opinion Old Flippa VS New Flippa

[Chetan]

Flippa was a great market place for domain sellers in past,but now things seems to be changed. People who were actively selling at flippa are hardly listing anything there.. or using flippa just to buy domains

I would request you to cast your vote - what according to you was major setback for sellers at flippa.

 

[sofiapartner]

All of the above. And the NP community warned for all these things not so long ago. + the shill bidding + Ali and the gang of favorites, who are always getting the top spots and "editor's choice" places for free, helping them to sell their domains higher and build big watchers lists.

However they are free to do whatever they want with their business. And I am free to not using them anymore.

 

[Chetan]

All of the above. And the NP community warned for all these things not so long ago. + the shill bidding + Ali and the gang of favorites, who are always getting the top spots and "editor's choice" places for free, helping them to sell their domains higher and build big watchers lists.

However they are free to do whatever they want with their business. And I am free to not using them anymore.

thanks for your inputs, I request you to please cast in your vote. wanted to see that what each one of you think

 

[greggb]

That's funny. I didn't know there was a new Flippa. Maybe I got in after they launched the new Flippa, and it had already started sucking?

The problem with Flippa, Sedo, GD Auctions, and many other market places is the lack of quality control. Any truly good domain gets buried in mountains of shit. As a buyer you'd have to devote hours to sifting through crappy domain names in hopes of finding a decent one.

On the other hand, the problem you'll find at marketplaces with quality control is the insane amount of time it takes for someone to say yay or nay.

Flippa does have its own unique set of functional problems that I've brought to their attention multiple times. Like for example when you reg a new domain and go to list it there and you can't because the previous owner had it listed there, and in the year 2015 "Flippa logic" isn't capable of querying a whois database and recognizing that not only has the email address of the registrant changed, but the new address happens to match mine, which would, not wanting to jump to factually-based conclusions, suggest that I'm the owner of this domain name now because my email address happens to be the same as the one in the whois database, which in itself might prove that I'm the owner of the domain name...and might be be cause for allowing me to list it there.

And then when I contact Flippa and ask them to remove the listing so I can list the domain name I now own and pay them $9 for an auction listing, I don't hear back from them. To date Flippa has lost $27 in revenue ($9 x 3) because I couldn't list domains I had purchased there, since they were already listed. They'll send me emails making me confirm that I'm the owner, and after I've confirmed that I'm the owner, and have met the criteria Flippa has set to prove my ownership, they'll deny me.

Some people like to refer to this as "the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing". I see it as "Flippa's left hand punching Flippa in the nose repeatedly", and no matter how often I mention it to Flippa, or how derogatory I make it, Flippa still fails to do anything about it. I almost wonder if Flippa isn't run by some branch of the US government.

Do you hear that Flippa? I've compared your website to that of one run by the US Government. Are you going to do anything about it?

Probably not. However, if you should decide to, here's a bit of code that may help you rectify the problem I referenced above.

if ($theemailaddressinthewhosisdatabaserecord==$greggbsemailaddress)
{
notethatgreggbistheownerofthedomain (1);
allowgreggbtolistthedomainatFlippa (1);
letgreggbpayFlippa9USD (9);
}

My rant about Flippa aside, I now have to question the OP. Where did you come up with the premises for this question?

1) When was the new Flippa launached?
2) When did people stop listing at Flippa?
3) What was the reduction in people who once used Flippa, but no longer do?

Also, when did "casting a vote" equate to answering an essay question? You do realize that you asked an essay question, don't you?

All the same, this my vote. I eagerly await to see who wins (the vote).

Happy domaining!

 

[Beezy]

Shouldn't there be a choice for people that still think flippa is ok?

 

[lovelightdust]

yeah was wondering why the sales in flippa seems to be decreasing and about why its always the same few people having their auctions spammed at the top

 

[jamesosix]

Shouldn't there be a choice for people that still think flippa is ok?

+1

 

[ProDomanico]

Scrutinize and list the domains... which are worth buying ...

NO SHIT. Can charge more for listing after scrutinized.
9$ shit for each shit domain... a big NO NO

 

[S-B]

I think there's a common misconception about Flippa. Everyone seems to think you buy an upgrade, Flippa sprinkles some pixie dust on the listing, and bam it's sold. This is not how auction platforms work. You have to put in some work. I'm not saying that it's fair or worth the time but that's just how it is.

 

[NameFit]

Scrutinize and list the domains... which are worth buying
9$ shit for each shit domain... a big NO NO
..

Well, the simple logic is quality over quantity. This is free market, quantity always supercedes quality. Quantity is what pays the bills and has returns. Is quality really a metric for company? Someone wants to list their crap for $9, we (company) do not have a problem.

Also keep in mind, crap names do sell. I or you would not buy them but someone will. So why to exclude the crap names. It is for the buyer to decide what to buy. I would also say that crap names make good names shine out more!

 

[NameFit]

Shouldn't there be a choice for people that still think flippa is ok?

Agree - one sided options...

But we could revisit this thread https://www.namepros.com/threads/flippa-surpasses-150-million-in-domain-name-website-sales.867641/

 

[Paully]

It still has a lot going for it and I think the present problems will work themselves out.

Growing an online marketplace is like growing any kind of supply and demand business. It is all about the balance between buyers and sellers. Flippa's promotions and recent success have left them with a huge supply of listings but not enough lower end buyers to go around.

The effect of this plus all the new gTLDs that are clogging up the market is that unless you are selling premium domains that sell themselves, the days when you could list any old shit there and sell without doing any additional offsite leg work yourself are gone.

 

[jamesosix]

I think there's a common misconception about Flippa. Everyone seems to think you buy an upgrade, Flippa sprinkles some pixie dust on the listing, and bam it's sold. This is not how auction platforms work. You have to put in some work. I'm not saying that it's fair or worth the time but that's just how it is.

I think they need to be far more clear on what you will likely get with the upgrades. With upgrades like home page listing, i was never aware it was just for a day or whatever it is. This type of info needs to be much clearer imo.

 

[Sam Roy]

We have no alternatives. Only few marketplaces are out there. My observation about Flippa.
1. Flippa Platform is biased in favour of super sellers. Whatever crap domains they list, they get Editor Choice tag.
2. Shill bidding is rampant. I suspect many super sellers are doing it too. The admin seems not unaware of it but admin is not doing anything.
4. the $9 listing is good but opportunity to relist unlimited times, is harming flippa.
5. There is no goodies/incentives to attract new sellers.
6. The Flippa admin seems to be compromising the great Platform with their greed for more money, which is intact harming the site.
Flippa is still one of the best places and it is not too late to revive it.

 

[S-B]

2. The auction rules are not strict. I observed one auction of a domain with "to" extension. The seller kept postponing the end time and auction ended more than 5 hours late than the scheduled time. Meanwhile he reduced BIN from 10k to $4k and able to sell it BIN.

A seller can't extend the auction. The auction gets extending when someone bid within the last hour.

 

[Sam Roy]

A seller can't extend the auction. The auction gets extending when someone bid within the last hour.

May be I am wrong Shane. But I saw few bidders complaining about repeated extensions of time in the comment section.

 

[Paully]

May be I am wrong Shane. But I saw few bidders complaining about repeated extensions of time in the comment section.

I am sure Shane is right. Check the times of the bids. There ARE some strange goings on with bidding like the last three bids in an auction coming uninterrupted by other bidders, but this one could have a good explanation.

 

[S-B]

May be I am wrong Shane. But I saw few bidders complaining about repeated extensions of time in the comment section.

People will complain about everything and anything. Learn how the auction works and you'll find out that their are just speaking to hear themselves talk.

 

[Templr]

yeah was wondering why the sales in flippa seems to be decreasing and about why its always the same few people having their auctions spammed at the top

Would like to see some evidence based data on your observations above please.

 

[smarni]

What I hear is $9 is what it takes to steer a good auction at flippa? No need to dump all those dollars for premium listing? thanks.

 

[Beezy]

What I hear is $9 is what it takes to steer a good auction at flippa? No need to dump all those dollars for premium listing? thanks.

I have to disagree with the word "steer" there.

The $9 is just to list the auction. You have to do the steering and get it some attention in that scenario. Depending on how good you are at promotions, you may not need an upgrade.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

I think they need to be far more clear on what you will likely get with the upgrades. With upgrades like home page listing, i was never aware it was just for a day or whatever it is. This type of info needs to be much clearer imo.

I agree and I gave them this feedback in writing some months ago.

 

[FlippaDomains]

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. Since the last post, we've redesigned the homepage, breaking the site down by product, and we'll be redesigning the product pages next. Many suggestions (or gripes, etc) will be dealt with in this v2 of the revamp, which is coming due soon.

To address some of your recent comments here:

...Ali and the gang of favorites, who are always getting the top spots and "editor's choice" places for free, helping them to sell their domains higher and build big watchers lists.

yeah was wondering why the sales in flippa seems to be decreasing and about why its always the same few people having their auctions spammed at the top

1. Flippa Platform is biased in favour of super sellers. Whatever crap domains they list, they get Editor Choice tag.

Would like to see some evidence based data on your observations above please.

@DotDigi I'd like to see this, as well. We've recently changed visibility so that Editor's Choice and Brokered listings are no longer weighted at the top. Right now, as far as I can see, the default arrangement is weighted much more favorably to newly listed (premium shown first) auctions.

@sam roy Can you or anyone else please visit the current slate of Editor's Choice auctions and tell me these are crap? If you have names on par with these, I'll gladly denote them as Ed. Choice.​

As a buyer you'd have to devote hours to sifting through crappy domain names in hopes of finding a decent one.

If you don't want to search by Most Active, Ed. Choice, Reserve Met -- I highly recommend utilizing ENDING SOON -- you can pour through 24 hours' worth of ending auctions relatively quickly. I recommend using the iOS / Android app to do this, as well.​

On the other hand, the problem you'll find at marketplaces with quality control is the insane amount of time it takes for someone to say yay or nay.

Last year, it was "just me" @FlippaDomains, but we're growing rapidly. I have spearheaded the effort to revamp Curation and eventually we'll have full-time domain experts at the helm doing just what you're recommending...​

Flippa does have its own unique set of functional problems that I've brought to their attention multiple times. Like for example when you reg a new domain and go to list it there and you can't because the previous owner had it listed there, and in the year 2015 "Flippa logic" isn't capable of querying a whois database and recognizing that not only has the email address of the registrant changed, but the new address happens to match mine, which would, not wanting to jump to factually-based conclusions, suggest that I'm the owner of this domain name now because my email address happens to be the same as the one in the whois database, which in itself might prove that I'm the owner of the domain name...and might be be cause for allowing me to list it there.

Verification is a massive issue we're working to improve. I hear you on this. Your code snippet is cool and I'll look into it. But also see just below.​

And then when I contact Flippa and ask them to remove the listing so I can list the domain name I now own and pay them $9 for an auction listing, I don't hear back from them. To date Flippa has lost $27 in revenue ($9 x 3) because I couldn't list domains I had purchased there, since they were already listed. They'll send me emails making me confirm that I'm the owner, and after I've confirmed that I'm the owner, and have met the criteria Flippa has set to prove my ownership, they'll deny me.

If you seriously haven't heard back from someone, then that is a systematic failure that we need to know about. Our CS agents respond usually within 8 hours. We've had some turnover recently, and while that is no excuse, not notifying myself or anyone publicly about this lack of response (until this thread, which I realize I'm a month late in finding) simply prolongs the ability to help you. Please send me the support ticket number(s) and I'll personally assist.​

...no matter how often I mention it to Flippa, or how derogatory I make it, Flippa still fails to do anything about it. !

Again, where / when / how are you bringing these things to our attention? I remember speaking with you at some juncture, but it's not fresh in my mind. Don't take that personally, I speak with too many people, but you should always feel free to reach out directly if these kinds of queries are going unanswered. (that said, though - documentation on where you submitted these inquiries would be great to know for reference)​

1. Flippa Platform is biased in favour of super sellers. Whatever crap domains they list, they get Editor Choice tag.
2. Shill bidding is rampant. I suspect many super sellers are doing it too. The admin seems not unaware of it but admin is not doing anything.
4. the $9 listing is good but opportunity to relist unlimited times, is harming flippa.
5. There is no goodies/incentives to attract new sellers.
6. The Flippa admin seems to be compromising the great Platform with their greed for more money, which is intact harming the site.
Flippa is still one of the best places and it is not too late to revive it.

I addressed #1.

#2 Is an ongoing problem (everywhere) -- but we've had a massive decrease in this since we've beefed up our Marketplace Integrity squads, as well as automated methods to address and boot members engaging in shadiness.

#4 is something we're also looking into. It allows "crap" to go unchecked, and remain perpetually "live" at auction until sold. I don't have a magic fix for this yet, but we are aware of the double-edged sword we created...

#5 ~ We provide credits to all new sellers who qualify, but see below (*)

#6 ~ Also see (*) below.​

Well, the simple logic is quality over quantity. This is free market, quantity always supercedes quality. Quantity is what pays the bills and has returns. Is quality really a metric for company? Someone wants to list their crap for $9, we (company) do not have a problem.

Also keep in mind, crap names do sell. I or you would not buy them but someone will. So why to exclude the crap names. It is for the buyer to decide what to buy. I would also say that crap names make good names shine out more!

* = I actually hate crap -- and have been instructing my team, if a newbie writes in asking for advice, to tell them to list their "crap" in the (free) portfolio section. I rather trade $9 for a Success Fee on a successful sale so everyone's happy. Expect to see more of this curation / account assistance as we grow.​

I think they need to be far more clear on what you will likely get with the upgrades. With upgrades like home page listing, i was never aware it was just for a day or whatever it is. This type of info needs to be much clearer imo.

That's something we're working on, currently.​

I have to disagree with the word "steer" there.

The $9 is just to list the auction. You have to do the steering and get it some attention in that scenario. Depending on how good you are at promotions, you may not need an upgrade.

Lastly, this is really the kicker -- If you have a terrible domain name, nothing will help you sell it in all likelihood. But if you have an OK or decent one, YOU need to drive buyers to the auction. Otherwise, it will get overlooked, see as there are better domains out there.

Flick us questions, requests for account listing / advice, et al --> [email protected]​

 

[Keith DeBoer]

Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the responses. Good to know Flippa is continually striving to be better. By the way it would be good for you to have you name in your NP icon or to sign off with your name in your posts. Thanks again for info you've provided.
Cheers!
Keith

 

[Jen-Sin]

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. Since the last post, we've redesigned the homepage, breaking the site down by product, and we'll be redesigning the product pages next. Many suggestions (or gripes, etc) will be dealt with in this v2 of the revamp, which is coming due soon.

To address some of your recent comments here:

We have no alternatives. Only few marketplaces are out there. My observation about Flippa.
4. the $9 listing is good but opportunity to relist unlimited times, is harming flippa.

#4 is something we're also looking into. It allows "crap" to go unchecked, and remain perpetually "live" at auction until sold. I don't have a magic fix for this yet, but we are aware of the double-edged sword we created...
​

Hi @FlippaDomains, the free relist is a very attractive feature to sellers, however as @sam roy mentioned, motivated buyers get frustrated as 90+% of auctions have reserves that never met. This keeps interested buyers away. Liquid domains like LLLL.com are not really moving as much as other marketplaces.

SUGGESTION 1
As a seller, I will want the free re-lists to stay, but I like to suggest the following tweak: only a lower reserve (say at least 10% from the reserve of the previous listing) qualifies for a free relist. This will cause sellers to rethink their strategy and instantly minimise short-duration re-lists (especially 1-3 days ones) that flood the marketplace currently. This should also move more sales, and bring back motivated buyers.

Like this if you like this suggestion.

Thank you.