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The updated rule:
I understand why this new rule is frustrating for some of you. Many sellers have required buyers to pay closing costs for years, so this is not an easy change for anyone. We understand and appreciate your stance, but we absolutely believe that this rule change is what's best for the future.
The primary reason for this change is to help with the expansion of our marketplace to more buyers, especially those outside the domain industry, where adding transaction fees to a sale price is considered unconventional, confusing, and misleading. These buyers will not be repeat customers of our platform (or you) if they have negative experiences due to what has become "standard" in the industry by many sellers.
We are choosing to improve the buying experience for everyone on NamePros by ensuring that purchase prices are always clear and simple (no calculator required), which helps contribute to a consistent and positive experience for buyers. In the long run, we believe that this will bring more buyers to the marketplace and lead to much higher sale prices for sellers on NamePros. The nominal transaction fee will be a negligible cost of doing business in the future.
As we bring more buyers to the platform and they continue to buy more domains, we will set a new standard that the price they bid or offer is the price they will pay, and nothing more. A pleasant buying experience, just like you'd expect anywhere else as a first-time buyer.
It will take a little extra work on the part of the seller, but you can still have the best of both worlds by incorporating any and all fees into the sale price. This extra work is the time necessary to sell effectively. The choice of integrating transactional fees into your pricing structure is yours to make. If you choose not to, we're still confident that your profit differential will be negligible in most instances, especially if you account for the zero commission and zero fees on the NamePros platform vs 15-20% commission ($60 minimum) plus listing fees on similar marketplaces. It costs you $0 to sell on NamePros but it also requires a little more effort.
On a related note, if the buyer is willing to send you extra money or a percentage of the sale price to cover fees, then that's perfectly fine and does not violate the rules. To be clear, we're not preventing buyers from paying fees; we're preventing sellers from forcing buyers to pay fees. This is an important distinction. This means that fees cannot be added to a sale price that a buyer will pay once the sale price has been agreed upon, but buyers may choose to pay anything they'd like.
The rule states that "Sellers are responsible for paying all transaction fees" but if the buyer wants to split the fee with the seller or pay the full fee, then that's their choice to make. As long as everyone is happy in the deal, there's no reason for anyone to consult the rules; the rules exist for when problems occur, then everyone has a rule book that is fair, transparent, and well-conceived to resolve any issues.
I understand that some of you may still be unsatisfied with our decision and direction, but I hope you will keep an open mind and see what happens. We have big plans for the future, and this is likely the toughest hurdle we must first overcome to get there. The rest of our changes should provide added value for everyone at every turn.
Suggestion for sellers
For every domain name that you want to sell, I recommend that you decide on a price that you would be happy with. We’ll call that price $X.
Then, using $X, investigate every avenue in which you might accept payment for the domain name, and keep track of the most expensive scenario (e.g., if the buyer decides to pay using a “premier service” payment method). Let’s call that highest-possible fee $Y.
Now, if you decide to auction that domain name, add $Y to the starting bid you would have otherwise set. If you offer a Buy-It-Now (BIN) price, add $Y to your existing BIN price. This way, no matter what happens, you’ll have accounted for the fees in the worst-case scenario, and in every other scenario (the good and great scenarios), you'll end up making more.
I hope this tip helps.
Rule 6.1.7. Sellers are responsible for paying all transaction fees. Sellers should take fees into consideration when choosing sale prices or starting bids. Multiple sale prices and multiple starting bids may be set based on specific criteria. No hidden fees may be assessed on a deal or sales listing by either party.
I understand why this new rule is frustrating for some of you. Many sellers have required buyers to pay closing costs for years, so this is not an easy change for anyone. We understand and appreciate your stance, but we absolutely believe that this rule change is what's best for the future.
The primary reason for this change is to help with the expansion of our marketplace to more buyers, especially those outside the domain industry, where adding transaction fees to a sale price is considered unconventional, confusing, and misleading. These buyers will not be repeat customers of our platform (or you) if they have negative experiences due to what has become "standard" in the industry by many sellers.
We are choosing to improve the buying experience for everyone on NamePros by ensuring that purchase prices are always clear and simple (no calculator required), which helps contribute to a consistent and positive experience for buyers. In the long run, we believe that this will bring more buyers to the marketplace and lead to much higher sale prices for sellers on NamePros. The nominal transaction fee will be a negligible cost of doing business in the future.
As we bring more buyers to the platform and they continue to buy more domains, we will set a new standard that the price they bid or offer is the price they will pay, and nothing more. A pleasant buying experience, just like you'd expect anywhere else as a first-time buyer.
It will take a little extra work on the part of the seller, but you can still have the best of both worlds by incorporating any and all fees into the sale price. This extra work is the time necessary to sell effectively. The choice of integrating transactional fees into your pricing structure is yours to make. If you choose not to, we're still confident that your profit differential will be negligible in most instances, especially if you account for the zero commission and zero fees on the NamePros platform vs 15-20% commission ($60 minimum) plus listing fees on similar marketplaces. It costs you $0 to sell on NamePros but it also requires a little more effort.
On a related note, if the buyer is willing to send you extra money or a percentage of the sale price to cover fees, then that's perfectly fine and does not violate the rules. To be clear, we're not preventing buyers from paying fees; we're preventing sellers from forcing buyers to pay fees. This is an important distinction. This means that fees cannot be added to a sale price that a buyer will pay once the sale price has been agreed upon, but buyers may choose to pay anything they'd like.
The rule states that "Sellers are responsible for paying all transaction fees" but if the buyer wants to split the fee with the seller or pay the full fee, then that's their choice to make. As long as everyone is happy in the deal, there's no reason for anyone to consult the rules; the rules exist for when problems occur, then everyone has a rule book that is fair, transparent, and well-conceived to resolve any issues.
I understand that some of you may still be unsatisfied with our decision and direction, but I hope you will keep an open mind and see what happens. We have big plans for the future, and this is likely the toughest hurdle we must first overcome to get there. The rest of our changes should provide added value for everyone at every turn.
Suggestion for sellers
For every domain name that you want to sell, I recommend that you decide on a price that you would be happy with. We’ll call that price $X.
Then, using $X, investigate every avenue in which you might accept payment for the domain name, and keep track of the most expensive scenario (e.g., if the buyer decides to pay using a “premier service” payment method). Let’s call that highest-possible fee $Y.
Now, if you decide to auction that domain name, add $Y to the starting bid you would have otherwise set. If you offer a Buy-It-Now (BIN) price, add $Y to your existing BIN price. This way, no matter what happens, you’ll have accounted for the fees in the worst-case scenario, and in every other scenario (the good and great scenarios), you'll end up making more.
I hope this tip helps.
