For Domain Brokerage, Size Does Matter

This is a guest Post by Dave Evanson, Senior Domain Broker at Sedo.  I asked Dave to write about the differences between working with a large domain name brokerage and an independent domain broker. Previously, Andrew Rosener wrote an article about the benefits of working with an independent domain broker.

There are certainly some capable independent brokers in this business, and I commend them for their ability to deliver for both domain buyers and sellers. However, even though there are situations where an independent broker’s services may be preferred to those of a large brokerage firm, there are some crucial benefits to working with a large firm. Having been an independent broker myself, I joined Sedo knowing that the vast resources the company has at its disposal would enable me to get better results for clients. At the end of the day, working with Sedo, I have better tools and more time than I would working independently, and so I get higher prices for sellers and great deals for buyers.

First and foremost, Sedo has the largest and most comprehensive database of known domain buyers and sellers. This includes both domainers and end users across almost every industry worldwide. When launching a marketing campaign to sell a premium domain, one of the first steps is to check out our internal buyer database, where I can filter by vertical, type, price, language, and a number of other factors. I also try to find out whether buyers are domainers or end users. The global nature of the domain industry is reflected in Sedo’s sales team, too: we speak over 20 languages, and often collaborate to help close deals if another broker has specific language proficiencies, client relationships, or more in-depth cultural knowledge if we’re working across borders. Given that Sedo does business in over 200 countries and is the world’s largest domain trading platform, this comes in very handy!

Reputation is also very important: Sedo is recognized, trusted, and highly respected around the world. Sometimes, we hear from buyers and sellers who prefer to do business with Sedo because we are part of a publicly traded company. Both buyers and sellers know that, as a trusted domain industry company, our outreach gets through the clutter and reaches decision-makers. We are also well-placed to process and convert qualified inbound leads via our marketplace, auction platform and brokerage staff.

Going beyond our sales database, we also have research analysts and other support staff to help target and identify prospects. These coworkers assist brokers so that they can complete deals at desired levels and within our clients’ preferred timelines. Access to our finance, legal, appraisals and domain transfer teams among others is particularly helpful when a client is looking for something unique or special. We also have a very large and popular parking program staffed with experts who optimize monetization for our clients. In addition, like some independent brokers, we usually use commercially available databases and sometimes employ press and marketing promotion for expanded outreach when selling a premium name.

Sedo’s brokers are also empowered with sufficient autonomy that they can remain client-focused and are able to tailor solutions when appropriate. We certainly work within the internal policies and guidelines, but at times exceptions are made to get the job done. This means that clients get the best of both worlds: not only huge global reach but also custom solutions. While independent brokers may offer more flexibility on some very targeted brokerage deals, the tradeoff is that the client might get less outreach.

Sometimes, good things do come in small packages. But there is also strength in size and numbers. Even with my experience working independently, I find it helpful having in-house experts, including skilled brokers, to bounce ideas off of on behalf of clients, as well as databases of information that you only get working with a company that has 12 years’ experience in the industry. Leveraging the strength and expertise of our organization makes it easier to get better results for clients, and that is our goal every day.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

15 COMMENTS

  1. The people of Sedo deserve the highest respect. The company, however, has failed to keep me and others as members, by disregarding important feedback and by enforcing silly methods of asset dilution, such as the infamous SedoMLS. Dave is a great guy, no less.

  2. Did over 6 figures in transactions with sedo, they lost our business when they would not rid SEDO MLS, and the godaddy $60 offers. Godaddy’s back end platform on following up on those offers was horrible. As well godaddy led the newbie user in most cases to believe they could get the domain for $60. Instead of having a meaningful convo with the buyer on domain valuations, once anything greater than $100 came back, the buyer was most likely disgusted. We probably lost over 50 leads like this, before we had to pull the plug, and delete 5k names from our account. I heard others grumble about this, sedo failed to do anything, for this they are a failure in my book. Like Dave mentioned they have all the system in place, well they are no good, when you don’t have the domains. I saw afternic is starting to overtake sedo now in the weekly sales as well…

  3. The company is only as good as the people.

    He will do well at Afternic too and I won’t be surprised he will jump ship after this posting.

    Didn’t they say, the LAkers won’t because of the good players and 1% from the coach.

  4. “For Domain Brokerage, Size Does Matter”

    In my opinion and many years of experience working with every size domain investor and domain broker, from the very biggest to the very smallest, I respectfully must totally disagree with this statement.

  5. Dave Evenson was successful long before he joined Sedo.

    And, as Bull pointed out, he would also be very successful at Afternic. (Sedo is a good home for him.)

    I believe Dave knows how to maximize the resources of Sedo to quietly move domains. And, that is why he is one of the top domain brokers in the biz.

  6. I choose to sell the vast majority of domains on my own, therefore, I have no bias either for nor against Sedo. It seems that this post was well written and I’ve heard good things about Dave. All that being said, I’m curious as to whether a post like this could still be defined as a “guest post” or a paid advertisement. Nothing wrong with either type of post, but merely curious given the bias of this particular post and it’s praise of a company, from it’s top broker.

  7. I’ve sold a few domains via the Sedo marketplace and think it works well when you have a serious customer wanting one of your domains – I’ve always attained what I deem to be a good price for any domains I’ve sold there. You just have to ignore those low ball $60 offers but they are certainly a pain. Where I think Sedo is not so good is on parking as I feel they could look to optimise their pages better as ads displayed are often not particularly relevant. A few months back I moved all my Sedo parked domains to my own parking template and am seeing a nice uplift in click revenue coming in now. I have a separate ad on the page which links through to a ‘make offer’ page which I host independently. It’s working out well so far.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recent Posts

Handoff to Dan on Imported Leads Can be Confusing

0
I've been using the lead import option at Dan.com more regularly. Although the 5% commission is not ideal, transactions tend to move more quickly...

ArtificialIntelligence.com Goes Up for Sale

7
I tried to buy the ArtificialIntelligence.com domain name multiple times over the last 10 years. The emails I sent to the registrant went unanswered,...

EU Gives More IP Protection to Food & Drink Producers

0
Did you know that some well-known food and drink varieties are protected intellectual property regulations? Popular types of drinks and foods that are protected...

Price Testing

1
In 2022, my wife and I decided our kids were ready for some big mountain skiing and we planned a trip to the Rocky...

GoDaddy Making You Sign in to See What You Renewed (Updated)

3
This morning, I noticed something different in a domain name renewal email from GoDaddy. Instead of telling me exactly what domain names I renewed...