day. Otherwise there will be too many differing price points and end times and just overall confusion. I also highly suggest you mention when the next pricedrop will be .. it certainly will enhance sales and have some people waiting to jump for the next level.

5 - Pricing: Honestly .. having domains priced at amounts like $682.67 is just silly and distracting. Particularly when talking hundreds of dollars, prices should be rounded to the dollar and even to another higher level ($10s, or $25s .. ei: $680 or $675)

6- SERIOUSLY consider what I said about about adding a second side to stimulate action (increasing bids or proxy BINs)

Hey thanks for the kind words, the site is still a work in progress but we expect to have a lot of the finishing touches completed tomorrow or Sunday.

My responses to your points:
1. Text and copy are being written by me, started yesterday and will push to finish this morning. All pages, explanations, instructions, etc. will make the site feel more complete.

2. Search, the manual search is extremely basic now because the dev team had to focus on the bones first to get the site operational. I provided a mockup search box that is extremely detailed and helps you narrow down your searches, quickly.

3. Download, will be available but it is behind some more important features we want first. Like the search bar.

4. Timing, these auctions are purely the expired stream at Epik for the moment. The auction start time will depend on the expiration process. But dev team is working on implementing a "watch list" to set in automatic buy ins, so you don't have to wait for the auction to end at the lowest price you want to pay to snag up the inventory you want.

5. Pricing, the pricing changes are purely based on hourly reductions to end at $9. The auctions are fast, only 72hrs from start to finish. Once we start seeing the first batch of names ending, you will see what the advantages of a reverse auction for buyers and sellers. The goal is also variety of pricing, I foresee hundreds of domains added per day, the stream will be full of great opportunities.

6. We are implementing an automatic buy-in to bring activity to the best inventory. It is very promising and the idea if fluid, we are happy to hear your input.

Thanks everyone for your excitement and ideas. It helps us! Especially the dev team doing the bulk of the work.

Somehow i missed this thread. And it's super crazily amazing stuff you are cooking guys.

So a question: if i submit my expires, what are the lifespan limits? Like, not later than 10 days to expiry, or not later than 10 days upon expiry if i still can obtain the auth code, or what?

Thanks I get teary eyed when I see this fully working, honestly. My thoughts on your question:

Your expired domain limits are varied depending on the registrar. For example if the domain is at Godaddy, you need to unlock and provide the auth code as soon as possible. Godaddy is known to take domains way before redemption to auction off. It may be prudent to run the auction 15 days post-expiration, at most.

Again, this highly depends on the registrar. I have the experience at most registrars but would appreciate your personal experience at places like NetSol, Register.com, Domain.com, and any others that might be part of your portfolio holdings.

The main goal is to avoid buyers wasting their time, sellers, wait too long to liquidate. This is to fluidity of capital and inventory. Submit your names with time and we will deal with any setbacks as they come.

Exactly!

Just two days ago i had a case. I had a domain in my SEO domain shop priced at $90, nobody bought it thru a year and i decided to drop it. Then i found it while scanning DD drop auctions, and the bid was already $480+! And only few hours left. Of course i jumped to renew it. GUILTY! The next morning found a $200 offer via DD, sold.

Precisely why I fell in love with this concept immediately!

 

[Blitzpotz]

Do you prefer submissions already directly via website upload or by PM for now @DanSanchez ?
How about changing Nameservers (where?), does it make sense for a 3 days auction time?

 

[DanSanchez]

Do you prefer submissions already directly via website upload or by PM for now @DanSanchez ?
How about changing Nameservers (where?), does it make sense for a 3 days auction time?

You can add submissions to the site yourself, but the auctions will start immediately. Make sure you are logged into Epik and go to NameLiquidate.com, the "ADD" button is on the very top of the site.

No DNS changes yet, will update you on this shortly.

 

[Rob Monster]

Thanks I get teary eyed when I see this fully working, honestly.

Dan is a passionate guy. It's true.

I admit that I like working with passionate people.

We are lucky to have him contributing his all to not one but two big projects:

https://namebrokers.com/
https://nameliquidate.com/

It is also a very important synergy that he has BOTH products under his authority. For example, I was going to liquidate Xertex.com, a 23 year old domain and Dan alerts me today.

The man's eye for detail is bordering on supernatural.

His wife is also expecting -- baby due any day now so send him some kind thoughts.