Selling a Business Name on BrandBucket

Rules for Sellers
What kind of names do you accept for listing?
How do I submit my domains for listing?
What are BrandBucket’s submission fees?
What is the BrandBucket sales commission structure?
Are there any logo design fees?
What if my domain has a logo already?
How will I get paid?
How do I publish accepted names?
How do you verify I own the domain name?
Do I have to re-direct my site to BrandBucket?
How do I verify my domain name?
How do I view domain traffic stats?
Can I list the domain for sale elsewhere?
Does BrandBucket promote my names for sale?
How to manage domain prices?
How do I remove my name from other marketplaces?
What if I disagree with BrandBucket’s decision on a name?

Lease-to-Own Program

What is the lease-to-own program?
How do I enable the lease-to-own program for my names?
Are there extra fees charged to the buyer for leasing a name?
What is BrandBucket’s commission for leased names?
When do I receive the funds from a monthly payment?
What happens if a payment fails or is delayed?
Do I need to transfer the domain name to BrandBucket?
What happens if the buyer changes their mind?

Selling a Business Name on BrandBucket

Rules for Sellers

BrandBucket works hard to provide a user-friendly domain marketplace and to generate traffic for its domain listings. The following rules for sellers help BrandBucket ensure secure and painless transactions for domain sales.

BrandBucket's rules for sellers apply to domains sold through the BrandBucket marketplace or with the assistance of BrandBucket's domain brokerage services.

BrandBucket does not permit the following practices:

Unresponsive or Uncooperative Sellers

If your domain is sold, you must complete the transaction with a ready, willing, and able buyer. Sellers who are unresponsive or uncooperative and refuse to complete an accepted transaction risk having their BrandBucket accounts canceled.

Modification During a Negotiation

If you are made aware of an offer on your domain name, any change to your listing, including an increase in price or reduction of add-ons included with the sale within the following two weeks, will be considered a violation of BrandBucket's rules. In addition, sellers refusing to return their listing to the previous state risk having their BrandBucket accounts canceled.

Sales Exclusivity Agreement

By submitting your name for listing at BrandBucket, you agree to retain BrandBucket as the exclusive seller of the domain name for as long as the name is published. You may submit a termination request for a specific domain name at any time, and it will continue to be listed for 30 days from the time of your notification.

During the listing period, transacting a sale outside the BrandBucket marketplace is strictly prohibited unless it falls within the BrandBucket exceptions (Please see the Partners and Approved Third-Party Sites section below for exceptions and other restrictions.)

Sellers transacting a sale outside of the BrandBucket marketplace will be required to pay BrandBucket the total commission amount owed as outlined below:

30% for names below $10,000 USD
25% for names between $10,000 USD and $50,000 USD
20% for names between $50,000 USD and $100,000 USD
15% for names above $100,000 USD

BrandBucket reserves the right to cancel a seller's account with unreported and unpaid offsite sales.

Soliciting domain sales outside of the BrandBucket marketplace is strictly prohibited. This includes listing domains that are published for sale on BrandBucket on other domain marketplaces and personal websites, using user contact information obtained from BrandBucket or using any of BrandBucket's services or features to offer to sell any listed domains outside of the BrandBucket marketplace, or sending unsolicited commercial email offers to buyers that have inquired about your domains, or any domains listed on the BrandBucket marketplace. Domain names found to be listed on external websites will be removed from the BrandBucket site, and sellers found intentionally or repeatedly violating these anti-solicitation rules risk having their BrandBucket accounts canceled.

Partners and Approved Third-Party Sites:

BrandBucket will list domains on partner marketplaces and affiliate sites, and no separate commission is owed for a sale occurring on these marketplaces.

In addition, sellers may self-list on other approved third-party sites. Please check the account Settings area for an up-to-date list of approved third-party sites.

For self-listing on approved third-party sites, the following rules apply:

Domains may be listed at any price at or above BrandBucket's list price.

Any broker or buyer seeking a discount on the other marketplace's list price should be directed to BrandBucket as your primary broker.

When a domain sells below $50,000, sellers will pay a 10% co-brokerage fee to BrandBucket.

When a domain sells at or above $50,000, sellers will pay a 5% co-brokerage fee to BrandBucket.

Publication of Sales Information on External Websites

Information on any domain name sold at BrandBucket, including the name, price and/or logo design may not be listed on third-party websites or marketplaces without BrandBucket's approval. BrandBucket retains the right to be the sole publisher of sales information to comply with customers' needs to make this information private at any time. Sellers publishing BrandBucket domain sales information without BrandBucket's approval risk having their BrandBucket accounts canceled.

Trademark Protected Domains

When you list a domain for sale in BrandBucket's domain database you are representing that you are the legal owner of the domain and that the domain is free of any legal proceedings challenging your right to use the domain. This includes domains that infringe upon the rights of international trademark owners. Before listing a domain for sale in the domain database, it is your responsibility to perform the necessary research to ensure that your domain does not infringe the intellectual property rights of a third party. Often, sellers only become aware of potential trademark issues after listing their domains for sale in the domain database. When this occurs, sellers must remove such domains until legal clarification has been made. BrandBucket reserves the right to remove domains from our domain database which, in BrandBucket's sole discretion, may infringe or violate the proprietary rights of any third party.

Failure to Failure to Keep Account Up-To-Date

When listing a domain for sale, sellers agree to keep any data up-to-date. This includes the seller's personal information, contact information, as well as domain names, and their data. If a domain has expired, the seller must request to have it removed from the database. Furthermore, sellers must remove domains from the domain database immediately if a warning has been issued or as soon as any knowledge has been received that the listing could violate the rights of a third party or existing laws. This shall apply until legal clarification of the situation has been made.

Reporting Violations

You may report violations by emailing info @ BrandBucket dot com. While it is the right of a buyer to seek judicial enforcement of a sales agreement, BrandBucket may choose to issue a formal warning, a temporary suspension of the seller's account, or cancel their account. When filing a complaint against a seller, it is important to include documentation of the seller's violation of the above rules with the full message text and complete email headers. Our Privacy Policy prevents BrandBucket from discussing the result of an investigation.

What kind of names do you accept for listing?

To accept or not accept a domain is often a tough decision. Many very good and "brandable" names are submitted, but because we try to keep the marketplace small enough for a single buyer to browse in an evening, we've created some basic guidelines:

We are looking primarily for non-keyword, short and catchy names. For these types of names, we mainly focus on

If the name is based on a dictionary word -- and sounds the same as that word -- it should have no more than one spelling variation or "error" away from the original word. This makes it easy to explain to customers. For example, Digg is "dig with two g's".
Pronunciation should be straightforward.
Spelling should be as expected.
- Ask your friends to spell your name -- can they get it in one or two tries?
- Is the same vowel being used for two different sounds, or is the same sound represented by two different vowels (for example, the 'ee' sound can be an 'e' or an 'i')?
If the name has a keyword or root word, it should apply to a popular industry, or be broad enough to apply to several different business types.
There should be no more than three syllables.

In some cases, we do approve domains with keywords that follow specific criteria. For two-word (compound) names. we're looking for:

Both words should be spelled fully and correctly.
The words should have something in common, or a linguistic connection (same first letter, same vowel sound, etc.). They can also be a common phrase or play on a common phrase.
One (or both) of the words should relate to a popular industry or be broad enough to apply to many different industries.

Other things we try to avoid:

Numbers
Keyword combinations over two words
Very long names
Prefixes like 'a', 'the', or 'my'
Suffixes/endings like 'app', 'biz', or 'inc'
Plurals, except in some rare cases where a domain would make a clever consumer product name (not a company name).

Ultimately, the decision to accept a name boils down to our team's combined experience (over 30 years) of naming companies and products, along with our founder's background in linguistic studies and foreign languages.

How do I submit my domains for listing?

First, sign up for an account here: https://www.brandbucket.com/user/register/domain_owner.
Under the Domains area, click on the green "Add domains" button
Enter your domains and follow the instructions on that page.
You will receive an email confirmation, so please check your inbox to confirm that your names were submitted.

Please note that we only list domains that are a good match for our portfolio, and you can find some information about the type of names we seek and approve on this page.

What are BrandBucket’s submission fees?

We charge a $1 fee per domain appraisal. This is paid at the time of submission. You can purchase credits to cover these fees via PayPal or credit card from within your account admin area. Please note there are no future fees to list the domain for sale.

What is the BrandBucket sales commission structure?

BrandBucket takes a consignment fee of the selling price. This does not affect the bottom line "in your pocket" price that you want to get for your domain. You can easily see the "in your pocket" amount when pricing a domain from within your admin area. The BrandBucket fee is:

30% for names below $10,000 USD
25% for names between $10,000 USD and $50,000 USD
20% for names between $50,000 USD and $100,000 USD
15% for names above $100,000 USD.

Are there any logo design fees?

No. BrandBucket covers the logo fee paid to the designer. However, we previously requested that all names have a post-sale award paid to the logo designer when the name sells. This used to be between $100 to $500 USD and selected by the sellers. Starting on April 1st, 2019, sellers pushing domain names forward for listing will no longer be asked to choose a post-sale design award. However, any domain name with a publishing date before April 1st, 2019, will still have the original post-sale logo award (this includes currently published names and any previously published names that are re-published after April 1st.). You can email us to check whether your names fall within this category.

What if my domain has a logo already?

In general, we prefer that the logo designers in our community create a logo for all domains submitted to us. However, if you are a professional designer with a strong logo design portfolio, we can consider you to join the community, and then you'll be able to upload your own logos for your own domain names.

If you haven't registered as a domain owner, please visit this page for info and sign-up: https://www.brandbucket.com/domain-owners.

Then you can email info @ BrandBucket dot com with your design portfolio URL and ask to be considered to join the designer community as a domain owner. If approved, we'll upgrade your account to be both a logo designer and a domain owner. You'll then be able to upload your logos if your domains are accepted for listing.

How will I get paid?

BrandBucket offers payouts using PayPal, Payoneer or BitPay.

For PayPal, you must connect a live PayPal account email address.
For Payoneer, you need to click on the link we provide in your account page.
For BitPay, you will need to click on the link we provide in your account page, and you will receive info on the next steps to the email address associated with your BrandBucket account, but you can then opt to use a different email if you wish. BitPay helps BrandBucket with KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements, so after receiving the invitation, you will go through a verification process. So please have on hand your identification document and camera for a selfie.

Please note that you can only select one payout method and switch to another only if your balance is $0. Please email our support team to change payout methods with a balance above $0.

Accessing Payment Report

Log into your account and click on Balance Report to see the following:

All Payments - This lists all your payments in three statuses Escrow, Due, and Paid. You will also see the date of each payment request if it was made.
Escrow - This lists all names that are still currently in escrow. Funds cannot be dispersed while in escrow and can only be requested when they are due.
Due - This lists all names that have completed escrow, and funds are now available to be requested.
Paid - This contains a list of all names whose funds have been paid, along with each payment request date.

Please note for payments on sold names; there is a minimum 5-day waiting period for the payment to become available after the name is sold.

Requesting a Payment

Click on the “Request Payment” button within your Balance Report.
This next screen will show you all the names and their associated funds that are available to be withdrawn.
Select the names you wish to be paid for using the checkmarks, and then click “Continue”.
The final screen will confirm the requested amount and any fees associated with the transaction.
After a payment request has been made, you will receive an email confirmation from BrandBucket, and a separate email from either PayPal, Payoneer, or BitPay confirming the payment. Please be aware that emails may take up to 3 hours to be delivered.

Payout Fees

PayPal - Located in the United States

For payments under $500 there is a $1 fee
For payments over $500 there is no fee.

PayPal - Located outside of the United States

For payments under $500 the fee is 2% of the total.
For payments over $500 the fee is 2% of the total minus $3.

Payoneer - Worldwide

For payments under $500 a $3 fee is charged.
For payments over $500 there is no fee.

BitPay - Worldwide

For all payments there is a 1% processing fee.

How do I publish accepted names?

Please complete the following steps if you're happy with our evaluation and would like to publish your names for sale on BrandBucket.

1. Validate the DNS

To make sure you own the name and direct the domain to our site, you need to edit the domain nameservers. Go to your domain's registrar and log in. Within your registrar's control panel, edit the nameservers for your domain. You should set the first and second nameservers to NS1.BRANDBUCKET.COM and NS2.BRANDBUCKET.COM, and leave the third and fourth nameservers blank.

2. Push Names to Publishing

Log in to your BrandBucket account, go to the "Domains" page, and click on the "Appraised" tab. Select the accepted name(s) you wish to publish and click the "Publish" button in the right sidebar. If the DNS validation is set up correctly, you will see a message that your domain has been validated, but note this it may take up to 24 hours for your DNS to propagate correctly.

3. Approve the Price

Once the validation is complete, your domain name is moved to the Editorial phase of the listing process, where each name will receive a description and a logo.

Here you can optionally increase our suggested price by up to 20%. Please note that any price changes you apply to any of your names will lock the price for the next 30 days.

And you're done! You will get notified via email once the name is live on the marketplace.

How do you verify I own the domain name?

When listing a domain name at BrandBucket, we ask you to redirect the domain name to our website. This allows us to verify that you do own the domain name and allows us to capture all traffic to this domain name to its buy now page on our website.

Do I have to re-direct my site to BrandBucket?

Yes, it is 100% mandatory. This will allow visitors to your site to know it is for sale on BrandBucket at the listed price.

How do I verify my domain name?

After your domain submission has been approved and you've paid your listing fee, we ask that you verify your ownership of the domain by forwarding (or redirecting) your domain name to your BrandBucket sales page. This is done by changing the nameservers.

Validate DNS by Changing Nameservers

You will need to edit the nameservers for your domain within your registrar's control panel. You should set the first and second nameservers to NS1.BRANDBUCKET.COM and NS2.BRANDBUCKET.COM and leave the third and fourth nameservers blank. These changes may take up to an hour to propagate through the web.

How do I view domain traffic stats?

Once your names are pointing to BrandBucket and published, you can easily view the traffic statistics of each domain name. These stats include unique visits to a landing page (direct type-in traffic) and impressions on a landing page (number of times a name appeared on a related domain name landing page.)

To view traffic stats:

Within your account dashboard in the right side panel and click the View Traffic Stats link.
You can sort each column and view traffic from the last 7, 30, 60, or 90 days.

Can I list the domain for sale elsewhere?

By accepting to list your name at BrandBucket, you agree to retain BrandBucket as the exclusive seller for the duration that this domain name is listed on the marketplace. Please refer to the Sales Exclusivity Agreement section under Rules for Sellers above.

Does BrandBucket promote my names for sale?

Yes, the successful sale of your name is our goal, and our marketing and sales tactics focus on getting as many eyes on your domain names as possible. We promote your names on third-party affiliate websites, advertise on third-party sites and social platforms, and cross-promote within BrandBucket's website.

Many affiliate sites showcase the BrandBucket inventory of domain names for sale. And we partner with these sites to increase the potential sale of every name. These sites include but are not limited to: Sedo.com, Dan.com, BrandNewName.com, NameOyster.com, Brandroot.com, and others.

How to manage domain prices?

If you'd like to adjust the pricing of a name on the marketplace, you can easily modify it by 20% using the BrandBucket Pricing Manager, either in bulk or individually. The price you set should be the amount you are OK receiving, also called the “floor” on other marketplaces. BrandBucket has built buyer loyalty on the fact that we do not inflate pricing with the expectation to negotiate down from the listed price, so please price accordingly.

Adjusting Domain Prices

In the "Domains" area, click on the "Published" tab.
Select a name or multiple you wish to update.
Use the percentages in the right sidebar to adjust the price.
The prices will adjust accordingly, and if you make a mistake, you can edit the percentage again.
Click "Save" to lock your price.

Some things to note:

Since the average time from the first visit to purchase is about 3 weeks, any domain price changes will lock the price for a minimum of 30 days.
We also honor the published price of a domain for 7 days from the date a customer inquires about a specific name.
You can set all domains at BrandBucket’s suggested price or up to 20% higher.
We understand market trends change, so if you would like to have your name reevaluated above the 20%, you can discuss this with our team at any time.
We don't allow dropping the price below our suggested price, as we have no historical evidence that a lower price helps a name sell more quickly.
We send out an email reminder every 90 days, encouraging our sellers to revisit the prices of their published domain name inventory. This gives us a current view of your sales strategy to communicate with potential buyers effectively.

How do I remove my name from other marketplaces?

You may occasionally receive an email notification that one of your domain names published for sale on BrandBucket is also listed for sale on another marketplace.

If you listed the name for sale: Please log in to your account on the other marketplace and remove or delete the listing.

If you did not list the name for sale (the name is possibly under a previous owner's account): You will need to submit a support request to the marketplace asking that the names be removed or deleted. You should submit the request from the email address currently listed on the domain name's WHOIS record to verify that you are the current owner. Below are links to the support centers of a few marketplaces:

Sedo.com
Dan.com.

What if I disagree with BrandBucket’s decision on a name?

Every name is reviewed by multiple people with many years of experience in the domain name space, but our vetting process is by no means error-free. If you feel we undervalued your name, you can always request we take another look by submitting a Reconsideration Request.

Reconsideration requests allow you to appeal our decision. You may appeal an unaccepted name or the price of an accepted name. No charge is associated with the appeal, though we limit this to one daily request per account. Also, please note that we only accept appeals on registered names and do not accept appeals on unregistered names.

Appealing Rejected Domains

Under the “Domains” area within your account, select the "Declined" tab, then select the domain name, then the "Appeal" button in the right sidebar.
Please include any notes you may have to help our team re-evaluate the name.
Click the "Appeal" button to submit your appeal.

Appealing Domain Pricing

Under the “Domains” area within your account, select the "Appraised" tab, then select the domain name, then the "Appeal" button in the right sidebar.
Please include any notes you may have to help our team re-evaluate the name.
Click on the "Appeal" Button and follow the instructions.

We recommend you give as many details as possible when submitting an appeal so our team can be armed with all the details for proper consideration.

Lease-to-Own Program

What is the lease-to-own program?

The BrandBucket lease-to-own program allows you to sell your domain names in installments. The buyer would pick the lease-to-own option during checkout and pay for the domain name over 12 months. During the lease, BrandBucket will keep the domain name in an escrow account until the full payment from the buyer is made, then the domain is transferred over to the buyer.

How do I enable the lease-to-own program for my names?

You can turn on the lease-to-own program for your domains directly from your account settings page. Please note that it is only possible to enable the program on all names and not a select few. The program is eligible at the time of publication for names currently registered at GoDaddy, Dynadot, and Namesilo. Names at other registers are eligible after 60 days of publication and if they have not moved registrars in the last 60 days.

Are there extra fees charged to the buyer for leasing a name?

Yes. The buyer will be charged a setup fee of 5% of the domain name's price is added to the first payment. Future payments include a fee on a sliding scale starting at 15% and dropping to 5%, depending on the domain's price. The payout of these fees is split between BrandBucket and the seller 50/50. The fees help offset operational costs and entice the buyer to purchase the name in full as soon as possible.

What is BrandBucket’s commission for leased names?

BrandBucket charges the same commission on leased names as buy-it-now sales.

When do I receive the funds from a monthly payment?

Similar to a regular purchase, the funds will be available in your BrandBucket account within a few days of payment.

What happens if a payment fails or is delayed?

If a credit card payment fails or a wire transfer/bitcoin payment is delayed to arrive, we will continue to reach out to the buyer with alternative payment methods. If payment is not received within our 30 days grace period, we will cancel the lease, and the domain will be returned to the seller's registrar account and made available for sale on BrandBucket again.

Do I need to transfer the domain name to BrandBucket?

Yes. Since BrandBucket acts as an intermediary between the seller and the buyer, the domain name will need to be transferred to a BrandBucket escrow account for the duration of the lease.

What happens if the buyer changes their mind?

If the buyer wishes to cancel the lease, the name will be transferred back to the seller's registrar account and again published for sale on BrandBucket.