Domain name auction site Bido is closing down.
Domain name auction site Bido is closing. The company announced the move on twitter moments ago:
Bido is ceasing operation as of May 5, 2010. All transactions and accounts will be gracefully finalized and closed.
I confirmed the closure with the company. Although representatives would not speak specifically to why they are shutting down the platform, the company must have been losing substantial money. It had been self-funded for years and current sales commissions could not have been covering expenses.
Just this past January the company announced it was packing up to move to Silicon Valley to get closer to the action. It also hired a number or employees.
Bido launched in early 2008 with DN Journal editor Ron Jackson teaming up with Sahar Sarid. The site started with one auction a day starting at just $1 with no reserve. Jackson resigned from the company in March 2008. Bido later expanded but hit growing pains. It went offline in late 2008 for several months as the company tried to improve its overall technology.
The company pushed the bounds of innovation in domain name marketplaces, adding a number of features to create a sort of “social” marketplace and even paying out a portion of proceeds to people who picked domain names to be sent to auction. But the challenges of creating a domain name marketplace may have been too great.
lol
thank god for that
everyone tried telling them it was a big fail
and got sick of their spam all over forums
good riddance
@ LOL – I gotta say, they stuck their neck & money on the line to make something work. That takes guts. And I bet we’ll see some of their innovations creeping into other auction platforms in due time.
I wish they stuck to the simple “1 domain per day” idea and instead of spending all the money, put up some good domains for auction from their portfolio. It would get better traction and encourage other domain owners to put up their good domains as well. Instead, they ended up with garbage in a vicious cycle and it was a point where they would probably not risk their own good domain names.
@ LOL
Their spam was called marketing and I for one thought it was a great platform for selling domains!.
It takes balls to start a big operation like that, and Sahar did a great job while it lasted!
“It takes balls to start a big operation like that, and Sahar did a great job while it lasted!”
He might have done some things right but a “great job” means it was a success.
Closing down is crazy to me though. I would assume that at this point it is all automatic from the submission of domain to the selling of domain to the collecting of revenue, if that is the case then now that the cost to design it has been spent what other costs are there? I recognize that I know nothing about it not working for them but couldn’t you run it with only one person in a basement by this point?
The facade’s are starting to fall in the domain world. We are beginning to see that many of the people that we have been taught are the most successful were really only hoping and praying to strike it big, and just letting us think they were the guru’s, Sex.com, Bido.com, SanDiego.com, and I bet we are about see a whole lot more as well!
The way I see it I will always shoot to streamline my expenses. If I can only make a consistent $10,000 per month then that is a good life for me as long as my expenses a much lower. Don’t get me wrong, I will shoot for $100,000 per month or more and I am building businesses that I hope will achieve that, but the key is to be streamlined, to not need much so you will always stay afloat.
Don’t get greedy and don’t build faster than you can sustain.
Oh ya, and don’t send $14 million for a domain that competes in an industry where everything is free!
It was bound to happen. They were doing better when they first started. They should of had one auction per hour. I sold a few domains on Bido when they first got started. After that it went down hill. One domain auction per hour for 12 hours(9:00am-9:00 pm) would of been a positive note for Bido. Good luck!!!
It definitely takes balls to close such a project like Bido, where you have invested a lot of your time and money, and now you have to admit that this was a failure.
But only those who do nothing make no mistakes, so don’t worry and good luck with the next project Sahar!
Let’s not forget that this wasn’t just Sahar. A number of other people invested significant resources into this.
It seems to me that some company should step in and buy the platform.
Too bad really. They needed better domain IMO.
Too much trash….like eBay. Who has time to sort through it all?
Andrew,
You said “I gotta say, they stuck their neck & money on the line to make something work. That takes guts. And I bet we’ll see some of their innovations creeping into other auction platforms in due time”
Exactly – what the haters don’t get is that anyone in this business who is trying to launch new services and further this industry are always risk takers and should be welcomed. When we get to a more mature domain aftermarket market in 5 or 10 years it will be because people like Sahar put their money in to seeing things like BIDO take off and grow. How many of you can say the same?
Failure is often not due to a poor business plan but just simple bad timing. What happened to BIDO it seems is less the fault of anybody involved but just an immature industry not catching up quick enough.
Social platforms, bid for credits etc… 5 or 10 years from now I bet all these ideas will be incorporated into some kind of aftermarket venue for domains and people will hail – what a success and original idea!
Have no doubt it was Sahar’s vision that also helped the future founders of the venue come up with these ideas and new venues.
Anyone can auction off names like Snap and NameJet but the future of aftermarket venues will all be derived from ideas that places like BIDO introduced.
A lot of domainers build and fail (hell, we have many times) but there are many success stories as well – fortunately we work in an industry where the next roller coaster is much easier to catch then the brick and mortar world.
Sad to see it go. I had good experiences with Jarred and some of the other folks involved and am sure they will land on their feet. It came down to inventory and pricing. (Duh)
Too bad to see it go.
Great team and great ideas but I think they might have tried to pack too many creative ideas into the platform too soon.
I thought about listing some domains but seemed like the voting, and bidder credits and all that was too much of a learning curve.
Also, domainer to domainer sales are WAY WAY down from my experience and I would say 80%+ of bido customers were domainers.
Maybe a sedo or afternic or godaddy would want to buy the guts of the system and hire some of the people but when it the money isn’t rolling in and does not appear to be any near term future for revenue, what’s the sense?
OUCH!
Just a pair of hours before this annnouncement I was discussing with Jarred about the integration of Bido.com in a service we are planning to launch. He was trying to reassure me about his affiliate program as payment model… It was a friendly business conversation and I felt motivation because he was trying to convince me…
So I can tell you it’s not a decision that has been taken previously. It look likes an event just occured that push them to take the decision to stop.
I wish them all the best on whatever they will do in the future.
Francois, it does seem to be rather quick, as if they pushed it to the wire. They had been tweeting about promotions and adding new features up to last week. Perhaps they just took a step back and realized it.
I agree with Rob’s points – way too complex, yet lacking in basic features like a watch list, my bids, etc. I told Bido guys multiple times that it seemed overengineered and marketing communications of how it worked were weak. Heck, the home page was always some stupid video that stood in the way of users doing what they wanted to do – trade domains. To me, marketing and featured were the problem.
As others have said I’ll add a kudos for putting money and neck (reputation) on the line like they have. It’s not a good day for anyone in the domain business when those trying to advance it fail.
Well I think it was a good attempt at being innovative but there were simply too many domains and I lost focus alot of the time. I purchased a few domains on there but like some people here said I didn’t have the time to get through all of them or figure out what time each were going on the chopping block.
Too much work for too little quality.
Troy:
“The facade’s are starting to fall in the domain world. We are beginning to see that many of the people that we have been taught are the most successful were really only hoping and praying to strike it big, and just letting us think they were the guru’s, Sex.com, Bido.com, SanDiego.com, and I bet we are about see a whole lot more as well!”
Sounds like something I wrote about in the New Times prior!
ya no surprises here, just go to flippa who sells both websites and domains, and see how much interest there is in buying domains
I like Sedo
I’m sorry to see BIDO go down like this…. as a business I think it had legs; maybe it would have taken another year or more to put down decent roots and this was simply not possible but congrats to the guys for having a shot at opening up the domain market, you have my condolences!
Gary
The domain platform they developed was an enormous effort and Bido deserve much credit for creating what they did. I had written a few times that I believed their model was off in that they continued to gravitate toward too many domains, and then eventually too many lower quality domains.
What is needed is a brokerage that focuses exclusively on the upper echelon and not the lowest common denominator. There is no such brokerage anywhere, yet. That void definitely exist and will one day be filled. But it will require very seasoned sales professionals, top notch communicators, and staff with exquisite customer service skills.
I had hoped Bido might become the Sotheby’s or Christie’s of the domain world and be the first brokerage to establish a real connection to the larger business community. Actually, Bido could reinvent and take itself in an entirely different direction.
Thanks everybody for your thoughts and well wishes. After a long run, we decided it was time to move on. To everyone who supported us along the way, and recognized and commended our efforts and innovation, we appreciate that very much. Can’t say it enough, really. Thank you for two years of allowing us to help you with all of your businesses; acquisition and sales goals.
Since we made the announcement this morning, we had some significant offers come in. If anyone else reading would like to explore acquiring the Bido.com brand, list, and technology, get in touch with me soon. This is a time sensitive opportunity. Thanks again to everyone who supported what we did along the way, from all of us here at Bido.
Regards,
Jarred Cohen, COO
[email protected]
Though I’ve not used Bido myself, I’ve always thought it great that Sahar and his creative, hard-working team was willing to put themselves out there, to take that chance, to pick up the bat and swing for the fences.
I wish them the best in whatever they come up with next.
To avoid criticism:
Say nothing.
Do nothing.
Be nothing.
Bido should be respected for their guts to invest, innovate, experiment, and for the courage to END it…although it will be painfull. People like this are the true guru’s of domaining world….THEY DO WHAT THEY BELIEVE in. Wish u’ll good luck in next venture.
It’s a very very sad day.
Bido was an incredible domaining tool for us all. and the Bido team was second to none in the Domain Industry for Customer Service.
I was very fortunate to have been very involved with Bido from the first trial auction all the way up to being their last sale today, and I tell you one thing for sure…They will be missed by a whole domain Community.
I really hope someone buys Bido, and brings it back to life very quickly….maybe a little simpler by focusing strictly on domain sales, then slowly adding extra features.
Either way, we all know the people who made Bido what it was were first class individuals.
Thanks,
Vito.
Sorry to hear this news; no doubt these are hard times. Bido had an excellent and innovative team in Jarred and Sahar. And I wish you all the luck in your next endeavor.
A lot of idiots in the domain industry bitch and moan about people who have achieved success in the domain industry, accusing them of not doing enough or anything at all.
Here you have a group of entrepreneurs, who put money where their hearts were and took the risk of improving the marketplace. And here we have small minded morons accusing Bido as a spammer and a failure instead of commending them of trying to help the industry as a whole.
Innovation, a great customer service and investing a huge amount of resources in time and money takes a lot of guts. Bido and its founders had them.
Shame on those who disparage those who thread the roads they themselves will not have the courage to step foot upon. All they can come up with are useless accusations and meaningless opinions.
They gave their all. Bido will have my highest respect.
Yes, truly a shame.
I am sure that a few tweaks could have fixed their issue.
I’ve sold quite few names on Bido, and bought a few gems too.
If Bido is in trouble. I am now wondering about Parked.com
The main issue in our industry is that it is full of jealous Monday morning quarterbacks and those who are skeptics about others who have achieved success or do anything beyond sitting on message boards all day.
To be honest, these petty types are the ones that make our industry look and feel like a bunch of unprofessional snake oil salesmen. I will never forget the feeling I got when first going to a domain conference and feeling like I was at a used car convention vs. going to something like SES or Affiliate Summit where it felt more professional. I’ve never really learned anything from a domainer in terms of useful strategies to grow a business, etc. Until we grow up as an industry, we will always be perceived in a negative way.
While I was not a big fan of Bido (flooding my inbox although not spam), I commend them for their effort to do something entrepreneurial and have the rocks to put themselves out there.
I wonder if they will want to sell it. Its a great application and if its was given to me [ 🙂 ] I would have expanded it to website marketplace. It has a great concept and very user friendly.
@Afif, yes Bido is currently actively for sale. See my other comment above for details.
nice platform but sad ending.
Sorry to see Bido go. I have been successfully clearing out my “junk” there and biding my time while they grew before putting out my better domains. Wish they would have tried tweaking some more, such as adding a small listing fee and/or putting in a minimum commission, such as even $5 or $10. They were certainly on to something, and still are, IMHO. I guess just ran out of runway, which is something we can all relate to. I tip my hat to these guys for going for it, while most people just sit on the sidelines and don’t even try. I look forward to seeing what you guys do next! -Chris
It’s sad to see Bido go.
A failed business venture is a very painful experience to go through, I would imagine particularly painful in an industry that is so public.
Rather than dwell on the negative aspects of what went wrong, I recommend closing it out quickly and then dwelling on the positive experiences and know that you both (Jarred and Sahar)have a lot of resources to draw on for your next business venture.
1.Courage-To put yourself out there.
2.Innovation and creativity.
3.Exemplary customer service ethos.
4.Integrity.
Good luck in your future endeavours.
Having personally dealt with Jarred I can honestly say that it is in fact sad to see Bido go. Customer service was definitely a top priority and they need to be commended for that.
Bido was a great idea and platform and I’m sure the ideas will grow and evolve into something even greater for them. I wish them all the best in their next project. Don’t pay attention to the haters, anyone who is willing to put hard work into such a project needs to be commended for it.
Thanks again for a great experience guys.
Always a shame to see dedicated entrepreneurs have to make the tough decision to shut down, especially when (as with Bido) they’ve been putting heart and soul into moving the industry forward via innovation. Now we can look forward to seeing what Sahar + Jarred + team will come up with next. Good luck guys!
Actually no domain auction website in this planet sell more domain names daily than Bido was selling. Bido was selling 35 to 40 domain names a day, but the things is the domain names Bido was selling were cheap domain names, and the sales fees taken could not cover Bido expenses. In the current nature of domain market/business the coming of Bido as a domain sale business, taking into account all what it invested in the business, could only result in the sale of cheap domains, that’s because premium and expensive domain names don’t sell easily, and when they sell they usually are bought by domain speculators, not end-users. Since in the current nature of the domain business/market good domains are rarely bought by end users most domains names auctioned with Bido were being brought or bought by domainers/speculators , they want to make money selling or speculating, and cheap domains are speculators’ favored domains, so Bido failed because in the current nature of domain market/business the fees taken on the sale of domain names can’t cover bido’s operational costs. Even Sedo, Moniker, Afternic, if they apply the technology and sophistication Bido applied they would fail.
@ Santos – Sedo and Afternic each sell about that many domains a day.
@M. Menius and others,
That sounds like something we offer at Go Daddy, called DomainConnect and offered through our Executive Account team.
If you’re looking to buy and sell high-value domain names and learn more about this service, call 480-505-8885
This was DOA the day it started.
Sahar has carved a career out of throwing piles of cash at dead ideas.
I admire anyone “who goes against the grain”, “who sticks two fingers up at the naysayers” or who subscribes to the “have to fail to succeed..”
but saying all that, it was an epic dumb concept.
Excuse my language, but “F**K Off” :)This is the most blatant publicity stunt I’ve seen for a while. Mark my words…. in 3 or 4 days time, once bido get all the links they need to boost PR, they will miraculously be in a position to continue trading 🙂 Anyone fancy a small wager on this? 🙂
Jim – sure, I’ll bet you that the past week has been horrible for the owners of Bido and that, when it reopens, they won’t be the owners.
I can only say: at least they tried to make something in this Industry.
Thanks for all the effort.
“Excuse my language, but “F**K Off” This is the most blatant publicity stunt I’ve seen for a while”
I can’t excuse your language, but I’ll take some of that action because I know they won’t relaunch for at least 10 days.
They’ll sell the biz and remain majority owners. LOL
I am sad to see them close…
They are a terrific bunch of smart, honest, fun business folks… and I think the service
was a useful domainers tool…
If they would have been hiring someone that
works from home – I’d have joined on to promote them… I was looking for something
to do from home for another domain company etc… It would have been even tougher on
me now though – with them closing down… I get so attached to people I work with…
I go out of my way to make others as
successful as I am … I keep my own successes primarily super quiet (most are
contractually required) but domaining and development is my life… so I RECOGNIZE
the USEFULNESS that Bido.com provided even if for the short 2 yhears… I hope someone steps up – purchases it and continues on…
someone equally as knowledgeable, honest,
fun to work with…
~Patricia Kaehler
DomainBELL @DomainBELL.com
I was slow to give them a try.
I had countless domains I couldn’t sale at Sedo,DNForum,and several more places.I had my domains everywhere. My first week using Bido I made a truckload of sales and about everything got voted on.1 out of 4 sold above average I was told. Today I pushed 3 more domains to new homes on Bido and just saw the notice. They became my first listing platform for quick sales. I learned to like the Bido platform because it worked for me.”Bido” deserves a strong sale and I think this service would have had “exploded” in cash flow had it had a little time and/or additional features.
Thank god such a stupid idea anyway, destined for failure
A failure in style, at least. Good luck!
I would call it far from a failure. if you read Sahar’s blog as I just did he mentioned that within minutes he had offers coming in to buy the business in a range of six figures. if six figure offers are pouring in within minutes then its pretty obvious that they are going to sell the business off for much more
to any of the detractors here, let’s see you build a site up from scratch and within two years peel it off for 7 or 8 figures.
they built something of real value. Kudos to the whole Bido team and good luck to them all in the future
I am not surprised at all. From one domain A DAY to auctioning like crazy, it was obvious from start that these people had NO SOLID BIZ plan to start a Business.
sorry to see you go but your deserved it.
“so we have reset your complimentary voting points to 2220”
Just look at the business concept before judging my email. A kid can look at the potential for making money with this system and say “ARE you CRAZY?”
“so we have reset your complimentary voting points to 2220”
I do no care what anyone says, if there were smart they would show it by at least to exit with dignity. Which business gives 24hr notice to close?
smart business man plan for exit as well. there were no explanation but “Good bye” and we are trying to sell our business domain name and technology for SIX figures. That is almost as stupid as the business.