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New Auction Alert!
December 4th, 2007 by 
Jay Westerdal
DomainTools has been working on some super neat auction software for the last few months. We took some time after the last auction and asked participants and viewers how we could improve the system. Granted, the software ran great the first time but there are always improvements that can be made.
Improvements:
After listening to participants we came up with a few objectives. One was to ensure an easyier and faster escrow process; two was to have better communication about the domain status during the submission process and after the auction. Our new system should do that and then some.
When:
We are announcing our next auction will be on January 3rd 2008 at 11am Pacific Time. We are going to kick the year off right, what better way then an auction. All buyers from our last auction will be notified of the upcoming auction and we will continue to find new ways to advertise to potential buyers. DomainTools currently has over 400,000 unique visitors a day and is a great place to advertise to potential buyers.
Submission Process:
We are starting with zero submissions as I post this, so there is plenty of room to submit domains. We are only accepting 20 submissions per user during this upcoming auction. Please pick your best domains and then submit them. The buyers are picky and so are we, the more generic the better the chance we will pick the domain and that it will be sold in our auction.
Contract Changes:
There are a few changes to the contract. We will require exclusive listing before the auction and for 60 days after the auction on unsold domains. If a domain fails to sell during the auction the seller is authorizing us to sell it for 20% 10% less then the reserve price after the auction. We will run a closed bid process on unsold domains after the auction closes. For example, How.com was listed at $500,000 during our last auction but failed to sell, however it did sell less then 60 days after the auction in a third party transaction. We are confident we can help sellers maximize post auction offers.
Venue:
The next auction will be held completely online at DomainTools.com. If you want to bid in person, you are welcome to attend at our office location in Downtown Seattle. Please RSVP to seattleoffice@domaintoolsdotcom.
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Posted in Domain Auction, DomainTools Auction |
December 4th, 2007 at 10:23 am
20% drop in price after the auction is an awful idea, leads prospective buyers to wait and not bid during auction. Get rid of it, or expect 20% higher reserve on submissions upfront.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Cool, so I just need to wait until after the auction for the 20% discount sale? Good to know.
Jay, your a master scripter and coder. But some of these business decisions….(rolls eyes)…
December 4th, 2007 at 10:39 am
I strongly agree with Crinux! You might as well advertise, All domains not sold at auction, will be on SALE! 20% off!
I understand you have to cover yourself Jay for domains that do not sell at auction, but that’s what the 60 day Exclusive is for.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Jay,
What is the deadline for domain submissions?
Patrick
UPDATE BY JAY: Christmas Eve.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
aww dang it Jay - I loved your last auction - loved the interface - liked you people - but that ‘authorizing to sell for 20% less than reserve’ is going to keep me from submitting any names. I already set the reserve as low as I want to go - in essence it’ll be 20% plus your fee - and that just won’t work for me.
I’m really sorry too, I was looking forward to many more auctions.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Guys…
I think your missing the point as usual. The 20% reduction is only if the name does not sell. If the name does NOT sell, the market does NOT value it as much as you do. So, hopefully Jay will not allow any overpriced names in so this won’t even be an issue. However, most people want their name to sell and are not going to let a few dollars get in the way of a sale.
Good Luck to all….this should be interesting given the time (within 60 days) of DomainFest and the Traffic Auctions.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Yes, big mistake the 20% reduction in reserve if unsold. This leads to possible lack of interest during the auction as others have mentioned. This also leads to a major conflict of interest; the 60 day exclusivity clause makes sense but not that. This does not preclude you from discussing with the seller of offers you may receive below reserve, but final sales decision in such a situation should always be confirmed by seller.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Is there any restriction on the domain age or tlds like last acutions ?
UPDATE BY JAY: There is no restriction. However quality domains will always be selected.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Ya this basically just means I will bump my reserve up 20% for the auction, stupid rule.
December 4th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I don’t like the 20% reserve reduction clause. I don’t like the 60 day exclusivity clause either.
What I see happening is someone valuing a name at $100,000 then multiplying by 1.25 to cover the 20%, when their “valuation hunch” might be right. So the name doesn’t sell or is rejected pre-auction due to the high price. And if it does make it, it then gets no bids but receives a offer of 20% less 20 minutes after the auction closes.
Reserve should be the least you’ll take. Period!
60 days? If you can’t move my domain during the auction then give it back within a day or so and let me decide what to do with it. You should only need a short time to double check the bidding logs post auction.
How about some kinda running online auction after the main event where I could decide to relist the name or not. Charge a premium to list a domain that wasn’t part of the last auction. Charge the standard fee for any name that sells in either auction.
December 4th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Jay, I, too, would like to know submission guidelines. For example, are you accepting any country TLDs, such as .de or just dot-coms? Hyphens okay if the term itself is “hot” and a dot-com? What about hot generics in, let’s say, a TLD like .biz? Age of domain important? What about acquired aftermarket domains that may still be in the prohibited transfer period (but close to being transferable)?
I like the 20-domain limit–very, very smart.
One suggestion: offer a cut-off date for submissions and stick to it; when you accept domains after the cut-off date, it looks unprofessional and too much like the good old boy network in action.
Remind late submitters that there will be other auctions.
The 60 day exclusive period, I just don’t know. Having sold only one domain since I started in July, well, maybe beggars can’t be choosers.
Before submitting domains, I’d like to know the guidelines so that I don’t waste my or your time. I now have a more realistic sense of domain worth, and I won’t be submitting anything with a $25,000 reserve.
Best, Ms Domainer
December 4th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Looking forward to the next DomainTools auction, less than a month away! Others have already made some valid comments on the new contract terms, so I’ll wait for your response and any further clarification. Meanwhile, I’ll get my list of 20 generic domain names ready to submit.
=TiKi=
December 4th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
After missing getting my domains into the last auction, because the submission deadline wasn’t actually the deadline for getting domains included in the auction, I’ve been looking forward to this auction.
Just like MsDomainer, I would like to see the submission rules/guidelines and a real/actual cutoff date/time for submissions.
As for the 20% reduction in the reserve price after an included domain does not sell, I am with crinux, josh51380, and yofie.
I don’t like it.
Also, to offset that 20% reduction in reserve you actually will have to raise your reserve by 25%….. and hope you get included…..
December 5th, 2007 at 4:15 am
WillyNilly~ I know for a fact that people understand the 20% issue, and they know it’s a 20% reduction if the domain Does Not Sell at auction.
More then half the domains in that last auction Did Not Sell. Was this because they were priced to high? Was this because there were not many people at the auction? Was the auction to long and the bidders were bored? Was the auction not advertised well?
Everything has a value, including domains. If a seller sets a reserve price, they are setting that for a reason. There are domain auctions all the time and many get Passed. This does not always mean the price was to high and should of been reduced 20%! There are times when not the right people, for that type of domain are not present for the auction, and you do not know this when you submit a domain for auction.
So to agree on terms that if your domain does not sell in the auction, it will be lowered 20% is a BIG DEAL, Not just a Few Dollars as you stated. The min price for a domain in auction is $1,000 usd - 20% is $200 = $800, DT’s selling fee of 10% (unless this changed as well) is another $80. The seller would end up with $720 for selling a $1,000 domain. If I have a $1,000 bill, and you offered me $720 for it, it would be a crappy deal for me!
Now expand this onto a domain that is $100,000 usd and your “Few Dollars” is huge!! $100,000 - 20% ($20,000) $80,000-10% = $72,000! That’s a $28,000 Hit. Now that’s a Big Deal!
Take your House and drop it 20% from your listing price if it doesn’t sell the 1st day you list it! How many people are going to agree to that?
December 5th, 2007 at 4:23 am
well said Yofie.
I am so disappointed in these new rules.
Each of the auction holders have rules that are not good for the sellers. I guess we just have to decide which one we can live with.
December 5th, 2007 at 4:45 am
hi greeting ThANKing My Dear Sir Jay ,
i have just tried2submit2u our properties ,
i’d like2ask4 : :::::
——————————————————
.1.
please give ‘the sellers some space to describe their properties ,
——————————————————
.2.
please give down the exAct dates-of-cut-off
for ‘the auction 2008january +
for ‘the auction 2008april
——————————————————
.3.
are the adUlt//gambling domains submissible2u ??
——————————————————
bestrespects , ThANKye , 2[to] your success , 2w
December 5th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Yofie,
A few errors in your logic…you said the following!
So to agree on terms that if your domain does not sell in the auction, it will be lowered 20% is a BIG DEAL, Not just a Few Dollars as you stated. The min price for a domain in auction is $1,000 usd - 20% is $200 = $800, DT’s selling fee of 10% (unless this changed as well) is another $80. The seller would end up with $720 for selling a $1,000 domain. If I have a $1,000 bill, and you offered me $720 for it, it would be a crappy deal for me!
Names don’t sell because they are priced too high…PERIOD! Everyone things they have gold when in fact there is very little gold out there. If there are 500, 100 or even 50 QUALIFIED bidders in the room and your name has value, it will sell…PERIOD!
You guys are basically saying the following:
1. You don’t trust the market will set the value of your names
2. Your not really looking to sell the name, only if you can get YOUR perceived value which may not be the real market value.
The one change i would recommend being made is the following:
Jay, if a name sells after the auction for a reduced price…your commission gets cut in half so all parties are on the “same team”
An example…
The name is listed for $11,500 and DOES NOT sell. After the auction, a deal is completed for 10,000 (up to 20%)
Jay’s cut would only be 5% on the $10,000 = $500 commission
The net amount would be $9500 and that is cash in hand….VS waiting, hoping, and praying your name sells NEXT time for the $11,500 which would have net you $10,350.
AT THE END OF THE DAY….
If there are 500, 100 or even 50 QUALIFIED bidders in the room and your name has value, it will sell…PERIOD!
December 5th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Another Question, Jay - If the name is listed at Sedo as “Not For Sale” for the period of the contract commitment - is that ok?
UPDATE BY JAY: If it is listed as Not For Sale that is fine.
December 5th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Trying to put dot-MOBI domains into a lot for consideration and they show up individually instead in the submission list. I have tried to add them to an existing lot but clicking Submit does nothing. Did I do this correctly or is this by design that they will display individually?
December 5th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Please read the new additions to the rules:
http://blog.domaintools.com/2007/12/auction-rules/