A while back we urged Flippa to disallow comments in domain auctions, unless they are left by actual bidders on the auction.
Whether one leaves a positive comment, or a negative comment, domain sales deserve to be devoid of such unrelated noise.
Comments can vary from “Cool domain bro!” to “Pfffff…your domain isn’t better than mine, and you want $10,000 for it? No way!”
Naturally, many of these comments are reported and removed by the Flippa administrators.
A visit to Ali Zandi’s current mega-sale of the domain Travel.agency, led us to define 9 types of commentators often encountered on Flippa. 😀
The Renewal Cost Alarmist
This type of commentator doesn’t say much, and often leaves comments in the form of a question. His comment is valid and usually undermines the overall value of the auction. But why leave a comment when you don’t bid?
Example:
The Positive Commentator
Comments that are devoid of any substance don’t have to be negative. The Positive Commentator leaves its mark on the wall by commenting on how “nice” a domain is, and wishing the seller “good luck.” Dude, at least bid a dollar or more, the seller can’t buy groceries with good luck.
Example:
The Shameless Plugger
Forget about this auction, it’s unimportant. What’s important to the commentator, is to place a shameless plug of his own domain and ride on the coattails of the auction’s popularity.
Example:
The “Yes but No” flip-flopper
Remember the two old men reviewing the play during the Muppet Show? This guy starts off commending on the domain’s value, potential and opportunity, and then brings it down by carving the market’s conditions, uncertainty of value and telling the seller to come back at a later time. Say what?!
Example:
The One-hand-Rubs-the-Other promoter
Comments left by this type of Flippa member begin with a compliment of the domain being auctioned; the comment quickly requests a matching commentary for their own auction. High five bro!
Example:
The Random Domain Generator
Most likely a positive thinker, the commentator’s focus switches onto an entirely unrelated domain, both by keyword and TLD, that they own. A combination of the Shameless Plugger and the One hand rubs the Other promoter.
Example:
The Boasting Bidder who never bids
Why leave a simple positive comment when you can start off by promoting your own related domains, and then claim you will be bidding on the auction. Killing two birds with one stone, this type of commentator gives exposure to the TLD and domains he owns, while pretending that he will be bidding.
Example:
The Paranoid anti-new gTLD N00b
The opposite extreme of the Renewal Cost Alarmist, our guy uses his paranoia to carve an imaginary renewal cost far surpassing reality. What if it’s a million, or a billion dollars per year? At the end, they name-drop their own cheap alternative for good measure.
Example:
The dot .COM Fanatic
This type of commentator does it all: Talks down the gTLD of the domain up for sale, boasts about his own domains and achievements, and promotes the whole package all at once. He’s the composite of all the previous 8 types!
Example:
Crazy!
Not one, not two – 9 different types. Did I miss any? 😀
Wait, what happened to the 10th type of commenters? You know, the ones that comment and actually have a well researched, in-depth, mind blowing revelation to share? Oh, wait, I might have been thinking about a different comment section. My bad! :p ha
Though I think my above comment would be the 11th: The one that answers their own questions in the same comment. :p
Or wait, the 12th: The one that rambles, as if they are talking to them self, and keeps trying to psychoanalyze their own comment, within the comment. 😉
What about the seller? What kind of commenter am I? lol 😉
Ali – The only one that counts 😀
Moving right along, it seems the winning bidder missed this all-important comment among the noise:
“Once the auction breaks into 5 figures, I will add another year of renewal to the domain name.”
Bless ’em! People will pull their human dignity down to their ankles, waddling out in public in pursuit of a $1 bill as it blows away in the wind.
You missed the most important one for Flippa… the one where the Seller poses as a prospective Buyer on a throw away account to add the perception of value, interest and care. Flippa is for the birds. It’s the only auction house on the planet that facilitates letting Sellers utilize third party accounts to stack out false bids pending approval, then employ them when/as needed to get around getting stuck with No Reserve bids that are much lower than they expect. There are a good dozen plus things wrong with this company and their tactics, and there is good reason they operate within the legal country domain they do to avoid true accountability and fraud prevention. Avoid like the plague.
HAHAHAHHA, this is excellent.