Valuable expired domain names will continue to be auctioned off through NameJet.
News broke over the weekend that Web.com had acquired expired domain name service and domain marketplace SnapNames from KeyDrive.
The first question to pop in to mind for many people is what this means for competing service NameJet. NameJet is a partnership between Web.com and Demand Media. Web.com also sends its expired domain name inventory from Network Solutions and Register.com to NameJet.
This is some of the best expired domain inventory because Web.com’s registrars have been around for a long time. Older expiring domain names are often valuable.
I reached out to Web.com to find out what the acquisition means for NameJet. The company confirmed that Demand Media is not involved with the SnapNames acquisition. It also said that it will continue to send domain names from Network Solutions and Register.com to NameJet.
I questioned the inevitable conflict between owning SnapNames outright and only part of NameJet. Here’s what the company had to say:
The acquisition of SnapNames enables Web.com to enhance its existing domain related assets and provide additional services for customers who are looking for specific domain name addresses. In today’s expanding domain resale marketplace, SnapNames is a global industry leader with experience and expertise in domain lifecycle management and auction services.
The statement doesn’t disclose much. In an F.A.Q. document, the company writes:
SnapNames’ experience and leadership will help us enhance services currently offered to customers. In addition, we believe that this acquisition complements NameJet, which is the domain name auction platform that we manage through our joint venture partnership with Rightside. Together, we will be able to provide additional flexibility to service the domain name aftermarket by providing increased expertise and knowledge sharing to better serve our customers.
It will be interesting to see how SnapNames vs. NameJet plays out in the coming months.
maybe change this sentence to better reflect reality . . .
” . . . it will continue to send domain names from Network Solutions and Register.com that it doesn’t hoard for it’s own internal monetization company to NameJet.”
too bad they won’t actually say much beyond short prepared statements.
Hello ANDREW
Any updates on this? I want to know where do the deleting register.com domains end up now.