Disclosing the number of watchers could change how people use GoDaddy Auctions.
Alvin Brown recently discovered data that GoDaddy is sharing for its closeout expiring domain name auctions.
It’s valuable data including the domain age, links to search results, etc. But one thing is troubling:
Showing how many people are watching a domain name could fundamentally change how GoDaddy Auctions works if it is extended to all domain name auctions. It will make it less convenient for users.
One of the things I like about GoDaddy Auctions is how I can add a domain to my watch list without tipping others off to my interest in the domain name. Once a week I filter the inventory and “watch” it so that it gets added to the GoDaddy Investor app. I can then bid on the go from my mobile phone when auctions come to a conclusion.
Compare this to how auction services that require a backorder work. Placing a backorder draws attention to domain names, so people wait until the last minute to place backorders. It’s inefficient unless you use an API or bot to place backorders.
If GoDaddy were to start sharing watch data on all expired domains, I would no longer be able to load up all of the domains for the week ahead of time. You can’t bid on domains in the app unless you’ve watched them or already bid through the web interface. So I’d need to be in front of my computer when auctions come to a close, and I’d need to have a list handy with closing times. This would significantly reduce my bidding activity.
Given that anyone can bid on an expiring auction at any time (compared to other services that require a backorder), the watch data isn’t necessary as a bid will trigger “notice” of interest in the domain.
I understand why watcher data makes sense for closeout domains since they are reverse auctions, but they would be bad news for regular auctions.
Jamie Zoch says
You could always build your own “watch tool” with the API and not worry about tipping anybody off with “views” or “watching”. Yes, there would be a cost involved but it also “hides” what you may be interested in. Just an idea.
Alvin Brown says
Hmm… 😉
KCH says
There was recently a thread on NamePros where one user asked Joe Styler why he was denied API access. Regular users are not given API access anymore. “Anyone” can’t just build such a tool with the API. Only the privileged few have API access.
So because there is no way to “build your own ‘watch tool'” it would really be better for GoDaddy to simply not break it in the first place.
Jason Drake says
this is BS
Casey says
I completely agree. One of the main reasons I still use GoDaddy over other wholesale venues is that I can prepare which domains I am going to bid on/buy as closeouts, put them on my watchlist, and then not “give away” my research to everyone else. This is a really bad move by GD IMO, and if I would have to keep track of domains I am interested in without putting them on my watchlist I would certainly spend less effort and $ on buying names via GoDaddy (I bought about 1500 names in 2017 at GD, not an insignificant amount).
GoDaddy is already becoming very “anti-domainer” – they have open public auctions, and whenever you place a bid, HugeDomains and others get notified about this via their API, and their automated bidding systems jump into the action. It’s reasonable enough for GoDaddy to notify their API users about bids being placed, as this is a PUBLIC action. But when we put a domain on our PRIVATE watchlist that is really nobodys business, and I think it’s a really low blow by GoDaddy to take this step against domainers. I get it, you want to do everything you can to help companies like HugeDomains.com buy your inventory piggybacking of the research regular users put into scanning through your pre-release inventory. But at one point you have to draw a line, or else your regular users are going to abandon you, because the system just becomes too eschewed in favor of these big buyers.
I spend a lot of time doing research on which domains to bid on, and you let various corporate bidders know about it whenever I place a bid via your API. Fair enough. But are you really going to make the domains I have in my private watch-list public info too now!? GoDaddy is really going too far, and I am very disappointed by this development. Users’ watch lists should be private and the domains in somebody’s watchlist should not be published for the benefits of companies like HugeDomains.
I really hope Paul Nicks or someone else at GoDaddy will see reason, and recognize that you cannot just continue to steamroll your regular users for the benefit of a handful of big buyers. If you take away this one little thing too, then everything on your platform works against your regular buyers: auctions are public to everyone, you highlight domains when they get bids, you let API users pull info about which domains get bids so that they can automatically bid on them (and regular users cannot get API access), and now we can’t even put a domain on our watchlist without you publicizing this info to everyone!?
Please GoDaddy, leave us with this one tiny, but immensely useful feature. Please let me at least have the convenience of keeping track of which domains I am going to go after without letting my private list be made public to everyone, thereby wasting the hours I spend every day looking through lists of domains that are expiring and available via auction on your platform. Your system already works against me in so many ways. Please let us regular domainers continue to have the details of our watchlists kept private…
Casey says
GoDaddy is not letting any more users gain API access. They don’t give any regular users API access anymore.
Considering how they continue to work against regular users, I hope they can at least let us have the watchlist function without publicizing the contents of it to everyone, especially those privileged API bidders…
Casey says
My last post was a reply to Jamie Zoch, not sure why it shows up at the bottom of the comment thread, rather than as a reply to his comments.
B. Q. says
Bad news. I’ve noticed that GoDaddy is testing a number of updates to their system, and that’s been going on for a while. It appears these updates are for the purpose of making their system more unfair, in order to help deep-pocketed buyers at the expense of regular domainers.
As Andrew recently posted, Tucows is going to move from NameJet to Tucows again. And GoDaddy is quickly absorbing an increasing amount of inventory via different auction partners. With this development continuing, there is going to be no getting around using GoDaddy, or else you are cut off from the bulk of pre-release domains available in the industry. I certainly wish these partners would not join up with GoDaddy, as GoDaddy is moving in a direction that is extremely unfavourable to most of their regular users.
This most recent change is just ludicrous. Where did they get the idea to “expose” the domains in their users watch lists? Isnt’ that what bids are for? With this change, placing a bid or putting a domain in your watchlist is turning into the same thing! Doesn’t GoDaddy understand that the reason we put a domain in our watchlist is precisely because we do not want others to see that we are interested in the domain. If I wanted to let everyone know that I am interested in a domain, I would simply place a bid. It appears they have forgotten the function of a watch list. I hope the various interface updates GoDaddy are going to implement are not going to introduce more nasty features like this…
As the title of this article says: Please, GoDaddy, don’t add watcher data to expired domains !
Ron says
Guys godaddy is a public company, they don’t care a rats a** if you spend 24 hours a day making lists, and doing research, they are going to do what makes them the most $$$, why would you expect anything less?
If you want to blame anyone, blame HugeDomains, Namebright or whoever they are, they are the ones making you pay hundreds for $20-$50 domains, their api bidder essentially places a minimum floor on any name they invoke into action into the hundreds.
Can you imagine having another company who installs a robot, and anytime someone bids an honest $12, that robot bids $105, and makes you pay $110 all day long, everyday, best thing going.
Domainers for the most part are like lemmings sometimes, they don’t boycott with their dollars, if you don’t like what they are doing, boycott these companies who are making you pay with your own money.
It is really very simple.
christopher brennan says
well saie
christopher brennan says
well said
Peter says
Like Andrew, I prepare my watch list in advance and then use my phone to bid while I’m out and about. This new update will ruin the viability of my current setup. Why would I go through the work of preparing a watch list if you are just going to make it public to everyone?
Do you even know what a watch list is? Making our watch list public is antithetical to the intended function of this feature. You already “expose” our bids to everyone. Can’t we even have the watch list feature anymore?
Bids = public.
Watch list = private.
That distinction should be obvious. It’s like GoDaddy is always making their services worse for their users, if it might help them earn a little bit more. It’s like functionality and user experience is never taken into account. You already make bids public real time both on your site and to partners like hugedomains via real time updated api. Can you for once try to strike a balance and at least leave the watch list function intact?
GoDaddy is really creating so much ill will among domainers by seemingly never caring about their users. We use the watch list function to keep track of domains we are interested in, without alerting the entire world about it days in advance. If this change is implemented I will simply stop bidding at godaddy on days where I am not able to by my computer. Just doesn’t make any sense to use the watchlist function anymore if it is turned into a public list of domains I want to alert others to my intention of bidding on…
Andrew Allemann says
To be clear here, this is only for closeout domains right now. I don’t know if they plan to expand this to all domains. I hope they don’t.
Mark Thorpe says
I hope they don’t either! But I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.
GoDaddy does not care about domainers, they only care about what makes them money. Period.
Ron says
Your watch remains if the domain goes from auction into closeout, it does not drop
christopher brennan says
most people are placing a watch and waiting for it to move to close out to buy.
the reason for this is not to save $2 to $7 but that if you place a bid huge domains will bid against you.
godaddy would make more money if they did not make bids public information.
the real elephant in the room is huge domains exploiting the system.
KCH says
I assume they have planned to expand this to all domains; that page was previously the same for both closeouts and pre-release domains. I doubt they are planning to keep the old page for pre-release and introduce the new page only for closeouts. But hopefully they will decide to not do so, seeing as nobody wants it.
Mark Thorpe says
I would bid on less domains too.
The watch list should stay private on everything, GoDaddy Auctions is not eBay!
Bogdan says
This would make the watch list unusable if implemented across all expiring domains. It’s a nonsensical feature. A watch list should be private. That’s the function of the watch list. If we wanted to make public the domains we are interested in, we would not put them on our watch list. We would place a bid right away (and many domainers do).
We already have the option of making our intentions private by placing a bid. Do you really have to break the watch list function to make this the only option?
I hope Joe Style or Paul Nicks or anyone over at GoDaddy will see reason and scrap this feature. Save the watch list. I’ve spent six figures at GoDaddy this year, a lot of it due to competing with all their API bot bidders. Is even using the watch list and placing a bid in the last minute something GoDaddy can’t let me do anymore? Your partners will be notified then anyways via your API, so is it really too much to at least let me have the “luxury” of maintaining a private watch list? Very disappointing to see GoDaddy move in this direction….
Sung Yeon says
I hope GoDaddy will take into consideration the sentiment expressed among these comments to the article: We want the watch list function to remain fully private for expiring domains.
As Andrew accurately pointed out: “Given that anyone can bid on an expiring auction at any time (compared to other services that require a backorder), the watch data isn’t necessary as a bid will trigger “notice” of interest in the domain.”
I agree with Andrew, you don’t need to break the watch list function, as you already highlights our bids in a variety of ways to other bidders via different channels.
Our interest in the domain will be publicized once we place a bid, usually triggering a bidding war. This function is already built into the system. So please do not take away the convenience of compiling a list for later bidding and then using the watch list function to privately keep track of those auctions. If you make the watch list public it means we have to keep track of the domains manually via some kind of third party solution instead, which will be cumbersome and will affect our incentive to spend our time pursuing names at GoDaddy auction. Please let the watch list remain private.
Ron says
Godaddy will test various scenarios, and will keep what makes them the most money. They don’t care about what a bunch of guys say on a domain blog.
I would like what you articulate to happen also, but being around for so long domaining is turning into a sh%t show.
A few players are controlling, and ruining the space, less good inventory is causing prices to spike. Guys who are holding good portfolios, take a step back, sell your current inventory, and stop overpaying for aftermarket inventory it is just eating your profits.
If you keep paying these current after market prices, I am seeing typos of half decent terms sell for insane amounts, those names don’t make ppc anymore they are useless.
Take a step back, let the newbies overpay, then overquote, and sit on unsold inventory, let them go broke, then come back in.
Paul Nicks says
Hi folks, I really appreciate all of this feedback. We’re in the process of testing out a few things and you can be assured these comments will be taken into account as we are reviewing.
John says
Well do please see this one then: https://domainnamewire.com/2017/12/12/please-godaddy-dont-add-watcher-data-expired-domains/#comment-2247737 🙂
Paul Nicks says
Hi John, I did read that comment, thank you for your feedback. Our marketplace is very competitive, especially on the first day of closeout. If you really want a domain I suggest bidding prior to letting it go to closeout
christopher brennan says
the reason godaddy closeout aucton is competitive on the first day of closeout is that most bidders are trying to avoid huge domains.
if godaddy wants to make more money then look at the way huge domains is manipulating your auction.
i have bought over 200 names at godaddy auction but it is more than a year since i have bid because every domain i bid on huge domains ended up winning.
now i watch and wait for it to become a close out and if it is available i buy.
i am not trying to save a few bucks but i also don’t want to pay over the odds because i am bidding against a bot that is programmed to bid for domains that have bids.
KCH says
Thanks for taking the concerns raised here into consideration, Paul. The comments here indicate that users almost unanimously prefer to keep the contents of our watchlists 100% private.
Hope to see GD do the right thing regard thing issue as you move forwards with various updates.
JZ says
i will just say…get rid of API access completely! its an unfair playing ground.
Ron says
This will cause godaddy profits to fall, I know you are a dropcatch regular, so you know what hugedomains does when it is active on gd auctions, it takes lunch money, and turns it into a daily wage for godaddy in the course of 5 mins.
Jinsoo says
I don’t think API access is going anywhere. But isn’t highlighting public bids to everyone, even directly via API access to the likes of HugeDomains, enough for them?
Are they seriously going to make the watch list private in this way? What’s the purpose, other than messing with your users and breaking a perfectly fine feature?
This does not anything useful for users. When we place a bid, everyone is notified. Why do you have to move this to happen on the watch list level? Please have some regard for your non-API access users too!
I will move a lot of my bidding to other platforms is this is implemented. HugeDomains already piggyback off my last minute bids. If they are going to get access even to my private watchlist, even before I have placed a bid, I’m out! They are just taking it too far now.
JZ says
apparently api access is no longer given out..which is good i guess but why should those who already have it get to continue to use it?
Jinsoo says
Sorry, typo in my comment above. I meant to say “make the watch list PUBLIC” (not PRIVATE – it currently is private, which it should be, but it’s under threat of being made public…)
J says
I’ve noticed GoDaddy has been testing out a new shopping cart interface too.
Seeing how this watch list change is a big downgrade for users in terms of functionality, that will negatively affect our activity at GD if implemented, it makes me worried about what other kinds of “updates” GoDaddy has in store for us.
After the crazy API access they give some users (real time updates about which domains get bids), I really didn’t think they would go further in the direction of skewing the platform in favor of a select few. This article unfortunately indicates that my assumption was likely wrong.
I really hope they will not introduce even more unfavorable features like this. The current system has a number of drawbacks already, but if this is a harbinger of what will come later on, I really prefer the status quo. Please don’t make the system even worse for us – you already go out of your way to facilitate the likes of Huge Domains; for once, please consider your other users as well.
JM says
Godaddy business is to SALE domains at higher prices; the same is valid for the sellers!
surf599 says
Last night I was surfing eBay and I can buy 35 add to watch list for $4.38 so Hmmmm. Anyone can buy add to watch list for their auction domain.
surf599 says
There is more to it, as they can see who is watching and personally spam them on other domains.
John says
It used to be you could win a domain that apparently nobody else was interested in, in the closing few minutes. Now if you place a bid, HugeDomains (or whoever) is going to know and bid you up and extend the auction for a domain you normally would have won. Not because they wanted the domain, but merely because their “bot” or whatever it is saw that you simply placed a bid.
Okay, that is bad enough, but then it got worse…
So the solution to that for a short while was to realize you’re totally and utterly screwed if you place a bid at all, even if nobody else wants the domain. Then you sit and watch the auction close at the $12 level, and in a very short time the domain is relisted for a buy it now price of $11 and you go buy it without having to be bid up earlier. Lo and behold, however, I guess that was too good for us too, because you can now no longer count on that happening at all. Now it is just as likely (or more so?) that after the first auctions ends at the $12 level with no bids – which you saw yourself and maybe even screen shot – the domain never reappears or gets relisted again and now you can’t buy it. But some time later it does turn up in someone’s possession.
James says
John, personally I have not had any problems buying domains via closeouts in the way you describe (“sniping”). The competition has increased of course, but it’s certainly still possible. In fact, when you look at WHOIS for domains bought via closeouts, it is not dominated by the regulars like Huge Domains. The problem might be more related to your sniping “skills” and timing, rather than unfair competition.
But if GoDaddy goes ahead and makes watch lists public, then that’s probably going to change a lot… However, the thing is, there is no way to increase the closeout price through more competition. It’s going to be $11 regardless of whether it’s you, me or Huge Domains who buy it.
So why make such watch list info public? They are not going to earn more from closeouts if they do. But they might help Huge Domains buy more domains instead of regular users (as Huge Domains can use the API to snipe close out domains). Regardless, they will still earn a flat $11 from those closeout sales. So why do it? It’s like they are doing it merely to spite their regular customers, so that HugeDomains can buy even more domains via close outs, but with no additional gain to GoDaddy themselves – an $11 closeout is an $11 closeout, no matter who buys it.
So why tilt the competition in favor of Huge Domains for no reason other than further marginalizing your non-api customers? This move doesn’t make any sense, and it’s disappointing to see GoDaddy moving towards pandering to a select few in this way. They’ve already made GD auctions a bot bidding paradise. The least they can do, as a courtesy to the buyers who have been loyally spending tens of thousands each year prior to the arrival of all these bots, is to let the watch list stay 100% private on all levels. Bids are made in a public setting, and can be shared. Putting a domain on a watchlist is something we do in the privacy of our own account auction dashboard. Letting these bots even get access to what we do “in private” like this is not right, it’s like they are attempting to turn GoDaddy Auctions into the auction equivalent of 1984, where every tiny move you make will eventually trigger a rabid bot.
It’s really not too much to ask to have the watch list remain 100% private. Every other part of the platform has been tweaked to work in favor of the bots. Please just let this one little amenity remain useful to the flesh and blood users on your platform.
John says
Well first of all I am hardly the only person who has ever said as much as the above before today.
Additionally…I just came here now to get the url to tell Ryan, et al at DI to see what I posted here after just seeing what Ryan posted at DI, but it looks like I’ll be telling you about what Ryan posted about this at DI first:
https://domaininvesting.com/think-valuations-giving-big-boost-godaddy-auctions/?replytocom=897839
John says
Oh yes, and see this too:
https://domaininvesting.com/think-valuations-giving-big-boost-godaddy-auctions/?replytocom=897859
Andrew Allemann says
I suspect the whole point of showing the watch number in a closeout auction is so that people buy it on day 1 rather than risking waiting until day 5.
KCH says
I don’t think implementing this solely for closeout domains would be a big issue. Who doesn’t buy on day 1 anyway?
But if they implemented it pre-closeouts (i.e. during pre-release), that would disrupt the entire system, and truly undermine the function of the watch list.
James says
Sorry, John, I’m not sure I follow. What point are you trying to make in response to my post? That GoDaddy auctions has been ruined due to all the bot activity?
I partly agree, but I still think it’s a viable platform in its current state. But making private watch lists public to these bots would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I hope GoDaddy can take a step back and recognize that they have done enough for their API users. Time to start looking out for your regular users a smidgen again.
There is no need to change every single aspect of GD auctions in Huge Domains favor. Or, are they planning to acquire HugeDomains, and that’s why they want to funnel as many of their expiring domains into their future portfolio as possible, without literally returning to their unsightly “Standard Tactics” days? Considering the great lengths they are going to facilitate the Huge Domains bots, this would not be a too surprising plot twist at this point…
John says
“Sorry, John, I’m not sure I follow. What point are you trying to make in response to my post?”
How about, responding to your very first sentence and paragraph written to me? Yes, no, maybe? Lol.
Bogdan says
That api access is no longer provided to the average domainer doesn’t really make a difference. The big corporate entities who abuse the system with bots are still bidding via api.
Once a domain gets 2+ bids Huge Domains jump in with a large proxy bid or bid in small increments over a long period of time.
Giving these corporate bidder api access to bid on a number of domain: acceptable, given their needs.
Giving these corporate bidders api access that provides real time info about what domains we bid on serves an entirely different function: It has nothing to do with their “need” to bid on a number of domains at the same time. It merely makes all other users bidding activity the basis of the bidding activity of these API bidders.
HUGE distinction there, and the fact that GoDaddy has set up their system in this way, and even plans to make the watchlist function public, really shows you how distorted their view of api access has become in terms of the “needs” certain entities have.
Some entities have a need to bid on a large quantity of domains, fine, that’s why they need to use the api. But giving them access to the domains WE bid on has nothing to do with a real NEED, it purely has to do with GoDaddy’s real GREED.
JZ says
I’m sure we all know what can be done to throw a wrench in hugedomains current bidding strategy…
Ron says
Yes, spend more money
Alyssa Maynard says
I like the idea of having the watcher data there. Sure it may be an inconvenience, but it would help understand the competition for a domain.
samy idris says
Guys just one point.Hugedomains is the monster here and we are still feeding it by using dropcatch.why not bring down dropcatch by pledging we wont use it anymore.i feel this will hurt their business.