Testing changes to auction system

[AnthonyP]

Hi all, please bear with me as I am going to be testing out some changes to our auction interface over the weekend and into next week.

The first test from tomorrow will be that you will only be able to see the current bid while you are winning an auction.

Another test will be that our list will also no longer sort by the current price but will sort by your favourites then the internal metrics we use.

Sorry for lack of notice but I am on leave at the moment and hopefully these tests are only necessary for a few days until I get back to the office.

Our auction results will still be published as per usual with full results and the bidding history at 2PM.

Feedback is always useful and I must point out that this is just testing and is subject to change.

 

[neddy]

I appreciate that you are only testing, but please allow me to give you this upfront constructive feedback from someone who uses your platform a lot.

By now "hiding bids"; and by continuing not to provide live bidding history, transparency once again takes a huge hit. Imho.

The other issue is that your "Spring marketing initiative" for September gets affected. Sure the $10 discount still remains, but your purpose in doing this was to highlight domains that had bids on. This would then supposedly encourage others to bid on them. I actually thought this was a great idea from your perspective.

However, because Drop has been successful over the past week, it seems to me that you have now taken a "knee jerk" response and summarily abandoned this idea. Given that you said you were going to run it for the month of September, I think you should leave it in place for this period and just compete like you always have.

If you want to trial something else, that is your prerogative - but surely don't change tack halfway through an announced campaign? Why not wait until the end of September and see how it goes?

Just saying .........

 

[Ashman]

The first test from tomorrow will be that you will only be able to see the current bid while you are winning an auction.

Another test will be that our list will also no longer sort by the current price but will sort by your favourites then the internal metrics we use.

Hi Anthony, I'm just curious as to the rational behind these changes?

 

[findtim]

am i wrong or don't you need at least 2 bidders to get a price over $10 !

by showing someone has bid increases the chance of a bidding war which is what you want, i think you just shot yourself in the foot.

the other unfortunate thing is you are not going to get good feedback because IF there is nothing i want to bid on today, tomorrow next week i won't be able to test the system thus can not comment, so you lose me and others who always provide genuine feedback ( good or bad)

tim

 

[neddy]

by showing someone has bid increases the chance of a bidding war which is what you want, i think you just shot yourself in the foot.

Agreed Tim.

And I am personally so peed off with NF for yet again changing the rules without notice. I already had my first $10 bids on (on three domains), and then hours later you made these changes.

So I voted with my feet today - I did not make any further bids on NF.

It didn't cost me because Drop won them.

 

[findtim]

what a debacle,

i watched the drops and pondered how i would bid in the future based on your system and did a test bid on moses.com.au as i knew i would get beaten, ( sorry for costing you an extra $2 whover you are, i owe you a beer)

there were sooo many things wrong with today i feel like i'd want a pay cheque from NF to spend time describing them all

just bad

tim

 

[Beth]

I didn't understand what was going on so didn't bid on NF won mine on Drop. Will stick to them in future at least you know where you are with them.

 

[findtim]

I didn't understand what was going on so didn't bid on NF won mine on Drop. Will stick to them in future at least you know where you are with them.

well the reality is you still need to bid on both, and "when" the others come inot the market we will all be bidding on mnay platforms.

all that happened today is NF continued to ignore the industry and showed us once again that we mean nothing to them.

its a sad place to be right now, we need them, they still need us ?? but i feel like its "false grins" around the table

tim

 

[Ashman]

Feedback is always useful and I must point out that this is just testing and is subject to change.

When an honest man discovers he is mistaken, he will either cease being mistaken, or he will cease being honest.

 

[acheeva]

Certainty and predictability are the basis of an orderly marketplace

Therefore any change is going to attract conjecture

However the lack of change also allows basic flaws to be accepted

Snipe bidding is one of those "flaws" but is hard to prevent

The problem with snipe bidding is that it tends to limit competition to the dedicated few that are prepared to screen watch for the last few seconds of an auction

IMO the closer the daily auction processes follow traditional auction practices then the greater is the likelihood of higher participation and more balanced competition

I regularly get calls from people who are interested in domains at auction but don't win them because they make low bids initially and are only beaten in the last few seconds of an auction. They do not have the opportunity to gauge competition leading up to the end of the auction

If hidden bidding is to remain then this issue could be magnified and bidders would need to be encouraged more than ever to make their 1st bid their maximum bid (which defies the natural instinct of most)

With Drop becoming more competitive the marketplace is more competitive and (again IMO) the best way for NetFleet to react is to:-
(a) bring ALL of today's auctions to the front page
(b) disclose the highest bid (as before)
(c) use red to signify that reserves are not or that the current bid has been beaten
(d) promote the fact that they have the largest portfolio of domains for auction TODAY; with many being exclusive to their platform
(e) keep tweaking their servers to ensure they are not relegated to Drop's prior status

The current statement that "This is the last chance to secure these domain names ahead of your competitors as the auction ends today" would remain valid (or more correctly - as valid)

 

[findtim]

acheeva i agree with most of your points, probably all of them at a glance.

snipe bidding has been around for a 2000years ++ so it isn't going away, what we need to understand is snippers will ALWAYS put their maximum price they are willing to pay in, so whats the issue with snippers?????

AND so should any one else who WANTS that domain

tim

 

[domainlover]

Changing the rules during the match again, not happy

 

[neddy]

Certainty and predictability are the basis of an orderly marketplace

Nicely said Greg.

Ad hoc changes done as a result of panic or pressure only tend to upset the applecart (and the people that buy the apples).

Whilst it could be simply "cutting off my nose to spite my face", on principle I only made two bids on NF today (because of the hidden bids). One was successful; the other not.

But I made eleven bids on Drop, and was successful with seven.

snippers will ALWAYS put their maximum price they are willing to pay in, so whats the issue with snippers?????

Are we talking hairdressers here?

 

[acheeva]

I just feel that it reduces the competitiveness comparative to traditional auctions; as the bids don't progress smoothly.
Probably not in our best interests for the drops
But I believe that new entrants will enhance the market overall
My primary interest is the need to increase bidding for aftermarket auction listings as (IMO) they need a broader bidder base to be successful

 

[neddy]

My primary interest is the need to increase bidding for aftermarket auction listings as (IMO) they need a broader bidder base to be successful

AMA listings have (generally speaking) been a flop. A great initiative by NF to blend them in with the "drops", but because so many sellers have reserves, the listings never hit the "selling today" page. Thus they don't get "seen" by a lot of people.

Netfleet have acknowledged this - and I believe have said their emphasis moving forward is going to be on catalogue listings. (I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong).

Extended bidding on domains is another worthwhile option - similar to what expireddomains.co.nz do. I actually suggested this was a great idea in another thread.

 

[Shane]

I'm not a fan of the change in bid display.

I understand it's just a test, but how is it supposed to benefit Netfleet clients?

 

[neddy]

how is it supposed to benefit Netfleet clients?

It was not introduced for that purpose.

 

[snoopy]

Some really odd changes being made here and I think netfleet rep is sinking ever lower. Drop must be loving all this.

 

[James]

This change is pretty random to be honest, I usually look at the prices of domains each day as a quick quality indicator. then I look at the metrics like name, search volume, trademarks, competition ect ect.

Now its a case of look at Drop auctions, then look at NF lol

 

[neddy]

Sorry for lack of notice but I am on leave at the moment and hopefully these tests are only necessary for a few days until I get back to the office.

Are a few days up yet?