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]

Not OP, but I created a PHP script that pulls in all my names via Dynadot and Namecheap APIs. It also knows how to parse an Afternic export file (which is just a CSV).

Then its just a matter of comparing the two lists (names in my accounts vs those listed on Afternic) and printing the unlisted names out.

Before I implemented this I was having a very difficult time making sure all my names were listed. 5% or so would slip through the cracks. This is especially so because often I have to contact afternic to delist a name from another account before I can add it, and the it becomes easy to forget to add it later.

I don't think its possible to effectively manage a large portfolio (2k+ names) without automation. Google Sheets got me a long way, but I needed to move into scripting for more complicated things (e.g., looking up nameservers and expiration dates).

My Afternic manager solves this for me. And it's a good one and helpful person.

However not everyone has one, and it appears not all of them are like that.

Apart from this, for large portfolios automation is an absolute must.

 

[Lox]

Could you please elaborate on that?

Maybe in the future ... but right now I really can't detail "the road" further. Thank you for your understanding.

Regards

 

[twiki]

Maybe in the future ... but right now I really can't detail "the road" further. Thank you for your understanding.

Regards

@NameWell , one can use their imagination ... and answers will follow.

 

[twiki]

My approach is simpler:

- Buy names that would make a great name for a company, personal brand, product, service etc. in .com
- Set a fair price, list, have clean lander. Fair price for those names in 95% of cases is in 1500-3000 range. If a fair price for a name is $xxx, then it is probably not a great name for the above point and not worth registering.
- Keep renewing and forget about it, thus not requiring any additional admin work.

May I ask what % do you use for min offer? If you can share that.

I'm currently at 70% or so. Used to have 50% but decided to increase it. I rarely get offers though, mostly BIN.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

This is another gem of an opinion piece, @twiki – thank you so much for sharing so generously on NamePros.

I totally agree with your main point, that if a venue is more likely to lead to a sale, or more likely to bring in a higher price, then it can make total sense to pay a high commission.

The one thing that I would add is I wish we had more complete data on the sales records of different platforms. We get bits and pieces but not a comprehensive image of what fraction of names they sell at what average or median price. Of course, even then it would not be a clear answer, because the quality of names posted at different sites can be very different. I would so love to know exactly how many names are sold in which TLDs each month for what prices at each of the major marketplaces, even if the name itself was masked.

Thanks again for writing a superb article.

Bob

 

[twiki]

This is another gem of an opinion piece, @twiki – thank you so much for sharing so generously on NamePros.

I totally agree with your main point, that if a venue is more likely to lead to a sale, or more likely to bring in a higher price, then it can make total sense to pay a high commission.

The one thing that I would add is I wish we had more complete data on the sales records of different platforms. We get bits and pieces but not a comprehensive image of what fraction of names they sell at what average or median price. Of course, even then it would not be a clear answer, because the quality of names posted at different sites can be very different. I would so love to know exactly how many names are sold in which TLDs each month for what prices at each of the major marketplaces, even if the name itself was masked.

Thanks again for writing a superb article.

Bob

@Bob Hawkes , thank you for your kind words and appreciation.

However this makes me humble as it might be a bit too much for my post, that not everyone would have enjoyed I think.

I'm just sharing what I've found and the way I think, sometimes against the mainstream as I like to challenge that. I'm glad though many liked it - although I've certainly offended some sensitivities. In hindsight, I should have expected that when posting.

Of course, this is not an universal formula. But I'm positive that some users at least will follow things described here. It largely depends on their portfolio and methods.

In my case, things are clear.

The drops I sell are generally lower priced via Afternic in order to get a good sales ratio. SH is different. For some portfolios with higher grade domains, SH would have been a bad choice. For most of my names though, both Afternic and SH are best choices despite the higher commission as they have (proven and tested in my case) sold domains faster than with other methods.

I've A/B tested Afternic vs Dan for 1 year + and results in my case are clear. Dan doesn't work, I rarely get a sale there. So I've pointed landers at Afternic thanks to Abdul Basit's original posts 2 years ago and found out to be true even in my case. Yes I pay some 10-20% extra , but if I get at least 30% more sales it's worth it. And I'm pretty sure already due to extensive testing, that I get at least that if not more.

Another advantage is doing less work. I'm currently still testing a bit of Dan but probably will not use it at all anymore soon. So I get one platform to manage. I've also ditched Sedo for the same reason, too difficult to handle the extra work managing it.

Well at least SH domains are also promoted on Sedo so I get extra exposure for that percentage without the hassle of managing Sedo directly. But also, the biggest part, the pool of users that frequently visit SH and some might be branding agencies etc who will show my names to prospects. There is also additional info you get from which names are most visited and/or added to a list, submitted to contests etc. That gives me precious extra information.

Yes I cannot move the names without giving up SH completely, BUT it helps me buying the right names next. And you know what, there's plenty of fish out there.

But again, if your domain is powerful enough so you get offers with just a plain lander (either by the quality of the name or direct traffic or direct searches etc), then by all means, use whatever lander you want including your custom one. It's just that in my case, that didn't work. Afternic and SH bring conversion improvement and that has always been the most critical factor in my case.

Also I've learned something over the years doing business, though not everyone will agree.

I don't care anymore what someone else gets from a deal. I care what I get and if it brings me most, why not - even though the other will get a fairly large cut, or larger than me. But some domainers don't like this - and think such platform fees are huge for a mere lander. And I don't blame anyone for just thinking differently. It's their view and decision and must be respected.

 

[Omar Negron]

I've A/B tested Afternic vs Dan for 1 year + and results in my case are clear. Dan doesn't work, I rarely get a sale there. So I've pointed landers at Afternic thanks to Abdul Basit's original posts 2 years ago and found out to be true even in my case. Yes I pay some 10-20% extra , but if I get at least 30% more sales it's worth it. And I'm pretty sure already due to extensive testing, that I get at least that if not more.

Which lander are you using specifically? I believe Abdul is using the GoDaddy NS3/NS4 lander and he likes them a lot.

Are you using the same or the BUY IT NOW version which is NS5/NS6?

Thanks!

-Omar

 

[twiki]

Which lander are you using specifically? I believe Abdul is using the GoDaddy NS3/NS4 lander and he likes them a lot.

Are you using the same or the BUY IT NOW version which is NS5/NS6?

Thanks!

-Omar

This is an entire discussion but to keep it short. I'm currently using NS5/NS6.

I have tested NS3/NS4 enough, but it does not convert for me. And the reason can be logically determined.

Afternic recommends NS5/NS6 for average domains with value less than 5k (which I have). These are more impulse buys and therefore an easier BIN lander is useful in such cases.

Abdul has different, higher value domains. In such cases, NS3/NS4 is ideal. It presents an additional barrier, only the most interested / qualified buyers will fill in that form. Basically you don''t get through that barrier unless you NEED that domain, as opposed to want it. And by then you expect you will have to pay up a decent sum.

So it depends on what type of names you have. Also, A/B testing is critical as usual.

 

[Omar Negron]

This is an entire discussion but to keep it short. I'm currently using NS5/NS6.

I have tested NS3/NS4 enough, but it does not convert for me. And the reason can be logically determined.

Afternic recommends NS5/NS6 for average domains with value less than 5k (which I have). These are more impulse buys and therefore an easier BIN lander is useful in such cases.

Abdul has different, higher value domains. In such cases, NS3/NS4 is ideal. It presents an additional barrier, only the most interested / qualified buyers will fill in that form. Basically you don''t get through that barrier unless you NEED that domain, as opposed to want it. And by then you expect you will have to pay up a decent sum.

So it depends on what type of names you have. Also, A/B testing is critical as usual.

Thank you for the response! I'm personally testing out the DAN price request landers. I do agree that the Godaddy brand on the page may help build trust with the person interested in the domain name and also, they may even think they are buying the domain name straight from Godaddy (since it doesn't show that the domain name is being offered by a seller).

The only thing that bothers me is not being able to get any form of a traffic report or know how many inquires/leads a domain name may be receiving. So your kind of in the dark on that. Because when renewal time comes, one of the things I personally look at is how many inquires that domain name has received for the year.

If the landers could provide some type of data, then I would want to give it a try.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

-Omar

 

[twiki]

Thank you for the response! I'm personally testing out the DAN price request landers. I do agree that the Godaddy brand on the page may help build trust with the person interested in the domain name and also, they may even think they are buying the domain name straight from Godaddy (since it doesn't show that the domain name is being offered by a seller).

The only thing that bothers me is not being able to get any form of a traffic report or know how many inquires/leads a domain name may be receiving. So your kind of in the dark on that. Because when renewal time comes, one of the things I personally look at is how many inquires that domain name has received for the year.

If the landers could provide some type of data, then I would want to give it a try.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

-Omar

I understand, traffic info might appear important to some domainers and providing some insight.

For me, traffic is absolutely irrelevant, and so is for many domainers who are above my grade. Interest is not a purchase. Traffic can have many sources and not necessarily result in a sale. In fact, the biggest sales I had (and others had) are not related to traffic in any form. I had plenty domains which got a lot of traffic and never sold even when reduced in price (by a lot).

So you are watching for a metric that might actually hinder your investment rather than provide anything useful.

Leads - If you have a domain that gets leads, you will either see a price request or offer in Afternic, depending on how is listed, OR you will get an inquiry from a GoDaddy broker with an offer. That's a lead. Anything else are mere stats which don't matter at all.

So you actually get leads with Afternic. Anything which is not a concrete $ offer is NOT an actual lead, but rather something to keep your mind pleased, mostly. At least that is how I see it.

With SH, yes you get extra valuable signs of interest, unlike plain traffic. Your domain gets shortlisted, the more shortlists the better. They also provide a "high interest" label on the domain if the case, and you also see when domains are submitted to contests by other members (if you enable that part). These are indeed metrics you can follow and see whether a particular domain is of interest. It can't help much with that domain as it is already listed with SH (removing it might ban your account) BUT it can help teach you what domains to buy next, which is, I think, even more important than one particular domain.

Edit: Once you grow enough, you probably won't have time looking for traffic anymore, but to further grow and improve your portfolio by either purchasing great new domains OR repricing existing ones at a more suitable price etc. And you'll look into having more free time to do other things, which means ditching the irrelevant or low effect tasks.

 

[Omar Negron]

I understand, traffic info might appear important to some domainers and providing some insight.

For me, traffic is absolutely irrelevant, and so is for many domainers who are above my grade. Interest is not a purchase. Traffic can have many sources and not necessarily result in a sale. In fact, the biggest sales I had (and others had) are not related to traffic in any form. I had plenty domains who get a lot of traffic and never sold even when reduced in price (by a lot).

So you are watching for a metric that might actually hinder your investment rather than provide anything useful.

Leads - If you have a domain that gets leads, you will either see a price request or offer in Afternic, depending on how is listed, OR you will get an inquiry from a GoDaddy broker with an offer. That's a lead. Anything else are mere stats which don't matter at all.

So you actually get leads with Afternic. Anything which is not a concrete $ offer is NOT an actual lead, but rather something to keep your mind pleased, mostly. At least that is how I see it.

With SH, yes you get extra valuable signs of interest, unlike plain traffic. Your domain gets shortlisted, the more shortlists the better. They also provide a "high interest" label on the domain if the case, and you also see when domains are submitted to contests by other members (if you enable that part). These are indeed metrics you can follow and see whether a particular domain is of interest. It can't help much with that domain as it is already listed with SH (removing it might ban your account) BUT it can help teach you what domains to buy next, which is, I think, even more important than one particular domain.

Edit: Once you grow enough, you probably won't have time looking for traffic anymore, but to further grow and improve your portfolio by either purchasing great new domains OR repricing existing ones at a more suitable price etc. And you'll look into having more free time to do other thing which means ditching the irrelevant or low effect tasks.

Yes, you actually make some great points.

Agreed, the traffic aspect isn't even all that important since a lot of the traffic our domains receive may be bot traffic etc.

So I am much more interested in the leads/inquiries side of things. I did not know Afternic/Godaddy supplied that information. It's something I will look into a bit more this weekend and potentially give their landers a try.

-Omar

 

[twiki]

Yes, you actually make some great points.

Agreed, the traffic aspect isn't even all that important since a lot of the traffic our domains receive may be bot traffic etc.

So I am much more interested in the leads/inquiries side of things. I did not know Afternic/Godaddy supplied that information. It's something I will look into a bit more this weekend and potentially give their landers a try.

-Omar

When you get an offer, you definitely get it from them.

 

[jedaprin]

Your strategy does work but it shortens time

Me I just hold on to domains and when I'm done I just drop it like it's hot cause a massive influx and bidding frenzy

Every person has their own strategy tho

 

[twiki]

s and when I'm done I just drop it like it's hot cause a massive influx and bidding frenzy

Correct. This is why we discuss strategies, different ones might be inspiring and / or to be tried.

 

[Recons.Com]

May I ask what % do you use for min offer? If you can share that.

I'm currently at 70% or so. Used to have 50% but decided to increase it. I rarely get offers though, mostly BIN.

I don't bother setting min offer at all. So, Afternic by default may show 20$, and at landers no possibility to make an offer. Choose either bin or lease to own (24 months), if budget-constrained.

 

[ArielT]

I deal mostly with hand regs and Dan works way better for me, compared to afternic and SH. With brandables, you could not have any views for a domain for months and sell at first view, so the landing page is doing 90% of the job, for certain domains.

What is working better for you on DAN, BIN or make offer?

Thanks

 

[twiki]

I don't bother setting min offer at all. So, Afternic by default may show 20$, and at landers no possibility to make an offer. Choose either bin or lease to own (24 months), if budget-constrained.

That's interesting. Are you not getting a lot of lowball offers?

I used to have 50% min offer but found out I'd be tempted to sell and that it would be more difficult to up a buyer from there to somewhere closer to the full price. But at 70% min offer they probably either hit BIN or not, instead of making an offer so close to the BIN price.

 

[Recons.Com]

That's interesting. Are you not getting a lot of lowball offers?

I used to have 50% min offer but found out I'd be tempted to sell and that it would be more difficult to up a buyer from there to somewhere closer to the full price. But at 70% min offer they probably either hit BIN or not, instead of making an offer so close to the BIN price.

I don't get many offers with the setup. Because it would take a really motivated, AND budget constrained, AND savvy buyer to go through the hustle.

I mean imagine the mess that would happen in your brain if you go to Apple.com to buy an iPhone and just thinking which model to choose and then suddenly face the choice of "making an offer" for them. You'd probably end up not buying anything.

I do setup the floor pricing for many names at Afternic, in case a motivated buyer contacts brokers there and speed might make difference between closing an impulse inquiry or losing it. The floor price is usually 20-30% below the BIN. If they'd get a lower offer, then they'd have to contact me.

With all these, 95% of my sales are BIN, basically. My whole business process is streamlining things as much as possible.

 

[Intop]

At first, congratulations for this topic, all the opinions are very interesting!!

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.

But this I think it´s not true.
I think the first thing a potential buyer does is verify the domain name by typing it in navbar. So you can check if it is in use, developed by some big company or for sale
I would certainly be what I would do as a potential buyer. First type in the name and the extension in the navbar and check it.

 

[twiki]

At first, congratulations for this topic, all the opinions are very interesting!!



But this I think it´s not true.
I think the first thing a potential buyer does is verify the domain name by typing it in navbar. So you can check if it is in use, developed by some big company or for sale
I would certainly be what I would do as a potential buyer. First type in the name and the extension in the navbar and check it.

If they already knew exactly what they want / what is available.

In most cases they don't. Otherwise I'd have many more sales. I've watched my custom landers long enough to know this.

They search for a specific keyword, e.g. "crypto" and find a suitable domain, OR browse a category based site like SH (several ways there).

They dont' already know your domain to type it in the first place.

Edit: Typing your domain comes later, once they've already discovered it, which they do through the exposure such big platforms offer. Otherwise direct type-ins don't really occur on my names, and in general not unless your domain is a single word .com or something well known.

 

[jim h]

Indeed, afternic sold more domains for me.

 

[Atone]

I don't mind paying which ever platform's commission.
This is a hobby for me so three sales in the last quarter of 2021 all hand regs by the way 2 at BB and the other at Alter for a combined 8450 USD may never have happened without listings on those sites who knows ?. Just my 2 cents worth Cheers.

 

[Joe drake]

Buy it now landers using 5 and 6 ns usually bin price is listed at site if this is the route your using why pay 20% when biix charges 2%

 

[Atone]

Buy it now landers using 5 and 6 ns usually bin price is listed at site if this is the route your using why pay 20% when biix charges 2%

Who or which comment are you referring to.

 

[Joe drake]

Who or which comment are you referring to.

Yours ,I agree that afternic godaddy has a lot of eyeballs and partners ,but your using a but it now lander why not just use a site like biix that Uses escrow.com to clear funds ,if you still want to list a godaddy ,list it at the same time but make price higher