Atom / Atom.com - Marketplace (formerly Squadhelp)

[JudgeMind]

Hey Folks,

I've just started using squadhelp.com to list some of my brandable. So far I have 76 domains listed, there is no fee to list. I've had some decent action so far in the way of interested buyers but no sales as of yet. I've only been with them for 1 week now.

A bit of a summary review of SquadHelp:

PROS

• No Listing fee
• No Logo design fee
• Ability to submit your names to end users holding naming contests
• Ability to chat directly or send a message directly to end users.
• Stats of your marketplace domains are shown in the marketplace dashboard.
• Their customer service and support has been great, 24hr a day chat.
• Ability to increase or decrease the list price of your domains or to show a discount. You can decrease or increase the price yourself by $200. If you want to lower more, you can contact support.
• End users can shortlist your domains before they make a decision on which they want to purchase. The number of shortlists is shown in you marketplace dashboard.
• When you submit your names you get to set the price you wish to get. Because their commissions are high I recommend listing at a higher price to offset the commission costs.
• Their landing pages are fairly basic but they work. Because the marketplace is fairly new, I'm sure we will see style improvements in the future.
• One thing I really like is they accept multiple extensions. I have listed .co and .io along with .com
• Each seller gets a direct link to their marketplace portfolio, HERES MY PORTFOLIO. It is handy if your trying to p[promote your portfolio through social media.
• I like that their marketplace doesn't have tens of thousands domain listings like BB. They are fairly strict on the domains they accept to list and so this helps keep the number of domains in the marketplace down and gets your listings more exposure.

CONS

• Their commissions are very high, depending on the domain name they are usually between 30% and 35%. However, there are no listing fees, no logo design fees, so in the end their commission is very similar to brand buckets.
• Their logos are not top quality, in fact I requested to have some of my logos remade.
• I think they have a big backlog of logos to design, the wait time for logo design has been around 1 week, but your names are still listed while the logos are being designed.
• After your names are accepted you need to agree to their commission rate, at this point you also need to apply your own keywords, descriptions etc. I found this was very time consuming.

 

[wwwulff]

Everyone can agree that Atom.com is a great Name, but it has no association with what the markets place is about, so I do not understand this rebranding, especially in the light of the strong brand that has been built on the SquadHelp name.

 

[Future Sensors]

.

 

[WordMills]

@WordMills You're misquoting. I did not say anything like that.

Sorry, Future Sensors. That was supposed to be my quote, but somehow Namepros attributed it to you.

Here it is again: "A great name? Not so much. Atom suggests small, but not growth. Imagine seed or acorn as names."

 

[Sjpals]

I had up to 14 premium domains at one time and none of them sold. I have bought names on namepros that were SH premium, but when I went to add them, they were rejected.

 

[karmaco]

Sorry, Future Sensors. That was supposed to be my quote, but somehow Namepros attributed it to you.

Here it is again: "A great name? Not so much. Atom suggests small, but not growth. Imagine seed or acorn as names."

Seed and Acorn are great names just like Atom. They suggest the birth of something and something at a beginning stage. So very appropriate.

You trying to say great names are not great is just silliness.

I am just not convinced this great name will improve the seller experience and sell through rates. Thats all that matters.

 

[Sperry8]

I had up to 14 premium domains at one time and none of them sold. I have bought names on namepros that were SH premium, but when I went to add them, they were rejected.

Did you check if the names were truly SH premium by looking at them on SH first? If so - you should only buy those SH premium names in the SH Wholesale Marketplace so you can ensure they are transferred and thus cannot be rejected

 

[DomainNature]

Everyone can agree that Atom.com is a great Name, but it has no association with what the markets place is about, so I do not understand this rebranding, especially in the light of the strong brand that has been built on the SquadHelp name.

Same thinking, this Atom is wrong rebrand.

If they were smart it would cost only 100K USD to learn from me the most important brands in the world, but no they like to play cat and mouse. Yeah continue to rebrand and waste money on this names until later you will regret.
Want to get out of biz even Afternic? Contact me, there is still some time left.
imo

 

[Sjpals]

Did you check if the names were truly SH premium by looking at them on SH first? If so - you should only buy those SH premium names in the SH Wholesale Marketplace so you can ensure they are transferred and thus cannot be rejected

It was before there was a transferr option

 

[Future Sensors]

The website is functioning smoothly.

 

[Alop]

Same thinking, this Atom is wrong rebrand.

If they were smart it would cost only 100K USD to learn from me the most important brands in the world, but no they like to play cat and mouse. Yeah continue to rebrand and waste money on this names until later you will regret.
Want to get out of biz even Afternic? Contact me, there is still some time left.
imo

The website is functioning smoothly.

@ max capacity

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I had up to 14 premium domains at one time and none of them sold. I have bought names on namepros that were SH premium, but when I went to add them, they were rejected.

Sounds frustrating. If the domain was being sold on NP as a "Squadhelp-approved" domain, could youreturn the domain to the seller and get your money back? Perhaps worth asking the seller and even the mods, if further clarity is needed.

Part of the reason "Squadhelp," now "Atom" matters for domains is that their "premium" designation presumaby increases sales.
If a domain sale is done under a misunderstanding of Squadhelp's premium designation, hopefully the seller would act in good faith and reverse the sale.

 

[Future Sensors]

If the domain was being sold on NP as a "Squadhelp-approved" domain

Note this information on Atom/Squadhelp:

Mentioning "Squadhelp" brand name while selling your names in third party sites is not allowed. For example, posts such as "Squadhelp approved names for sale" in third party sites are not allowed regardless of your listing status with Squadhelp.

And:

Premium Listings: For your premium Marketplace listings, you are not allowed to post "for sale" messages or listings on third party/ public websites (e.g. NamePros, AfterNic etc). If you would like to sell your domains to other sellers, you can take advantage of the private Seller to Seller marketplace hosted at Squadhelp.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Note this information on Atom/Squadhelp:

Mentioning "Squadhelp" brand name while selling your names in third party sites is not allowed. For example, posts such as "Squadhelp approved names for sale" in third party sites are not allowed regardless of your listing status with Squadhelp.

And:

Premium Listings: For your premium Marketplace listings, you are not allowed to post "for sale" messages or listings on third party/ public websites (e.g. NamePros, AfterNic etc). If you would like to sell your domains to other sellers, you can take advantage of the private Seller to Seller marketplace hosted at Squadhelp.

Thanks for clarifying that.

So "Atom" will also keep the same requirements about exclusivity and branding advertising?

Good to know BTW that they do have a private seller-to-seller marketplace as an option.

 

[Recons.Com]

@Recons.Com you mentioned earlier that these marketplaces can "hurt" your sales long term:
- is it because their listings are in the hundreds of thousands
- the Godaddy vs SH lander ( trust factor)
- is it due to the price markup you need to add to the Afternic listings and this very same fact creates confusion with buyers.

At the end of the day, it is about your total revenue and the hours/effort you have to put into it. Plus, scaleability, if that is important for you.

I left SH, BB, BP even before the 15%/25% Afternic commission discrepancy and I believe after that staying makes even less sense except for few sellers that might get better exposure, are willing to jump through the hoops of regularly doing stuff there (contests, boosts, etc.). My last drop with SH was them demanding that I set higher bin at Afternic. My name, my rules. The max they can demand is the same price. Plus, it also meant that they are willing to change the rules on the fly, which makes the partner unpredictable for me and, thus, unreliable, not worthy.

Now, point by point:

- Revenue. SH just was not providing me sufficient sales as compared to what I am making from similar names with simply listing at Afternic. And that is with lower commission, higher bins, no jumping through the hoops with submitting, listing, logos, approvals etc. Why SH performance was subpar is a different question and not my problem. But if you want to discuss that, here is my view. They have too many subpar names that takes away from the exposure of good names and throws off potential buyers. Also, there is only so much of "magic" they can do via ads, promos, social, repeat buys. That number can only be in 500-1000 sales a year range with 90% probability. While the normal STR of non-SH network+lander conversion will still be in 0%-1% range depending on quality. So, that 500-1000 domains were creating the huge STR effect when spread over 10000 names (5%-10% extra) and even with 100000 names it was ok (0.5%-1% extra), but spread over 250000 names, it is just 0.2%-0.4% extra which doesn't even justify the higher commission, not speaking of probable lower conversion of the landers.

- Hours/Efforts. Again, with Afternic, it is just list, change NS and forget. Now compare that with the things you have to do with SH.

- Scaleability. And this is huge for me. If your focus is buying names that are good for SH, BB taste and are probable to get approved there, plus you are wasting time with everything else there, you can't really grow fast. It also throws off your sense of what is a really good domain. I regularly see offers of SH wholesale portfolios and looking through those lists gives me nausea. How did someone think that buying/renewing those names was good idea and how did SH agree that they were good names?!!!

 

[freety85]

Thanks @Recons.Com for sharing your experience it helps a lot. I also believe that overall you have a higher chance of selling a particular name if it has certain quality. Buyers going to search it out by typing it in the browser or through their registrar and it is highly important that they go there with the name in their mind already, not distracted with 250k other pretty much similar alternatives.
It's human psychology as well, if people want something, won't stop until they get it.
Additionally Afternic brokers usually do a great job on closing deals, many times they managed to close 2-3k deals for me from 50-500 initial offers ( even with a BIN lander!). On the contrary with the min offer and BIN fixed on activated AF listings alongside with superficial broker teams on brandable markets offering cheaper names to a lead just to close any sale is just meh for me...

 

[Sperry8]

At the end of the day, it is about your total revenue and the hours/effort you have to put into it. Plus, scaleability, if that is important for you.

I left SH, BB, BP even before the 15%/25% Afternic commission discrepancy and I believe after that staying makes even less sense except for few sellers that might get better exposure, are willing to jump through the hoops of regularly doing stuff there (contests, boosts, etc.). My last drop with SH was them demanding that I set higher bin at Afternic. My name, my rules. The max they can demand is the same price. Plus, it also meant that they are willing to change the rules on the fly, which makes the partner unpredictable for me and, thus, unreliable, not worthy.

Now, point by point:

- Revenue. SH just was not providing me sufficient sales as compared to what I am making from similar names with simply listing at Afternic. And that is with lower commission, higher bins, no jumping through the hoops with submitting, listing, logos, approvals etc. Why SH performance was subpar is a different question and not my problem. But if you want to discuss that, here is my view. They have too many subpar names that takes away from the exposure of good names and throws off potential buyers. Also, there is only so much of "magic" they can do via ads, promos, social, repeat buys. That number can only be in 500-1000 sales a year range with 90% probability. While the normal STR of non-SH network+lander conversion will still be in 0%-1% range depending on quality. So, that 500-1000 domains were creating the huge STR effect when spread over 10000 names (5%-10% extra) and even with 100000 names it was ok (0.5%-1% extra), but spread over 250000 names, it is just 0.2%-0.4% extra which doesn't even justify the higher commission, not speaking of probable lower conversion of the landers.

- Hours/Efforts. Again, with Afternic, it is just list, change NS and forget. Now compare that with the things you have to do with SH.

- Scaleability. And this is huge for me. If your focus is buying names that are good for SH, BB taste and are probable to get approved there, plus you are wasting time with everything else there, you can't really grow fast. It also throws off your sense of what is a really good domain. I regularly see offers of SH wholesale portfolios and looking through those lists gives me nausea. How did someone think that buying/renewing those names was good idea and how did SH agree that they were good names?!!!

I just sold a name on BB that I marketed on Afternic/Sedo/Bodis lander for 10 years and not one offer. Got it listed on BB and in 2 days it sold for ask. The brandable marketplaces have "reach" that, for brandables, Afternic doesn't have. Now if your name has a strong keyword in it... then I agree with much of what you said. But for brandables - those markets are key

 

[Recons.Com]

I just sold a name on BB that I marketed on Afternic/Sedo/Bodis lander for 10 years and not one offer. Got it listed on BB and in 2 days it sold for ask. The brandable marketplaces have "reach" that, for brandables, Afternic doesn't have. Now if your name has a strong keyword in it... then I agree with much of what you said. But for brandables - those markets are key

One case doesn't mean much. Here is the opposite example. Had 350 names on BB with 1 sale in 12 trailing months. Removed and sold 5 in a month via bin Afternic.

 

[Sperry8]

One case doesn't mean much. Here is the opposite example. Had 350 names on BB with 1 sale in 12 trailing months. Removed and sold 5 in a month via bin Afternic.

And those cases don't mean much either. We can all use cases to prove our point. Ultimately, some names sell on BB and others don't. BB has been in business for 10+ years and is doing quite well for some people and for some names. Afternic is also quite good and sells many names (clearly many more), but of different types. You suggested BB has no worth (which is clearly what you're suggesting since you left 100%). I'm simply showing a counterpoint. It has worth, for some people and some names. So does SH/Atom. Some people make a nice living via those sites, others don't. Personally I use them all (100% of my names are listed on BB/SH AND Afternic/Sedo). To me - that is the best of both worlds. I do agree there is a lot more maintenance on BB/SH but for me, I sell more names this way.

 

[Recons.Com]

And those cases don't mean much either. We can all use cases to prove our point. Ultimately, some names sell on BB and others don't. BB has been in business for 10+ years and is doing quite well for some people and for some names. Afternic is also quite good and sells many names (clearly many more), but of different types. You suggested BB has no worth (which is clearly what you're suggesting since you left 100%). I'm simply showing a counterpoint. It has worth, for some people and some names. So does SH/Atom. Some people make a nice living via those sites, others don't. Personally I use them all (100% of my names are listed on BB/SH AND Afternic/Sedo). To me - that is the best of both worlds. I do agree there is a lot more maintenance on BB/SH but for me, I sell more names this way.

That is precisely what I said. Except, 5 sales in a month vs 1 in a year on 350 names still is more data than the case of one domain sale.

And of course for some those marketplaces are ok. How many names do you have with those combined?

 

[Recons.Com]

Just to illustrate what I mean by scalability:

Most of SH, BB etc. investors have few hundred names combined across the platforms. Around 1000, if super-dedicated with the exception of a few who might have in thousands. And it is a lot of work, effort, waiting for approvals, logos, communicating back and forth etc.

I add around 1000 domains to my portfolio in a regular month. So, basically, I would have never grown to 34700 domains, if did not make a decision long time ago to stop adding names to the platforms (and then ultimately leaving those after couple more years of observing the performances with 600-700 total names if I remember correctly).

 

[Sperry8]

Just to illustrate what I mean by scalability:

Most of SH, BB etc. investors have few hundred names combined across the platforms. Around 1000, if super-dedicated with the exception of a few who might have in thousands. And it is a lot of work, effort, waiting for approvals, logos, communicating back and forth etc.

I add around 1000 domains to my portfolio in a regular month. So, basically, I would have never grown to 34700 domains, if did not make a decision long time ago to stop adding names to the platforms (and then ultimately leaving those after couple more years of observing the performances with 600-700 total names if I remember correctly).

I guess I just don't agree with the all or nothing approach. I do agree that if you're adding 1k names a month it'd be tough work to get them all on those platforms. However, for me, I see BB/SH/Bpa as a % of my marketing efforts. A small(er) % of my appropriate names go there and others do not. In the example I gave above it showed why I choose this method. Some names do not sell off brandable marketplaces. Others do. I realize it's hard work to manage the BB marketplaces but perhaps you have 5% of your names that are super-brandable and would sell (and sell at higher BIN prices) by listing them. As with many things in life there is a middle ground between all and none.

Of course you have personal experience with observing 600-700 names and if that experience showed limited sales, I can understand your position.

 

[Future Sensors]

Thank you, @Recons.Com and @Sperry8, for sharing your valuable thoughts. Both of you had some useful points. After careful consideration, I’ve made slight changes to part of my Afternic and Atom landers based on your input.

 

[Future Sensors]

Two nameservers associated with the atom.com domain have already been established, but they are not yet operational as of today (externally). I anticipate that these atom.com nameservers will soon become the recommended ones, replacing the existing squadhelp.com nameservers. When that happens, I expect that the current name servers will also be maintained.

Update: from a purely technical point of view, these renamed nameservers are now fully operational. However, since they haven't been officially announced for use yet, I won't recommend them yet.