Has anyone tried BQB?

[byallnames]

Hi All,
I'm intrigued by the BQB ads on this forum. No commissions? - It sounds great for domainers and buyers! Has anyone bought or sold from there? Is there a catch?
Regards,
byallnames

 

[tech4]

Yes there's a catch. Netzero began as a free online service. Networksolutions in the beginning gave out free domain names.

you can guess where this is going.

 

[raredn.com]

Yes there's a catch. Netzero began as a free online service. Networksolutions in the beginning gave out free domain names.

you can guess where this is going.

There is no catch that I can see, Reece the owner of BQB.com makes money from extras like optional highlighting and front page featured and things like that, also he is looking to get the attention. advertises. Apart from that it is free, you are not forced to pay for extra options if you choose to go without them. From memory Reece was going to charge for membership, but then abandoned that idea and decided to make BQB.com free. You do have to pass Reeces approval, as he only wants quality members

 

[tech4]

I was trying to say, BQB is a business. The model is to attract customers and then make the sales. Its one of the oldest promotion trick in business. People like free stuff, so its offered as a way to attract initial customers.

Once BQB becomes (if) an auction house, it will start to charge commission like all businesses. It has to make money, unless the owner wants it to be non profit like craig's list.

 

[raredn.com]

I was trying to say, BQB is a business. The model is to attract customers and then make the sales. Its one of the oldest promotion trick in business. People like free stuff, so its offered as a way to attract initial customers.

Once BQB becomes (if) an auction house, it will start to charge commission like all businesses. It has to make money, unless the owner wants it to be non profit like craig's list.

I think Reece would be upfront about that, because originally he said BQB.com will be free for the first year and then he was going to charge a $100 fee every year after that. Then Reece scraped that idea and said BQB would be free forever unless I have quoted him wrong. Anyhow I am sure Reece himself will join the thread soon

On a side note: It is probably worth noting that Reece has just added domain name bulk listing upload capabillity to BQB.com as of now

 

[-REECE-]

Hi Tech4,

Commission isn't in the cards -- I'd rather close up shop than resort to that. At the end of the day, running BQB is suprisingly cheap, with most of the costs being related to advertising and custom feature development, both of which can be substantially reduced if money ever becomes an issue.

The dedicated server powering BQB is the only fixed cost and the server should be good for 10-20 times the member base BQB currently has, so it's probably safe to say costs won't be going up for a long, long time over what we're currently paying. Added cost features are currently bringing in about $300/month, so while still a money losing venture, with a member base 10-20 times the current size I think it's quite possible to see how this could be profitable with a no commission model.

We might look into having a one-time small membership fee like Afternic has in the future, however it would certainly not be applied to existing members, as I've made them the promise that their membership would be permanently free.

I was trying to say, BQB is a business. The model is to attract customers and then make the sales. Its one of the oldest promotion trick in business. People like free stuff, so its offered as a way to attract initial customers.

Once BQB becomes (if) an auction house, it will start to charge commission like all businesses. It has to make money, unless the owner wants it to be non profit like craig's list.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

I looked at the site, it looked rather unprofessional in my opinion so unfortunately I chose not to take my experience of the site any further.

 

[-REECE-]

That's the first I've heard of that -- I've had several people ask who I used to develop it because they liked the design so much.

What do you find unprofessional about it?

I looked at the site, it looked rather unprofessional in my opinion so unfortunately I chose not to take my experience of the site any further.

 

[tech4]

Thanks for the answer Reece.

As for your site, I have a suggestion which may help. I see your FAQ is somewhat lacking in my mind. It doesn't stand out as a Q+A section. like. 1. How Does BQB works? 2. How do I sell on BQB. 3. Does BQB charge commission, if not how are transaction handled?

You see where I am going and so forth.

 

[-REECE-]

All great suggestions, thanks mate

I'll look into getting that added over the next few days.

Thanks for the answer Reece.

As for your site, I have a suggestion which may help. I see your FAQ is somewhat lacking in my mind. It doesn't stand out as a Q+A section. like. 1. How Does BQB works? 2. How do I sell on BQB. 3. Does BQB charge commission, if not how are transaction handled?

You see where I am going and so forth.

 

[nicedomains]

I looked at the site, it looked rather unprofessional in my opinion so unfortunately I chose not to take my experience of the site any further.

Well that's too bad for you. IMO the site is clean, quick and user friendly. The best part about it is that the users are selected based on their credentials you will never have to worry about being scammed there. I have done several transactions through bqb and all were very smooth.

Oh yea, what other place can you recommend suggestions to the webmaster and see the changes you requested (assuming they were good) within a week!

 

[weblord]

i haven't tried it yet. unfortunately 3 of my short .com that i regged here. i let them expired since they're not readable it came in a little late for me.

 

[tricolorro]

I was trying to say, BQB is a business. The model is to attract customers and then make the sales. Its one of the oldest promotion trick in business. People like free stuff, so its offered as a way to attract initial customers.

Once BQB becomes (if) an auction house, it will start to charge commission like all businesses. It has to make money, unless the owner wants it to be non profit like craig's list.

Hi,

Where did you get your info that CraigsList is "non profit"?

FYI, Craigslist makes mucho $ just by charging (a small fee) for job listing classifieds.

I don't think they are doing it yet but at some point they may start charging
the same small fee for Real Estate classifieds.

Craig, the founder, gave a class at The Learning Annex a couple of years ago
where he shared much info about Craigslist.

I was astounded that he could make a comfortable living and pay all his Tech and support staff just by charging a small fee for job classified ads.

This was just before Ebay bought a stake in the company and before they exploded with worldwide city listings.

Patrick

 

[GF]

BQB.com is fantastic!

Not just "anyone" is allowed to buy or sell at BQB.com. Everyone is pre-screened.

The site design is great, easy to use, and I know that Reece is very responsive to input. BQB is definitely one of my favorite places to buy domains.

 

[LBW]

I've also bought there, and I liked that place.

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

IMO the site is clean, quick and user friendly. The best part about it is that the users are selected based on their credentials you will never have to worry about being scammed there.

Oh yea, what other place can you recommend suggestions to the webmaster and see the changes you requested (assuming they were good) within a week!

I agree completely. I just visited, and really liked what I saw. I think it looks early in its development, but professional all the same. I'll have to check it out further when I'm not getting ready to head to bed. Nice job Reece!

 

[byallnames]

Thanks for all your replies and Reece for personally joining the conversation. It answers all my questions.

RE: FAQ
I do agree that the FAQ should have answers to more basic questions, like the ones Tech4 mentioned. It's what prompted me to post here.

RE: appearance of the site
In terms of the appearance of the site, I think it looks just as professional as say, Afternic, for example, and the look certainly wouldn't deter me from joining BQB.

 

[Slick Domains]

I really like the design, but when I visited, I did note it said "Its 7 a.m., Good moring!"

Might want to get that fixed to leave good first impressions! hehe :D

 

[eggymusic]

BQB.com is fantastic!

Not just "anyone" is allowed to buy or sell at BQB.com. Everyone is pre-screened.

The site design is great, easy to use, and I know that Reece is very responsive to input. BQB is definitely one of my favorite places to buy domains.

I agree with GF. site looks very professional. business model is sustainable...i already registered and will start selling/buying names soon ...

:kickass:

 

[SonnyCooL]

business is business, it might not be free forever but now is free for fact, no one can guaranty free forever include google, yahoo, msn and etc ...

Do agree on tech4 but it still depend on how the owner view, running a free site doesn't means no income at all (if the traffic is good, he might able to make it back by selling his product) ....

btw the site design is clean and nice .... i do wish to join when i have qualified domain and reece is a very helpful member here ...