Flippa

[Eric Lyon]

This thread was created to cater to a second discussion that evolved in another thread. To keep the original thread on topic, all off-topic posts have been moved here for continued discussion.

Before replying to this thread or any thread on NamePros, read:

Expectations for respect and constructiveness

 

[Jen-Sin]

suppose if u sold ur listing for $100 ..u have to give 10% success fees .
now u have $90-----u choose flippa escrow--pay by PayPal u get ur $90 in ur PayPal account-------if u choose bank transfer then $90-$25=$65...

I understand that.

However in reality, one doesn't receive $65 in the bank account eventually. That's why I ask whether anyone outside US / Australia has any experience getting paid by bank transfer for Flippa Escrow.

 

[Branded Domains]

I understand that.

However in reality, one doesn't receive $65 in the bank account eventually. That's why I ask whether anyone outside US / Australia has any experience getting paid by bank transfer for Flippa Escrow.

I got exact fund after success fees minus $25...no conversion fees

 

[Jen-Sin]

I got exact fund after success fees minus $25...no conversion fees

Your (beneficiary) bank doesn't charge for inward wire transfer and there's no hidden intermediary bank fees too. That's good.

Do you have experience getting paid by wire from other marketplaces like GoDaddy, Sedo, NameJet etc? Is it the same?

 

[Branded Domains]

No experience(bank transfer) with other marketplace my friend...

 

[FlippaDomains]

@Jen-Sin Amount of followers on your account? I see lots of sellers with 100+ begin to pick up more traction. I recommend you send potential buyers links to your auctions or non-auction / portfolio listings and focus on outbound marketing efforts to increase followers. I also hope we as a platform can make it easier to 'watch' a seller (or follow them) and create more public links to everyone's portfolio, if they opt-in to have one (they can also keep their public URL quiet).

As for the wire fees, I hate suggesting to use PayPal - the least secure option - but ANY escrow service will charge some sort of INTL wire fee. I strongly recommend emailing [email protected] with questions should you still need clarification.

 

[johsnow]

Hello,

I sold a domain using the Flippa Escrow, the buyer paid and the transfer is complete.

The problem is the buyer is new to Flippa and doesn`t know how to release the funds.

I myself have never bought a domain using the Flippa Escrow and do not know the exact steps for releasing the funds.

Can someone please write me a short guide, to send to the buyer, how the funds are released? Something like go to Flippa.com -> domain name -> click here ... Or maybe if there is an email with the link to release the funds, what is the subject and how to find that email?

 

[FlippaDomains]

Hello,

I sold a domain using the Flippa Escrow, the buyer paid and the transfer is complete.

The problem is the buyer is new to Flippa and doesn`t know how to release the funds.

I myself have never bought a domain using the Flippa Escrow and do not know the exact steps for releasing the funds.

Can someone please write me a short guide, to send to the buyer, how the funds are released? Something like go to Flippa.com -> domain name -> click here ... Or maybe if there is an email with the link to release the funds, what is the subject and how to find that email?

Check in with [email protected] first thing - and [email protected] (with a link to the Sales Completion Area of your auction) so they can write something out for the buyer.

 

[johsnow]

Hi FlippaDomains, thanks for the reply.

I sent you a PM, can you please take a look. Thank you!

 

[FlippaDomains]

Hi FlippaDomains, thanks for the reply.

I sent you a PM, can you please take a look. Thank you!

My team's looking into it.

 

[buywebsites.biz]

I'm working on an experimental way to alleviate this ... there is an experimental idea that we are working on. It involves being able to upload ALL unverifiable inventory (which, aside from Privatized domains, may include ccTLDs and new gTLDs that are un-crawlable by WhoIs).

About half my domains have whois privacy (it was free so why not), that could be a problem. Will contact your DomainsHelp email if I run into any issues.

Do I understand correctly that if in my portfolio listing (not in auctions) I add a Buy Now price and the client hits it, the domain is not considered "sold" automatically, and the client does not pay yet. Instead, BIN is treated as an offer, which I have the chance to accept or reject?

Because it says: By setting a Buy It Now price, you understand that if a Buy It Now bid is received, you have 72 hours to accept or reject that bid ...

Any update on this? Having a BIN price set on a landing page is likely to make people want to use this service more.

Also, if I read correctly somewhere, BIN on Flippa is not a "real" BIN, but rather a kind that must be approved by a seller before buyer can proceed with payment. If that is indeed true, Flippa should have that step removed so that buyer doesn't have to wait hours, or sometimes even days for things to move ahead. Sales can be easily lost that way, IMHO.

Yes, exactly this. I bought a domain on Flippa today for what I thought was a Buy It Now, but it's now sitting in my offer queue waiting on the seller. That's not the user expectation when you click through a button that says "Buy it now". Buyers don't like it, the sellers I quoted above don't like it ... what's the point of this really?

 

[FlippaDomains]

About half my domains have whois privacy (it was free so why not), that could be a problem. Will contact your DomainsHelp email if I run into any issues.





Yes, exactly this. I bought a domain on Flippa today for what I thought was a Buy It Now, but it's now sitting in my offer queue waiting on the seller. That's not the user expectation when you click through a button that says "Buy it now". Buyers don't like it, the sellers I quoted above don't like it ... what's the point of this really?

Addressing both imminently.

 

[GoKaizen]

Unless you have a great domain or are selling a group of names flippa doesn't work and even then you need to buy upgrades to have your listing seen. There are currently 1643168 listings on flippa, so you definately need to throw some money towards your listing to get exposure.

Did you used to have to do this @JudgeMind before you got SuperSeller status?

 

[JudgeMind]

Did you used to have to do this @JudgeMind before you got SuperSeller status?

I still pay for upgrades, usually around $250+ per auction. Super seller status doesn't give you any free upgrades, just instills confidence in buyers/bidders

 

[GoKaizen]

I still pay for upgrades, usually around $250+ per auction. Super seller status doesn't give you any free upgrades, just instills confidence in buyers/bidders

Didn't realize that. From what @Shane Bellone said in this thread I thought most SuperSellers get free upgrades. It is really just a badge?

 

[JudgeMind]

Didn't realize that. From what @Shane Bellone said in this thread I thought most SuperSellers get free upgrades. It is really just a badge?

Yes, that's all it is. The super seller status does not entitle you to any free upgrades

 

[S-B]

Didn't realize that. From what @Shane Bellone said in this thread I thought most SuperSellers get free upgrades. It is really just a badge?

Don't know how things are today. I'm sure much has changed.

 

[GoKaizen]

If someone is interested in offering a price for a domain before the auction ends, what is the best way to handle this? If I like the price, should I set a BIN for the offered amount and have them buy it through the auction?

 

[FlippaDomains]

Didn't realize that. From what @Shane Bellone said in this thread I thought most SuperSellers get free upgrades. It is really just a badge?

It is just a badge. It used to help sellers rank higher in results, but no longer.

And just to clear up misconceptions, our most frequent sellers used to get a lot of credits and help with upgrades; but so did anyone who had asked. I mentioned this routinely.

This all has since changed -- for the better.

Upgrades used to help auctions rank higher in results, but no longer (on the main search page). As far as Homepage / Channel Page / Newsletter, etc -- those are still in effect. But the upgrade packages of yesteryear are gone.

The main thing we urge our sellers to concentrate on -- which is going to coincide with an upcoming update to the accounts section -- is their account followers. The more followers (currently dubbed "watchers") one has, the more traction their auctions tend to get. A general benchmark of a healthy amount of watchers/followers is 100/200+. This is not something I or Flippa can assist with; this is entirely up to the organic trajectory of one's activity on the platform, and whether their consistency in sales helps to accumulate interested buyers.

Don't know how things are today. I'm sure much has changed.

It has. Upgrade packages, as I mentioned, are gone. You can no longer pay to get listing placement. I think most will agree that the most recently revised search layout is a more neutral, beneficial delivery as a whole.

The marketplace's health has improved as a result. February was the second best month Flippa Domains has ever had. There are more positive changes imminent. I've made a conscious decision not to tease things out anymore until we're clear on delivery dates. You'll hear from me more in March about some things, and April about others.

 

[FlippaDomains]

If someone is interested in offering a price for a domain before the auction ends, what is the best way to handle this? If I like the price, should I set a BIN for the offered amount and have them buy it through the auction?

Yes, that is entirely your call -- and many sellers do this.

One interesting conundrum that occurs is...There are often buyers unaware of a BIN being set, and some would gladly offer a higher BIN amount, were they given the chance.

It is therefore an important courtesy to consider commenting on the listing, maybe even messaging those who have reached out prior, that a BIN is about to be set. This allows everyone the opportunity to at least *know* it's coming, should anyone decide to swoop in to grab it.

BIN, at its face, is first-come, first-serve. So it's good to at least sound a warning to those multiple parties who may be interested.

 

[GoKaizen]

Yes, that is entirely your call -- and many sellers do this.

One interesting conundrum that occurs is...There are often buyers unaware of a BIN being set, and some would gladly offer a higher BIN amount, were they given the chance.

It is therefore an important courtesy to consider commenting on the listing, maybe even messaging those who have reached out prior, that a BIN is about to be set. This allows everyone the opportunity to at least *know* it's coming, should anyone decide to swoop in to grab it.

BIN, at its face, is first-come, first-serve. So it's good to at least sound a warning to those multiple parties who may be interested.

I guess the question is it is better to set a BIN than end the auction early? If you end the auction early you can't relist?

Good suggestion @FlippaDomains. I'll definitely make sure people are aware of when a BIN price is posted before it happens. It should be a first-come first-serve.

 

[FlippaDomains]

I guess the question is it is better to set a BIN than end the auction early? If you end the auction early you can't relist?

Good suggestion @FlippaDomains. I'll definitely make sure people are aware of when a BIN price is posted before it happens. It should be a first-come first-serve.

Definitely would not recommend ending the auction early. That is rarely used (most people don't even know this exists) and looks dodgy.

I'd also recommending commenting that a BIN *may* be set, depending on the kinds of PM offers you're getting, and then set one with < 1-3 days remaining.

You can relist anytime, btw - If you're having issues, please just reach out to us and we'll set it straight.

 

[SirDrago]

Last night 2 of my auctions ended unsold but within the last two hours I received several PM's asking for bin which I replied "please make offer". After both ended I placed a BIN slightly higher than the highest offer and contacted everyone who place a bid and sent me pm.
Both domains sold at my bin within minutes of the auction ending.
Flippa is a great platform to sell domains and I never had a problem getting in touch with @FlippaDomains or the staff.

 

[GoKaizen]

Last night 2 of my auctions ended unsold but within the last two hours I received several PM's asking for bin which I replied "please make offer". After both ended I placed a BIN slightly higher than the highest offer and contacted everyone who place a bid and sent me pm.
Both domains sold at my bin within minutes of the auction ending.
Flippa is a great platform to sell domains and I never had a problem getting in touch with @FlippaDomains or the staff.

Thanks for sharing @SirDrago. You can set a BIN after the auction ends?

 

[SirDrago]

Thanks for sharing @SirDrago. You can set a BIN after the auction ends?

It was actually the first time I've done so and it worked perfectly in my favor.
I might if been minutes before but I contacted everyone who placed bids or sent me PM's and informed them I was doing so. One person purchased both domains at the bin which I placed slightly higher than all offers received.
4L .COM and 4L .NET (Chip).
Great tool to use in the final moments of a flippa auction.

 

[FlippaDomains]

Last night 2 of my auctions ended unsold but within the last two hours I received several PM's asking for bin which I replied "please make offer". After both ended I placed a BIN slightly higher than the highest offer and contacted everyone who place a bid and sent me pm.
Both domains sold at my bin within minutes of the auction ending.
Flippa is a great platform to sell domains and I never had a problem getting in touch with @FlippaDomains or the staff.

That's good to hear; congrats.