Official paid sticky for DNCountdown.com - a Domain Reverse Auction Site

**RobM** · 06-06-2011, 09:53 AM

Welcome to the official paid sticky thread for DNCountdown.com

The site is growing fast with over 50 signups and over 90 listed auctions in the first couple of days. Although I'll be using this thread to keep people updated with new auctions etc I would welcome any input you might have, good or bad, about things you would like to see, things you don't like etc. Please keep your comments constructive.

For those who don't know DNCountdown.com is a reverse auction site. This is not a new concept in itself but, as far as I know, it hasn't been applied to domains before. Rather than the normal auction system where people bid against each other until the auction ends, a reverse auction *begins* with the highest price and decreases until the domain is bought, the reserve is hit, or the allotted time (in this case 7 days) runs out.
The advantages of the system for a buyer are that you do not have to worry about 'phantom' bidders pushing the price up, or being sniped in the last 5 minutes. As a seller the benefits come from knowing the price range that your auction will sell and a wider market as buyers will all have an idea of what they can afford or want to pay. Thus no potential buyers are eliminated until the auction ends.

To start it off I have auctioned with *NO RESERVE* a 3-letter .com. This could theoretically mean that the domain could be sold for as little as $1 (however at the time of writing there are 5 bids so this isn't going to happen). The auction was started at $12,000 and has been decreasing $50 every hour ($1200 per day) since the start. After feedback from some members I have lowered the auction running time from 10 days to 7 days but all auctions placed before that change will still run for the 10 days.

There are NO FEES for buying/selling. Currently (as I'm not an escrow service) the site works on the same principles as dnforum - buyers and sellers are expected (on their word/honour) to complete sales or purchases.

Anyway I welcome all suggestions and comments and look forward to hopefully turning the site into a useful addition to a domainer's marketplace tools.

**Nathan King** · 06-06-2011, 11:02 AM

Interesting way to go about buying and selling domains. Don't have a lot of time to check it out right now, but here is a suggestion: When you click Search Auctions, it takes you to a page with a basic table that could use some work. For instance, why would people browsing domain auctions be interested in the auction ID? Having a number like "1306941741" on every row seems to clutter the table with unnecessary data IMO. The table could do without, or perhaps it could be replaced with more useful data such as time remaining.

Also, a quick way to save domains to a wish list is a necessary feature of every domain marketplace (with configurable e-mail reminders, of course). Currently this is available on individual auction pages, but not as you are browsing the list. A simple graphic alongside each listing that triggers a background save via AJAX would do nicely.

Originally Posted by RobM

There are NO FEES for buying/selling. Currently (as I'm not an escrow service) the site works on the same principles as dnforum - buyers and sellers are expected (on their word/honour) to complete sales or purchases.

The nice thing about dnforum is the buyer/seller feedback, along with the fact that it's a community so people can become familiar with each other. I'm not sure the best way to deal with the honesty issue without dropping a decent amount of dough and assuming some liability. I'm sure you've been putting some thought into it though.

EDIT:
Forgot to tell you good luck with the venture!

**RobM** · 06-06-2011, 11:34 AM

Some great points there Nathan. Thanks - I agree the auction id is irrelevant in the main table. Will replace with a multiple auction watch as suggested.

**james2002** · 06-06-2011, 01:40 PM

Bought a nice domain from the site (yourself).

Thanks for your business.

**RobM** · 06-07-2011, 05:20 AM

Thanks for all the input. There's been a considerable amount of interest and some great ideas. It was nice to close the first sale yesterday only a few days since we've been live.
Meanwhile MFY.com has now reached $7400 with 6 bidders. A lot of very reasonably priced domains added recently and quite a few now in the sub $100 range (some with no reserves).
As always please keep your questions, comments, and ideas coming.
Thanks
Rob

**RobM** · 06-07-2011, 01:05 PM

raffle-tickets.co.uk - due to finish within 24 hours - no reserve and no bids - could be yours for $1

**RobM** · 06-08-2011, 07:57 AM

MFY.com now approaching $6k with 8 bids. Can't see this one lasting much longer. Currently 19 'no reserve' auctions running - worth a look.

**Gerry** · 06-08-2011, 12:48 PM

I liked your business model enough to take a look, which means a lot these days in domaindom.

---------- Post added at 01:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:44 PM ----------

Suggest adding Next Page link to bottom of page as well...

Makes no sense from a usability standpoint to scroll to the bottom of the page only to have to scroll back up to the top of the page to continue on.

**RobM** · 06-08-2011, 07:56 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. Will be taken on board.

**RobM** · 06-09-2011, 04:51 AM

MFY.com now almost at $5k with 10 bids.

**Gerry** · 06-09-2011, 11:08 AM

Just wanted to say, again, how I love the concept and business model.

So glad to see people go outside the box and think outside of the norm.

In order to stand out, you have to be different.

---------- Post added at 12:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 PM ----------

Also, the Next Page link at the bottom of the page is sweet!

**RobM** · 06-10-2011, 06:00 AM

MFY.com sold
Ending soon XNT.info - NO reserve 3 letter domain with traffic - currently a measly $20

**Gerry** · 06-10-2011, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by RobM

MFY.com sold

What was the hammer price?

**Tim Schoon** · 06-10-2011, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Doc Com

What was the hammer price?

cheap enough for me to get it

**chipmeade** · 06-10-2011, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Doc Com

What was the hammer price?

Dipped very close to $4K around 1:30am last night without being bought

**BLazeD** · 06-10-2011, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by RobM

MFY.com sold

Would be interested to know this too

**RobM** · 06-11-2011, 05:39 AM

Ending today with no reserve:
xbmw.com - 4 letter domain - currently at approx $17
bangerracing.co.uk - big in UK - currently at approx $28
sexfeeds.co.uk - speaks for itself - currently at approx $30
9337.net - nice 4 digit domain - has a bid so this *will* sell - currently at $11.75
xvqh.com - another 4 letter domain - currently at a ridiculously low $3.57!

**RobM** · 06-11-2011, 12:00 PM

9337.net, xvqh.com, dato.co, plasmadisplay.com all SOLD
Nice to see a .co sale in there.

**mkellerman** · 06-16-2011, 06:49 AM

In http://dncountdown.com/search/ALL/0-...5/results.html
"Include 'Low Reserve' Auctions" is not checked by default.

**RobM** · 06-16-2011, 09:31 AM

Thanks Martin - I don't know if you were checking this as I was writing the code but all seems to be ok now

As Martin's pointed out we've added a 'low reserve' filter. That's basically auctions where the reserve is $1-$50 (inclusive).
Also currently putting the final touches to an XML feed API which will enable people to integrate the auctions fully on their own websites without having to use the dncountdown site frontend. If anyone has any questions about that please don't hesitate to ask.
Some nice 4 letter domains ending within 24 hours:
mlud.com
ahfp.com
aoeb.com
briy.com