I am Doron Vermaat, co-founder of Efty, Ask Me Anything!

[Doron Vermaat]

Hey NamePros

My name is Doron Vermaat. I am a co-founder of Efty and have been a domain name investor since 2012.

I have also been an active member of the forum before, but it's been a while!

I am back and looking forward to actively participating again in this community in both a professional capacity, representing our company and as an investor, talking about domains and the aftermarket.

Ask me Anything!

 

[Future Sensors]

Are Efty Pay users and API implementers required to go through certain steps to formally prove who they are? This is in the context of increasingly strict legislation in the area of money laundering, including Dutch Wwft legislation.

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Are Efty Pay users and API implementers required to go through certain steps to formally prove who they are? This is in the context of increasingly strict legislation in the area of money laundering, including Dutch Wwft legislation.

We follow KYC (know your customer) and KYB (know your business) guidelines for European marketplaces. This means sellers must undergo a one-time verification process when they create their seller accounts.

There are no such requirements for buyers.

 

[Future Sensors]

We follow KYC (know your customer) and KYB (know your business) guidelines for European marketplaces. This means sellers must undergo a one-time verification process when they create their seller accounts.

There are no such requirements for buyers.

Thanks. How exactly does the KYC/KYB verification process look like for Sellers, if Efty Pay were to be implemented on NamePros Parking landers?

 

[Wisher]

However it happens I think there is a gap in the market for a non subscription 5% lander with BIN and Payment plan options. Especially with the latest Afternic Developments.

Also someone to come along and disrupt the distribution duopoly to get the commissions down on that as well.

 

[Jannes]

Have you seen any noticeable effect from Efty's Play Hard To Get landers? Can you tell us a little about that?

At first I thought this had something to do with Mr. Lahoti

https://www.namepros.com/threads/a-petition-to-steal-a-domain-from-dave-lahoti.1323937/

 

[Doron Vermaat]

However it happens I think there is a gap in the market for a non subscription 5% lander with BIN and Payment plan options. Especially with the latest Afternic Developments.

Also someone to come along and disrupt the distribution duopoly to get the commissions down on that as well.

I can already share that a non-subscription product with a 5% commission is too thin of a margin to operate as a good, let alone an excellent aftermarket product. Domain name investors always want low or no commission, but to compete in this market with an innovative service that is safe, secure, financially healthy, and compliant and offers great customer support on both the buy and sell side, you need to make a healthy profit; otherwise, the only outcome is an acquisition.

 

[davidc1]

How do you manage VAT ?
Who is considered the seller of the domain to the buyer ?
What's the cost for 100k domains ?
Efty pay is wirhout credit card for the moment ?

 

[Wisher]

I can already share that a non-subscription product with a 5% commission is too thin of a margin to operate as a good, let alone an excellent aftermarket product. Domain name investors always want low or no commission, but to compete in this market with an innovative service that is safe, secure, financially healthy, and compliant and offers great customer support on both the buy and sell side, you need to make a healthy profit; otherwise, the only outcome is an acquisition.

I understand the distribution network part needs to be above 5%.

But if Namepros landers are free and you are offering Efty pay at 5%. And I only need landers then competitors for landers need to beat 5% commision.

 

[SpareDomains]

Doron can ya make the minimum offer field to be hidden like Dan has so it doesn't show on the inquiry form?

Regarding subscription/commission I prefer Efty stays a paid service as you get all the buyer information and the buyer pays all the escrow fees. A database of buyers names, emails, phones, ips etc... is valuable as I have a 25ish years one. If too expensive use NamePros, Domain.io, Atom White Label etc... I prefer Efty as of today due to the pages being nicer looking/more customizable but I know Domain.io and Namepros has plans to improve on that soon.

 

[L3af]

I was looking at using Efty but feel that the pricing structure for someone like myself with 100-150 names doesn't look very appealing. The jump from a 50 name plan to a 1500 name plan seems quite big and leaves us in a no man's land.

It just makes no sense at all when Atom exists.

Efty should be angling to get people to use their platform for the commission they make off of Efty Pay.

I'd move my entire portfolio there right now to get the other benefits if it just was 5%.

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

If Namepros Landers end up doing everything Efty can do

Our goal is to provide the essentials needed to be successful in this business, for free.

For vast customization, a paid service is needed. Extravagant extras, like 80+ design templates, require paying customers.

Efty has that covered.

 

[john888]

Hey NamePros

My name is Doron Vermaat. I am a co-founder of Efty and have been a domain name investor since 2012.

I have also been an active member of the forum before, but it's been a while!

I am back and looking forward to actively participating again in this community in both a professional capacity, representing our company and as an investor, talking about domains and the aftermarket.

Ask me Anything!

Of all the 4 letter and one word domains, why did you choose the Efty branding?

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Thanks. How exactly does the KYC/KYB verification process look like for Sellers, if Efty Pay were to be implemented on NamePros Parking landers?

It would look the same. Sellers would need to sign up for an Efty Pay account, and then we provide them with a unique ID or Key that they can use to link to the integrator (for example, NamePros).

How do you manage VAT ?
Who is considered the seller of the domain to the buyer ?
What's the cost for 100k domains ?
Efty pay is wirhout credit card for the moment ?

When a buyer purchases a domain name via Efty Pay, it is purchased from the actual Seller, not from Efty Pay, so if you are based in the US, then VAT does not apply. More information on how we handle VAT can be found in our knowledge base here.

Doron can ya make the minimum offer field to be hidden like Dan has so it doesn't show on the inquiry form?

This makes sense and is definitely on our radar for future updates.

It just makes no sense at all when Atom exists.

Efty should be angling to get people to use their platform for the commission they make off of Efty Pay.

I'd move my entire portfolio there right now to get the other benefits if it just was 5%.

I agree there's an opportunity to get people to use our platform on a commission-only structure; folks can expect news on that front. Our focus, however, will be to compete on speed, transparency, innovation, and customer support, not on price. If you want companies such as Efty to stand a chance against the industry giants, you have to understand that 5% is not merely enough to cover payment processing fees and chargebacks. Let alone server costs and invest in hiring devs, customer support reps, and building a great product. Dan.com and Uniregistry operated on very thin margins, making them vulnerable to a takeover. If you want to support competition and innovation in the domain name aftermarket, you have to be willing to pay a fair commission so these companies stand a chance.

Of all the 4 letter and one word domains, why did you choose the Efty branding?

When we started Efty, we looked at my portfolio. I didn't own many great domain names yet, but Efty was one of the better ones, as we wanted something short and brandable. The main challenge with Efty is that some people confuse it with Etsy (and the other way around, as we sometimes get customer support emails directly at Etsy).

 

[Future Sensors]

It would look the same. Sellers would need to sign up for an Efty Pay account, and then we provide them with a unique ID or Key that they can use to link to the integrator (for example, NamePros).

Thank you Doron. Is there any point in the whole process where uploading of further documents (such as ID or recent energy bill) is required when using Efty Pay as a Seller? This still concerns the scenario where Efty Pay is implemented on NamePros Parking landers and individual NamePros members use Efty Pay in that way to sell their domains.

 

[Future Sensors]

Dan.com and Uniregistry operated on very thin margins, making them vulnerable to a takeover.

I am still glad that the acquisition of DAN by Epik was called off at the time. The consequences of the subsequent acquisition by GoDaddy are still frequently discussed on this forum.

 

[Recons.Com]

Doron, thanks for the AMA.

Where can I see the available design templates?

The ones I can see on the sites using it, even the examples above, seem to be stuck in the looks of about a decade ago.

Compare, e.g., the looks of Atom, BB etc.

 

[jberryhill]

My question is:

The Dutch have the tallest average height of any country: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-height-by-country

26% of the Netherlands is below sea level.

Are these two facts related by a process of natural selection?

 

[MariaEl]

Hello, @Doron Vermaat ,

First of all, I am a domain beginner as well as an Efty Investor account holder. Congratulations on your work! I am very comfortable using your services.

I have recently received verified inquiries with offers through my Efty landers on a couple of domains, and I would like to ask you:

1- We have the option to send the inquiry to the brokerage service, so that they complete the sale for a certain commission. What will be the transaction channels and fees when we use this service? Is it all managed with brokerage and transaction fees are included, or will brokerage cover only the negotiation process? Please excuse me if this is obvious, as I mentioned above, I do not have experience.

2- Also, regarding brokerage, we are required to fill in the fields of "Target price" and "Floor price" before we send them the lead. As a beginner, on one of my domains where the offer seems low, I got "frozen", torn between the fear of missing the sale opportunity and the feeling that I could be leaving too much money on the table. Therefore, my question is, would you consider the possibility of embedding an option like for example "consult the broker/request an appraisal" for a fixed fee? I know we can do this externally, but I think it could be benefitial if the same people that suggest a pricing strategy are the ones who will lead the negotiation later on -provided we sellers approve on prices before such negotiation starts. Does my idea make sense?

3- Regarding Efty Pay, unfortunately I haven't needed a passport for ages now, so I don't have one, and it is the only option listed for ID verification of the seller in my case (South America). My country's official ID document has been enough for verification everywhere else (Escrow.com, for instance). I know it is not your fault, it is related to your associated payment processor, but why? Of course, in the future I will try and have a new passport, but in the meantime I won't be able to try EftyPay, I'm afraid.

4- Finally, my country's central bank regulations are extremely severe regarding prevention of money laundering, so it is crucial that when we citizens receive money in our bank account it comes from a completely accredited entity that shows it has implemented controls on the buyer's identity and origin of funds, not only on the seller. Do you think these conditions will be met if I use Efty Pay?

 

[Sutruk]

My question is:

The Dutch have the tallest average height of any country: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-height-by-country

26% of the Netherlands is below sea level.

Are these two facts related by a process of natural selection?

Montenegro is a small, mountainous country and is snapping at Netherlands' heels...

Maybe it's more related to tulips?

 

[Synozeer]

Is there a way to allow the buyer to choose from multiple payment options rather than having to select one method per domain? Someone might not want to use Dan over Escrow, for instance, and if they only see only Dan as an option for a Buy it Now they might not go through with the purchase.

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Thank you Doron. Is there any point in the whole process where uploading of further documents (such as ID or recent energy bill) is required when using Efty Pay as a Seller? This still concerns the scenario where Efty Pay is implemented on NamePros Parking landers and individual NamePros members use Efty Pay in that way to sell their domains.

Verification is a one-time process and needs to be completed to receive payouts via Efty Pay. Once your Efty Pay account is verified, you do not need to do so again. The exception would be if we switch payment processors in the future or add another service, such as Bitpay, to handle crypto payments. In such a case, you may need to verify your identity again as a seller to receive payouts from such a service.

Doron, thanks for the AMA.

Where can I see the available design templates?

The ones I can see on the sites using it, even the examples above, seem to be stuck in the looks of about a decade ago.

Compare, e.g., the looks of Atom, BB etc.

You can view our classic landing page designs here. There are many very old templates in there too, dating back almost a decade. Nowadays, most sellers create their own pages using our Smart Lander builder. You can check out our knowledge base here for a demo of how Smart Landers work and what they can look like.

My question is:

The Dutch have the tallest average height of any country: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-height-by-country

26% of the Netherlands is below sea level.

Are these two facts related by a process of natural selection?

How come nobody has given this clown a permaban yet?

Is there a way to allow the buyer to choose from multiple payment options rather than having to select one method per domain? Someone might not want to use Dan over Escrow, for instance, and if they only see only Dan as an option for a Buy it Now they might not go through with the purchase.

Yep, this is possible with our Smart Lander builder.

 

[Recons.Com]

You can view our classic landing page designs here. There are many very old templates in there too, dating back almost a decade. Nowadays, most sellers create their own pages using our Smart Lander builder. You can check out our knowledge base here for a demo of how Smart Landers work and what they can look like.

Thanks. What about the portfolio site look? Also, do you track the conversion efficiency of those pages through the folios?

 

[Future Sensors]

Verification is a one-time process and needs to be completed to receive payouts via Efty Pay. Once your Efty Pay account is verified, you do not need to do so again. The exception would be if we switch payment processors in the future or add another service, such as Bitpay, to handle crypto payments. In such a case, you may need to verify your identity again as a seller to receive payouts from such a service.

Thanks. That's useful info.

But I was more interested in the verification process in practice: how does it look like?

Let me rephrase.

- Does it include verification on camera?
- Does it include verification with ID upload?
- Does it include verification with Energy Bill upload?
- Does Efty Pay do the verification itself, or is it outsourced to a third party?

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Hello, @Doron Vermaat ,

First of all, I am a domain beginner as well as an Efty Investor account holder. Congratulations on your work! I am very comfortable using your services.

I have recently received verified inquiries with offers through my Efty landers on a couple of domains, and I would like to ask you:

1- We have the option to send the inquiry to the brokerage service, so that they complete the sale for a certain commission. What will be the transaction channels and fees when we use this service? Is it all managed with brokerage and transaction fees are included, or will brokerage cover only the negotiation process? Please excuse me if this is obvious, as I mentioned above, I do not have experience.

2- Also, regarding brokerage, we are required to fill in the fields of "Target price" and "Floor price" before we send them the lead. As a beginner, on one of my domains where the offer seems low, I got "frozen", torn between the fear of missing the sale opportunity and the feeling that I could be leaving too much money on the table. Therefore, my question is, would you consider the possibility of embedding an option like for example "consult the broker/request an appraisal" for a fixed fee? I know we can do this externally, but I think it could be benefitial if the same people that suggest a pricing strategy are the ones who will lead the negotiation later on -provided we sellers approve on prices before such negotiation starts. Does my idea make sense?

3- Regarding Efty Pay, unfortunately I haven't needed a passport for ages now, so I don't have one, and it is the only option listed for ID verification of the seller in my case (South America). My country's official ID document has been enough for verification everywhere else (Escrow.com, for instance). I know it is not your fault, it is related to your associated payment processor, but why? Of course, in the future I will try and have a new passport, but in the meantime I won't be able to try EftyPay, I'm afraid.

4- Finally, my country's central bank regulations are extremely severe regarding prevention of money laundering, so it is crucial that when we citizens receive money in our bank account it comes from a completely accredited entity that shows it has implemented controls on the buyer's identity and origin of funds, not only on the seller. Do you think these conditions will be met if I use Efty Pay?

Thanks for being an Efty user!

1. Our brokerage is a partnership with @Jeffrey Gabriel and his team at Saw.com - if you have a legitimate inquiry on a domain name via Efty, you can set an asking price and a floor price, and they can negotiate on your behalf. If they close a sale for you, you will pay a 15% commission, split between Efty and Saw.com. This percentage includes any transaction fees. Saw.com may use an escrow service or its payment processing service to transact, depending on the wishes of the buyer and seller.

2. Pricing domain names is more an art than a science. An option to consult a broker on pricing could definitely be something we might consider adding in the future.

3. That is unfortunate. If you email us at [email protected] with this issue I will check with our payment processor if there's a chance we can get your verification done with an ID instead of a passport.

4. Efty Pay does not do KYC on buyers but payouts are handled through MangoPay. They are certified and licensed to transact and hold money, have their own banking license, and are trusted by some of the world's biggest marketplaces to facilitate payments securely.

Thanks. What about the portfolio site look? Also, do you track the conversion efficiency of those pages through the folios?

Some examples can be seen at BrandForce.com, NameRockstar.com, Oxley.com, and DNBX.com. Development on the custom marketplace feature has fallen behind compared to, for example, our landers. Ultimately, the plan is to bring our Smart Lander technology to the custom marketplace. Once done, this would create complete creative freedom for those using the portfolio site feature, too.

Thanks. That's useful info.

But I was more interested in the verification process in practice: how does it look like?

Let me rephrase.

- Does it include verification on camera?
- Does it include verification with ID upload?
- Does it include verification with Energy Bill upload?
- Does Efty Pay do the verification itself, or is it outsourced to a third party?

For individual sellers, we only require an ID such as a passport or driving license (these options vary by country). It does not require verification on camera. Seller verification is done by our payment processor, MangoPay. Efty or Efty employees do not see or store any of these documents.

 

[MariaEl]

Thanks for being an Efty user!

1. Our brokerage is a partnership with @Jeffrey Gabriel and his team at Saw.com - if you have a legitimate inquiry on a domain name via Efty, you can set an asking price and a floor price, and they can negotiate on your behalf. If they close a sale for you, you will pay a 15% commission, split between Efty and Saw.com. This percentage includes any transaction fees. Saw.com may use an escrow service or its payment processing service to transact, depending on the wishes of the buyer and seller.

2. Pricing domain names is more an art than a science. An option to consult a broker on pricing could definitely be something we might consider adding in the future.

3. That is unfortunate. If you email us at [email protected] with this issue I will check with our payment processor if there's a chance we can get your verification done with an ID instead of a passport.

4. Efty Pay does not do KYC on buyers but payouts are handled through MangoPay. They are certified and licensed to transact and hold money, have their own banking license, and are trusted by some of the world's biggest marketplaces to facilitate payments securely.

Thank you very much, this is all very helpful!