TRAFFIC Auction

[Duke]

I go to a lot of antique auctions locally and at those the buyer and seller each pay a 10% seller's commission or buyer's premium for a total of 20% to the auction house. I'm just curious - would those who think a 15% fee for the seller is too high be OK with 7.5% each to the buyer and seller? That would seem to soften the blow for sellers and still allow Moniker to net the same.

 

[Monte]

yes, although not announced yet, we will be auctioning off 10 - 20 of the top .mobi premium names at this event. News on what names and details will be made available in the next 2 weeks.

 

[austinandrew]

You'd think most domainers would be capitalists, but I guess not. 15% seems like a great deal to me. I pay other exchanges 10% just for listing domains.

Look at the result for CarWax.com at the last auction, which sold for $40k. The owner of that domain had been trying to sell for a while, and received a number of offers on Sedo but nothing materialized. I think there was an $8k min offer requirement, and I believe there were some posts here on DNForum but the domain didn't sell. Then - boom! - 40k at the auction. I'd pay 15% for that.

I'm involved with a technology brokerage and we charge 25%-50%...and people are lining up at the door for us to help them sell.

 

[David G]

.....would those who think a 15% fee for the seller is too high be OK with 7.5% each to the buyer and seller? That would seem to soften the blow for sellers and still allow Moniker to net the same.

I would agree to that without hesitation, especially if I knew the auctioneer was also spending some time and work in the sales process.

 

[GeorgeK]

I go to a lot of antique auctions locally and at those the buyer and seller each pay a 10% seller's commission or buyer's premium for a total of 20% to the auction house. I'm just curious - would those who think a 15% fee for the seller is too high be OK with 7.5% each to the buyer and seller? That would seem to soften the blow for sellers and still allow Moniker to net the same.

Whether the "buyer" pays the commission or the "seller" pays the commission or it's split some way is meaningless, assuming folks are rational.

e.g. if a seller pays the commission, and the item sells for $1000, the broker middleman gets $150. The net proceeds to the seller is $850.

If an auction has a "buyer's premium" of 15%, the rational buyers will take into account the commission, and bid $1000/1.15 = $869.56. The commission with then be 15% of $869.56, $130.44, and the total paid by the buyer is $1000, as before. The seller gets $869.56 instead of $850, because a discount of 15% is different than a premium of 15%, as the bases will be different (but they're roughly the same).

A similar thing will happen if the commissions are split in some manner.

Only non-rational buyers and sellers would be fooled by such games (and non-rational buyers don't last long in business). It's very similar to the situation where goods are sometimes displayed with sales taxes already in the prices, vs. priced normally, but then taxes added at the cash register. It's really no difference.

 

[Fearless]

Fearless - thought you were not even going to the event or selling any so why do you continue to complain about a fee that you will not be paying since I will not be selling any of your domains?

Your answer is the first sentence of this thread: "I was going to list several premium names in the auction until I heard the commission is 15%"

 

[Creature]

I like the idea of a sliding downward commission scale mentioned earlier in the thread and of course we all want to pay less (including me!). However I trust Monikers judgement since they seem to work tirelessly for domainers. These auctions are probably doing far more than we realise to help the image and valuations in this industry. Do Monte (or the Duke) ever sleep? I don't think so.

 

[austinandrew]

Whether the "buyer" pays the commission or the "seller" pays the commission or it's split some way is meaningless, assuming folks are rational.

Live auctions are rarely rational. I find some of the studies about auction participant behavior to be interesting, and great for sellers.

 

[dodo1]

Your answer is the first sentence of this thread: "I was going to list several premium names in the auction until I heard the commission is 15%"

Fearless, what's up with you today? Nothing but complaining about something you'll not make use of, after all... By the way, Monte's question was rhetoric, so no answer required.

Calm down guys... Nobody must list his domains for sale at the auction, 15% is a totally fair commission for domain brokers and again, domains cannot be compared to real estate (yet).

Good luck to all buyers and sellers who'll be participating in the auction though!

 

[Fearless]

Fearless, what's up with you today? Nothing but complaining about something you'll not make use of, after all... By the way, Monte's question was rhetoric, so no answer required.

Calm down guys... Nobody must list his domains for sale at the auction, 15% is a totally fair commission for domain brokers and again, domains cannot be compared to real estate (yet).

Good luck to all buyers and sellers who'll be participating in the auction though!

The question wasn't rhetorical, so I answered it, again. I can post whatever opinion I have. Who are you to say can't? That is a rhetorical question.

Actually you shouldn't be able to comment about the commission rate unless you have at least 4 domain names worth 6 figures or more.

 

[Duckinla]

Will we be seeing any .MOBI premium names auctioned off at traffic or elsewhere?

You mean in our lifetime? Probably not.

 

[dodo1]

You mean in our lifetime? Probably not.

yes, although not announced yet, we will be auctioning off 10 - 20 of the top .mobi premium names at this event. News on what names and details will be made available in the next 2 weeks.

 

[Raider]

I dont know where your getting your information from, Christies and Sotheby's are open to the pubic, no admission unless indicated for special items. this is a far cry from the $1850 any domainer has to shell out to attend on of these TRAFFIC conferences in order to bid, PLUS give Moniker and others 15%-25% of the proceeds, if this isnt "Greed" I dont know what is.

 

[JEsports]

I dont know where your getting your information from, Christies and Sotheby's are open to the pubic, no admission unless indicated for special items. this is a far cry from the $1850 any domainer has to shell out to attend on of these TRAFFIC conferences in order to bid, PLUS give Moniker and others 15%-25% of the proceeds, if this isnt "Greed" I dont know what is.

This is a great point ... I do appreciate the purpose of the TRAFFIC auction and value it ads to the industry .... However at the 2k fees to get in, and 15% or 20% transaction fees .. Moniker is coming out smiling from ear to ear. Sure there are fee's to have this auction, but give me a break .. it doesn't cost millions.

 

[Fearless]

When all is said and done, Monte is an opportunist. He looks for opportunities to make a buck every second he's awake. He probably dreams of making money too. Nothing wrong with that. I squawk when his opportunities cost me too much money.

 

[Monte]

Jesport and all - Moniker is not charging an admission fee nor is the fee for the auction. The fee is for probably the best domain gathering and networking event on earth. The seminars and panel discussions along with the companies, pioneers, and industry folk that do deals and meet each other is worth tens of thousands of dollars to many on its own.

Do your research Folks - www.targetedtraffic.com. This is the 5th conference and it is a great one...Auction will be one of the highpoints for sure.

Hope to see you all there!

BTW - Christies and Sotheby's do charge an initial fee for first timers and in about 50% of their events.... and goes through a pretty stringent selection and qualification process for bidders. The $2K fee at TRAFFIC is also in indicator that those that attend are serious about their business and the industry. It really is a small price to pay given the value and business opportunities everyone gets out of it. If it weren't worth it, the event would not continue to grow in size and in number of events each year.

It is a clear indication that our industry is hot and meeting the folks you chat with and do business with is a really good idea.

 

[Monte]

Fearless - Of course most of us are in business to make a living...(or try to) while providing valuable services for our customers. I personally invested more money and time in this industry than you can probably imagine when the industry did not exist. I/we along with just a handful of folks, dedicated our lives to help build a foundation in which we all work and play in today.

What gets me is how easy you and others are so quick to judge and comment on what some of us can and can't make or should or should not make when all we are doing is our jobs and provide services to our customers that obviously are needed and desired. There is no price gouging going on here, no hidden agendas, no secrets...we work our asses off every day 365 days a year...and Fearless....you know as one of my larger customers that I work hard for you. I think I earn every penny I make for my company and for my dedicated employees.

lets quit spaping and squawking and get back to business.

 

[Auction]

Is there a no sale fee?

 

[Monte]

nope - no feed are paid if there are no sales

 

[Auction]

15% commission without a no sale penalty is fair.