The average .tv domainer is not getting approved to sell their .tv names on NameJet Leonard.
Matt Overman on Domain Sherpa
Michael: Yeah. What is the process if a domain name investor, or just a domain name owner registrant, wants to sell their domain name through your system?
Matt:
Well, right now, it is not an open sales platform. So, we have evaluated on a one-off basis. The best ways to contact NameJet is through Customer Support with your name, a good way to get a hold of you, and some example domains. And when we have space available, and if the price and the quality is what we are looking for, then that is when we will be interested in working together.
Michael: Okay. So, if somebody emails through your Customer Support Form at NameJet.com, you want to know their contact information. You want to know what domains they want to sell. And is there any other information that you need from them? Can they set a reserve? Can they set a minimum bid? Any of that?
Matt: Yeah, they can set reserves. So, a sense of their price expectations as well as where the domain is currently registered is also helpful. But the bottom line is if they are good names and they are reasonable price expectations, then we will find a way to work together.
Michael: Yeah. So, if I send you a list of names that are five words with hyphens in the middle and maybe some numbers tacked on as well, they are clearly not good names.
Matt: Those are going to be less interesting. We still have some manual components to our private seller relationships – to that process. So, that is why it is challenging for us to take on a huge quantity of inventory at any given time. And so, given that, we have to be a little bit selective.
Michael: That makes sense. And so, is there a general valuation that you think domains do better on your platform, Matt? If I owned what I thought was a two hundred thousand dollar domain name, would that do as well as a domain that I thought was a five thousand dollar domain or a two thousand dollar domain?
Matt: I mean it is going to depend on your price, but I am obviously looking for the most reasonable lower pricing. For high quality names, we have had a lot of sellers try our no-reserve, or just the standard $69 minimum price, put a lot of effort into promotion, both at NameJet and on the homepage and email – there are different ways we can promote the name -, and let the auction take care of it from there.
Michael: All right. So, we know who to contact. There are basically no minimum requirements for the domain name. It just has to be a good domain name with a reasonable minimum or no minimum for the domain name. You are not looking for anything specific around the search volume of the phrase or the extension. You only take .COMs or what have you.
Matt: No, we will look at everything; and obviously there is a subjective element too. So, given the available space, sometimes there is better inventory than other times. And I am sure all of your viewers and my customers notice times when we have higher quality featured inventory, so it comes in waves as well.
Michael: Yeah. What is the timeline, generally, from submission to listing? Or does it vary based on the backlog?
Matt: It can vary based on the backlog, but it can be as short as a typical pre-release cycle – as short as a month. If we get an agreement in place, you can be selling your names early in the following month.
Michael: Yeah, okay. And if I do send in, through customer support form, and I say I have got Domain.com and I want to list it for sale, and my minimum reserve is one thousand dollars, let’s say, sometimes I see a little round circle – black with white text I think – that says ‘R’. Does that mean that a reserve is set on the domain name?
Matt: Yes, and that is actually a recent addition that we have had to add a bit of transparency for the private selling process. Before, we did not necessarily have that, and there were issues with folks ordering the name and not realizing there was a reserve till later. So, now, any name that has that ‘R’ does have a reserve, and that will be up there until the reserve is met at which point the icon fades. It still indicates an ‘R’, but it fades in color, and it will then say ‘Reserve Met’. So, you will know when you have met the reserve; you will know, in advance, which names do have reserves.
Michael: Perfect. And when I sign into my control panel on NameJet, I see, on the right-hand side, two areas. I see Upcoming Auctions, and then I also see NameJet Exclusives. Is the NameJet Exclusives area those domains that are private sales?
Matt: No, not necessarily. Exclusive to NameJet can be pre-release as well. Just anything that is from one of our partners. The only thing that could not be found in the NameJet Exclusives are pending delete names.
http://www.domainsherpa.com/matt-overman-namejet-interview/
