Why this overlooked marketplace is worth reviewing.
Like most domain investors, I acquire most of my domain names through expired domain auctions. But over the past few days, I’ve acquired 33 domains from a different source: Atom’s Wholesale marketplace.
The Wholesale marketplace includes domain names already listed on Atom, but at a fraction of the end prices displayed on the site. It creates a way for sellers to sell to domain investors while also hoping for an end user sale.
I was looking through some of my Atom activity recently and realized that both domains I previously bought through Atom’s Wholesale marketplace ended up selling. So I decided to dig in and see what else was available.
I got sucked in.
What I realized is that there are many domains available for under $100 that are better than what I spend more for acquiring in auctions. And there are many domains priced below $25 that are better than domains I buy in GoDaddy Closeouts.
I view the sellers using the Wholesale marketplace as another set of eyes on the aftermarket. Many of the domains I bought were hand-registered or captured in drops within the past couple of years, but I overlooked them in my searches.
Some benefits to buying through the wholesale marketplace include:
- See data about the domain’s activity, including visits to the domain
- Easily see how many TLDs the domain is registered in and how many are developed (see caveats below)
- For domains already in Atom’s Premium marketplace, the listing transfers to you
There are some caveats, though:
- Be careful when reviewing data about how many TLDs the domain is registered and developed in. This data can be outdated.
- You have to handle manual transfers and pushes for each domain, which takes some work. Hopefully Atom will integrate it into its new registrar in the future.
- You are not allowed to buy a domain if you plan to move it off the Atom marketplace
One other tip: I found little difference in the quality of domains that were priced below $100 and those priced much higher. Think about that when you review the marketplace.
Note: To access the Wholesale marketplace, you must have ten or more active listings on Atom.
To be clear, you are not actually buying the domain. As per the terms: “If I purchase an Atom Registered domain in the wholesale section, will the domain ownership be transferred to me?
No. Only the Marketplace listing will be transferred to you. The Domain ownership will continue to stay with Atom. If the domain sells, you will receive the commission from the sale (which is typically 25% but can be up to 35% in some cases).”
The terms are silent on renewals, but we can certainly guess. So, the domain is not yours, and that $25 domain name had better sell for $100 pretty soon.
That’s only on domains registered by Atom themselves. Most of the names are owned by third party sellers.
Andrew, you yourself included this:
“You are not allowed to buy a domain if you plan to move it off the Atom marketplace”
What? Excuse me? That doesn’t exactly sound cool. As I’ve indicated the past few years, because I’m that John, I’m primarily and end user buyer now, like about 99% plus. If I buy a domain I want to be able to transfer it anywhere I want. If I ever want to sell it (a big if in my case), I can’t be dealing with a requirement like that.
So does that also apply to third party sellers using Atom, or is it just what JB said? Major red flag right now.
You can transfer it anywhere you want. Atom is a marketplace, and it makes the Wholesale marketplace available to help domain investors get liquidity. It doesn’t want buyers to buy domains in its premium marketplace only to remove their listings. That seems like a fair requirement. I don’t think they have a strict timeline, it’s just the spirit of what they are trying to accomplish.
John, I can confirm that would suck big time. Yes I’m that John.
Thanks for sharing this valuable information. I wouldn’t be looking to buy then.
AbdulBasit, that’s only in regards to domains owned by Atom itself. Not third party sellers. I have ownership of the domains I bought.
I’ve had 3 sales from domains I purchased wholesale at Atom, one happened in 45 days. There are some good deals on Atom wholesale marketplace, but you have to be quick.
I have a feeling that GD has a first cousin.