New Domain Name Auction Platform Bido Launches

After long delay, Bido has launched.

Newcomer Bido has entered the domain name auction scene. The platform, launched in part by Sahar Sarid, features only one domain name auction per day, bids start at $1, domain names have no reserve, and Bido guarantees a minimum sales price to sellers.

It’s good for domainers to see more competition in this space, especially from a company that’s trying to throw a couple curve balls into the game. Bido includes social aspects that I haven’t seen in any other auction platforms, as “experts” can weigh in on each domain (and all users can vote on experts’ opinions).

There’s a catch to the “no reserve” part, however. Bido sets a minimum guarantee for the seller, but the auctions start at only $1. So what happens if few people bid on a domain and Bido get stuck holding the bag? Bido is allowed to place one bid for each domain. Consider a domain that starts at $1 and has a $5,000 guarantee. The seller pays an 8% commission, which leaves him with $4,600. So if bidders haven’t pushed the domain price up to $4,600 by the end of the auction, Bido must either bid for the domain or eat the difference between $4,600 and the sale price. In other words, there’s “no reserve”, but don’t expect to get any $5,000 domains for only $1,000.

The first auctions will be for DiscountImages.com, followed by GolfIowa.com, Ryy.com, GoldAuction.com, SpywareHelp.com, and DomainTalk.com.