Squadhelp to launch a “Wholesale Marketplace”

[JudgeMind]

In a newsletter sent today from @squadhelp , the company has announced their launch of a “wholesale marketplace” where sellers can sell their listed squadhelp domains to other sellers.

 

[JudgeMind]

It's always a good idea to take a more cautious approach especially if you are concerned about your wholesale prices being discovered by end users. Participation in this feature is entirely optional.

This feature is really intended for those sellers who want the additional flexibility of buying and selling their names to and from other fellow sellers. Of course, we don't recommend listing every domain in the portfolio at a wholesale price, but many sellers have contacted us about wanting to sell some of their names (especially those that are close to renewal) at a wholesale price to other sellers.

We believe getting 3 premium listings approved in our marketplace is not easy (especially for a casual end user) and on an average, this would require them to submit 25+ domains to get 3 listings approved. As a result, we believe this offers a much more secure environment than listing the names in an open marketplace where a simple Google search can lead to that page. Having said that, we will continue to monitor and may tighten the visibility requirements even more in future.

I think the restrictions on the use of the wholesale marketplace should be tightened up right from launch. I think that this opportunity should be open to only those sellers who have won a contest, have sold a name on the marketplace or who have 10+ premium listings in their account. There is a potential to lose a lot of sales to end users who figure out they can buy names for $xx instead of $x,xxx. I think even if it took them 50 names to submit to get three approved it’s still going to save them a lot of $ in the end. How many buyers on your platform are repeat buyers? I’d say lots are, I think if they caught wind of this wholesale marketplace, they would take extra measures to reduce their overall expenses.

I’m just being very cautious with this because I see the potential for it to backfire given the current setup. I really enjoy squadhelp and everything your team has built.

 

[JudgeMind]

Thanks for tagging me. You can read more about this new feature (including commission rates) here:

https://helpdesk.squadhelp.com/domain-marketplace/seller-to-seller-wholesale-marketplace

Note - this feature is currently not live yet, and should be available later this week.

I don’t think I’d like to risk this, there is an open door here where end users can have three listings and purchase my names for a fraction of the listing price. I don’t think it will take long before it’s well known that this is an option and it will in the long run affect the overall sales to end users at end user pricing. I think I’ll respectively decline at this point to list any names in the wholesale marketplace and sit back and see what happens first.

 

[GrantP]

I don’t think I’d like to risk this, there is an open door here where end users can have three listings and purchase my names for a fraction of the listing price. I don’t think it will take long before it’s well known that this is an option and it will in the long run affect the overall sales to end users at end user pricing. I think I’ll respectively decline at this point to list any names in the wholesale marketplace and sit back and see what happens first.

It's always a good idea to take a more cautious approach especially if you are concerned about your wholesale prices being discovered by end users. Participation in this feature is entirely optional.

This feature is really intended for those sellers who want the additional flexibility of buying and selling their names to and from other fellow sellers. Of course, we don't recommend listing every domain in the portfolio at a wholesale price, but many sellers have contacted us about wanting to sell some of their names (especially those that are close to renewal) at a wholesale price to other sellers.

We believe getting 3 premium listings approved in our marketplace is not easy (especially for a casual end user) and on an average, this would require them to submit 25+ domains to get 3 listings approved. As a result, we believe this offers a much more secure environment than listing the names in an open marketplace where a simple Google search can lead to that page. Having said that, we will continue to monitor and may tighten the visibility requirements even more in future.

 

[Asfas1000]

@GrantP I'm with @JudgeMind on this. Commoditization of domains will take a toll on $x,xxx sales. It's too big a risk to take.

If word gets out that domains are traded for $xx, one or two blog posts on this will hurt SH and its sellers alike.

 

[SuperBrander]

@GrantP First of all, kudos on the growth and innovation. I sent a message using the blue button and asked to forward it to your marketplace team right after seeing the newsletter that pretty much echoes what JudgeMind had written. Having a wholesale marketplace has a potential to backfire. The knowledge that such a place exists can make end users feel like they have the option of paying $XX instead of $XXXX and that can't be good for their mind frame and for sales. Such trading is best done on the down low, as is the case with other marketplaces. If you do go ahead with it, I think it would be wise not to include help pages and/or other documentation about it. Either way, the intention is good so thanks for that.

 

[GrantP]

Thank you all for your feedback. Those who have been with our platform long enough can probably agree that our philosophy and approach has always been about making rapid enhancements and iterations to our features, based upon feedback from our community as well as how those features are being used.

This change is no different. This was added because many users asked for it. It is meant to be used as a more private alternative for sellers to trade/buy/sell some domains that they would have otherwise traded in external, more public channels. We will test it for some time, and will continue to make changes to ensure it offers a safe and private environment for everyone. If it still does not work as intended or if it dilutes the brandable Marketplace offering in any way, we will not hesitate to discontinue it.

 

[Recons.Com]

I suggest all of those who worried about their name getting bought by some "Smart end-user" at wholesale price don't put your name at wholesale market of squadhelp. you will be safe.

The concern is not about their own names. It is how bare existence of such a place might affect the perception of value by clients.

 

[Recons.Com]

Or via slack channel, as other marketplaces are doing. Someone puts on the dedicated channel the names and then there are pm negotiations on the price.

 

[SuperBrander]

@biggie Thanks. Premium is just a word people use to hype domains. The reality is that freshly handregistered names sell all the time in brandable marketplaces for $XXXX. Most don't. A small percentage do. It doesn't turn most of them to be worth that before a sale. Worth is mostly in the eyes of the potential end user anyway. If they're willing to pay $XXXX for something- it becomes valuable. Until that point, it only has potential to be valuable.

I'm not against having an aftermarket for these names. On the contrary. But a wholesale marketplace that's publicized isn't the right way, IMO. It should just be done privately, say on a slack channel. The people who need to know about it know about it and that's it. When you tell potential end users on your site that people are being offered marketplace names for $XX- it just undermines the perceived value of the domains in the marketplace in the eyes of the potential end users. Their perspective is the only one that matters. They should be focused on browsing the marketplace and finding a name to buy, believing that what they're paying is worth it. Anything that gets in the way of that is a distraction and counterproductive.

 

[Recons.Com]

@GrantP

Alexa stats don't mean much, as it is very dependent on the geography of your visitors. If you get a lot from India and other countries, especially from webmasters, designers etc. in those countries, your Alexa will get huge boost.

SH Alexa shows India as top country (which is not necessarily true), so your 50K ranking is probably heavily influenced by having lots of creative contributors visiting your site regularly and having Alexa plugin installed.

I am surprised that you are referring to such semi-scientific sources when showing traffic growth. Google analytics would have been much better source, for example.

 

[GrantP]

Alexa stats don't mean much, as it is very dependent on the geography of your visitors. If you get a lot from India and other countries, especially from webmasters, designers etc. in those countries, your Alexa will get huge boost.

SH Alexa shows India as top country (which is not necessarily true), so your 50K ranking is probably heavily influenced by having lots of creative contributors visiting your site regularly and having Alexa plugin installed.

I am surprised that you are referring to such semi-scientific sources when showing traffic growth. Google analytics would have been much better source, for example.

Excellent point - The Alexa ranking is based upon several estimates and tracking technologies which may not be very reliable. These days, tools such as SimilarWeb offer a bit more scientific view, but again these tools are based upon estimates. This is the reason, we reviewed our performance across 3 different tools with independent tracking technologies. The reason we used external tools is so that we can offer a more objective point of view from external tools that track and report this information publicly.

Let me check with our team if we are able to share some information directly from our own Google Analytics (due to competitive reasons, we do not typically share our internal numbers but your point is valid, and I will follow up with our team).

 

[Recons.Com]

But names that sell for 1k-2k should cost around 25$ wholesale just because only 1-3% of them will sell and you will pay 20% to 35% commission and renewal for 97-99% of names that did not sell.

It is a shock for a buyer if they find out though, because they have no clue about the sell through.

 

[karmaco]

So are people not going to be allowed to sell their names to another seller privately? Why is SquadHelp nickel and diming everything? People are perfectly capable of selling their names to other sellers with lots of experience doing so in the other marketplaces. JMO.

 

[NYJimbo]

Gettin' better every day. Don't stop.

 

[private123]

Squad help global rank jumped

With the amazing creativity and participation of our community, Squadhelp has built a strong position in the naming category by offering a unique combination of Crowdsourcing, Gamification and Brandable domains for sale.

In the past, this growth has primarily come from companies who have used our Crowdsourcing process to host naming contests. However, over the last several months, we've been able to rapidly build a strong presence in the Marketplace (Brandable Domains for sale) category. Our growth in Q1 2019, primarily came from the Marketplace, and we are pleased to share some key stats.

In order to provide multiple points of reference, we have analyzed the stats from 3 leading platforms that track competitive metrics (e.g. Alexa, SimilarWeb and SEMRush).

Note: The information provided by competitive tracking tools (such as Alexa, SimilarWeb, SEMRush) is based upon estimates and their unique tracking methodologies.

 

[GrantP]

Perhaps @GrantP can comment?

Thanks for tagging me. You can read more about this new feature (including commission rates) here:

https://helpdesk.squadhelp.com/domain-marketplace/seller-to-seller-wholesale-marketplace

Note - this feature is currently not live yet, and should be available later this week.

 

[Furquan]

I also noticed that SquadHelp on 1st position for many keywords.

Let me tell, You guys rock.

Edited:- Removed the image.

 

[JudgeMind]

@GrantP I think that having a dedicated sales thread here on namepros or another forum or slack channel would work well and limit squadhelps overhead. This would have to be a collaborative effort between namepros or another community, or a seperate atmosphere all together. SH could just put a few on transfers between seller account.. $5 per name transfer. After all the whole purpose of the Wholesale marketplace is to try to create additional revenue for SH.

 

[SuperBrander]

@biggie I think there's quite a difference between people trading in a forum and a brandable marketplace creating a wholesale marketplace within its domain, including extensive explanations about its existence and actively making end users realize that some of the names that are offered to them are offered to domain investors for $XX instead of the $XXXX they're expected to pay.

Even if the jumping through hoops part will deter end users from trying to get 3 listings approved (BTW, I also think that number is too low, as other people have noted)- it still puts these end users in a place where instead of focusing on buying a domain, some would be questioning the value of the domains offered at the marketplace knowing that at least some are being offered and sold for $XX. Why not also show dates of registration for each listed domain? For the same reason. Giving end users that sort of information can devalue the worth of domains in the marketplace. In any brandable marketplace that has a lot of hand registrations and even in ones that don't... any information that can cause doubt for buyers isn't a good idea.

 

[boker]

Thank you all for your feedback. Those who have been with our platform long enough can probably agree that our philosophy and approach has always been about making rapid enhancements and iterations to our features, based upon feedback from our community as well as how those features are being used.

This change is no different. This was added because many users asked for it. It is meant to be used as a more private alternative for sellers to trade/buy/sell some domains that they would have otherwise traded in external, more public channels. We will test it for some time, and will continue to make changes to ensure it offers a safe and private environment for everyone. If it still does not work as intended or if it dilutes the brandable Marketplace offering in any way, we will not hesitate to discontinue it.

@GrantP I wonder if the average stats are just for premium listings or they include basic and basic plus listings of the same owner? Also, if they are not included, do you have some stats regarding basic and basic plus? I know that basic plus, they can't be shortlisted, so for sure the shortlists don't include basic plus listings, but I wonder what's the average STR for them and what's the ratio between premium and basic/basic plus sold domains. All the sold domains list advertised looks like premium listings, do you have some examples of basic/basic plus which were sold by SH? Thanks.

 

[Maldo]

It's always a good idea to take a more cautious approach especially if you are concerned about your wholesale prices being discovered by end users. Participation in this feature is entirely optional.

This feature is really intended for those sellers who want the additional flexibility of buying and selling their names to and from other fellow sellers. Of course, we don't recommend listing every domain in the portfolio at a wholesale price, but many sellers have contacted us about wanting to sell some of their names (especially those that are close to renewal) at a wholesale price to other sellers.

We believe getting 3 premium listings approved in our marketplace is not easy (especially for a casual end user) and on an average, this would require them to submit 25+ domains to get 3 listings approved. As a result, we believe this offers a much more secure environment than listing the names in an open marketplace where a simple Google search can lead to that page. Having said that, we will continue to monitor and may tighten the visibility requirements even more in future.

I wish SH said more about if and what they approve as premium domains from unregistered domain submissions. I’ve found this feature extremely disappointing, and I know I’ve submitted some goodies.

 

[Furquan]

People are perfectly capable of selling their names to other sellers with lots of experience doing so in the other marketplaces.

Yeah,

Selling our names for $5 to $20 as other marketplaces putting lots of restriction on us, no thank you, I thanks @GrantP for doing this. At least now we will get our name sold at Wholesale price instead of selling dirt cheap.

Why is SquadHelp nickel and diming everything?

Haha, Diming everything, I knew its hurting lots of big whale who were enjoying sales on other marketplace but now Squadhelp killing all those sales.

 

[Furquan]

I suggest all of those who worried about their name getting bought by some "Smart end-user" at wholesale price don't put your name at wholesale market of squadhelp. you will be safe.

 

[NameWell]

@GrantP First of all, kudos on the growth and innovation. I sent a message using the blue button and asked to forward it to your marketplace team right after seeing the newsletter that pretty much echoes what JudgeMind had written. Having a wholesale marketplace has a potential to backfire. The knowledge that such a place exists can make end users feel like they have the option of paying $XX instead of $XXXX and that can't be good for their mind frame and for sales. Such trading is best done on the down low, as is the case with other marketplaces. If you do go ahead with it, I think it would be wise not to include help pages and/or other documentation about it. Either way, the intention is good so thanks for that.

Exactly my thoughts. Thank you for bringing this up.

A wholesale marketplace is a good thing in general. Shouting about it to everyone around - not so much. Especially on their own forum where end users can definitely see it.