Archived 12/24/03

By Ron Jackson

Every domain seller wants to find that elusive end user who will pay top dollar for their domain. However those kinds of sales can be few and far between. Many professionals buy and sell among each other at wholesale prices to help fill in the gaps between larger paydays.

While there are a number of auction sites geared to selling domains to retail buyers there previously has not been a major one aimed squarely at the wholesale market (there have been several that have attracted mostly wholesale level bids but not on purpose!) 

Afternic.com is seeking to remedy that situation with it's new Bazaar site that opened on Monday, Dec. 1. No domains priced above $600 are allowed on the Bazaar site, which features a unique declining price auction format. For example if you start an auction at $100 after the first 24 hours prices begin declining each hour until someone meets the current price to end the auction. 

The seller can set a stop price that will also end the auction when the stop is met. Proxy bidding is also allowed. If a domain reaches the proxy price before someone else claims it (or it hits the stop price) the proxy bidder wins the domain. That way you won't have to continually revisit the site to have a chance to win.

There are no sales commission fees. Sellers simply buy credits (Bazaar Bucks) in advance, and listings cost as little as 24 cents each when purchased in bulk (each new seller gets 10 free Bazaar Bucks to start with). To participate you also need to be a member of the main Afternic Exchange ($9.95 per year). Full details on the process can be found on the Bazaar site. 

Afternic.com is one of the main retail domain sales venues in the world. By leveraging the heavy traffic from their popular main site with the new wholesale concept they hope to quickly build a busy venue for bargain seekers and sellers looking to quickly liquidate excess inventory.

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