NamePros Live Auction .. ranking order and seller's choice auctions

[bidawinner]

What determines the ranking in Namepros Auction? (as I see my listing falling back )

Trying to make heads and tails of the auction.


1. I assumed reserve that has met per auction should be ranking higher as those will be sold

2. Domains/potfolios with bids

3. Domains/Portfolios with the most bids

And the "Sellers Options " that needs to go ..either sell your names at your reserve or dont list them at all .JMO..just seems like all those listings are wasting space AND the ability for fraud on them is extremely high..

Look Joe if you bid on my names and a "REAL" bidder dosent out bid you I'll pay you 20% of your errr "winning bid" bid type nonsense

http://www.namepros.com/liveauction.php?a=queue

 

[BinderGang]

Way too many Seller's choice auctions this time around.

 

[RJ]

The queue is ordered now by the likelyhood of the listings making the live event. We run for 2½ hours and can usually do up to 80 lots during that time.

The priority order is determined by the pre-bids in relation to their reserve. A name that has far exceeded its reserve will be ranked higher, so you'll see $1 reserve names rise quickly when bids are made on them.

Seller's choice auctions with bids are given priority over domains with pre-bids that are far from the specified reserves.

The order you see now is not the final order. The order of the first 60 names is randomly shuffled just prior to the live auction. The priority order of the remaining names will determine which make the event. In all of our recent auctions, we've been able to auction all names except those with prebids less than 33% of the reserve.

The goal of the ranking system is to auction names that are most likely to result in a completed transaction for the seller. It sounds more complicated than it really is.

RJ

 

[bidawinner]

The goal of the ranking system is to auction names that are most likely to result in a completed transaction for the seller. It sounds more complicated than it really is.

RJ

Most likely to result in a sale.yep that should be a priority

RJ I'm surprised the "sellers option" is even offered based on the obvious potential for abuse..seems to be prime for fraudulent bidding

Maybe I am missing something..some other built in aspects of the sellers option that prevents that abuse?

appreciate the response

 

[RJ]

RJ I'm surprised the "sellers option" is even offered based on the obvious potential for abuse..seems to be prime for fraudulent bidding

Prime for fraudulent bidding -- how do you mean, like colluding with friends to shill bid? I guess this is possible in all types of auctions, whether a reserve is specified or not.

Or am I misunderstanding what you mean?

 

[bidawinner]

Prime for fraudulent bidding -- how do you mean, like colluding with friends to shill bid? I guess this is possible in all types of auctions, whether a reserve is specified or not.

Exactly.. The idea is .. If a seller can get someone to shill bid to entice other bidders then not only more likely to sell but at a higher price ..

What the Sellers Options "offers' is a built in public verification/ support for the shill bidder in that if the shill bidder dosent get the "real" bidder to bid high enough (that the seller seeks) then the Shill Bidder is shown as the highest bidder(at end of auction) the Seller simply cancels the "wining bid" Auction and pays the shill bidder the 20%(the buy back NP option) ..basically a FEE for tying to pump the price !

Now the seller IS going to pay the shill bidder because the Shill bidder because the whole process is in "public" with NPs blessing (unwittiingly)

Does that make any sense?

You can of course get shill bids on any auction.but the Sellers Option is th e Only one that gives the shill bidder assurance he will be paid ! 20% of what he was able to get the bid upto !

n Seller's Choice auctions, the seller can choose to cancel the final auction result by paying the high bidder a buyout fee equal to 20% of the winning bid amount (capped at $8 or 400 NP$). In all other auctions, high bids meeting or exceeding a reserve price are binding on both bidder and seller.

I dont Know RJ the sellers option just seems odd..I'm not familiar enough with your auctions..are there a lot of Sellers that cancel ? I guess thats where I would look to check for patterns ...certain users/IPs etc..

Maybe not be a problem at all ..just "seems" that it has a huge potential for abuse

 

[RJ]

How would the elimination of Seller's Choice auction reduce the likelihood of a shill bid situation like that?

As I understand it, a seller's choice auction basically allows the seller to have a hidden reserve price. If he were to use a normal reserve price auction, he could still have his friend bid right up to below the reserve.

What I mean is, I don't see the advantage for shillers in this auction type over the others.

Thanks for talking it out, I like to hear possible scenarios like this. We actually were considering losing the seller's choice auction format a few months ago but decided to keep it.

 

[bidawinner]

Exactly.. The idea is .. If a seller can get someone to shill bid to entice other bidders then not only more likely to sell but at a higher price ..

What the Sellers Options "offers' is a built in public verification/ support for the shill bidder in that if the shill bidder dosent get the "real" bidder to bid high enough (that the seller seeks) then the Shill Bidder is shown as the highest bidder(at end of auction) the Seller simply cancels the "wining bid" Auction and pays the shill bidder the 20%(the buy back NP option) ..basically a FEE for tying to pump the price !

Now the seller IS going to pay the shill bidder because the Shill bidder because the whole process is in "public" with NPs blessing (unwittiingly)

Does that make any sense?

You can of course get shill bids on any auction.but the Sellers Option is th e Only one that gives the shill bidder assurance he will be paid ! 20% of what he was able to get the bid upto !

n Seller's Choice auctions, the seller can choose to cancel the final auction result by paying the high bidder a buyout fee equal to 20% of the winning bid amount (capped at $8 or 400 NP$). In all other auctions, high bids meeting or exceeding a reserve price are binding on both bidder and seller.

I dont Know RJ the sellers option just seems odd..I'm not familiar enough with your auctions..are there a lot of Sellers that cancel ? I guess thats where I would look to check for patterns ...certain users/IPs etc..

Maybe not be a problem at all ..just "seems" that it has a huge potential for abuse

DUH..and there it is "capped at $8 or $400 np" Yeah if thats the case hardly worth cheating..

How would the elimination of Seller's Choice auction reduce the likelihood of a shill bid situation like that?

As I understand it, a seller's choice auction basically allows the seller to have a hidden reserve price. If he were to use a normal reserve price auction, he could still have his friend bid right up to below the reserve.

What I mean is, I don't see the advantage for shillers in this auction type over the others.

Thanks for talking it out, I like to hear possible scenarios like this. We actually were considering losing the seller's choice auction format a few months ago but decided to keep it.

It's fine RJ.. I just noticed (or it just sank in) about the caping the payment to the bidder at $8 or 400 NP.. not likely enough to "encourage" shill bidding cheaters


The other "issue" I had with the Sellers Option was simply why post the domain if you arent serious about selling ...Oh wait a second .I don't like that winning bid lol ..I think I'll simply pay the winning bidder a few bucks and keep the domain.. just seems like a waste of everyones time

sellers remorse option ;0

 

[lzy]

The other "issue" I had with the Sellers Option was simply why post the domain if you arent serious about selling ...Oh wait a second .I don't like that winning bid lol ..I think I'll simply pay the winning bidder a few bucks and keep the domain.. just seems like a waste of everyones time

sellers remorse option ;0

What if you were selling a premium name like ABC.com (example)?

More often than not, you wouldn't reach your dream price but with this option, if the bidding do reaches an acceptable price, the seller could actually consider letting it go instead of setting a reserve price which actually deters bidders knowing they could probably be wasting their time. :imho:

 

[bidawinner]

What if you were selling a premium name like ABC.com (example)?

More often than not, you wouldn't reach your dream price but with this option, if the bidding do reaches an acceptable price, the seller could actually consider letting it go instead of setting a reserve price which actually deters bidders knowing they could probably be wasting their time. :imho:

"dream price" see that's the problem, that is what is wasting everyones time Izy

As a seller YOU have to know what your sell price is and set your reserve..if the bidders think your price is too low THEY will let you know by how high they take the price..and if your reserve is to high the lack of bidders is your clue

You sell anything on Ebay? It's always the bidders that let you know what your product is worth ..if they want it they will bid it's worth

I certainly know what you are saying..every domainer "feels" their names are worth more ..or don't want to lose that dream sale ..but the reality is those are emotions and domains are property with sales prices generally based on previous sales for similar properties .

 

[lzy]

What you're saying does make sense but in this case, with such an option, you would kinda get an idea how much the NP market is willing to pay for your name and the seller would then have the choice whether to accept the offer or bring it to another buyer, auction house?

Some names do better at NP while some other names do better at eBay.

Perhaps domainers are indeed an emotional bunch but that's just how things are.

Once again :imho:

 

[RJ]

The other "issue" I had with the Sellers Option was simply why post the domain if you arent serious about selling ...Oh wait a second .I don't like that winning bid lol ..I think I'll simply pay the winning bidder a few bucks and keep the domain.. just seems like a waste of everyones time

sellers remorse option ;0

This is more of the reasoning that was leading me to consider removal of the option. This thread started out discussing the ranking order of what makes it into the live auction, and "seller's choice" auctions may lead to a lot of wasted if the bidding never reaches near what the seller is expecting. Of course the seller's are paying an extra $8 for the "seller's choice" option (which I really thought would discourage use of it) but it still seems as popular as ever.

 

[Ross]

I know it may seem like a waste of time for everyone but another point a seller might look at is to see if there is interest in the domain in question. For instance put the domain up for auction with this sellers choice and see the potential and the price it may fetch in an auction format. Basically see what its worth to the rest of the domaining world.

IMO this is the only way to get an actual appraisal without actually selling the name. Yeah its a huge waste of time if the seller does not sell the domain but you never know.

I know it may seem like a waste of time for everyone but another point a seller might look at is to see if there is interest in the domain in question. For instance put the domain up for auction with this sellers choice and see the potential and the price it may fetch in an auction format. Basically see what its worth to the rest of the domaining world.

IMO this is the only way to get an actual appraisal without actually selling the name. Yeah its a huge waste of time if the seller does not sell the domain but you never know.