question Observing Sedo’s Auction Approval Criteria — Has Anyone Noticed a Pattern?

[SamQuino]

I submitted a mixed group of domains to Sedo’s December auction and noticed some interesting approval behavior that I thought might be worth discussing here.

From that set, Sedo approved:

• PerfectTune.com
• BabyGrips.com
• TechBotAI.com
• GeekyCat.com

(Just sharing these as the actual reference point for the discussion, not promoting them.)

What stood out to me was Sedo’s preference for:

• consumer-friendly brandables
• AI-related terms
• clearer functional/use-case names
• accessible reserve levels
• names that already have some type-in traffic

It made me curious whether others who frequently submit to Sedo see similar patterns — or whether approvals are still effectively random depending on timing and category.

For those of you who’ve submitted names recently:

• Have you noticed Sedo favoring specific styles or categories?
• Do reserve levels affect approvals on your end?
• Does traffic seem to matter?

It would be great to hear your observations.

 

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

Hi SamQuino

Yeah, names that are intuitive, have a clear use case, or some existing traffic seem easier to position, especially when the reserve feels approachable.

 

[Ricado]

The real question is how many of the approved names actually sell.

Today’s auction results were pretty underwhelming. Only one domain cleared 5,000, very few even crossed 1,000, and the vast majority sold for just a few hundred. I even recall seeing a 99 sale in there.

Under those results, it’s hard to call this a “GreatDomains” auction.

The only real advantage of participating in a GreatDomains Auction is the waived auction fee. The trade-off, however, is that your domain is locked into Sedo’s exclusive sales channel for two months.

 

[BobBob is verified member.]

The real question is how many of the approved names actually sell.

Today’s auction results were pretty underwhelming. Only one domain cleared 5,000, very few even crossed 1,000, and the vast majority sold for just a few hundred. I even recall seeing a 99 sale in there.

Under those results, it’s hard to call this a “GreatDomains” auction.

The only real advantage of participating in a GreatDomains Auction is the waived auction fee. The trade-off, however, is that your domain is locked into Sedo’s exclusive sales channel for two months.

This is a fair question. Domains can be great, but if they are not selling, who cares? I recently submitted three names to Sedo, of which, only one was selected for the auction. It was a very common 6-letter, one-word .net that everybody uses at least once per day in regular conversation. Their requested reserve was $8,000, which was $2,000 less than I wanted. I thought, what the heck, and went for it. In the end, my name did not even get ONE bid, which was a little disheartening.

After the auction, I received NO communication from them - not even a form email saying my domain did not sell.

 

[Ricado]

This is a fair question. Domains can be great, but if they are not selling, who cares? I recently submitted three names to Sedo, of which, only one was selected for the auction. It was a very common 6-letter, one-word .net that everybody uses at least once per day in regular conversation. Their requested reserve was $8,000, which was $2,000 less than I wanted. I thought, what the heck, and went for it. In the end, my name did not even get ONE bid, which was a little disheartening.

After the auction, I received NO communication from them - not even a form email saying my domain did not sell.

I submitted 6 domains this time, but only 3 were accepted—all of which are high-value names.

One of them is quite special. I’ve received two inquiries over $10,000 for it this year alone, and even got an offer from a GoDaddy Broker back in October. Yet, Sedo still rejected it. Perhaps they just didn't think it would move.

In my opinion, if a domain doesn't sell, it’s not always because the price is too high or the quality is poor; often, it’s a matter of reaching the right target market.

I kept a close eye on the auction until the very end. I really wanted to see if their "premium curated selection" would actually attract the volume of buyers they promised. As it turned out, the participation was incredibly thin.

To make matters worse, I saw several low-quality domains in the auction that I wouldn't even pay the registration fee for if they were listed here on DnForum.

 

[HelmutsHelmuts is verified member.]

Let me try tagging @Sedo in this thread. It would be great to see their reply here. Thank you for being our premium members and also getting involved in the conversations

 

[Ricado]

Let me try tagging @Sedo in this thread. It would be great to see their reply here. Thank you for being our premium members and also getting involved in the conversations

At the end of the day, this is a business, and buyers are what really matter.

If there isn’t real buying demand, even strong names at reasonable prices won’t move. That’s simply market reality. My concern isn’t about stricter curation itself. If Sedo wants to maintain a high bar for GreatDomains, that’s fine, and many of us are willing to work with that.

But when auction participation is this thin, it’s fair to ask what differentiates a GreatDomains Auction anymore. If the main remaining advantage is just the waived auction fee, then the value proposition becomes quite limited.

Stricter selection should ideally be matched with stronger marketing effort and better buyer outreach. Otherwise, locking domains into a two-month exclusive period with low visibility may actually discourage owners of stronger names from participating in the future.

This isn’t criticism for the sake of it, just an observation from the seller side looking at incentives and outcomes.