Register.com agreement latest win for NameMedia.
Today NameMedia — which operates Afternic and BuyDomains — announced that it has signed Register.com as a premium promotion partner. That means that visitors to Register.com can purchase any of the domains at the “premium” promotion level listed on AfternicDLS in a simple purchase with instant fulfillment. It also means domains registered at Register.com are eligible to be listed at the premium level on the service.
Both NameMedia and the other heavyweight domain name marketplace Sedo have been trying to expand their reach using distribution agreements with instant fulfillment in which someone can buy a premium domain name just like registering a regular domain name. This is viewed as the holy grail of aftermarket domain name marketing.
So far, NameMedia has locked up Network Solutions and Register.com. All Sedo has nailed down so far is sister registrar 1&1. If the battle of retail distribution is in inking these agreements, which platform signs up the most top 10 registrars over the next 12 months will win.
That’s not to say Sedo can’t also sign deals with Network Solutions and Register.com. However, Sedo is at a great disadvantage because most domains on its platform aren’t priced. In order for instant purchase and fulfillment to work, domains must be priced. Sedo has been trying to get more of its inventory priced, but it’s a slow and uphill battle.
The problem for Sedo is that most people will only list a fixed price at one platform. If someone has a domain with a fixed price at Afternic, they don’t want to have a fixed price at Sedo too in case the domain happens to sell on both platforms prior to removing the inventory after a sale.
By nabbing Network Solutions and Register.com, NameMedia has captured two of the high cost, premium registrars. Of the other top 10 registrars, Go Daddy and Moniker are the most important. What NameMedia lacks right now is domainer inventory, since few domainers keep their domains at Network Solutions and Register.com. Go Daddy offers both inventory and distribution, although it may decide to lock out other providers in favor of its own premium listing service. Moniker has substantial premium inventory that NameMedia needs to tap into, although it lacks end user distribution.
The next 12 months will be critical in domain name aftermarket distribution. Let’s see if Sedo responds.
>> they don’t want to have a fixed price at
>> Sedo too in case the domain happens to sell
>> on both platforms prior to removing the
>> inventory after a sale.
What does happen in that case?
@ jorge – NameMedia has a sophisticated monitoring system with its premium partners that checks each domain to make sure the whois hasn’t changed. I don’t think Sedo has anything like that, but it also doesn’t have much in the way of instant-fulfillment deals.
If a domain sells at NameMedia and you still have it listed at a fixed price on Sedo, you’re going to upset the buyer on Sedo for sure.
Are the 1/2 million Oversee domains part of the premium afternic program?
When you look at the nature of domain transactions (extremely low volume compared to inventory) you realize the concern about listing with fixed price at multiple exchanges is mostly academic. The probability of getting independent purchases by two different buyers on two different exchanges on any domain name within say a week period is so low it can be ignored by all parties without much consequence.
@ Roger – a more common occurrence would be the domain sells on one platform, and you forget to ever take it down on the other. I think most of use have “bought” a domain on a domain site only to find out that the seller no longer owned it.
Curiosity question. Those fixed price domains ending with “88” listed on Godaddy and Sedo, am I correct that they’re from Namemedia’s internal inventory?
Namemedia + Oversee would be a nice arrangement (Moniker direct premium listings). Seems like Snapnames doesn’t get anywhere near the retail interest that Buydomains does.
“Those fixed price domains ending with “88″ listed on Godaddy and Sedo, am I correct that they’re from Namemedia’s internal inventory?”
For the most part, yes. Just for fun I price a lot of my domains with “88” in them. 🙂
That explains why SEDO is charging $50.00 minimum for non-fixed price listing on SEDO.
All the time I thought that this was a business decision as a function of time/money it takes a SEDO rep. to complete the sale.
>> they don’t want to have a fixed price at
>> Sedo too in case the domain happens to sell
>> on both platforms prior to removing the
Can’t happen. Both SedoMLS and AfternicDLS have real-time check & lock mechanisms with registrars to prevent double-selling.
@ Sam Nunez – not real time according to your Sedo MLS FAQ. Additionally, using the MLS service is different from just pricing your domains. If I list a domain on afternic with a price but not at a premium registrar, it won’t be checked as often.
FYI, Moniker registered domains (http://domaindistribution.com/portfolio_owners/) can be listed and sold at several distribution partners (http://domaindistribution.com/distribution_partners/) via the Domain Distribution Network (DDN).
Any questions about DDN, just let me know.
Its looking like strategic partnerships will determine the winners and losers in the battle to control the registry and aftermarket niches in the Domain Industry. Watch for future moves to consolidate the big boys and achieve economies of scale and reputation enhancement by using a single entity to represent the conglomerate, all the while consolidating through mergers, acquisitions and strategic planning. This is quite the exciting time to be a Domainer!