Wednesday, September 25, marked a new chapter in our history with the live auction held at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 2008 Conference in New York. Everyone here was extremely excited about the results and it showed in the success of the completely new Auction Bidding Interface. As many of you already know we had to address several issues to make this a more worthwhile experience and feel that we were truly successful with Wednesday’s auction.

We offered 50 domain names. Although the actual dollars sold was not grand, the fact is more than 50% of the inventory was sold and of those over 75% sold for above their starting reserve. I believe in the methodology used in selecting these names and setting the reserves. There are improvements to be made in the actual process, I recognize. We will continue to make those remaining names available on the site until October 1, 2008. If you were unable to bid on one of these remaining domain names, please visit Aftermarket.com and place your bids. You can bid using the flyout bid box (clicking on the domain name) or adding to your personal watch list and bid. The lots close on October 1, 2008, 12:00noon PST. Great deals are still available! Don’t miss this opportunity.

We monitored online feedback during the auction as many were following the action closely on various sites with real time, live chats and we found that most of the comments were positive and clearly showed we have made great strides with the format and listened to our users feedback. One of our bidders who purchased one of the more prominent domain names let us know that he was,”very impressed with online auction interface. Well done.“

The recently improved auction format allowed those with a stake in the domain market to easily bid and monitor lots specifically interested in. Other than an issue with a specific computer dropping its network connection on the stage, the system tracked well with the in-house and online activity. This new platform was extensively tested to ensure a stable environment for the live auction. A few features we wanted to roll out were put on hold for the next version. After the success of this launch, we are very excited about putting the other features back in and making improvements on existing system.

Hopefully many of you were able to watch the streaming live auction featuring the award winning auctioneer Jill Doherty, while following the actual ‘lot’ being bid on in the Auctioneer Pane. As a licensed and practicing NYC auctioneer, the auction teams style is influenced by the big auction houses here, Sotheby’s and Christies, which was a nice change of pace.

Results of the auction can be found on:

http://www.domaintools.com/domain-auctions/live/Aftermarket?auctionResults

All in all, the auction was a great success and we look forward to working to improve the experience and provide additional tools and services. We value your feedback and if we missed any helpful issues that you may have experienced please fee free to let us know.

Are YOU Ready for Aftermarket.com Auction??

September 24, 2008 – 5:00pm EST

We’re busy making final preparations for Aftermarket.com Live Auction at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Conference in New York – September 24, 2008, 5:00pm EST. There are a thousand little details, and we’re trying to handle them all to make your experience better, more worthwhile and profitable.

That in mind, we’ve got a couple important auction-related items to help you get ready: we want to tell you about bidder eligibility and introduce you to the new bid interface.

First Things First! You probably want to know where to start bidding! Right here. But, We don’t want to see anybody left out in the cold tomorrow, so you’ve got to read and understand just one thing:

To place a bid, you must be eligible to bid.

You’ve got to be eligible to bid. Becoming eligible is easy as pie, and you may already be eligible- but you’ve got to check, and now’s the best time: check your bidder eligibility now.

The New and Incredibly Improved Auction Bidding Interface-a Primer

Talk about changes! We’ve taken our old auction system and totally gutted it. Then we put in new guts. Better guts. Now we’re back with new features and a new interface that makes informed buying easy. You may even think we are giving you too many options!

We’ll let you discover the details for yourself, but here’s a look at how to use the essential functions:

The Auctioneer Pane -Keep Your Eye on the Main Action

The lot displayed in the Auctioneer Pane at the top of the page is the “active lot.” Lots are only active with the Auctioneer for a very limited time. Be ready to take action quickly because the lot is in front of in-house bidders and things will be moving fast!

Placing a Bid on the Active Lot: To bid on the active lot, just enter your bid amount in the Your Proxy Bid field and click the Place Bid button. (Note that the hint text under the bid entry field calculates the minimum bid by adding the bidding increment to the current high bid-any bid lower than this minimum bid will be rejected.)

The Watch List Pane -Keep Your Eye on Absolutely Anything

Your personal Watch List lets you keep tabs on any items in the Auction Catalog, -or EVERY item. Find out key information, watch the bids roll in and place your own bids before items ever make it to the Auctioneer Pane. Now this is control!

Placing a Bid from Your Watch List Pane ? Select the lot you want to bid on from the Select a lot name dropdown menu, enter your bid in the Your Proxy Bid field and click the blue Place Bid button.? (Note that the hint text under the bid entry field calculates the minimum bid by adding the bidding increment to the current high bid-any bid lower than this minimum bid will be rejected.)

The Auction Catalog Pane -A Quick Summary to Let You See What’s Coming Down the Road

The Auction Catalog lets you view the entire list of domains at auction and know when they’ll be with the Auctioneer. But you can get detail, too! Click on any of the linked Catalog items and find out about pricing, bid history and more.

To Bid on any Lot from the Auction Catalog Pane: Find the lot you’re interested in bidding on and roll over the linked Lot Title. Select the lot you want to bid on from the Select a lot name dropdown menu, enter your bid in the Your Proxy Bid field and click the blue Place Bid button.
(Note that the hint text under the bid entry field calculates the minimum bid by adding the bidding increment to the current high bid-any bid lower than this minimum bid will be rejected.)

What is a proxy bid?
All Aftermarket.com auctions use a proxy bidding system to make bidding easy, automatic, and safe – letting you enter the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a lot and then put it on cruise control. Once you’ve entered your maximum price, we’ll raise your actual bid automatically by the lot’s set bid increment each time another bidder outbids you. We’ll continue to maintain your status as high bidder until the bidding exceeds your maximum.

Once bidding does exceed your maximum, we’ll message you through the bidding interface to let you know that another bidder has taken the lead and to give you the opportunity to raise your maximum. Don’t worry, your maximum bid will never be visible to sellers or other bidders.

Example:
—Auction Lot Title: Domain1.com
—Starting Reserve Price: $100
—Bidding Increment: $25
—You open bidding with a proxy bid of $500.
1. If there are no other bidders, you win this lot and pay a price of $100.
2. User B counters your bid with a bid of $200. The bid system will automatically raise your actual bid to $225 (last high bid + bidding increment). This counter bidding will continue automatically until you either win the bidding, or bidding exceeds your proxy bid (at which point you would be notified and given the opportunity to raise your proxy bid).

Can I cancel a bid?
No, you cannot cancel a bid. Per the Auction Terms & Conditions Agreement, all bids are final and binding.

Lot Status
One of the following five conditions represents the lot status:

How do I win the bidding for a lot?
The bidder with the highest bid on a lot at that lot’s closing will be named as the winning bidder for that lot.

No Names Over $100,000

DomainConsultant Explains its Auction Selections

There is little question in our mind that if you are looking for super premiums over $100,000, you are well covered by the other auctions. They always do it well, kudos to them.

If you are looking for domains with multiple venues of value in lower price ranges, we hope you’ll take a few moments to review and, hopefully, understand our selection process and purchase recommendations.

All about ‘Value’

Very early on in the process we decided against ‘window dressing’ – knowing full well our list would be viewed as being sub-par upon first glance. But as we publicly stated before, we concluded that, as consultants, our job is to pinpoint “value” for our clients.

Potential ‘value’ is defined and categorized as Short-Term (traffic/revenue), Long-Term (end-user sale/development), SEO value (growing importance), Price value (below/at market), Perceived value (first impression/credibility), Generic value, Industry value (size, scope and scale of applicable industries).

The following fifty or so domains were chosen because we identified a minimum of THREE of these specified values in our research and selection procedures.

For instance, a domain like ‘Dabbler.com’ has price, long-term, perceived and generic value. It could be a game or movie or book, software program or design company. A fun single word name like this, at this price, has a profitable end-user sale in its future – the buyer pool is potentially anyone.

A name like ‘OfficeComplex.com’ has long-term value, generic, industry, SEO and price value. We would also deem this name a ‘generic-Geo‘ meaning that ads are LOCAL, exponentially increasing the number of potential advertisers regionally.

For instance, search for ’seafood restaurants’ and the results will likely be tailored to your geography. Same is true of officecomplex.com and banquethall.com, businessgrant.com or even porch.net.

Pricing

Obviously pricing played a big factor in determining selections – in our case, it was based on the concept that we insure each offering retain ‘resale value’ in some form. Far too often, live auction domains are priced for the ‘end-user’ – giving the domainer little long term value out of their purchases. And ‘resale value’ is the closest thing to ’security’ domains can offer.

To that end, these domains were chosen because they retain the VITAL and undefined value of that knock or phone call we all wait for – from the end-user with deep pockets.

A Note on Our Notes

We added notes not to attempt to convince you to buy – we’ll leave that to the salesmen in the industry. No, these are reasons, internal reasons, for why we believe they deserve to be on the list which is based, in large part, on the ‘collective wisdom’ of many people who were subjected to a series of votes and negotiation until consensus was reached.

Truth is we’d bid on all of these given the money, time and opportunity. You can disagree with us and that’s fair but this is how we make our decisions, how we make our money. And surely we understand no auction could ever satisfy all but we hope you find real value somewhere on the list, as we did, and join us Live on Wednesday at 5pm EST to bid and buy and enjoy the extravaganza. Cheers.

The following ‘notes’ were culled and combined from multiple DomainConsultant analyst comments.

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Since making our decision (about six weeks ago) to debut the Aftermarket.com auction at the New York T.R.A.F.F.I.C. show, we’ve been hard at work reviewing and analyzing the thousands and thousands of domains that have been submitted. It hasn’t been easy, but the combination of our in-house team of experts working closely with the experts at Domain Consultant, has managed to narrow the list of thousands of domains down to a short list of finalists. Clearly, Our choice to work with the analysts at Domain Consultant is proving to be a wise decision. Their unique approach to valuing auction submissions has brought some very good domains to the forefront – domains with, as they describe it, “potential for growth in multiple value areas.” That means that we didn’t want to restrict the finalists to only super-premium generics, although we do have several of those as well. Rather, our focus was on high-quality domains, with significant upside potential, at competitive opening prices. We are confident that we’ve accomplished that goal.

Although the process has been quite intensive, as the list begins to take shape, the team is getting very excited — too excited, in fact, to wait for the entire list to be finalized! So, to whet your appetite, we’re going to give you a small sneak preview of next week’s Aftermarket.com auction in New York (scheduled for Wednesday, September 24, 2008, at 5pm EST). As we continue to finalize negotiations on other domains, we will add them to the list. We’ve found that rushing to produce a list without firm and final confirmation often results in consistent changes to catalog listings, which frustrates both buyers and sellers. The domains released here and in follow-up posts will have been carefully reviewed, analyzed and selected, and we are confident that what we announce will be confirmed and available to you at auction, without a lot of the typical last minute adjustments.

spywaretracker.com
openings.com
parttimehelp.com
namelender.com
sciencebooks.com
studentcreditcard.net
taxoutlet.com
flooddamages.com
twinsizebed.com
usedclothingstores.com
classic.net
heatingfuel.com
addicting.org
formula.info
hospitalclothes.com
drive.net
traveldirectory.com
equipmentbrokers.com
parentingtips.net
husband.com and wife.com
pianotuners.com
deskheaters.com
acidrefluxrelief.com
antiitch.com
fluprevention.com
footspray.com
reports.info
stayathome.com
dabbler.com
palermo.com
studentchecking.com
energytips.com
kidflicks.com
officecomplex.com
peephole.com

Meanwhile, our dev team has been putting the finishing touches on best-of-breed domain auction platform. We’ve designed and built our new auction interface with one goal in mind: making it easy and intuitive for you to participate in online domain auctions. The app is completely browser-based with no special plug-ins required. It has your own personal watch list, no hidden reserves, and out-bid notices. We think you’re going to be very happy with it and we can’t wait to show it to you!

We are now reviewing all domains submitted for the Aftermarket.com September 24th Live Auction at the Targeted TRAFFIC Conference. There are so many great domains — thanks to everyone for your submissions, AND for your feedback on our new Auction Manager interface!

We’ve got some tough work to do. With only 90 minutes allotted for the auction, we have got to maintain a rigorous selection process in order to trim the list of submissions down to the 50-or-so lots we have as our goal for the final auction catalog. To that end, Aftermarket.com has elected to work with the team at Domain Consultant.

Domain Consultant is a neutral third party comprised of leaders in the domain community, and has been contracted to review submissions and advise on the final list of lots going to auction. This is a team of professionals who actively participate as buyers, sellers, advisers and brokers, collectively contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the domain economy. We are excited about the knowledge and experience Domain Consultant brings to the auction and its participants.

To maintain fairness and objectivity in the selection process, sellers and Domain Consultant will remain anonymous to each other, and Aftermarket.com will serve as the interface between the two.

The Aftermarket team (TrafficZ and DomainTools) is also reviewing submissions. Together as a team with Domain Consultants, we will decide on the final active list of lots going to auction -this final list will be available on September 17, 2008.

Items listed in “Published” status are currently being reviewed. If the review team wants to negotiate a reserve change, the item status will change to “Pending Changes” and customer is notified via email. Items determined to be put into auction will be updated to “In Auction” status and published on the final list September 17.

The auction will be simulcast live and online, starting at 5:00pm Eastern Time on September 24, 2008. The bidding interface will be web-based, no special download required. A DomainTools account and a quick eligibility verification are required for online participation. For in-house participation, please go to the TrafficZ booth at the conference to register and get your bid paddle. More details will follow on the bidding system and new features!

Stay tuned for additional announcements about the Aftermarket.com Auction.