tips I'm really happy to pay 20% or even 30% commission to good platforms. Here's why.

[twiki]

I just got a comment today, that 30% SquadHelp commission is an insane amount. (It's not the first time I get such a comment though). And I know it's a judgement error, so here's my response and some advice for other NP members here.

In domaining, there is a mindset of scarcity, and also a mindset of abundance. I choose the latter. Why? Because it's the only one that works. And in business in general.

When someone tells me that 20% commission (Afternic) is too much, or 30% at SquadHelp, well, I know this is a actually a fair percentage. That's also why it is accepted by sellers. And here's the reason.

I don't care how much the other guy gets. What I care about is, how much I am left with. And what do I get out of it. So should you.

This sale I just got, for A/d/a/p/t/y/v/e/ .com would probably have never been made outside of SH as this is a brandable. Unless listed at SH or another brandable marketplace with a lot of traffic, chances would have been nil. Why? Because with Afternic network or Sedo, if your domain is not a searchable one (this isn't), chances are nobody will ever buy the domain. Also the landers don't generally help at all because such domains don't get search engine traffic. They're in a black zone, unless brought to light by a brandable marketplace.

So I just got 70% of the $2299, instead of 100% of nothing.

The same thing applies with Afternic fees which are the highest in the non-brandable marketplaces zone.

I pay 20% at Afternic, and less than 10% elsewhere (e.g. 9% at Dan). Yet all my landers are currently pointing either at Afternic (20% commission; searchables) and some at SH (30%; brandables). Why? Because this brings me the most money overall. Even after deducting all those extra % fees.

With NS5/NS6 at Afternic , that GoDaddy name + a phone where anybody can call means I get a LOT of good sales which otherwise won't be accomplished. The GD name brings trust; many domain buyers are quite wary of online buys.

Also the phone number improve conversions a lot. This is why 20% commission here actually means more money in the pocket for me, rather than say 9% or 10% at another platform where I only get a lander sale, but the buyer never heard of that platform and also there is no phone to call. Side note Afternic brokers are also very good = more sales.

Now with SH what I get is an entire tier of domain sales that would never have existed. (Or with any other brandable marketplace you'd like). SH has a lot of AI and merchandising behind their platform; stats; category based sales; great logo designers; classification experts bringing best categories and descriptions for your domain; contests pushing your domain sales and more. Plus instant support.

All this costs money, much more than yet another lander. But it brings sales - ton of extra sales, and high value sales for domains because of all that merchandising. That's why it is worth it. I can for example double my sales for the same portfolio size, by paying a measly 10% extra. That's quite cheap if you do the math. Even if I get just one more sale at each say 7-8 domains sold elsewhere, it IS worth it. It means profit.

Also, about scarcity.

I've seen a lot of people losing in this business because they're not flexible enough, they value their domains too much or are too attached to them. Al these choices are bad ones.

If you're not willing to give out another 10% of your commission in exchange for far better sales, you're losing, not winning this game.

Because in domaining the most important factor is sales ratio. I'm gonna say this again, just to make sure you understand it. In domaining, the most important factor is sales ratio. Keep this in mind. Do everything you can to improve that factor. Do the math. Your platform choice is a very important factor that can make the difference between success and failure with domain selling.

Say a given platform like Afternic has 10% more commission. But if, again, they bring 20% more sales, you're in profit because overall you sold more and you're left with more money. Use the difference to buy a few more great names, or - why not? Pocket the profit and spend it as you'd like.

This is why you should always test and measure such things. Math on paper.

And yet another thing about scarcity:

"I'm selling too many of my names and too much % goes to others" etc. Many inexperienced domainers apply this kind of scarcity thinking to their names. Well - did you ever do the math properly? Did you A/B test platforms? Is it good to choose selling LESS names instead of giving out a larger % but for much more sales, which, in turn, will leave you with far more in the pocket?

What many less experienced domainers also forget, is that domain sales ratio usually ranges at 1...2% per year in case of 4-fig domains for example which make the bulk of the market. This means that your feeling of "giving out too may of your names or too much %" is just... a scarcity mindset that actually works against you.

That means, say in one year if you have 100 names and sold 2, you have 98 domains. And you might have made some money, or not - because you have to pay for renewal of 98 names, which costs a lot (98x$10 = $980 for example). But if you sold 4 names, your profit skyrockets because you have DOUBLED your income, and all those extra sales will be 100% profit. And you still have 96 names left to sell, which means, you sold 2% of your portfolio for a multiple-fold profit. With the extra profit you got, you can easily pay for a few more names to cover the few you sold AND still have a lot more in your pocket.

Those extra SH sales will bring me at least a solid extra 5-fig over this year. That's why I use Afternic, SH and would use any other decent but perhaps high priced marketplace. Because without them, overall I'd be at a loss.

Do the math, guys. Always do the math. And avoid the scarcity mindset.

Happy domaining!

 

[twiki]

That is there but there seem to be other causes as well

TBH I'm going to use an automated overall portfolio checker. (better to have one) This will also tell me whether Afternic is down, there are errors, OR my domain DNS is currently faulty etc.

 

[Xiberia]

I'm advising anyone to first test and then decide.

Well since we agree on that, let's end it on that.

 

[twiki]

On a general note, some clarification appears needed:

- I'm not sure why some users thought I'm preaching the ultimate method here. But maybe I haven't expressed things correctly.

I'm just explaining why I (and not everyone in the world) am happy with these commission rates. Because they work for me and even after deducting those rather large fees, I am still left with more than using other tools with far less %. Actually it's a very simple choice, although it could be rather counter-intuitive.

But some folks might be angry at such fees % = well, I don't blame you if you feel it's a ripoff. For me, they just work best but I'm not you.

- So this post is just yet one avenue to test. I haven't said it's the ultimate method to end all methods. On the contrary; it's something rather counter intuitive and I assume not everyone will use it, or probably a minority. But as I investigated it due to Abdul and found it true, it might be a great choice for you too. For me it increases the sales at least by 50% so there is no going back.

- When I said "do the math" I did not refer to "do some general math", but do yours. Your own math. With your real data. Which implies you have to test things first.

And just to make it clear how: If you want to try this, then run an A/B test, Afternic vs. your favorite platform for at least a few months before deciding (I'd say that 3 months is a bare minimum while half a year could be an actually decent time frame). Side note I've tested for more than that, and over several yeas before finally deciding.

- Results always differ depending on portfolio, obviously. I don't have another portfolio to test, mine is a mixed bag (brandables; meaningful; single words and double words; etc) so they cover some area, although mostly in the middle market (mostly 1k - $5k zone). But you could have a very different one so the results are not guaranteed to be similar. It's just some interesting avenue to test if you want, in search of better revenue.

That's all we are in for, better revenue.

I doubt many domainers here can ignore Afternic. It's just the biggest source of sales there is. But Afternic is NOT the only avenue and in general Afternic sales tend to be rather price competitive. (translated: low-ish, see average sale values on periodically reported market stats on NP). You might still sell your names for more on your own landers or something else depending on domains and price etc. For me, Afternic just brings the most sales volume (without the landers) + the best conversion (by pointing the landers as well).

- There can be side benefits of using just one platform:

a) The first side benefit I get is that I use only one platform. (Edit not counting SH which is a different specific segment of the portfolio). I do have a few listed elsewhere but for another test. However most of my domains are only listed at Afternic. When you have 10k names or more, maintaining multiple marketplaces and ensuring everything works correctly and is always in sync is a pain. I get almost daily sales in many parts of the year and i have to delete sold names or expiring names etc everywhere, otherwise I'd get into the situation where I just sold a name I don't have anymore. That's bad and it happened.

Having only one listing to maintain makes things easier.

b) The second side benefit is no more headaches when selling to EU users. Afternic handles that and just sends you your cash. If you trade as a business this can be very important; for each sale I make to EU users via other platforms like Dan or Sedo I have to either add VAT (and maybe lose clients) or deduct VAT and keep price final (and I lose ~20% of the revenue). The bigger part not being the VAT paid (lost revenue) but actually accounting for it with the new EU rules where you have to have 2 actual proof items of the buyer's country and whatnot, the MOSS system etc. It's a ton of hassle and Afternic just clears my head (and my team) out of that mess.

It makes things simple so we can focus on our domain portfolio.

c) You can get better treatment if you have all your turnover at Afternic. Namely, an account manager will be always helpful with everything, managing listing errors but even in certain situations that can occur in the sales process where you need someone to intervene with care. I had such cases and it was helpful. If I have spread my sales all over then perhaps it would have delayed getting an account manager.

There are others but are perhaps too specific to my case, so the above is enough.

Again I'm just saying what I found out, feel free to follow this or not. It's all your decision. Good luck!

 

[meslam479]

My Afternic account manager is really bad, he responds to my emails weeks after and I recently requested checking my last bulk list failed domains, he didn't bother to answer my request. very unprofessional IMO.

@twiki do you use standard listing or premium listing in squadhelp?

 

[twiki]

My Afternic account manager is really bad, he responds to my emails weeks after and I recently requested checking my last bulk list failed domains, he didn't bother to answer my request. very unprofessional IMO.

@twiki do you use standard listing or premium listing in squadhelp?

Only premium.

Edit: How many names you have? and how much monthly turnover with Afternic?

 

[meslam479]

My Afternic account manager is really bad, he responds to my emails weeks after and I recently requested checking my last bulk list failed domains, he didn't bother to answer my request. very unprofessional IMO.

@twiki do you use standard listing or premium listing in squadhelp?

Just for clarification, my Afternic account manager reached out to me after seeing my post and discovered that there was a problem in one of my device's email client was assigning another email address to send emails so most likely my Afternic account manager didn't recognize my emails, sorry my mistake.

Only premium.

Edit: How many names you have? and how much monthly turnover with Afternic?

+6k domains - turnover +5k monthly

 

[DomainBanana]

This sale I just got, for A/d/a/p/t/y/v/e/ .com would probably have never been made outside of SH as this is a brandable.

I think this name would have sold without a marketplace.

While marketplaces have their place, i think too many people uncritically dump everything they can on these marketplaces, including their best names. As a result, they needlessly and thoughtlessly give away massive amounts of commission every year.

So to me it's not about a scarcity vs. abundance mindset, it's about maximizing profit by understanding what kind of names will sell on their own vs. understanding what names would do better on a marketplace.

 

[kaposzta]

I think this name would have sold without a marketplace.

While marketplaces have their place, i think too many people uncritically dump everything they can on these marketplaces, including their best names. As a result, they needlessly and thoughtlessly give away massive amounts of commission every year.

So to me it's not about a scarcity vs. abundance mindset, it's about maximizing profit by understanding what kind of names will sell on their own vs. understanding what names would do better on a marketplace.

"I think this name would have sold without a marketplace."
Or maybe not, we'll never know. But the probability of selling a name is tend to be higher on brandable domain marketplaces, as there are less competing names (e.g. 100 similar names on Squadhelp vs 1000 on Afternic), there is an eye-catching logo, there are Squadhelp ads everywhere, etc.

"...many people uncritically dump everything..."
In this business, where finding sellable names is as crucial as pricing them correctly, uncritical dumping on marketplaces is a huge timesaver. The time saved then can be used to find more names, work on strategy or automation, learn about the markets, trends and pricing, etc. Since I have limited time to do domaining, this is a no-brainer for me, I'll uncritically dump my domains to Squadhelp and Brandbucket, as long as this business is profitable. They know what they are doing, I don't

 

[twiki]

"I think this name would have sold without a marketplace."
Or maybe not, we'll never know. But the probability of selling a name is tend to be higher on brandable domain marketplaces, as there are less competing names (e.g. 100 similar names on Squadhelp vs 1000 on Afternic), there is an eye-catching logo, there are Squadhelp ads everywhere, etc.

"...many people uncritically dump everything..."
In this business, where finding sellable names is as crucial as pricing them correctly, uncritical dumping on marketplaces is a huge timesaver. The time saved then can be used to find more names, work on strategy or automation, learn about the markets, trends and pricing, etc. Since I have limited time to do domaining, this is a no-brainer for me, I'll uncritically dump my domains to Squadhelp and Brandbucket, as long as this business is profitable. They know what they are doing, I don't

I'm going to take the middle ground here because I think that both sides in these last 2 comments are right. Or at least there is some truth in everything.

"I think this name would have sold without a marketplace." = As @kaposzta said, Maybe. Or maybe not. Indeed we'll never know. Any name actually can be sold without a marketplace, just via its own lander.

But the question here is when. The problem with brandables is that many don't match searches so they don't do well on non-brandable marketplaces. Furthermore, there is little chance someone will actually type this and reach your domain. It's possible but the chances are poor. Which means, you might renew domains for years without selling, which works against the bottom line.

A brandable marketplace is a conversion optimizer plus traffic/advertising. SH is bringing traffic to their marketplace and there are enough users already watching stuff there. There is also category-based search, contests and stuff, great logo designs, classification text etc. All these bring a far higher likelihood of sale for brandable domains (not necessarily the example domain mentioned here) that could otherwise be sitting on a non-brandable lander for eons.

Now if a regular lander has say 10% commission, and SH has 30% commission for domains in the low to mid 4-fig zone, that's a 20% difference commission. The question you have to ask yourself here is, is that difference worth it? Is there a chance of +20% extra (or more) that you will sell your (brandable) domains on a brandable marketplace like SH?

To me, the answer is a sound yes. Also with the portfolio I have, those domains which are listed on SH are better there than elsewhere - by far.

But otherwise, @DomainBanana has a point too. Listing everything in hopes of a sale is not necessarily a good thing.

However, most cases of such domainers could be different, just as mine is particular. I have a platinum account with SH. So I still keep my names at Afternic AND SH just offers additional exposure.

The domain mentioned here was underpriced by lack of enough time (I admit that) but for me that kind of underpricing is not necessarily the worst thing in the world in MY opinion - long story but in short I have more buy volume than usable capital to stock names. I've calculated time and time again that it's a far worse sin for my case to overprice rather than underprice. But it's not the same for any other domainer.

The whole point is, however, not about this particular name, but about brandable names in general. Also on many prices SH price was not lower but equal or higher than my own price (remember, I'm a discount domainer, I don't price full retail in many cases). So for me it works.

Another side advantage you get is seeing which domains are getting high traffic, submitted in contests etc.

Last comment now, it's all about testing and doing the math.

The additional exposure AND merchandising provided by SH is something that can improve the sales / conversion factor by a lot. The choice depends on the names of course, but for me it is definitely worth it.

The essence of the post is, don't instinctively go against the choice of a higher % before doing analysis on it and make perhaps some testing at least. Worst case scenario, if you're not happy anymore you can part ways with the platform and that's it.

 

[freety85]

@twiki first off, congrats on the sale. Awesome name, may have been sold elsewhere or may not. Maybe a bit underpriced, but this is money in the bank you will reinvest intelligently as you did before. In this business you never know where sales come from, so by diversifying your portfolio is never a bad thing.

On the the other side I would like to later read from your experience more about SH when you move all your brandables to SH. The reason for that is several big portfolio holders left recently the marketplace due to lack of sales activity/views on their name, recently SH grew significantly in terms of number of listings ( 128685 names vs BB´s 133784 at the time of posting ) Undoubtedly SH has a great tech kit to put the names in front of buyers, however when a marketplace grows that fast, STR tends to drop significantly. Also if later you`ll sell more SH listed names via Afternic than via their landing, it could be another indicator to think about. So I am eager to see how it works out for you.

Lastly, please never get discouraged if someone posts a negative comment or disagrees and NEVER stop posting. I am not a newbie but I enjoy reading your posts and I always have takeways I can apply to my hybrid approach also. It is nice to have extra insights from a fellow domainer who already has large portfolio when you are in the phase of scaling up. So I can only appreciate your articles.

 

[twiki]

@twiki first off, congrats on the sale. Awesome name, may have been sold elsewhere or may not. Maybe a bit underpriced, but this is money in the bank you will reinvest intelligently as you did before. In this business you never know where sales come from, so by diversifying your portfolio is never a bad thing.

On the the other side I would like to later read from your experience more about SH when you move all your brandables to SH. The reason for that is several big portfolio holders left recently the marketplace due to lack of sales activity/views on their name, recently SH grew significantly in terms of number of listings ( 128685 names vs BB´s 133784 at the time of posting ) Undoubtedly SH has a great tech kit to put the names in front of buyers, however when a marketplace grows that fast, STR tends to drow significantly. Also if later you`ll sell more SH listed names via Afternic than via their landing, it could be another indicator to think about. So I am eager to see how it works out for you.

Lastly, please never get discouraged if someone post a negative comment or disagrees and NEVER stop posting. I am not a newbie but I enjoy reading your posts and I always have takeways I can apply to my hybrid approach also. It is nice to have extra insights from a fellow domainer who already has large portfolio when you are in the phase of scaling up. So I can only appreciate your articles.

Thanks for this.

I agree on most said here. Side note I haven't moved everything to SH but only a part of my portfolio so there's still far more which isn't listed in comparison with what is. If there is any negative side effect of using them as the lander, in my case I doubt it would be anything significant. So it will either be a success, OR I tried and then I will cease using them with no hard feelings, but without breaking the bank as collateral damage of the attempt.

It looks good so far though. But again, each domainer has a different perspective, different portfolio on style. What I do know exactly is that many of the great domains I have don't sell AT ALL via Afternic or other non-brandable landers, and I've kept renewing them. Their place at least nowadays is, I believe, on SH. Will see how this unfolds though.

Edit: Competition has increased everywhere and no wonder there are ever more names listed etc - so I think the SH issue, where many more names are listed than before is rather a common occurrence nowadays.

 

[DomainBanana]

I agree with Darpan (CEO of SH):

"At the end of the day, our premium marketplace is a discovery platform for brandable domains - it is not ideal for those domains which already receive ongoing buyer interest on their own via Type-in. Therefore, if you have names that are receiving inquiries or buyer interest on their own, it is better to use a non discovery focused landing page solution such as WLM to list those names so that you can avoid paying higher commissions."

 

[Anees Ahmad]

So I just got 70% of the $2299, instead of 100% of nothing.

This statement alone is enough to justify your point.

 

[Recons.Com]

I just got a comment today, that 30% SquadHelp commission is an insane amount. (It's not the first time I get such a comment though). And I know it's a judgement error, so here's my response and some advice for other NP members here.

In domaining, there is a mindset of scarcity, and also a mindset of abundance. I choose the latter. Why? Because it's the only one that works. And in business in general.

When someone tells me that 20% commission (Afternic) is too much, or 30% at SquadHelp, well, I know this is a actually a fair percentage. That's also why it is accepted by sellers. And here's the reason.

I don't care how much the other guy gets. What I care about is, how much I am left with. And what do I get out of it. So should you.

This sale I just got, for A/d/a/p/t/y/v/e/ .com would probably have never been made outside of SH as this is a brandable. Unless listed at SH or another brandable marketplace with a lot of traffic, chances would have been nil. Why? Because with Afternic network or Sedo, if your domain is not a searchable one (this isn't), chances are nobody will ever buy the domain. Also the landers don't generally help at all because such domains don't get search engine traffic. They're in a black zone, unless brought to light by a brandable marketplace.

So I just got 70% of the $2299, instead of 100% of nothing.

The same thing applies with Afternic fees which are the highest in the non-brandable marketplaces zone.

I pay 20% at Afternic, and less than 10% elsewhere (e.g. 9% at Dan). Yet all my landers are currently pointing either at Afternic (20% commission; searchables) and some at SH (30%; brandables). Why? Because this brings me the most money overall. Even after deducting all those extra % fees.

With NS5/NS6 at Afternic , that GoDaddy name + a phone where anybody can call means I get a LOT of good sales which otherwise won't be accomplished. The GD name brings trust; many domain buyers are quite wary of online buys.

Also the phone number improve conversions a lot. This is why 20% commission here actually means more money in the pocket for me, rather than say 9% or 10% at another platform where I only get a lander sale, but the buyer never heard of that platform and also there is no phone to call. Side note Afternic brokers are also very good = more sales.

Now with SH what I get is an entire tier of domain sales that would never have existed. (Or with any other brandable marketplace you'd like). SH has a lot of AI and merchandising behind their platform; stats; category based sales; great logo designers; classification experts bringing best categories and descriptions for your domain; contests pushing your domain sales and more. Plus instant support.

All this costs money, much more than yet another lander. But it brings sales - ton of extra sales, and high value sales for domains because of all that merchandising. That's why it is worth it. I can for example double my sales for the same portfolio size, by paying a measly 10% extra. That's quite cheap if you do the math. Even if I get just one more sale at each say 7-8 domains sold elsewhere, it IS worth it. It means profit.

Also, about scarcity.

I've seen a lot of people losing in this business because they're not flexible enough, they value their domains too much or are too attached to them. Al these choices are bad ones.

If you're not willing to give out another 10% of your commission in exchange for far better sales, you're losing, not winning this game.

Because in domaining the most important factor is sales ratio. I'm gonna say this again, just to make sure you understand it. In domaining, the most important factor is sales ratio. Keep this in mind. Do everything you can to improve that factor. Do the math. Your platform choice is a very important factor that can make the difference between success and failure with domain selling.

Say a given platform like Afternic has 10% more commission. But if, again, they bring 20% more sales, you're in profit because overall you sold more and you're left with more money. Use the difference to buy a few more great names, or - why not? Pocket the profit and spend it as you'd like.

This is why you should always test and measure such things. Math on paper.

And yet another thing about scarcity:

"I'm selling too many of my names and too much % goes to others" etc. Many inexperienced domainers apply this kind of scarcity thinking to their names. Well - did you ever do the math properly? Did you A/B test platforms? Is it good to choose selling LESS names instead of giving out a larger % but for much more sales, which, in turn, will leave you with far more in the pocket?

What many less experienced domainers also forget, is that domain sales ratio usually ranges at 1...2% per year in case of 4-fig domains for example which make the bulk of the market. This means that your feeling of "giving out too may of your names or too much %" is just... a scarcity mindset that actually works against you.

That means, say in one year if you have 100 names and sold 2, you have 98 domains. And you might have made some money, or not - because you have to pay for renewal of 98 names, which costs a lot (98x$10 = $980 for example). But if you sold 4 names, your profit skyrockets because you have DOUBLED your income, and all those extra sales will be 100% profit. And you still have 96 names left to sell, which means, you sold 2% of your portfolio for a multiple-fold profit. With the extra profit you got, you can easily pay for a few more names to cover the few you sold AND still have a lot more in your pocket.

Those extra SH sales will bring me at least a solid extra 5-fig over this year. That's why I use Afternic, SH and would use any other decent but perhaps high priced marketplace. Because without them, overall I'd be at a loss.

Do the math, guys. Always do the math. And avoid the scarcity mindset.

Happy domaining!

This all means nothing without actual numbers.

I disagree that name like Adaptyve doesn't have chance outside of SH. It is a classic brandable with y replacing i, similar to Lyft, for a very positive business-friendly word Adaptive.

The difference between Dan (9%) and SH (30%) is not mere 21%, as it seems. For your net amount, the difference is 0.91/0.7-1=30%. So, the difference in commission is actually 30% net to you. SH landers would need to sell 30%+ more than Dan landers. And that is without factoring in:

- SH upfront costs (listing fees, time spent listing, editing, boosting etc.)
- SH determined pricing that is often lower than a name can reasonably sell for
- Having to deal with their BS changing rules like demanding increase in Afternic listing prices vs. SH listing prices.
- Not having an access to google analytics.

Frankly, I am not seeing SH outperforming Dan or AN landers currently.

And, also, a brandable marketplace could actually hurt your sales on top of higher commissions. Get this:

I decided to leave Brandbucket after just 1 sale in 1 year on 350+ names. And guess what? In just 7 weeks since then I have sold 5 (!) out of those names via AN, Dan, Sedo at higher prices than I had listed them at BB and way lower commissions (20%, 9%, 15%), including a name that according to your theory should never sell outside of a brandable marketplace (go/vo/bo/.com) that sold an hour ago.

 

[twiki]

This all means nothing without actual numbers.

I disagree that name like Adaptyve doesn't have chance outside of SH. It is a classic brandable with y replacing i, similar to Lyft, for a very positive business-friendly word Adaptive.

The difference between Dan (9%) and SH (30%) is not mere 21%, as it seems. For your net amount, the difference is 0.91/0.7-1=30%. So, the difference in commission is actually 30% net to you. SH landers would need to sell 30%+ more than Dan landers. And that is without factoring in:

- SH upfront costs (listing fees, time spent listing, editing, boosting etc.)
- SH determined pricing that is often lower than a name can reasonably sell for
- Having to deal with their BS changing rules like demanding increase in Afternic listing prices vs. SH listing prices.
- Not having an access to google analytics.

Frankly, I am not seeing SH outperforming Dan or AN landers currently.

And, also, a brandable marketplace could actually hurt your sales on top of higher commissions. Get this:

I decided to leave Brandbucket after just 1 sale in 1 year on 350+ names. And guess what? In just 7 weeks since then I have sold 5 (!) out of those names via AN, Dan, Sedo at higher prices than I had listed them at BB and way lower commissions (20%, 9%, 15%), including a name that according to your theory should never sell outside of a brandable marketplace (go/vo/bo/.com) that sold an hour ago.

It's not about this particular name, don't get stuck on that. I've just sold for example JoinByte (on SH) for which never had an offer (elsewhere).

The name would have chances but no exposure. On Afternic, unless you have a searchable OR a great name people would type in, you don't get sales. I have great domains (even better than Adaptyve) who never got an offer at Afternic.

It's also about the domains. My domains don't sell on Dan or other plain lander. I hardly get a 4-fig sale in like 3 months on those.

Also this is my choice, not everyone's. Food for thought though.

Edit: I'm still using Dan for a set of domains and hearing... crickets.

 

[Recons.Com]

It's not about this particular name, don't get stuck on that. I've just sold for example JoinByte (on SH) for which never had an offer (elsewhere).

The name would have chances but no exposure. On Afternic, unless you have a searchable OR a great name people would type in, you don't get sales. I have great domains (even better than Adaptyve) who never got an offer at Afternic.

It's also about the domains. My domains don't sell on Dan or other plain lander. I hardly get a 4-fig sale in like 3 months on those.

Also this is my choice, not everyone's. Food for thought though.

Edit: I'm still using Dan for a set of domains and hearing... crickets.

I have never had any offers on 99% of names I sold in 2021, and that is around 120 xxxx to xxxxx sales. Not having prior offers mean NOTHING.

JoinByte is a fine name, not better, not worse than many brandables, since many companies that cannot get their brand, will choose call to action word in front, like Join, Buy, Get, Go etc. and Byte is a great keyword. Again, doesn't prove or disprove anything.

If you really want to prove your point, do a random split and test A/B for 6 mo+. But even then your experiment probably won't be clean, as SH doesn't let to list any name. It would probably need the reverse. Meaning, if you have 1000 names on SH, take 500 away for 6 months and test. But that could be against their ToS.

So what we are left with is your STR. Care to share what is your STR in past 12 months (not their BS Str posted on the dashboard), ie. X sales divided by weighted average portfolio size for the 12 months. And then what is your STR for similar names on Afternic+Dan (or another similar lander).

I have started with Dan about 7 weeks ago and have sold around $20k worth so far with them since.

 

[twiki]

I have never had any offers on 99% of names I sold in 2021, and that is around 120 xxxx to xxxxx sales. Not having prior offers mean NOTHING.

JoinByte is a fine name, not better, not worse than many brandables, since many companies that cannot get their brand, will choose call to action word in front, like Join, Buy, Get, Go etc. and Byte is a great keyword. Again, doesn't prove or disprove anything.

If you really want to prove your point, do a random split and test A/B for 6 mo+. But even then your experiment probably won't be clean, as SH doesn't let to list any name. It would probably need the reverse. Meaning, if you have 1000 names on SH, take 500 away for 6 months and test. But that could be against their ToS.

So what we are left with is your STR. Care to share what is your STR in past 12 months (not their BS Str posted on the dashboard), ie. X sales divided by weighted average portfolio size for the 12 months. And then what is your STR for similar names on Afternic+Dan (or another similar lander).

I have started with Dan about 7 weeks ago and have sold around $20k worth so far with them since.

What kind of names you have on Dan? Single words, 2-words? Which TLD's? .coms, ngTLDs? Short .coms? Liquids?

I'm asking to understand why the sheer difference.

Dan is not converting for my names.

Edit: I have about 10K coms currently, plus others. I need to sell above $10K/mo to be in profit. And I do, 15... $20k / mo. Mostly Afternic, but now SH has started well.

But Dan has hardly given me a measly 1k+ sale each few months. For me Dan is a no go. Dead zone.

This is why I am asking the above.

Edit: Don't want to specifically and ultimately prove any point, it's my reasoning, not anyone will follow. Some will though. Everyone's portfolio and style is different.

 

[kaposzta]

I have never had any offers on 99% of names I sold in 2021, and that is around 120 xxxx to xxxxx sales. Not having prior offers mean NOTHING.

JoinByte is a fine name, not better, not worse than many brandables, since many companies that cannot get their brand, will choose call to action word in front, like Join, Buy, Get, Go etc. and Byte is a great keyword. Again, doesn't prove or disprove anything.

If you really want to prove your point, do a random split and test A/B for 6 mo+. But even then your experiment probably won't be clean, as SH doesn't let to list any name. It would probably need the reverse. Meaning, if you have 1000 names on SH, take 500 away for 6 months and test. But that could be against their ToS.

So what we are left with is your STR. Care to share what is your STR in past 12 months (not their BS Str posted on the dashboard), ie. X sales divided by weighted average portfolio size for the 12 months. And then what is your STR for similar names on Afternic+Dan (or another similar lander).

I have started with Dan about 7 weeks ago and have sold around $20k worth so far with them since.

"If you really want to prove your point"
He doesn't want and doesn't need to prove his point If you don't believe what he says, just move on and proceed with your own method.

 

[twiki]

"If you really want to prove your point"
He doesn't want and doesn't need to prove his point If you don't believe what he says, just move on and proceed with your own method.

Absolutely correct. Was just replying that.

 

[DomainBanana]

JoinByte is a fine name

Yes, another name that would likely have sold on its own. This is not a standard brandable and not the kind of name that people are likely to randomly find on a marketplace and buy. It's a name that buyers would have already been looking for.

As mentioned above, I prefer not to give away high commissions on these types of names that can sell on their own.

But we all have our methods.

 

[twiki]

Yes, another name that would likely have sold on its own. This is not a standard brandable and not the kind of name that people are likely to randomly find on a marketplace and buy. It's a name that buyers would have already been looking for.

As mentioned above, I prefer not to give away high commissions on these types of names that can sell on their own.

But we all have our methods.

And I would not blame anyone for doing so. It's logical and many feel like that.

I'm just offering a counter-intuitive approach, one that I use.

 

[Recons.Com]

What kind of names you have on Dan? Single words, 2-words? Which TLD's? .coms, ngTLDs? Short .coms? Liquids?

I'm asking to understand why the sheer difference.

Dan is not converting for my names.

Edit: I have about 10K coms currently, plus others. I need to sell above $10K/mo to be in profit. And I do, 15... $20k / mo. Mostly Afternic, but now SH has started well.

But Dan has hardly given me a measly 1k+ sale each few months. For me Dan is a no go. Dead zone.

This is why I am asking the above.

Edit: Don't want to specifically and ultimately prove any point, it's my reasoning, not anyone will follow. Some will though. Everyone's portfolio and style is different.

Basically, almost 17k domains with Dan landers. 98% .com, brandables, 4Ls etc.

I have just started (7 weeks), so to early to say. Certainly, I was expecting more, but, again, too short time.

I am planning a 6 mo A/B test comparing Afternic and Dan landers. That should give a better picture.

At Dan, I have BIN + LTO 24 mo, no make offer. To give an idea, my most typical price is $2500 and my average sale price is in $3k-3.5k region most of the time.

 

[twiki]

Basically, almost 17k domains with Dan landers. 98% .com, brandables, 4Ls etc.

I have just started (7 weeks), so to early to say. Certainly, I was expecting more, but, again, too short time.

I am planning a 6 mo A/B test comparing Afternic and Dan landers. That should give a better picture.

At Dan, I have BIN + LTO 24 mo, no make offer. To give an idea, my most typical price is $2500 and my average sale price is in $3k-3.5k region most of the time.

You probably have a higher range portfolio on average. Most of mine are under $2k , although of course I do have some above. May I ask how long since you built this 17k portfolio? And what are they most, buys, regs or closeouts? I expect you have a significant amount of buys there.

With the above answered I might explain better why the difference, to myself and to you possibly as well.

Edit: I had 25k but many ngTLDs, I dropped most and focusing on .coms only. Still in the transition process, there's a lot to be said about that. ~ 10k currently.

 

[Lox]

Two key decisions: Market (Null NS vs Listing) at the right time and Selling at the right time. (A growing customer base ensures the $ flow.) Track & Research

Regards

 

[Recons.Com]

You probably have a higher range portfolio on average. Most of mine are under $2k , although of course I do have some above. May I ask how long since you built this 17k portfolio? And what are they most, buys, regs or closeouts? I expect you have a significant amount of buys there.

With the above answered I might explain better why the difference, to myself and to you possibly as well.

Edit: I had 25k but many ngTLDs, I dropped most and focusing on .coms only. Still in the transition process, there's a lot to be said about that. ~ 10k currently.

I have started building the for sale portfolio since 2015 (approx around time I registered on the forum), although have been owning and selling domains occasionally way longer (bought for my own projects, sold via incoming communications).

Since then, I have been doubling every year roughly. So, about half of the names are owned under 1 year.

Auction won names, plus other bought ones are under 500, including around 400 LLLL.coms

The rest are 99% closeout bought.