Domain Sales Rule Discussion

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Comments

  • FrankZFrankZ Moderator
    edited March 2023

    @TheDP said:
    Just wanted to add something.

    Having a reserve price in an auction (in general) is somewhat common.

    The price of the reserve is not usually visible/known to others, but only to the platform, and the fact that a reserve exists, is usually stated, and at the end of the auction, if no bids equals to or surpasses the reserve price, the auction simply ends/closes with a "reserve not met".

    This "hidden reserve" was added/implemented on LES in August 2020 and this gives the opportunity for the seller to auction/sell domains, to so-called "test the market" and at the same time be able to secure the domain in cases where bids and offers are no where near the seller's asking/expected price.

    Thank you for stepping into the discussion. As of now I have not been able to find the original domain sales rules discussion. So until I do, I want to confirm or deny that in your opinion of that discussion...
    1. The original intention of the hidden reserve rule was that the reserve must always be hidden and not made public or inferred by the seller.
    2. That the following statement by me is not in keeping with the original intention of the hidden reserve rule.

    If the reserve price is not met by the highest bidder at the end of the auction period the seller may choose to accept the highest bid price, but is under no obligation to do so. If the seller does accept the highest bid, even if it did not meet the reserve price, the bidder is required to follow through with payment and the seller is required to transfer the domain.

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  • edited March 2023

    From other auctions (both real world and online), my expectation is that to have a reserve hidden is not obligatory, it is a seller's choice on whether it is revealed.
    At auction houses, a reserve value may be stated: have you never seen news of an item not reaching its' $10k (or whatever) reserve?
    Almost conversely FeeBay has a minimum £50 reserve (in the UK), so by default a savvy buyer knows that a one pound starting bid is 'meaningless'. The reserve, in this example is hidden (>=£50) but may be revealed in the description or by asking the seller; it's optional and at seller's discretion.

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  • bikegremlinbikegremlin ModeratorOGContent Writer

    @FrankZ said:

    @AlwaysSkint said:
    A 7/70 rule? $7 max. starting price, $70 max. reserve?
    just a thought.

    I don't have a dog in this show so I am going to ask you if you would you have listed your domain if that was the rule ?

    EDIT: I'll point the rest of the staff at this thread so it can have a broader view point.


    @someTom said:

    @FrankZ said:
    Does setting a reserve limit of say $150 make it more or less likely that members will have the opportunity to buy good domains ?

    i guess the same question would apply to does a $7 limit on hosting make it less likely that you can buy good hosting here. thats the spirit...

    I see domains and hosting as apples and oranges, but to answer your question, I do not believe that the $7/$70 a month limit restricts good providers from offering VPS/dedicated servers, but I do believe it restricts larger VPS/dedicated offers. Which I understand to be the point of the price limit rules on VPS/dedicated offers. My understanding is this is in keeping with the original low end philosophy.

    My associates, Rocky and Knuckles, suggested we add a rule about us taking a 30% cut from each sale's profits "for offering security."
    Saying it's worked wonderfully for them with local grocery stores.

    :)

    On a more serious note, I would not like to sell a domain without a reserve price. And I'd probably list it publicly, right away, to not waste anyone's time (suppose I'll never get rich :) ).

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  • ialexpwialexpw OGServices Provider

    @yoursunny said:
    Maximum allowable reserve amount should be no less than domain registration/renewal fee.

    I have several .com domains that I spent $8/ea to register.
    When I put them up for auction, I'd like to recover the initial registration fee.
    Likewise, if I pay $5000 to register a two-letter .ki domain, I'd set $5000 reserve to recover the registration fee as well.

    What if I purchased a .com years ago for $10 and now it's worth high $xxx? Doesn't work out for high-value domains and pushes those away from here.

    In general reserves are pretty common with auctions and at the end of the day, if you don't think you'd bid over the reserve, don't bid.

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  • @TheDP said:
    Just wanted to add something.

    Having a reserve price in an auction (in general) is somewhat common.

    The price of the reserve is not usually visible/known to others, but only to the platform, and the fact that a reserve exists, is usually stated, and at the end of the auction, if no bids equals to or surpasses the reserve price, the auction simply ends/closes with a "reserve not met".

    This "hidden reserve" was added/implemented on LES in August 2020 and this gives the opportunity for the seller to auction/sell domains, to so-called "test the market" and at the same time be able to secure the domain in cases where bids and offers are no where near the seller's asking/expected price.

    I agree.

  • DreamDream OGServices Provider
    edited March 2023

    So I can start an auction for 7$ and have a hidden reserve for 1.5k

    Let's assume 100 users bet on the auction and we're at 500$ Now I can say "nah bro won't sell it" so I now know how much people are willing to pay, and switch to a other site where I can start the auction for 400$ and make profit, All the people in THIS COMMUNITY feel betrayed.

    So why not make it so you can have a auction and a Bin without limits?

    First everyone knows for what's he's bidding and second we won't have any bait and switch.

    Just my 2 cents...

    EDIT:

    I know the spirit, but what is cheap for me isn't cheap for others.

    It's the same discussion which is about vps pricing etc.... But that's for a other thread...

    Who doesn't need a bit of drama because of 2$ a month who everyone knows it's not sustainable.

  • @Amadex said:

    @TheDP said:
    Just wanted to add something.

    Having a reserve price in an auction (in general) is somewhat common.

    The price of the reserve is not usually visible/known to others, but only to the platform, and the fact that a reserve exists, is usually stated, and at the end of the auction, if no bids equals to or surpasses the reserve price, the auction simply ends/closes with a "reserve not met".

    This "hidden reserve" was added/implemented on LES in August 2020 and this gives the opportunity for the seller to auction/sell domains, to so-called "test the market" and at the same time be able to secure the domain in cases where bids and offers are no where near the seller's asking/expected price.

    I agree.

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  • gbshousegbshouse OGServices Provider

    From the buyer perspective, if I want to bid on LE* I expect the LE* prices, from seller perspective, if I want three or four digit I would just ask a broker or go to dedicated portal and not waste LE* community time. If I want to buy 3-4 digit domain I expect the invoice and the escrow to protect myself not just "payment via PayPal"

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  • bikegremlinbikegremlin ModeratorOGContent Writer

    @Dream said:
    So I can start an auction for 7$ and have a hidden reserve for 1.5k

    Let's assume 100 users bet on the auction and we're at 500$ Now I can say "nah bro won't sell it" so I now know how much people are willing to pay, and switch to a other site where I can start the auction for 400$ and make profit, All the people in THIS COMMUNITY feel betrayed.

    Yes, I suppose you could always choose to be "that guy" (putting stuff up for sale without really planing to sell).

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  • ialexpwialexpw OGServices Provider

    @bikegremlin said:

    @Dream said:
    So I can start an auction for 7$ and have a hidden reserve for 1.5k

    Let's assume 100 users bet on the auction and we're at 500$ Now I can say "nah bro won't sell it" so I now know how much people are willing to pay, and switch to a other site where I can start the auction for 400$ and make profit, All the people in THIS COMMUNITY feel betrayed.

    Yes, I suppose you could always choose to be "that guy" (putting stuff up for sale without really planing to sell).

    They could, but realistically people shouldn't be bidding on something that has an obvious reserve of 1.5k without having the intention of getting there.

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  • In my opinion there should be no reserve. If you auction your domain, you must take your chances and accept the high bid. KISS.

    Moderator involvement should be minimized. Moderators should not play "reserve escrow brokers" or other extra roles for auctions. They have enough to do. (I wonder if anyone would sue LES or a moderator over some kind of reserve issue? Why risk the exposure?)

    In my opinion, the only role for a moderator is banning an auction winner who does not pay or banning a seller who fails to transfer a domain after an auction ends and the payment is made. Even that is a lot of trouble for moderators, however rare.

    I have bought and sold domains on LET. If LET has a "reserve" feature, I did not know about it. I was very disappointed with the prices I received for the domains I auctioned, but sold them to the highest bidders anyway. I got one late bid that was a nice boost, but it was one minute late, so I lost out there, too. My integrity is worth more to me than a few pieces of silver.

    I understand reserves and how they work, but LES is not really an auctioneer. I detest the idea of a hidden reserve in particular. If reserves continue on LES, then I will not look at or bid on domains here. As I said above, KISS.

  • FrankZFrankZ Moderator

    Although there does not appear to be any consensuses I thank everybody for their comments and I expect now is a good time to close this thread.

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    I am currently traveling in mostly remote areas until sometime in April 2024. Consequently DM's sent to me will go unanswered during this time.
    For staff assistance or support issues please use the helpdesk ticket system at https://support.lowendspirit.com/index.php?a=add

This discussion has been closed.