One of the newer trends in the wholesale market is to put up brandables, mostly of the made up variety, on auction with the BrandBucket accepted seal of approval.
As BrandBucket approaches 20,000 names some have taken to auctioning off their names that in most cases have been accepted but not published. If the name is accepted the user needs to pay $10 and then the logo will be done and the name published on the website. In some cases people are auctioning off names that have been published. These names are up and running with the $10 fee already paid.
Namepros has added a new rule to their marketplace where a screenshot is required for listings that say “BrandBucket Accepted.”
These auctions are starting to pick up some steam on Namepros and some wondered if BrandBucket was ok with it ? Michael Krell stated that the practice is ok and that the new buyer just has to email BrandBucket to have the domain pushed into their BrandBucket account.
Now I think that there are two different scenarios and one of those scenarios may see BrandBucket take a different stance down the road. If a domain is accepted then no one but the owner and BrandBucket know what is going on. If the domain is published someone may see that a name is listed on BrandBucket for $2,999 and selling on Namepros for $90. Those results will show on Google when searching for a domain name.
I think for those that are interested in brandables these auctions are not bad, you get to go in already knowing that a name is approved. Everyone does not validate their portfolio through BrandBucket acceptance, but for some that is how they want to play the brandable space.
Ray, I thought the TOS allowed for the domain at BB to be for sale ONLY on the BB site. I had received a notice from
BB that one of my names had an old link to a Godaddy Auction and I needed to remove it from GD.
Hmmmmm…………… I see an issue looming……..
Well you bring up a good point Ed,and that is why I wrote they may say option 1 is ok, the name accepted but not published, Option 2 they may say you can’t auction off without taking off BrandBucket first.
I can get my names excepted, but have a problem with them telling me some low ball figure, I can list it at. You did not mention in your great article about the $100 design the word fee. I also have a HUGE problem paying $100 for someone to design my domain words. So, I just sit and go no further with them. I also do not like the made up names. If, you were a receptionist for any company, with a made up name, how many times would you have to spell it and then try to explain the meaning to a customer.
They want to control pricing and many don’t like that I agree with you. I think Margot doesn’t want names priced at high prices where she feels they won’t sell.
BrandBucket prices their own inventory high and of course Michael Krell’s names also but prices the majority of everyone else’s names low. Low priced sales keep the machine running while they wait for their own higher priced inventory to sell.
As for the auctions of accepted names it makes sense as a domainer especially if you don’t have a knack for choosing good brandables. Chances are your acceptance rate is around 30% so every 3 out of 10 get accepted. To list those 10 it costs $100 in reg fees plus the $30 for those 3 accepted names. Before you even begin you already have an investment of $130 in 3 names and that doesn’t mean those 3 names will ever sell so it makes sense for some to buy pre-approved names for $20-$40 a pop because there is no burn factor for names that aren’t accepted. If your not good at brandables this is the way to go in my opinion to test the market.