BrandBucket Experience

[xtremex]

hello

I am new to BrandBucket. Before getting my hands on this

I wish to experience about brandbucket from my fellow members


Thanks

 

[12345]

Like BrandWorthy mentioned, BB is putting a lot more resources into the approval process in terms of manpower and systems. Names of a higher quality will now sometimes be accepted more quickly than names that need a few more looks.

 

[AndrewRice]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to NamePros, but have been buying brandable domain names off and on for over five years. Recently, I was fortunate enough be invited into the BrandBucket Brand Ambassador program. My business Brandiogo.com now has a little over five hundred brand names on the BrandBucket marketplace.

In the hopes of saving you all some time and money, I'd like to share some insight into my brandable name buying process:

On the Name Finding Process: I generally find brandables wherever I can. Many are found through the name drop lists, and some are hand registered. I've also purchased through other domain investors and had some success buying through GoDaddy auctions and SnapNames auctions (years ago).

General Name Buying Advice: I try to imagine whether I would be willing to make a logo and build a business on the name. I figure that if I can't visualize a business being built on the name, then it probably isn't worth buying.

On Two Keyword Names: The two keywords should make sense and add to the brand's meaning as a whole. The name should flow well. Example: P*R*E*S*S*F*R*E*N*Z*Y

Three Keyword Names: Finding a good brandable, three keyword name can be tricky. It's ok to have a three keyword name if all three words flow really well together and add meaning. There are even situations where three short words have more meaning than two. Some good examples include R*E*A*D*Y*F*O*R*D*U*T*Y and W*I*L*D*M*A*N*C*R*E*W. To be honest though, if you are just starting out buying brandables you should probably avoid three key word names.

Made up Names: Ask yourself if the name flows well, is memorable and if it has any rhyming qualities. One cool name that I have is also a palindrome A*D*A*R*A*D*A. I would also check out Calvenor's post earlier in this thread: Calvenor's post on made up names.

As you gain more experience it will become easier to tell whether a name is good or not. Much of this is based on whether the name flows well, makes sense (when it comes to keywords) and is memorable.

I'd be happy to field any questions.

 

[Brandworthy]

This may not be new, but I only found it now by accident:

https://www.brandbucket.com/profiles/

It includes logo designers, but the top 10 sellers by portfolio size appear to be:

https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/boxador - 2273
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/mediaplow - 1741
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/brandiogo - 506
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/excitemental - 257
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/brandologist - 230
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/registerly - 229
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/bazabizo - 223
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/ikehook - 222
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/romco - 204
https://www.brandbucket.com/profile/patrickdey - 200

Total is 6085, so top 10 sellers account for roughly 50% of all names on BB.

It can be really useful to check out some of these larger portfolios to get some inspiration on naming conventions.

 

[campout]

Been wondering... what do you guys think of names that start with "X"?

 

[Brandworthy]

Been wondering... what do you guys think of names that start with "X"?

Before I disliked them since I thought pronunciation was unknown, but I'm gradually seeing more names starting with "x", and assuming that most people see it as interchangeable with "z". There's also the oriental side to this - many words can start with X in Chinese I believe.

 

[trelgor]

Been wondering... what do you guys think of names that start with "X"?

The most common variation must be names where "X" replaces "EX". But
short and sensical names that exchange "S" for "X" have also been listed on BB. Example: Xupply.com. "X" has also been used to replace "CT" inside words. Example: protexor.com. I like both of those personally.

I think it depends on the gravitas of the root word and if it simply feels right.

 

[AndrewRice]

I like the use of X in some instances. I bought X*E*N*X*U and X*A*V*A*G*E a little while back. X*I*V*I*L*I*Z*E*D was a more recent purchase. All three are listed on BrandBucket.

 

[NameVerve]

I like X being used for madeup brandables more than simply an alternative to another letter or sound in a keyword, especially using it to replace CT in protexor is horrible.

So for the examples above I don't particularly like the last one however X*A*V*A*G*E isn't so bad, just very niche as far as end user start ups are concerned. X*E*N*X*U however is great and would definetly like that in my portfolio, works on many levels and the double X seems to add to its appeal.

 

[frostify]

Can someone tell me what is up with their cheap looking logos ?

Like this one which quite blatantly rips of the "W" in the "Walt Disney" logo?
https://www.brandbucket.com/wickly
Disney logo for comparison: http://no_url_shorteners/1SDtIpW look carefully at the "W"

 

[muttus]

Hi Nps,

I would like to thank both Michael and Andrew to take their time explaining more in detail their process of finding good names and evaluating rejects from up close. I am also really pleased with increasing pace in domain reviews in BB. It seems that review process could get to reasonable 3-4 weeks soon.

I have had about 30 names reviewed recently, but my success rate did not get over 30%, contrary to my expectation. It seems I still have much to learn in picking good names for BB market.

Among accepted were:
finanzus
kickera
xisim
pixau
luisy
yanelle
jeony
saazy - highest evaluation ????

Interesting rejects
rechase
geluxe
mainfeed
sexymovers
tailorship
cherlene - girls name
blupt
bankcounter
kekcy

 

[Brandworthy]

@AndrewRice A couple of questions for you please:

1. How long have you been a seller with BB?
2. How quickly have you built your portfolio there?
3. Would you like to give, even in ballpark terms, a figure for your sales rate?
4. How well does your own site do in terms of sales?

I understand completely if some of the above is out of bounds for you, and it would be great to learn a little about your background and success on BB. Thanks in advance.

 

[trelgor]

@AndrewRice I would also like to ask how you find the Ambassador program so far. As noted earlier by Michael Krell there are perks that include better and faster service in some instances.

Could you explain more? How did you become Ambassador? Do you get access to any sort of stats on sales that other sellers don't?

 

[hookbox]

Finally we have some results. Doron from DNGeek.com compiled a list of a lot of the names that have sold lately on BrandBucket.

Thank you Doron.

http://dngeek.com/2015/05/here-are-1134-names-that-sold-on-brandbucket/

 

[xull]

thanks @dv82 !

 

[Dominic Belley]

A bit of progress in my profile this morning .. 2 domains submitted April 2nd are now "Queud for publishing".

edit: ... now 3 ... I guess my other domain will follow later today.

 

[xull]

I see there a lot of improvement in domain revision process. My domain which had been submitted on late April is already processed. Good job @brandbucket !

 

[PowerDN]

This may not be new, but I only found it now by accident:

https://www.brandbucket.com/profiles/

Thanks, didn't know it before.

 

[trelgor]

Thanks, didn't know it before.

Browsing profiles a bit. Lord Kenneth Silvosa (nice title!) seems to be on par with (Baron) Michael Krell. In under a year. Checking the names I found one listed both under his profile and boxadors. I*n*v*o*c*a*d*o. Fishy?

 

[hookbox]

Browsing profiles a bit. Lord Kenneth Silvosa (nice title!) seems to be on par with (Baron) Michael Krell. In under a year. Checking the names I found one listed both under his profile and boxadors. I*n*v*o*c*a*d*o. Fishy?

That's how many names he's done logos for. Those aren't his names.

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Finally we have some results. Doron from DNGeek.com compiled a list of a lot of the names that have sold lately on BrandBucket.

Thank you Doron.

http://dngeek.com/2015/05/here-are-1134-names-that-sold-on-brandbucket/

You are welcome Glad you like it and I hope anyone interested will benefit from gaining some insights.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

I want to thank everyone for their recent posts and for taking the time to share useful information that will help other sellers be more successful and for keeping the tone of this thread uplifting and enjoyable.

For anyone wondering about BBs thinking on posting sales, here is the relevant section from Margo's Fall 2014 interview on Domain Sherpa. I you have questions, comments or suggestions in this regard I'd suggest members send an email directly to BB. Cheers!
************************

Michael: Okay. Wow, so for a domain name that is selling for 75 thousand dollars, that could be a nice chunk of change. I also saw on Raymond Hackney’s website that in the past you had shared information about, at that time, the 680 domain name sales that had sold. Names ending in ZO, 18 names ending in LY, 17 names ending in IO, all the way down to S was the most popular domain name letter to start. And that was actually Raymond doing all the analysis from the domains that were listed. I do not see any information on your website about domain names that have sold since that point. Do you offer that information so people can make their own analysis?

Margot: At the time we never actually published sale-by-sale what was happening, so the information that Raymond saw and that everyone else saw was just names that would go to the end of our list. So, if you went to the last page, you would see things with sold tags on them, and that could give people a pretty good idea of what was selling, but we still had a lot of people who would buy and ask us to remove their name immediately. But I would say what Raymond did was pretty accurate. Like not everyone asked for it to be removed immediately. We do get most people asking for it to be removed at some point or another because our search engine page is conflicting with their new company.

Michael: Right.

Margot: So, we made the decision just based on the buyer and just to build more trust, which we think has worked, to not show any sold names anymore on the site. It gets sold. It disappears. It is removed from the cache. It is removed from everywhere. And because of that, people are kind of speculating on what is selling. There is less visibility than before, but we are still toying with how to kind of give back that pseudo-confidence that people used to get seeing sold names.
**********************
Michael: Are you on pace to hit one million in 2014?

Margot: Yeah, we are. We actually are on pace to exceed last year.

Michael: Awesome. What number are you going to hit for 2014 do you anticipate?

Margot: Oh, I cannot say that, but a lot can happen in the last three months. We are above last year, and I would say if we stay on track, we will hit the million sometime in November rather than sometime in December like we did last year.

 

[Doron Vermaat]

It gets sold. It disappears. It is removed from the cache. It is removed from everywhere.

This is incorrect as each and every domain sold at BB remains published on the site and a large number of sold domains are easily searchable via Google as I showed in my post.

 

[trelgor]

That's how many names he's done logos for. Those aren't his names.

Thanks!

 

[AndrewRice]

@Brandworthy

1.) I've been a seller with BB for over 5 years.

2.) I had a smaller portfolio for most of those years but started amping up my portfolio recently.

3.) Since most of my portfolio has been listed recently it's still too early to look at the data. I can tell you i've sold a few names recently and I think that sales will be strong. I will likely share more information as it comes in.

4.) BrandBucket sells brand names much better than my site. I'm also about 99% sure they sell brand names better than the other marketplaces.

 

[AndrewRice]

@trelgor

I like the Ambassador program pretty well. The people running BrandBucket and the other Ambassadors are all very competent and smart individuals. They have been working hard to address any bottlenecks in the submission process and we are starting to see the results of that effort. It is a very entrepreneurial and open environment and a strong meritocracy. For these reasons i've really enjoyed working with them.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a portfolio of domain names on BrandBucket but I had a large number of brand names on my site Brandiogo.com. BrandBucket felt that my brand names were good enough to be listed on their site and they invited me to be a Brand Ambassador.