For Sale Auction Format

[liberator]

Hey,

At Ready Network were in the initial planning phases of our drop auction system and are interested to hear your input on what type of auction format you like the best and why.

Do you like closed auctions where only the initial bidders are able to bid? Or an open auction where anyone can bid at anytime?

What do you think are the biggest areas of improvement for current drop auction sites?

What aspects do you like the most?

Your input is greatly appreciated and will help us to build the best system possible.

All the best,

Jay

 

[whitebark]

Hey Jay congrats on getting into the registration/drop biz. You guys were planning this at the last .ca meeting and it's great seeing it get this far so fast.

I like closed auctions where only initial bidders are in. Otherwise you just invite laziness and no rewarding of those who faithfully use your tbr system every week.

 

[Jacksplat]

I'd suggest following the model pool uses, even snapnames, namejet among a few others.

Place a minimal bid to get into a private auction and when the domain is snapped by the auction house the auction begins. Be sure to use snipe protection with perhaps a 5-10 minute extension when a bid is placed in the final moments. A minimal bid requirement like 50-60$ is more than reasonable to keep the riff-raff out.

Keep a steady email to subscribers with the "top picks" listed clearly (top picks can be the domains which have the most bidders) , a full list as well in a user friendly page. Perhaps in the future have a system set up where domains with specific keywords in the weeks list can be prodominent or seperated.

Good luck and thanks in advance for what may possibly be a good service to me and others.

Jack

 

[liberator]

Thanks for the feedback Guys Any other input?

All the best,

Jay

 

[Ricks]

Hi Jay,

That's great! Keep us up to date on the launch.

I agree with Whitebark and Jacksplat - I like a secondary closed auction system the best. Buyers should submit an initial bid to get included in a closed round if the name is caught.

The most frustrating thing is to place a bid on a name before the drop, then get "sniped" at the last second and lose the name by $5, without any opportunity to bid again.

I have to say I don't like emails circulating with the "top picks". That takes the fun and reward out of digging and researching good names. What's the point? Short term, the biggest wallets will always win, but long term you will lose smaller customers who can't compete so they take their $ elsewhere.

Also, I'd suggest keeping a smaller price point of $15-$20 as a minimum because this includes a lot of the secondary names that otherwise wouldn't be bid on. The .ca market is still very young and many names are still 2nd tier - many names make economic sense to register and invest in at $15 but not at $60.

Hope that helps you.
Cheers!

 

[liberator]

Hey Jim,

I agree on a lot of the points you've made and we already have some of them incorporated in the development plan. The testing of the tbr engine I've developed has gone better then planned and I'm hoping once we finish up the development of a few clients projects I can start heavy development.

I will definitely keep you guys up to date.

All the best,

Jay

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

Now it just may be me but an open platform would be best for the bottom line. jmo

 

[liberator]

I agree JP, an open platform is best for the drop service and a closed platform is best for the domainer IMO. We plan on incorporating a new method that will give an advantage to all that have prebid but will not exclude those who have not. I'll go into more detail as we get closer to releasing the service. Thanks for your comment

 

[Jacksplat]

It's my opinion that this closed auction (as you all call it) Is the most successful. So much in fact, that is the only auction I have time for.

Places I frequent daily:
Snapnames
Namejet
Pool
and three others I wont mention.

I've been to one open auction in 3 years (outside of this forum).

As for a "hot pick list" ... I'll assure you that people like me will respond to the email with valid interest in taking some names to the top price. When the pool email arrives for .ca top picks, I just click on the name in the email and I'm in. If they get the name I'll then valuate it and consider my top price and use the proxy bid system. Chances are I won't be there during the closing minutes.

I also get emails for dropping names with keywords I have strong interest in "daily". I pay special attention to those.

Jack

 

[DOTCA]

Jason,

Have you started accepting requests for TBR?? Where can we find you?? I can't see any links from your main site. Pl advice.

All the best.

 

[liberator]

We are still in development of our main auction site, for now anyone wanting to secure a name through us can PM myself or Belzibut with the name(s) they want along with price for acquisition. Minimum price is $15 CAD. Please try and get any pms sent prior to noon on the drop day. We hope to have the site up and running in 3-4 weeks.

All the best,

Jay

 

[theinvestor]

What's the website?

 

[liberator]

We've secured TBR.ca for this service and Ready.ca will be used for our Registrar interface.

Cheers,

Jay

 

[mikeyboy]

catch any yesterday?

 

[liberator]

yesterday we got the following:

imacs.ca
companyname.ca
ioutlet.ca
refused.ca
rounded.ca
sideways.ca
backed.ca
boatdealerships.ca
organicspices.ca
fitters.ca
lich.ca
moonray.ca
nameappraisal.ca
pioneerdays.ca
anni.ca
antichris.ca
surgicalweightlossclinic.ca
securityfilms.ca
westcoastdentist.ca
solartower.ca
storminsurance.ca
franchisecompanies.ca
franchisebusinesses.ca

EDIT: To answer some PM's I got the plan is to auction names caught prior to opening, within the first couple months as secured backorders. They will be treated like every other dropped name but will already be caught.

Cheers,

Jay