discuss What's your opinion on brandable marketplaces with Atom becoming so prominent?

[DomainBFF]

When I started out domaining I was very active with hand regging "brandables" as I believe most newbies are. Fortunately I was able to sell many of them and invest up, but lately I have been adding more "brandables" back into my portfolio as to not forget what got me here in the first place.

The reason I put brandables in quotations is because I have high $ 2 word domains that I still consider brandables (I mean aren't all domains brandables inherently?) that get found by search path, but also have some names like Writal or Efficiana where they need more showcasing than others.

Because of the time away from true brandables, I have never bothered listing my portfolio at Squadhelp or Atom. Well the past few days while I was already spending the time moving my portfolio over to Spaceship following the afternic split, I decided may as well put all of my portfolio at Atom as well.

I also logged into brandbucket and had tons of credits left from years ago, so now I also have some really great names approved, but I'm afraid of getting them stuck there with all of the exclusivity involved now. My idea was to go around it like I did in the old days, but was shocked to see they actually scan other markets before allowing you to list.

So I have been researching and teetering back and forth over this for weeks, and I just had to ask what your experiences are lately with brandables and the different marketplaces whenever it comes to real keyword "brandables" as well as the made up but pleasant sounding "brandables" as I can't seem to get any confirmation on old threads from those who have already put in the time testing the different marketplaces. Seems most of the info I get is from 2024 or back when Atom was squadhelp and DAN was still in the discussion (RIP).

Obviously trial and error will be the true way to find out the best avenue, and please for the love of god don't tell me something about how "If someone want's the name, they're going to find it" because that's true for some of my portfolio, but absolutely not for others.

Cheers and I look forward to walking away from here more informed than I came in

 

[biggie]

Hi

brandables are a vague category, as newbies now label anything with 5 letters or more as such.

I used to reg made-up names years ago, but since mkts are flooded with them, makes them hard to stand out from the crowd

imo….

 

[BaileyUK]

I like your examples of Brandable domains, But I agree it's very difficult to get eyeballs on these type of contrived domains. I don't think there is an easy answer to How to bring a non-word to the publics attention ? Personally I don't limit what I think of as brandable as purely trade marketable names providing you've the essence of the pairing. You hold the primary domain registration.

I've worked almost entirely with Brandable domains since 1999. The key (for me) has always been to include the SHORTEST version, in singular of the key market word that you wish to sell into.

The Primary word/subject has to be short enough to be instantly identifiable and not create a long string. It helps the visual appearance if both words are of the same or similar length. I never ever stretch the domain to three words. Buyers will always search for listings containing their Key-word. So eyeballs on your domain listing are almost guaranteed.

The difficulty today is that these domains are very difficult to find as the best of matches are already taken and in use. I don't shy away from registering the second or third best pairing If the better terms are already in use (and I don't mean with a just a Sales holding page) Don't be tempted by Plurals, Hyphens or alternative extensions outside of .com. By all means register the cctld where there is a large local market.

I personally like to pick word pairings where it's unlikely that a Trademark application would succeed due to the descriptive nature of the pairing. However I don't get put off by slightly obscure pairings if the Visual presentation is Top-notch.

I've always worked on the idea that it is eyeball recognition/appreciation that sells domains. Not just the spoken word. Unfortunately, like yourself I find it almost impossible to promote contrived non-words and have pretty much abandoned the concept.

 

[nicenic]

Brandable marketplaces like Atom are evolving; testing multiple platforms may help optimize portfolio exposure.

 

[alcy]

can I put names on atom and not use their dns?

do u have sales like this? I understand 90% atom sales use their lander.

 

[phaethon]

can I put names on atom and not use their dns?

do u have sales like this? I understand 90% atom sales use their lander.

I don't use their landers except for 50 premium names, the rest 600 names are standard listings. Zero offers,zero sales over 7 months.
Just the special effects.

 

[alcy]

I don't use their landers except for 50 premium names, the rest 600 names are standard listings. Zero offers,zero sales over 7 months.
Just the special effects.

that sucks balls
sounds like dan market all over again

I guess for markets the only place with at least some exposure .. offers... sale.. is sedo.. all else is just landers places...

nothing will beat exposure gd auctions had .. I was getting couple offers daily there for years..

but of course anything that actually works gd kills.

 

[likemike]

That's a tough slow down phaethon and I wonder if it shows a slowdown in the overall economy. Seems so to me with the politics these days.

 

[phaethon]

That's a tough slow down phaethon and I wonder if it shows a slowdown in the overall economy. Seems so to me with the politics these days.

Yep, I'm scratching my head..how it is possible to have 1100 shortlists for 55 names and not even a single offer.. I have started removing all my plus listings, will just leave the names as standard listings.. AN can be terrible for some guys here, but it always delivers, at least for me, without special effects..

 

[phaethon]

can I put names on atom and not use their dns?

do u have sales like this? I understand 90% atom sales use their lander.

Just add them as standard listing with 7.5%, as long as they are searchable, you might get a sale at some point, who knows.. but I would not risk pointing the DNS and get punished with an extra 10% commission from AN. 90% of my sales are direct purchases through AN, so I cannot change the DNS last minute..

 

[NameBuyer.com]

For me Atom won the game when they switched to one of the best domains in existence and now allow you to list any domain you want and will still advertise for you on external sites with their Plus service.

 

[phaethon]

For me Atom won the game when they switched to one of the best domains in existence and now allow you to list any domain you want and will still advertise for you on external sites with their Plus service.

Sedo and Atom give too much choice and power to the buyer in terms of quality and pricing. You can go there looking for a specific name and end up buying another one you liked more. Th best thing about Afternic is if you search for a name on GD, you will get some relevant recommendations, but they are almost always inferior recommendations and other extensions.

 

[DomainBFF]

Yep, I'm scratching my head..how it is possible to have 1100 shortlists for 55 names and not even a single offer.. I have started removing all my plus listings, will just leave the names as standard listings.. AN can be terrible for some guys here, but it always delivers, at least for me, without special effects..

Prior to this thread and spaceship/namecheap pulling out of AN, I have made every single sale >$100k over the years at AN. Even some of my truely brandables were sold there. But now it seems every registrar is trying to overtake AN or replace DAN and we've come to a place where you have to list at 10 different places, but those 10 places are all moving towards exclusivity.

I thought about just testing my names that don't get many eyeballs or offers at AN on Atom to see if it was any different, as I can see the use case for anything I reg, and if Atom truly has business owners and startups using it for naming, then it surely would bode well for an increase in exposure I would think. But I can't seem to find many on here singing it's praises.

Also, the few standard listings I have added to Atom, when attempting to search for names using a VPN on a separate device, it's nearly impossible to find my names unless I type it in exact match. So it begs the question if standard is even worth it.

 

[Future Sensors]

But I can't seem to find many on here singing it's praises.

Let me do so here.

 

[DomainBFF]

Brandable marketplaces like Atom are evolving; testing multiple platforms may help optimize portfolio exposure.

That's in a sense what I am trying to get a jumpstart on with this thread. I'm just curious is anyone in the same situation has already A/B tested and seen any differences by moving certain types of names to different platforms and what those results were.

I think I'm going to put my lower traffic brandables on Atom premium to see how things go as a first step.

Then my brandables that I paid xxx to xxxx at auction with 2 real words I have submitted and had approved at Brandbucket, but I don't know how I feel giving them exclusivity to such quality names.

 

[DomainBFF]

Let me do so here.

What exactly is your praise for Atom? Do you point all NS there? Premium, plus, or standard? I never really hear anyone that does have success at Atom clarify the many variables in play with listing at Atom.

 

[alcy]

Prior to this thread and spaceship/namecheap pulling out of AN, I have made every single sale >$100k over the years at AN. Even some of my truely brandables were sold there. But now it seems every registrar is trying to overtake AN or replace DAN and we've come to a place where you have to list at 10 different places, but those 10 places are all moving towards exclusivity.

I thought about just testing my names that don't get many eyeballs or offers at AN on Atom to see if it was any different, as I can see the use case for anything I reg, and if Atom truly has business owners and startups using it for naming, then it surely would bode well for an increase in exposure I would think. But I can't seem to find many on here singing it's praises.

Also, the few standard listings I have added to Atom, when attempting to search for names using a VPN on a separate device, it's nearly impossible to find my names unless I type it in exact match. So it begs the question if standard is even worth it.

just curious how many 6fig sales u had and what was your avg buy price on those? ty

 

[DomainBFF]

just curious how many 6fig sales u had and what was your avg buy price on those? ty

Sorry, I see now how that could come across confusing. I have not made any 6 figure sales. I have made over 100k in sales over my domain investing career at afternic. My lifetime porfolio avg sale is $4,684 with my largest sale $14,888.

Edited to add, I paid $750 at dropcatch for my largest sale. The past ~4 years or so I have been investing more into names, but have yet to sell any of my "premium" acquisitions. That said, I have sold handregs for high x,xxx. I was in the threads back in the day with you investing in VR and 3D, and created the bitcoin showcase thread, so I still have some very high quality long holds that were hand regs years ago, and I have sold many handregs that I just was very patient with.

 

[alcy]

Sorry, I see now how that could come across confusing. I have not made any 6 figure sales. I have made over 100k in sales over my domain investing career at afternic. My lifetime porfolio avg sale is $4,684 with my largest sale $14,888.

Edited to add, I paid $750 at dropcatch for my largest sale. The past ~4 years or so I have been investing more into names, but have yet to sell any of my "premium" acquisitions. That said, I have sold handregs for high x,xxx. I was in the threads back in the day with you investing in VR and 3D, and created the bitcoin showcase thread, so I still have some very high quality long holds that were hand regs years ago, and I have sold many handregs that I just was very patient with.

nice
ty

a few 6fig sales in 10 years would have been nice... so I was curious about your cost on such names. good to clarify then.

I'm still waiting on my 1st 6fig too

hope we both get at least one.

gl

 

[DomainBFF]

nice
ty

a few 6fig sales in 10 years would have been nice... so I was curious about your cost on such names. good to clarify then.

I'm still waiting on my 1st 6fig too

hope we both get at least one.

gl

Likewise! I'll be pulling for you, and anyone else in the community to get one. I can only imagine the thrill.

But I'm also perfectly fine with my 1,888 (min price of any of my names) + sales that come consistently as long as they keep coming.

At this point in my investing career I have still made more from handregs than aftermarket purchases - but a lot of research, market experience and patience has allowed for that to be the case for any relatively new or newbies that read this thinking it's easy to just reg and wait!