Frank Schilling - Uni - Uniregistry Announces Domain Liquidity

[Vito]

Did you ever dream about selling your entire domain portfolio?
Well now here is your chance!

Pretty big News in my honest opinion.

@Frank.Schilling / Uni Announces Domain Liquidity.
Domain Portfolio acquisitions...

https://twitter.com/Frank_Schilling/status/1132796141400207360

Domain Portfolio Submittal Form - HERE

Pretty huge news since nobody else in the Industry offers this outright.

Nobody else in the Industry offers this outright.
This could be an Industry game changer here.

Best of luck to Frank, Uni and of course to all domainers submitting their domain portfolios for sale.

 

[uzver]

Last summer, I submitted 16 names:

14 .coms, 2 .nets
Acquisition cost around 10-11K, of which 3 domains for 2800, 1600 and 1555.
All purchased at auctions (GD, Dropcatch) in 2017-2018 when prices were not inflated that much comparing to what started in 2019.

Frank offered $3,000 for the list.

In 2019 I liquidated 2 names from my list for 1.5x of my purchase prices and 1 name for 2x. Total return $4688, and I still have remaining 13 names to sell.

Thanks, Frank, but no thanks.

 

[jberryhill]

Looks like a big liar has jumped into this new conversation.

What have I been dishonest about?

You are the one who said that you and your friends have lied about wanting to sell domain names, or that the domain names are yours in the first place.

And you are the one who chose to share that information about yourself with everyone here.

 

[xynames]

It's not that hard. I get portfolios sent to me for brokerage or outright sale consideration regularly, doesn't take so very long to analyze.

Scroll down the list, becomes clear quite quickly what quality they are.

I always respond though with at least a Thank you for thinking of us type email, that part takes a small bit of time.

 

[MapleDots]

Looks like the hopes of all those big portfolio domain holder are shattered on UNI's liquidation sale as it seems to be a:

CHERRY PICK LIQUIDATION SALE

OMG, give it up already, how many dislikes do you need to realize you're on the wrong track!!

 

[imadoer]

What I will say, I'm very disturbed with giving authcodes out first Uni completes the transfer. I ask for paypal payout and they dont send mass pay or friends and family. I had to eat the fees. I contacted heidi that handles the transfers I sent her 4 emails asking if I can refund and can they resend the payment another way. No response for 2 days. I'm pissed had I known I had to pay the fees at the prices he offered i wouldn't have accepted the deal.

 

[equity78]

They will only pay cents on the dollar.
Now if they put the portfolio up for public bids then it would be fair to the seller.

So Uni offers 10k for the portfolio, the domainer thinks it's too low. Put it up for auction and final is 28k bid. Now Uni gets a commission and everyone is happy.

Now reality ....

Only GoDaddy is set up to be able to accomplish a task like this. Maybe Sedo too but the advantage would go to godaddy.

@Joe Styler would be the best to comment on that but I think godaddy needs to jump on something similar.

Exactly, most likely pennies. But maybe not, we do need to see some examples, but the key in their release, Uniregistry now facilitates the wholesale purchase of high quality domain names. Why is anyone owning HIGH QUALITY names selling for wholesale prices? They are going to get spammed a bunch of what @DomainKing would call pigeon shit.

 

[Keith]

Sent mine with a price of $2 million which is actually fair. Although I didn’t include the majority of my domains, it shouldn’t matter.

 

[Vito]

This is turning into a slam Uni/Frank thread and that was not my intention when i created this thread.

Well guys I would suggest all of you to submit names even if you dont own it, just to check what these guys offer. There is nothing wrong in it.

When uniregistry can announce liquidation sale for our names, why cant we play around.

No, do not do this. This is a F-ing Assinine suggestion.

This could be a very good opportunity here for some domainers and Frank is a very creative and good guy in our Industry.

 

[wwwweb]

It probably has a lot to do with Huge Domains gaming the space especially with Godaddy Closeouts, and their bot bid ups. This has caused newbies, and others to keep bidding, and getting outbid, and caused aftermarket prices to go past points where even most end users feel comfortable pulling the trigger.

Just another avenue to try, and secure undervalued inventory to sell based on desperation of sellers to raise quick capital.

P.S, Paul Nicks it was shameful you guys let Huge Names use a backorder loophole to game closeouts, upon closing after scandal broke, the delay in closing loophole was even more shameful, and what’s more shameful
Is how you let them game closeouts today with an API bidding bot faster than a human can blink. I don’t expect a response, because you probably have an NDA in place with this client. Just wanted to let you know, people are not oblivious to what’s going on.

 

[equity78]

Im sure all those who support Uniregistry/Franc/Godaddy are somehow related to them or working with them. People need to understand Im slamming these guys because they need to offer fair price and Im fighting for your better return.

You are fighting for no one, you are an anonymous poster, making comments on a domain forum. That's not fighting, first off what have you sold in this business? What have you actually accomplished?

That would be like Maple Dots needing a domain lawyer and someone anonymous person here spouting out misguided statements and saying MapleDots I will fight for you, I mean you know nothing about me or my credentials but I will fight for you. Oh and ignore the fact you did not ask for or need my help.

 

[YairDD]

Hmmmn .. so this is COMPLETELY different from what I was expecting.

I thought they were going to come back with a price for all the domains submitted.

That being said .. unless "Titanium Glass" has more meaning behind it than just a nice sounding brandable, then I think $300 is a very fair wholesale offer. With all the negative talk I was expecting a far lower number, although I was also expecting a "portfolio" offer.

For time management purposes I've been meaning to seriously trim my portfolio from about 2000 domains down to about 1000 domains. I have NameJet approval, but not sure if I actually had the time to list everything one by one.

I have mixed feelings about this in that I was looking forward to a "portfolio offer" for ALL of the domains submitted .. but at the same time I'm encouraged in that I think $300 for TitaniumGlass was a fair wholesale offer.

I think the really big question is .. @YairDD .. what were the other 5 domains they didn't make an offer on? That likely would say more about this process than anything else.

I'm not sure I agree with that $300 is a fair wholesale offer but it is indeed more than I thought they will offer after reading the comments in this thread... $500 is fair imo, and that I would also accept.

These are the names I submitted:
EthExchange in King
BitcoinSwap in King
TitaniumGlass in King
Waiver//org
Sunsites in King
NeoCons in King

 

[Silentptnr]

Fast cash = Expensive cash

Nothing new here. Smart business.

 

[Silentptnr]

Okay. As I said, I've submitted a small mixed portfolio of 80 domains.

I'll provide an update once/if I hear anything.

 

[Vito]

Stop wasting your time on this.

This is not a waste of time at all if some domainers here are actually selling some of their domains to Uni/Frank.
Nobody is twisting anybody's arm to take the money offered to them for their domain names.

 

[Silentptnr]

This started out with a lot of fanfare, but I haven't heard any more for at least a month. Any updates from those who submitted names? @Silentptnr @creataweb?

I sent 40 names about a month ago with no response so far.

Not a word. Kind of unprofessional.

 

[Recons.Com]

I might test it. Interesting, what they'd offer for a portfolio that brings in $10K+ /month.

 

[8675309]

well I own 2300 I’d say the top 100 are worth 10k each ,but they have to sell ,it’s tough paying out 20k a year on renewal,this can be a win win 4 everyone

 

[MapleDots]

THE Truth is I am fighting for you guys to get maximum price.

Thank you for trying but you are doing it in a non constructive way.
Most of us can fight our own battles, your actions risk the discontinuation of this program and I can tell you for sure that I am not the only person that disapproves of that.

 

[End Game]

I also see this offer by Frank as a waste of time. Whatever price a portfolio owner gets by selling their entire portfolio at a wholesale price, they could get many times higher on godaddy auction...putting up each domain individually. They are just mining for that 1 out of 1000 domain that you don't know it has higher value. Just remember, they promoted GTLD's as great bargains...that are worthless today.

 

[End Game]

We live in a free democracy, you as the seller always have the right to say no.

There are plenty of big domainers who use fake emails, and aliases to spam good keyword owners with lowball offers.

Uniregistry is just presenting an opportunity if you choose to accept, you are not locked into anything, simply an option. Of course they can’t pay fair market value, as the name could take 10 years to sell, or never sell, so they probaly have a calculation for that.

Don’t take it so personally, you are just getting yourself backed in a corner, as I understand the broader point you are making. I mean you have Uniregistry’s legal counsel replying to your comments, you made your point, but see the other side of it, nobody is forcing anyone to accept. Sometimes there are more willing sellers who just want out, you may not be that person today, but in 10 years you may have a lot else going on, and not want to manage your portfolio, and just want out.

Kind of like what Mike Berkens did, I’m guessing he was around 60, didn’t want to sit by the computer answering hundreds of low ballers daily, took a lump sum, and now is able to travel, and enjoy his life.

It's a win/win for them too. They get to look at multi portfolio's with zero obligation to buy any of them. If they see something of good value, they will make an offer to get it. I'm just not excited about it at all myself. Just another marketing/mining scheme.

 

[lambo.com]

I have 4 very important points to make for everyone posting negatively on this:

1- Lack of Information.
There isn't enough information given by Uni to judge either way whether this is something to be seen as good or not (or at least in the eyes of the average NamePros domainer). What really constantly frustrates me about this industry is the number of people who rush to make judgement without sufficient data nor being fully informed.

The only fact here is that until we see some more information and hard data, any assumptions and judgements are completely unfounded and just go to show how some people like to spread their opinions in pure ignorance. That being said .. there here are more important FACTS that actually SHOULD be part of the discussion:


2- Portfolio sales are NOT intended for everyone.
If you follow my daily blog and lists of domains at auction, it's no secret that I've had a very stressful couple of years. Health issues (myself, my mom and my dog), condo flooding, and more in context, a business that suffered a big loss because of the death of an overseas middleman at a crucial moment right before payment. I had just started domaining then, and thankfully it's (retail) domaining that had actually saved me on a financial level. But this sort of portfolio acquisition service most certainly could be helpful for people who are going through hardships .. both on the financial level .. but also on a personal level. Domaining takes time and effort .. imagine if your significant other suddenly get diagnosed with cancer and the extra time you had to devote to domaining suddenly disappears. While this obviously is not the ideal solution .. it has the potential to be a REAL solution to the alternative of letting your portfolio expire.

Similarly .. if YOU pass away .. ask yourself .. do the people who will inherit your estate have any clue what to do with your portfolio? Again .. while this would certainly not give anyone optimal retail pricing, it still is a better alternative to nothing ... and more importantly, is one of hopefully many portfolio liquidation solutions which together with more competition could bring fairer pricing to liquidations.

It seems that what some here should be more angry about is not that Uni/Frank is the first to do this as an official "service" (for lack of a better word) in the context of a large marketplace, but instead you should be frustrated with the fact that there are not actually MORE big players who are doing this.

Imagine if Huge Domains, Afternic and a handful of other big marketplaces were doing this .. combine that with more awareness/aggressiveness of individual domainer investor portfolio acquirers .. then all of a sudden there could potentially be REAL liquid pricing on our portfolios. It's all about having MORE options .. not fewer! Anybody who is against this clearly has no clue about how economics works!

Most importantly, if you have the time to manage your leads and portfolio and are running a profitable domaining business .. then unless they have amazing buyers and will be paying very generous wholesale pricing, then this program is not for you, and by trashing this program and submitting false portfolios, you are just hurting others who it could truly help and benefit.


3- Frank's / Uni's wholesale purchase price threshold is NOT the same as ours.
With his sales staff and infrastructure and Uni marketplace, @Frank Schilling can afford to buy domains at higher prices than the average domainer and still make a profit. For those of us who invest time to find great wholesale bargains, this could be a profitable sales channel. And while I'd definitely agree that the prices would be far lower than retail prices, in this case volume COULD most certainly compensate ... again though .. it really depends on the actual data of what they end up buying and at what prices.

Anyone speculating about purchase pricing without any hard data is not only doing a disservice to all of us .. but you're also showing how truly nonobjective you are and your opinion on this matter is less than worthless, as the ONLY thing it is accomplishing is damaging our industry by attacking one of many channels to hopefully bring in more competition on the wholesale acquisition side.

If you want to look for a really bad business model for the average domainer in the domain industry, look at the BrandBucket model where they actually ask us to PAY THEM to give them EXCLUSIVE rights with giant commissions on our domains in their overwhelmingly oversized portfolios. While this could work for a few, overall I personally think that model is very very bad for the average domainer. I could go on, but I don't want to take this off-topic.


4- Supply and Demand
While I've touched at this a few times above .. some of you need to inform yourselves on the very foundational principle of supply and demand! Seriously .. it's a very basic fact that as the number of people and businesses who want our domains goes up .. the higher our domains go up in value! This is a very basic economic FACT! It applies from wholesale through to retail levels. So while Uni/Frank might or might not offer us good or even fair pricing, it's still one more little bit of upwards pressure on the overall value of our domains. The added bonus here is that if it actually does take off .. then there will most certainly be other big players looking to copy their playbook, which could have the potential of actually pushing wholesale pricing on our domains upwards .. and in turn be one part of a real move toward ACTUAL wholesale liquidity.

We are fortunate to have had Frank S. build Uni, especially to the benefit of all who walk through their door and have quality.

I have 0 domains @Uniregistry but their suite of services and building of the aftermarket space itself is to the benefit of our micro industry and all who do and endeavor to climb the ladder to 'success'

 

[MapleDots]

Im not much aware on this niche domain, but I checked in godaddy domain appraisal valued at 3628$ and estibot values it at 340$. Looks like a good traffic domain name.

I think a reseller price of 100$-250$ as something good. But again Im not much aware of this niche.

So if I took away estibot and godaddy appraisal tools, how did you come you come to your evaluation?

For a relatively new member, and someone who admitted he is doing this as a hobby, what makes you feel you are qualified to handout domain appraisals?

Care to share how you you came to your evaluation?

 

[Ategy]

I just got a response from them regarding a domain I submitted.
How much would you value TitaniumGlass in king for a reseller price + enduser. I want to compare with the price they offered me.

@YairDD .. Could you please enlighten us with some of the details.
1- How many domains did you submit?
2- Did they only make an offer for a single domain or for all of them?
3- What sort of price range was it?
4- What sort of details/instructions on how to proceed were you given?

Both retailer and end user pricing for a 2 word domain like this can range quite a bit .. and in the end, it really doesn't matter what the rest of us value it at .. it's more about what they value it at. Most importantly it's essential to remember that a portfolio price is more about a global feeling for an average of all the domains.

That being said, I'd say typical USABLE 2-word brandables ideally retail anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 with most in the lower 2500-5000 range. While TitaniumGlass does sound cool .. the two words don't intrinsically go together. While the brandable side equates "titanium" to strong, some people might be confused thinking it's a keyword and that somehow the website owner has found a way to fuse Titanium to Glass (which would make TitaniumGlass a keyword .. and in this specific case I'd say it would be more valuable if indeed that made the product superior)

Note that I said USABLE because most of the 2-word domains discussed at NamePros are garbage and would not sell at any price (many I wouldn't even bother taking for free). On the flip side, there most definitely are very strong 2-word brandables that could go higher into the 5-figures .. but this discussion is about average liquid pricing of typical portfolios, so not much point in discussing the exceptions.

I think it would really be helpful in ending useless blind speculation if you shared some of the details.

 

[BrandCougar]

@wwwweb -

Great point!

I agree - from a liquidity (immediate cash need) perspective - yes, the liquidity program is a bit similar to a pawn shop model.

From what I saw on the the TV show "Pawn Stars" - pawn shops will either buy outright or provide a pawn loan (which you can get your item back - of course with a premium added on top).

Now that would be a unique idea... if Uniregistry's "Domain Liquidity" program would also allow a 90 day buy-back period like they provide at pawn shops. But after 90 days it's free for them to sell outright.

"UniPawn"

-Cougar

ps: On a serious note - I do think that knowing that Uniregistry (as a wholesale Sales Channel) can provide a "base line" price for an item for liquidation purposes. While I joke about the term "UniPawn", I do wonder if this will open up a new level of loan opportunities & access to capital for domain investors via more conventional banking avenues (knowing there is a potential "underwriter" like Uniregistry that would provide liquidity should there be a loan default). It's an interesting concept.

 

[EJS]

..interesting, thanks

Can I ask if you have had any offers over your purchasing price before on those names you submitted?

thanks in advance

Yes. Off the top of my head, 7 of the 22 names I received offers on had higher offers in the past. Two had substantially higher offers.

It would take too long to figure out how many of the other names I submitted had offers, and I can't even give a ballpark accurately (sorry).