When Using Ebay to Sell Domain Names is a Smart Move

Elliot Silver
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Ebay LogoI was once an active Ebay domain seller. This was before I knew about domain forums, and I knew relatively little about other domain sales venues such as Snapnames. I did fairly well selling inexpensive domain names on Ebay, although I haven’t done so in quite some time. I want to share one example of when using Ebay to sell domain names can be very smart.

I frequently hear about domain owners’ attempts to reach out to potential end user buyers to let them know a domain name is for sale at auction. Most of the time, the auctions are run on proprietary auction platforms managed by auction companies. In my opinion, this can be a big barrier for companies that aren’t familiar with domain auctions or the auction houses.

With tens of millions of accounts, Ebay is the most well known, and arguably most reliable online auction platform. They are trusted by buyers and sellers, and if a person hasn’t opened an account on Ebay, you can probably be sure they’ve heard of the company.

In lieu of listing a domain name for sale on a live auction, you might consider listing it on Ebay before contacting potential buyers. Buyers might trust Ebay more, and they will have more time to make a decision. I have not tried this method out yet, but I will do so and let you know how it goes.

Picks for Moniker’s DomainFest Auction

Elliot Silver
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Moniker announced the inventory with reserve prices for the Domain Fest live domain auction that will take place in Santa Monica on Thursday, January 28, 2010 from 2:00 – 6:00 pm PST. Bidding can also be done online at Snapnames. Below are my top 10 domain names (along with the reserve prices) that are included in the auction. You can see the full list on the Moniker website.

  • CardCollection.com       $2501 – $5000
  • ElectricFences.com       $2501 – $5000
  • FigureSkaters.com       $2501 – $5000
  • FiveStarHotel.com       $1001-$2500
  • Paper.com       $500,001 – $750,000
  • Performances.com       $10,001 – $25,000
  • Spoilers.com       $50,001 – $100,000
  • TaxPreparers.com       $25,001 – $50,000
  • Watchmaker.com       $10,001 – $25,000
  • WoodCabinets.com       $25,001 – $50,000

I didn’t check the Whois info on the names, so I don’t know if I know the owners or not.

What are your favorites in the auction?

Rick Latona TRAFFIC Auction to Resume Saturday After Technical Difficulties

Elliot Silver
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Due to technical difficulties, Rick Latona made a difficult decision this evening and has opted to move the TRAFFIC auction to Saturday morning. Throughout the early part of the auction, the Internet functionality was spotty, and online bidding was impacted. At one point, the Latonas.com team sent out an email blast with phone numbers to call in order to bid remotely.

As Rick mentioned when he halted the auction abruptly, he has an obligation to his sellers to get the best possible prices, and with Internet bidding out of order, the best chance of success for the auction would be on a different platform tomorrow morning. I am sure there will be more details to follow, and I will update this post once I have more information.

According to the auctioneers, the closed sales will be honored at their prices and the auction will resume where it left off. You can stay apprised of the situation here, and I will have more details as soon as they are received.

UPDATE:

The auction will be held at 10:00 am Pacific on Saturday morning. That’s 1:00 pm on the East Coast or 19:00 central European time. The auction will be held on Proxibid.

Top Picks for the Targeted Traffic Conference Domain Auction

Elliot Silver
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0

Rick Latona announced the final inventory with reserve prices for the live domain auction that will take place in Las Vegas on Friday, January 22nd at 4pm. Bidding can also be done online on the newly launched Latonas.com website. Below are my top 10 domain names (along with the reserve prices) that are included in the auction. You can see the full list on Rick Latona’s blog.

  • 320 Racehorse.com 30,000 USD to 40,000 USD
  • 390 GamblingTours.com 2,000 USD to 3,000 USD
  • 480      Meetings.com      200,000 USD to 250,000 USD
  • 620      CatFood.com      50,000 USD to 75,000 USD
  • 700      MotorcycleHelmets.com      50,000 USD to 75,000 USD
  • 770      SeniorCitizens.com      75,000 USD to 100,000 USD
  • 930      LongIsland.com      250,000 USD to 300,000 USD
  • 1140      AntiqueMotorcycles.com      20,000 USD to 30,000 USD
  • 1580      Actresses.com      40,000 USD to 50,000 USD
  • 2040      USBMemoryStick.com      500 USD to 750 USD

I didn’t check the Whois info on the names, so I don’t know if I know the owners or not.

What are your favorites in the auction?

Collusion on Drop Auction Bidding

Elliot Silver
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26

During the past year, a few people have mentioned that they received emails from other bidders competing on domain auctions, although primarily involving drop auctions. The competing bidders reached out in an attempt to thwart their bidding, to keep their own acquisition cost down. Judging by the fact that I was told about this, it’s obviously not something that’s appreciated.

There are a number of reasons people reach out, most of which seem to BS. Sometimes it may be to ask the other bidder(s) to stop bidding since it’s a domain name they really want for “personal” reasons. Others may threaten that they are prepared to bid very high, so they may offer their competitor a cut to step aside – or consideration on a future auction. Some may even ask to stop competing and make a joint bid – to be partners in the domain name (a humorous idea considering the situation).

Whether these actions are illegal or just unethical aren’t for me to decide since it probably differs in each jurisdiction and to each person’s values, but there is one thing I can say for certain. It makes some people very uncomfortable to receive emails with requests such as these. Although some recipients may be too polite or politically correct to call someone out in public, it bothered a couple of people enough to mention it to me.

So… if you are involved in an auction, don’t reach out to other bidders. You may think the other guy doesn’t mind or won’t care, but I bet you are probably wrong.

Latonas.com Launches & Hosts WhyPark Charity Auction

Elliot Silver
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logoRick Latona announced the launch of Latonas.com today, unveiling a sleek new website which will be the home to his company’s brokerage services and auction platform. The concept behind Latonas.com is to give life to the standard stodgy domain auction platform.

The first domain auction that will be hosted on Latonas.com is the WhyPark Charity auction, which I wrote about in November. In this auction, the person who makes the single highest bid gets to choose the non-profit recipient of the proceeds. Rick Latona has donated all of his services, so every penny collected is going to that charity.

This is a win/win for all parties. Rick gets an opportunity to test drive his platform, WhyPark has a wide-reaching platform on which it can run its charity auction, and one charity (or more) will benefit from the proceeds of the auction.

When you have a chance, take a look at the domains in auction and register for an account on Latonas.com.

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