BQB.com has recently started operating as a new auction site for short domains:
BQB.com is a no commission, next generation domain name auction platform dedicated to short domains. Founded in March 2008, BQB.com Inc seeks to reduce the pain sellers of domain names currently endure, paying exhorbitant commissions which are in our opinion often unjustified. BQB.com also seeks to create a marketplace for short domain names, which we believe will continue to be one of the strongest appreciating internet investments for many years to come. BQB is founded on Professionalism – each member is individually screened, successful applications are manually approved. Better Quality Business really is just a few keystrokes away!
The site is owned by Reece, who is moderator on NamePros and well respected domainer. Reece also has a popular blog: 4letternoob
Register here and read this announcement for more info on how to proceed:
This is just a reminder that everyone please send “Reece” a private message on Namepros or DN Forum after you’ve applied for an account. All applications are being manually approved and if I can’t verify who you are, I can’t approve your account! If you’re not a member of Namepros or DN Forum but would like to join BQB while we’re still in Beta, kindly send me an email to: reece(at)bqb.com from a paid email address (eg. not hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc).
To increase your chances of being granted membership if you’re not a well known member of Namepros or DN Forum, please write a bit about yourself, your domaining ambitions, and include a sample of some of the short domains in your collection. BQB is 100% free (aside from optional upgrades) for everyone signing up at this point — we’re charging you zero commission and no membership fees — BQB really is 100% free permanently for everyone whose Beta applications are approved. Please don’t worry if your application is unsuccessful during Beta, we’ll open up to more domainers once we get an established user base and ensure BQB is as scalable as it need be.
There will never be any commission on BQB, even if you don’t get in during Beta.
As for now there are about 400 domains listed there for sale and the site has over 50 members. Lets wish Reece good luck with the new enterprise and hope we get a fair alternative to sedo!
added: looks a few other blogs picked up the story: netmonetization, conceptualist, Dominor and others
P.S.: make sure you enter DomainMagnate in the “referred by” field 😉
Thanks for the site BqB.com
It sounds very good – but how is it going to be sustainable without charging anything? It’s going to be a lot of work to run, and Reece should be compensated for the time put into setting the site up and running it.
“BQB.com Inc seeks to reduce the pain sellers of domain names currently endure, paying exhorbitant commissions which are in our opinion often unjustified.”
These commissions, which are now up to 20%, are just plain outright GREED, by consolidating GREEDY companies taking advantage of domainers. Congrats to Reece on this site, and his ‘fairness’ in treating fellow domainers. Big Thumbs Down to the GREEDY ‘big boys’!
Pigs get stuck, bears get full!
Hi Michael,
Thanks for covering BQB and thanks for the kind words guys!
BQB won’t be free forever however it will be free of commissions forever. The commissions have gotten downright ridiculous at many venues and domainers like me who do a lot of volume on small margins are being forced to sell elsewhere because we simply can’t afford to give 20% of our sale price away (often my profit margin is only 20-30% before commissions).
Once we get out of Beta, we’ll be charging an annual membership fee of $99 (amounts to 27 cents per day) and that’s it… You can opt for fancy listings and upgraded features if you want, but basic listings like you’d find on Sedo or Afternic will permanently be commission-free and obtainable for just $99 annually. For those whose Beta apps are approved, your memberships are permanently free, so I really encourage everyone interested to send an app — nothing to lose when it’s 100% free, other than a few minutes of your time in exchange for some extra exposure and a new venue for selling your domains at.
Sure beats the heck out of the $1000+ monthly I currently pay to these “brokers” who really don’t seem to do very much for the mammoth commissions they demand.
@Reece – thanks for answering a lot of questions I had. What you say makes a lot of sense. I’ll head over now to sign up!