The first 8 domains which are being auctioned speak for themselves, all of them with a $1 starting bid and NO RESERVE: Flannels.net, PAXE.com, Forum.im, PHP.mx, SnookerBlog.com, AudioCabinet.com, SwallowFalls.com and FunnyMistakes.com!
I’ve always been a huge fan of the KISS concept (“Keep It Short and Simple” or “Keep It Simple, Stupid”, whatever floats your boat) and Auctionpus.com makes no exception. This site won’t wash your dirty laundry, it won’t take out the garbage and it won’t give you a Thai massage either: it’s just an octopus which will point at 8 auctions each and every day.
Nothing more, nothing less! Simplicity over confusion. Quality over quantity. This is what Auctionpus.com is all about. I want this auction site to be a part of your daily surfing routine. Since only 8 domains will be auctioned each day, taking a look will take less than a minute. Literally. If you see something you like, place a bid. If not, move on and return tomorrow. Just like most of you guys, I’m sick and tired of weeding through tons of awful domains: it just isn’t worth it.
And Here They Are, Our First Batch of 8 Domains!
Our first auction will represent an exception because it started today and will end on Monday at 2 PM EST. The other auctions will all last exactly 24 hours but since this is our first “event”, we’ve decided that playing it safe won’t hurt. We’ve tested the site like maniacs but still, being careful is always smart.
As of Monday, each set of 8 auctions will start at 2 PM EST and end at 2 PM EST the next day. So the first 8 auctions of the week will start on Monday at 2 PM EST and end on Tuesday at 2 PM EST. The second set of 8 auctions of the week will start on Tuesday at 2 PM EST and end on Wednesday at 2 PM EST etc.
Again, our first auction represents an exception since the site is basically in beta (fully functional but without any auctions under its belt): it started today and will end on Monday at 2 PM EST). Here are the domains which are being auctioned right now:
Flannels.net
A one-word category killer product name dot net with 33,100 exact match global monthly searches and 110,000 broad global monthly searches: need we say more?
PAXE.com
A premium pronounceable CVCV dot com domain which has been registered back in 2010: an amazing choice for a Web 2.0 business!
Forum.im
The best possible domain for an Internet Marketing forum (practically everyone refers to Internet Marketing as “IM”, the extension definitely works in its favor) and as for the term “forum” with its 1,500,000 exact match global monthly searches and 124,000,000 global monthly searches, “huge” is an understatement!
PHP.mx
An excellent programming-related domain and since Mexico is the world’s #10 economy, the possibilities are endless (this domain would be a dream come true for any programming company from Mexico, a lot of potential end users)!
SnookerBlog.com
SnookerBlog.com has “credibility” written all over it. It represents the best possible domain for a snooker-related blog and since we’re talking about a sport with hundreds of millions of fans, you can easily earn a living just by developing and monetizing it!
AudioCabinet.com
With 8,100 exact match monthly searches and 60,500 global monthly searches as well as an estimated CPC of $1.73, it’s a no-brainer: turn this baby into a minisite and watch those profits roll in!
SwallowFalls.com
This one’s for all you geo domain lovers out there, we’ll let the facts speak for themselves: 4,400 exact match monthly searches, 14,800 global monthly searches and an estimated average CPC of $1.04!
Funny Mistakes.com
With 3,600 exact match monthly searches and 27,100 global exact match monthly searches, we are convinced that you’ll have a hard time finding a humor domain that will come close to this one on the market!
Alright then, what are you waiting for? Time to visit Auctionpus.com and put your bidding shoes on!
May 6th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
I liked your KISS approach, just made the first two bids.
A suggestion: create a RSS feed or just a link for a CSV file with current and upcoming auctions.
Good luck!
May 6th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
I don’t know what it is about it but I like this site. If you don’t print tshirts with that octopus, I’ll never visit your blog again. Seriously though, you’ve outdone yourself. To me it seems that you took a month off, spied on domainers and found out exactly what they wanted.
Eight auctions, that’s enough so there is something for everyone but not too much like what usually happens. I don’t doubt that you can find at least 8 buyers each day easily who want to cash out and opt for no reserve. Your design is so simplistic that Sedo should learn from it.
That’s what I want from an auction site, to list the auctions visibly on the home page. With your site, they are displayed exactly where they should be and that’s on the home page. Unlike Sedo where you have to spend time to find the auctions even if you visit that site a lot.
The problem with Sedo is that they complicated their design unnecessarily. Instead of a picture of that woman, they should have displayed the current auctions. Domainers want to see the auctions, not some picture staring at them.
Sorry I’m just venting about Sedo, major congratulations for your site. This is a winner because the concept is original and the functionality is obviously an advantage.
May 6th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I like the design, how much did you pay for it?
May 6th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I’m sending you an email now about a few domains I want to sell next week if possible. I smell money hehehe
May 6th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
I’m staying anonymous for a reason, I don’t want the extra publicity. You found a solution to the auction problem we were having but be warned. Some people will build on this with you and benefit the entire industry. There are other domainers who will not be happy that they didn’t think of this first, watch your back.
May 6th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Just in case you think I’m full of …. email me at the address I left when writing this comment and I will explain further.
May 6th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
warning, take a chill pill! Why are you afraid to reveal who you are? Worst thing that can happen is a mob of domainers coming over to your house wearing GoDaddy tshirts and vandalizing the place 🙂
May 6th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Hi,
I know you just started but at some point it would be helpful
to put up a FAQ page.
I know you have info for Sellers on domain listing criteria.
Next you need info on payment procedure, transfer assurance, Bidder vetting,etc.
Good luck.
May 6th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I like the idea! Good luck! I have just made my bids 🙂
May 6th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
I have my reasons for not just telling the world who I am Nick. You can believe what you want to believe, there’s no point getting into this now. I’m just telling Andrei that there will be a lot of friends helping him with auctionpus but also enemies who will be in the way.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:20 am
@Nick: I’ll print 500 of them and send them your way if you promise to post a picture of you wearing one on DomainingTips 🙂
It’s actually not a bad idea to be perfectly honest. Kind of like what Shoemoney was/is doing but the other way around.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:22 am
@CLommer: glad you liked it, I will publish a case study soon and talk about how I got the idea, how I made things happen and so on. If you’d like me to put you in touch with the programmer (a great guy btw), shoot me an email.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:23 am
@nmwando: email received.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:38 am
@warning: thanks for the comment but let’s not go overboard with the whole conspiracy theory thing 🙂
May 7th, 2010 at 6:40 am
@tricolorro: when signing up, you will need to agree to our terms and conditions. Information regarding the procedures can be found on our “terms” page.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:40 am
@Vlad and Daniel: welcome aboard 🙂
May 7th, 2010 at 7:00 am
Are bids Proxy or Fixed?
Just suggestions:
It would be nice to be able to bid on the Home Page once logged in.
Change auction clock color so it sticks out more. Maybe green.
Section for Upcoming domains (for the following day)
Are auctions extended on last minute bids?
May 7th, 2010 at 8:15 am
@Jamie:
1) Proxy bidding: you set a maximum bid and the system will bid the minimum amount necessary for you to be the winner.
2) and 3) Thanks a lot for your suggestions, we will definitely be adding at least one or two more sections shortly.
4) Yes, the auction will be extended by 10 minutes if someone places a bid when there are less than 5 minutes left. We’ll include a FAQ section shortly.
May 7th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Sounds like a good idea I am just not a fan of the pre pay.
May 7th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Is this a joke?snookerblog?? These names suck!
May 7th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
@KD: it’s something that needs to be implemented in order to weed out crappy domains on the one hand and domains with ridiculous reserves on the other. Since only 8 domains will be receiving exposure, I need to make sure that those submissions are actually worth it.
May 7th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
@Tjt: yeah, you’re right. SnookerBlog.com sucks, who wants to start a blog about snooker anyways? It’s not like it’s one of the world’s most popular sports or anything. Oh wait, it is! /sarcasm
May 7th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
It’s easy to act brave like Tjt if you are hiding behind a computer screen. Anyone can hate like him but few can take risks and be successful at it which is what Andrei is doing. Instead of making snide remarks, someone like Tjt would be better off learning from people like Andrei. And to say that snookerblog.com is not a great domain is beyond stupid. Has this Tjt guy ever sold a domain before? Your selection has been great, keep up the good work Andrei!
And as a blogger, leaving Tjt’s stupid comment up rather than deleting it was a classy gesture, it shows that unlike most people you actually have balls.
May 10th, 2010 at 1:00 am
Nice idea.
My first thought was that your biggest problem will be that you get flooded with submissions, and will have to resist the temptation to ramp up the number of auctions. But if you consistently only select the best then maximizing your profit will take care of itself. And 8 feels like a good number, with a natural brand.
Great idea!
(I totally agree with Nick about the ridiculous women all over the Sedo site)
May 10th, 2010 at 4:40 am
PAXE.com is at 1760$…
Bidder 7 made the last 4 bids? Hummmm
May 10th, 2010 at 6:09 am
@rmg: as explained on the FAQ section of Auctionpus.com, it’s a proxy bidding process. As a bidder, you enter your maximum bid and the system will bid the minimum amount necessary for you to become the winner of an auction on your behalf.
In our case, bidder 7 entered his maximum bid and the system placed a $554 bid on his behalf, the minimum amount necessary for him to become the leader. Then, another bidder placed bids which were BELOW the maximum bid of bidder number 7. That’s why you see the system entering $1010, $1510 and $1760 bids for bidder number 7. It’s because another person has placed a bid which was BELOW the maximum bid of bidder 7, so the system placed a new bid on his behalf representing the minimum amount it takes for him to remain the leader.
Proxy bidding is used by all major auction sites and represents the best possible bidding system IMO.
May 10th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Oh, yes…
Ok, I know that… I thought that the bid that was covered by the proxy bid would appear in the History too.
Sorry and thanks for the explanation.
June 1st, 2010 at 6:26 am
Hi all is very nice sharing all is also very important thanks for informative sharing.
September 4th, 2010 at 3:41 am
Hi all is extremely great sharing all can also be extremely crucial thanks for informative sharing.