Spaceship.com - Marketplace Thread

[DomainRecap]

Spaceship.com recently launched a new Marketplace section, and as NamePros has given me the go-head, I think the company deserves its own thread for NP domain marketplace users to converse in.

https://www.spaceship.com/sellerhub/

Personally speaking, I will be setting up a new Spaceship.com account this weekend and going to work investigating its various features, options and policies.

 

[Simon SE]

Vibe-CEO-ing

 

[DomainRecap]

I could even guess, but they're going to increase that's for sure. They just want to continue to build up their customer base before doing so.

Wow, that was quick.

It's quite amusing that SS secretly added a 5% 'buyers premium', which had sellers climbing the walls and literally begging for a 10% seller commission instead, which is what they now have.

Nice sleight of hand SS.

 

[NameGroove]

The numbers are wrong. Off the top of my head, Sedo and Atom do not charge any commission to buyers. Some providers might have credit card payment fees (which those numbers sound like) but that's a separate fee and avoidable by choosing a different payment method.

Spaceship is, as far as I know, the only mainstream platform charging buyer commission.

Sedo has an unavoidable 'express transfer fee' - but they can call it whatever they like, it's a 3% buyer charge (and there surely is nothing "express" about it.

As for being avoidable on other landers, yes - in some cases if sellers pay via alternate methods the fees may change. If you want to see all the details you can here
https://www.namepros.com/threads/me...-links-bring-your-own-lead-providers.1353825/

The full details were too long for an X post - but I deleted it so it doesn't confuse

 

[silentg]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021592092883943794

 

[fka1080405]

These are the cc fees (except Sedo which claims it's an express transfer fee - but they can call it whatever they like, it's a 3% buyer charge).

I'm not sure they're accurate, or at least, representative. Reviewing my Sedo purchases over the last 12 months, I have not paid any fees on my credit card payments (each more than $1,000). Likewise, I haven't paid any fees when buying via Afternic. I've just gone through the checkout for both Sedo and Afternic and I cannot find any fees charged to buyers.

 

[NameGroove]

I'm not sure they're accurate, or at least, representative. Reviewing my Sedo purchases over the last 12 months, I have not paid any fees on my credit card payments (each more than $1,000). Likewise, I haven't paid any fees when buying via Afternic. I've just gone through the checkout for both Sedo and Afternic and I cannot find any fees charged to buyers.

Sedo's website states:

"Express Transfer Fee
Our expedited transfer feature shortens the purchase process for your new domain subject to an additional 3% fee. Currently, the following payment services are only available with an expedited transfer: Alipay, PayPal, Klarna, Cartes Bancaires and credit card. If you would like to receive the expedited transfer in conjunction with other payment methods or for more information, please contact our customer support."

The 3% fee is for their checkout link service, https://sedo.com/us/what-we-offer/price-list/
But not for their marketplace.

I should've written "none" on the X tweet. Good catch

 

[Dane]

Yesterday we tested a 5% buyer commission

The fact that it was "tested" without any mention to anyone is troubling.

 

[NicTraders]

Here's the screenshot:
Show attachment 294513

Thanks @silentg - I appreciate the update for those of us who don't frequent Twitter. It's a real bugbear of mine that many companies now use Twitter as their only real channel for communication and don't even bother emailing current users to notify them of important information.

 

[Jannes]

The fact that it was "tested" without any mention to anyone is troubling.

 

[NameGroove]

Spaceship moved commissions to 10% (from 5%) and removed the buyer surcharge. However "Buyer and seller will be able to negotiate the commission directly via our chat, with flexibility to split it partially or fully between both parties."

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021592456572117099

 

[NicTraders]

The fact that it was "tested" without any mention to anyone is troubling.

I'm sure it only became a 'test' when they saw the feedback from the seller community. My opinion of SS just dropped considerably due to the way they handled this. Most marketplaces would have the decency to give at least a small amount of notice regarding fee changes, when this will directly impact our business.

 

[Dane]

I'm sure it only became a 'test' when they saw the feedback from the seller community.

Yep. Trying out a new landing page is a test. Suddenly charging buyers an additional 5% without notice is not a test.

My opinion of SS just dropped considerably due to the way they handled this.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[DomainRecap]

How long before we see Spaceship's version of Boost?

 

[NameGroove]

Seller Backlash...

 

[Gabriel360]

Spaceship was SHADY about the.

Even now, I am yet to see them acknowledge and use the word INCREASE in relation to their new commission. Instead they said they "moved" the additional Buyer Commission to the Seller side.
And that was after claiming it was a TEST.

IF it was a test, why are they moving it?
What exactly were they testing for?

Very SNEAKY stuff.

Many people KNEW the increase was coming.
Even at 10% commission, a LOT of people would still prefer them to other options.

The SHADY stuff was unnecessary.

 

[Jannes]

https://domaingang.com/domain-news/spaceship-dont-be-like-afternic/

 

[Dane]

This whole thing is not looking good. Very telling -- unfortunately.

 

[NameGroove]

https://domaingang.com/domain-news/spaceship-dont-be-like-afternic/

rofl

 

[Jannes]

In my opinion, they should have charged the 10% fee to the seller instead.

I am not entirely sure what the intention was behind this decision, though it is possible they hoped to increase revenue of the seller by charging the buyer. However, I believe this could ultimately be a deal breaker for the sellers.

I believe they were (and still are) afraid that a simple 10% seller fee would cause them to lose their "moat" when Afternic's lowest commission is 15% and GD/AN arguably converts much better.

 

[End Game]

Wow, that was quick.

It's quite amusing that SS secretly added a 5% 'buyers premium', which had sellers climbing the walls and literally begging for a 10% seller commission instead, which is what they now have.

Nice sleight of hand SS.

That wasn’t their plan, but Richard reads this board and quickly saw our negative feedback from that move. He relayed to new management and they quickly axed it. Thank goodness Richard is still keeping tabs on his old company.

I don’t want 10% commissions, but maybe now they can market a little and add a few more perks for our listings.