I had submitted several domain names to the Aftermarket.com domain name auction for Mardi Gras and all with No Reserve. Yes, I submitted a couple so/so domains but I also put in several nice domains as well. (irrigators.com and GenuineGold.com/.net)
I was a little upset when nothing made it into auction but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Only 50 domains were selected for the live event.
Late last night I got what almost appeared as a desperation type email with a "new" event Aftermarket.com was going to be holding. As they called it, the "After Party".
Domainer Mardi Auction No Reserve Afterparty
Basically, they want more domains to add to the current 17 that are running in the extended auction. The average domain on sale currently is $xx,xxx . The lowest is $1,500 (CashForSites.com) with the highest being $500,000 reserve for Favorites.com .
So now my domain name is "good enough" to make it to auction at No Reserve… Well, the problem as a seller and the reason I was ticked by this very late move….
Today is Feb 24 and the auction ends Feb 27 at 4PM. 3 days and little if any promotion can be done in that short time frame. That’s even if they got my domain listed today. It "could" turn into a 1-2 day auction… come on!
Why wait so long to ask? I submitted my domains a pretty long time ago. Aftermarket.com was the one who did the late picking (Feb 17, for the Feb 21 auction) for the Mardi Gras live and online auction. Even then (17th) would of been a better time to send out this "After Party" email, as it gave time to promote the "New" domains being added at No Reserve.
It was really a slap in the face to get this kind of email IMO. The pressure tactics used in the email didn’t work for me and again, it felt like a desperation type email. The email closed with:
Spaces are limited and time is of the essence – please respond ASAP if you would your domain included in this new, ambitious event.
Thank you for your time and please respond immediately or we will choose an alternative.
Yes, time is of the essence! Slapping up a couple domains may be ok for Aftermarket.com at NR but adds a huge risk for the seller also. It’s not like Aftermarket.com included any of it’s marketing it planned on doing in the 3 days (maybe) my auction would be live, or a commission cut or anything like that.
Bastergnome
Sound like a drunken afterthought that could cost you dearly in the morning after sobering up:) Way too risky for the seller.
Francois
This time they will get zero advertising from me.
The next tile they will thanks when they get free advertising.
Jamie Zoch
@Francois
Yes, companies/people love to take advantage of things and do not give props when they should. A small “Thank You” can go a long ways, but is rarely done!
Doemainer
I think you are seeing this auction as a knee-jerk reaction to the economy (some of the recent slow auctions) and some partying at Domainer Mardi Gras.
Yes there is little time, but maybe this is intended to get investors to think quick and not second guess.
Doemainer
http://thedomainscene.com
Kelly Lieberman
I got the same email, and I also thought “not!”
Auction houses need to figure out that “we” are their customer first! They need to show us that they are going to spend the time, energy, effort and money to advertise what they are selling.
We have been duped into this idea that “they” are doing “us” a favor.
Can you imagine your real estate company treating you this way? What if they didn’t bother to “list’ and “market” your home and just acted like they were doing you a favor? What if they only marketed your home to other realtors, but never bothered to try and market it to “end users”?
It’s time for some fresh auction companies in this business. It is not true that end users will come one project, one need at a time… Not if they are educated correctly!
A company that sells 15 products and 4 services, for example, could very well be inspired to own 100-150 keyword rich search related, and call to action domains related to their business.
A company like LisasBags.com that sells handbags might benefit from owning:
ClutchBags.com, CanvasHandbags.com, FormalPurses.com, LeatherHandbags.com NylonHandbags, clutchHandbags, BuyAClutch.com, PromPurses.com etc…
These are domains that can benefit their SEM results. They don’t dilute their brand and they would lower their Adsense costs. They don’t need to build websites on each domain, just redirect to their existing site.
This was a made-up example… but you can see my point.
There is a reason auction houses aren’t focused on getting end users to the auctions….Top level domainers are not done with their own buying yet…when they are done picking off your bargains, they will start getting the end users to the auctions to buy the domains they just bought from you. Mark my words.
DNSadmin
One of the most successful live auctions I ever attended, the inventory was given to us as we walked in the door.
Truth is domainers are incredibly ADD – promote too early and they forget and move on. Promote too soon and the buzz wears off.
Takes probably less than five seconds for the TRUE buyers in this business to look at a name and decide interest or not.
Takes probably a day to inform all the domainers about an auction through boards and blogs and emails – especially a list as vast as DT.
And if you’re looking for end-users – go somewhere else, this is the wrong place, go to Sedo.
End-users are always notified and rarely show up and when they do, well, cowboys.com.
Think this post is super whiny – think alot of folks, in tough times, might take the opportunity to sell on that platform.
JMHO, G.
Adam
wow. Even conspiracy theories.
How long does it exactly take to get these end-user to an auction? 4 days isn’t enough? Why do we need weeks/months or however long you are implying ?
More puzzling, if you have a domain and you’re putting it in auction (or it’s for sale now), why haven’t you contacted the end user . . .Why aren’t they buying already?
These live auctions are a 1 time wholesale/liquidation environment. The average “joe end user” will most likely never participate as they are not part of this environment. They buy when they need or when they have the money or when they think of it. It’s all timing. The aftermarket sites that have gigantic lists of domains for sale all benefit from this (proof in their daily sales) They can sit back and take advantage of end users stumbling along and wanting, needing and having the money to buy. They are there for that exact moment when it happens. You want to talk about not doing anything, have you ever considered what’s involved there ? It must be a conspiracy.
I cant speak for all of the efforts of any other online auction company, but I know from discussions that each of them engages end-users. Have you ever read how the cowboys.com story turned out?
The end-user dream is obviously still alive and well in the domain space, but it’s all about timing and circumstances, most of which can not be created by advertising or contacting people. We’ll all continue to work on marketing, advertising and making outbound calls in hopes that the timing is right and that we hit the right buyer at the right time. That’s what’s being done.
Constructive criticism is great. We’re all in this to sell domains. Let’s work together. Conspiracy and make believe shouldn’t be part of this conversation.
DNSadmin
Hey adam, I agree lol! Never forget cowboys – still have the t-shirt!
Jamie Zoch
How long does it exactly take to get these end-user to an auction? 4 days isn’t enough? Why do we need weeks/months or however long you are implying ?
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In this case, it was even a surprise to me, to get the email about the After Party auction. My gut feel was… that auctions done and over with, not many people will be “heading back” to the auction.
For the main auction, rethinking, I guess it doesn’t really matter when a domain list comes out, since people already know the auction will be happening. A day or Two is good enough for me to let the people I want to know about any domains I have in the auction.
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More puzzling, if you have a domain and you’re putting it in auction (or it’s for sale now), why haven’t you contacted the end user . . .Why aren’t they buying already?
~ I have my list of emails (that I am already in contact with) to email about a specific domain auction of mine. I save all my email offers, just because we didn’t agree on a price in the past, doesn’t mean the bidding process of an auction might not get them a bit more excited. Having a group of people that showed past interest never hurts to have around during a live auction.
Adam
“I have my list of emails (that I am already in contact with) to email about a specific domain auction of mine. I save all my email offers, just because we didn’t agree on a price in the past, doesn’t mean the bidding process of an auction might not get them a bit more excited. Having a group of people that showed past interest never hurts to have around during a live auction.”
Sure the thrill of the auction I get it but likely they’ll expect a discounted price (which is also getting complaints or conspiracy claims).
Now if you are contacting end-users, where does the auction house fit in on being responsible for driving in end-users. Personally, I think it should be a team effort and I’ve got some ideas to make that happen. We’ll see if they can be implemented in the future. Thanks for the feedback.
As Andrew put it on dnw.com “if a domain is in an Aftermarket.com auction then you can be fairly sure it’s a worthy domain at the price.”
Jamie Zoch
@ Adam #10
I see the auction house bringing in the Second Bidder. I bring in my interested parties, they have theirs. It always takes two bidders to raise a price in any auction. So the more bidders that Will Bid, I see the better.
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All my domains I submitted were $1 No Reserve. I had a $500 offer on GenuineGold.com which I turned down to an end user (Genuine Gold LLC) but offered it in the Aftermarket auction NR. It’s a discounted price. Same thing with irrigators.com but a higher offer.
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My price claims in the original post was simply showing that many of the 5 figure domains were not getting bids, but all the No Reserve domains were clearly sold. I would rather put a nice domain with NR in a live auction that I know will do pretty well and potentially could do very well, then a nice domain with a $xx,xxx price tag that might get a bid.
E
Should have sold GenuineGold.com to the company that wanted it. A name may be worth $0 to 99% of people who buy domain names. It’s the one person in one hundred who wants or needs the domain name, and they will pay good money. In this case, $500 was very good money as GenuineGold.com is a reg fee name to everyone but this one company.
PS: I keep noticing fourth grade grammar errors in your posts…. the correct terms are “should have” or “would have” – not “should of” or “would of.” Just because it might sound like “of,” doesn’t mean you should spell it like it sounds
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/couldof.html
Jamie Zoch
@12 E
Yah know!
GenuineGold.com is not a reg fee domain. I know many jewelry sites that have shown interest and wouldn’t mind to own it. Everybody values a domain differently, but it’s not a reg fee domain.
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I’m from the North and would of, should of, could of is the way we talk
Younggunnar
I don’t get it – with Bido you get maybe half a day and no active promotion. And conversely, you can put it on Sedo for 10 years and still not sell. What’s the big deal? I wouldve done it for sure.
With TZ/DT’s mailing list and DC’s network, I’m sure everyone knows pretty frickin quick.
Jamie Zoch
@14
Bido.com lists it next 7 auctions coming up, so it’s more then the “day” the auction happens. Bido also does promotion “behind closed doors” to promote. Twitter, Facebook etc.
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So far, 3 of the Aftermarket auctions are still at $1 with the highest at $500. 3 in the $100 range, so right now I think I made the right choice. We will see what happens…