See how Notify.domains tracked a domain as it went through an auction.
Last month, I interviewed Mike Cyger about his new business, Notify.domains.
Notify.domains tracks over 150 domain attributes to help people acquire the domains they have their eyes on.
The primary user is an entrepreneur or business that wants to acquire a currently unavailable domain name. The system will alert them if there are any changes to the domain that might indicate the domain could be available. This includes changes to the domain’s content, the domain no longer resolving, a change in Whois, or expiration.
For the test, I chose a domain with a single bid in a GoDaddy auction that was ending soon. I won’t disclose the domain out of respect for the buyer.
Adding the domain was simple, and then all I needed to do was sit back and wait for updates.
Because the domain was in auction, the initial alerts I received via email were about price changes. Here’s an example:
April 20: [Review today] — High bid $11.00 (was $6.00, +83.3%)
After the buyer obtained control of the domain, I received this email alert:
April 28: [Review today] — Registrant contact details changed — possible new owner or update
The next day, the buyer listed it for sale, and I received this alert:
April 29: [Review today] — Just listed for sale at $5,188.00
Of course, in most cases, there wouldn’t be as many updates.
For most users, the email alerts will be the primary way they use Notify.domains, but there’s also a dashboard tracking all changes (pictured above).
So far, my test domain has 39 changes tracked. These include the addition of lease-to-own as a purchase option, the lease payment amount, the minimum offer, and changes to the Whois and DNS information.
At $2 per month (paid annually), I think there are use cases for both end users and domain investors.
End users could set up an alert for a domain they haven’t been able to buy. Maybe the domain owner won’t respond, or it’s in use by a large business.
I think back to when Gravity Forms acquired gravity.com. Yahoo owned the domain, and Gravity Forms couldn’t buy it from the company. CEO Carl Hancock periodically checked the domain. One day, he noticed that the domain had changed to resolve to an inquiry form.
On the DNW Podcast, Hancock told me, “If we don’t buy it, somebody else is going to buy it…This domain is probably unlikely to ever be available to us again if we don’t make a move and acquire it now.”
He was lucky to have seen the inquiry form when he did.
Notify.domains fixes that problem: he would have learned the moment the inquiry form went live.
End users can also use the system to track domains listed for sale, but a price out of their reach. They will get alerts if the seller lowers the price.
As for domain investors, this could be useful for those tracking valuable domains. I don’t foresee investors using it in bulk, but it makes sense for hard-to-acquire domains. Many investors try to acquire dormant domains from companies, and tracking them could give them the opportunity to acquire a domain if its status changes.
Overall, I’m impressed with both the breadth of data Notify.domains tracks and the timeliness of its alerts. For the right users, the price is small compared to the outcome of obtaining a great domain.
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