Seller and buyer pays 5% now.
- Topic Starter silentg
- Start date
- Replies: Replies 15
- Views: Views 164
Seller and buyer pays 5% now.
And so the Exodus begins
Can't say I did not warn everyone
Get your own landers!
DomainRecap
Member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2020
- Topics
- 68
- Posts
- 5,681
- Likes
- 3,279
Gee, couldn't see that commission increase coming a mile away.
All these companies enter the market to (supposedly) provide a viable alternative to the evil GoDaddy, but they eventually all turn into GoDaddy. Look at Atom, which recently added registrar capabilities, and also now provides a list of similar "open to register" junk TLD domain names whenever you search.
All these companies enter the market to (supposedly) provide a viable alternative to the evil GoDaddy, but they eventually all turn into GoDaddy. Look at Atom, which recently added registrar capabilities, and also now provides a list of similar "open to register" junk TLD domain names whenever you search.
DomainRecap
Member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2020
- Topics
- 68
- Posts
- 5,681
- Likes
- 3,279
Love that 'whip then the carrot' strategy.
SS stealth-releases a 5% 'buyer premium' without a word to anyone, which leads to seller anguish and these sellers actually begging for a 10% seller commission instead. Miraculously, SS reluctantly agrees with the sellers and is planning to implement a 10% seller commission in a few days.
I think I saw that scam in a movie.
SS stealth-releases a 5% 'buyer premium' without a word to anyone, which leads to seller anguish and these sellers actually begging for a 10% seller commission instead. Miraculously, SS reluctantly agrees with the sellers and is planning to implement a 10% seller commission in a few days.
I think I saw that scam in a movie.
And the tweet deletes are beginning, if you have one that you think may get deleted preserve it as a screen shot.
Bruce
Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2025
- Topics
- 29
- Posts
- 215
- Likes
- 70
As per Doron
Spaceship moving to 10% commission had some folks losing their minds, but can we talk for a second about what it actually costs to move a domain?
We run Efty Pay at 5%. I’ll be the first to tell you: at 5%, the math is absolute dogshit.
If you think running a marketplace is just slapping a BIN button on a page and calling it a day, you’re high.
Behind that button is a Gilfoyle-level engineer fighting off botnets and spammers 24/7 because your portfolios, which point to our DNS, are handling millions of requests a minute. Uptime isn't free!
Then there’s the EU compliance fun. AML, KYC, lawyers that cost more than a one-word .com just to make sure we don't get shut down by regulators. Our competitors outside the EU don't deal with half this stress. It’s expensive to be "the safe option."
The real kicker? The risk.
At Efty Pay, we pay sellers within 1 business day. You only have to push the domain to us. You're taking your family out for steak and fries, while we’re left holding the buyer's hand for three weeks, explaining what a nameserver is.
If that buyer hits us with a chargeback or a dispute a month later? Efty is on the hook. The seller already has their cash. We carry that risk so you don't have to.
And don’t even get me started on credit card and PSP fees. They eat 3-4% instantly. If we didn't have the optional "Express" fee for buyers (which they can skip via Wire and many local payment options, such as iDEAL in the Netherlands), we’d basically be a charity!!
An important reason we can operate at 5% right now is that our Efty Investor subscriptions subsidize Efty Pay's innovation. We’re literally using our SaaS revenues to keep your transaction at an industry-low commission.
It’s a play for market share, sure. We want you to experience how freaking fast we are. But let’s be real: 5% is not a "forever" number if we want to deploy the talent to continue building the future and break down more barriers.
Look at Dan dot com. Everyone loved the 9% fee. But if they’d charged 15%, they might’ve had the war chest to stay independent instead of getting swallowed by a monopoly. Now everyone is upset they’re gone.
If you want the underdogs to win, you have to support a fair commission.
We’re 100% founder-owned. No debt. No VC or PE overlords. We’re in a great spot, but I want to honest about the economics.
Quality costs money. Speed cost money. Risk costs money. Moving money costs money!
5% is a steal.
Spaceship moving to 10% commission had some folks losing their minds, but can we talk for a second about what it actually costs to move a domain?
We run Efty Pay at 5%. I’ll be the first to tell you: at 5%, the math is absolute dogshit.
If you think running a marketplace is just slapping a BIN button on a page and calling it a day, you’re high.
Behind that button is a Gilfoyle-level engineer fighting off botnets and spammers 24/7 because your portfolios, which point to our DNS, are handling millions of requests a minute. Uptime isn't free!
Then there’s the EU compliance fun. AML, KYC, lawyers that cost more than a one-word .com just to make sure we don't get shut down by regulators. Our competitors outside the EU don't deal with half this stress. It’s expensive to be "the safe option."
The real kicker? The risk.
At Efty Pay, we pay sellers within 1 business day. You only have to push the domain to us. You're taking your family out for steak and fries, while we’re left holding the buyer's hand for three weeks, explaining what a nameserver is.
If that buyer hits us with a chargeback or a dispute a month later? Efty is on the hook. The seller already has their cash. We carry that risk so you don't have to.
And don’t even get me started on credit card and PSP fees. They eat 3-4% instantly. If we didn't have the optional "Express" fee for buyers (which they can skip via Wire and many local payment options, such as iDEAL in the Netherlands), we’d basically be a charity!!
An important reason we can operate at 5% right now is that our Efty Investor subscriptions subsidize Efty Pay's innovation. We’re literally using our SaaS revenues to keep your transaction at an industry-low commission.
It’s a play for market share, sure. We want you to experience how freaking fast we are. But let’s be real: 5% is not a "forever" number if we want to deploy the talent to continue building the future and break down more barriers.
Look at Dan dot com. Everyone loved the 9% fee. But if they’d charged 15%, they might’ve had the war chest to stay independent instead of getting swallowed by a monopoly. Now everyone is upset they’re gone.
If you want the underdogs to win, you have to support a fair commission.
We’re 100% founder-owned. No debt. No VC or PE overlords. We’re in a great spot, but I want to honest about the economics.
Quality costs money. Speed cost money. Risk costs money. Moving money costs money!
5% is a steal.
DomainRecap
Member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2020
- Topics
- 68
- Posts
- 5,681
- Likes
- 3,279
That begs the question of...
Why did Spaceship offer 5% if it is an incredibly unreasonable percentage for a domain marketplace?
Obviously to fraudulently build a massive customer base with an inherently high friction on switching platforms. before pulling the old bait-n-switch.
Personally speaking I think the potential of a "buyer premium" is a good one, and that percentage breakdown should be a customer setting. Lets say you want a 2% buyer premium and an 8% seller commission, you just plug that in your settings and all future sales use those figures to determine commission costs. Hell, you could use a 10% buyer premium and 0% seller commission if you want to increase profits.
The key is customer control and if SS offers this buyer premium/seller commission as a user-definable setting (not just a negotiating option) then it would really help increase revenue for those selling truly premium domains.
Why did Spaceship offer 5% if it is an incredibly unreasonable percentage for a domain marketplace?
Obviously to fraudulently build a massive customer base with an inherently high friction on switching platforms. before pulling the old bait-n-switch.
Personally speaking I think the potential of a "buyer premium" is a good one, and that percentage breakdown should be a customer setting. Lets say you want a 2% buyer premium and an 8% seller commission, you just plug that in your settings and all future sales use those figures to determine commission costs. Hell, you could use a 10% buyer premium and 0% seller commission if you want to increase profits.
The key is customer control and if SS offers this buyer premium/seller commission as a user-definable setting (not just a negotiating option) then it would really help increase revenue for those selling truly premium domains.
I like that idea.
Sponsors who contribute to keep dn.ca free.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
