Domain Name Wire | Domain Name News & Website Stuff

Domain Name Industry News and Website Stuff

Featured Domains

Hexonet

A simple way to make GoDaddy Closeout auctions more fair

by — Expired Domains 15 Comments

A win-win for GoDaddy and most bidders.

A lot of people are frustrated with the bidding process at GoDaddy when it comes to closeout auctions.

The idea behind closeout auctions is smart. If no one bids at least $12 for a name during the regular GoDaddy expired domain auction, the domain goes to a Dutch auction where the price starts at $11 and decreases by a dollar a day until it hits $5.

Closeouts allow GoDaddy and its expired domain partners to get something for a domain even if it’s not worth the $12 starting bid price.

But how things work in reality is very different from how they work conceptually.

People don’t want to get into bidding wars in auctions. If no one else has bid on an expired domain as the clock winds down, they (or their computers) stand ready to ping GoDaddy the minute the domain goes into closeouts so they can get it for $11 rather than what is likely hundreds if they place a bid during the regular auction.

Think about what’s happening here. An auction will expire with no bids at even $12, but there are sometimes 5 or more ready buyers who would be willing to spend $100+ on the domain. The point of auctions is to sell things for the market price, but that’s no longer happening in these auctions.

That’s bad for people that don’t have automated means to snipe the closeouts. It’s also bad for GoDaddy and its partners because they are leaving money on the table.

The solution is fairly simple: raise the starting bid for closeout auctions.

Instead of setting a buy now price below $12, set it much higher. I’m not sure what the right number is. Maybe it starts at $75, drops to $50, then $25, then $10 and drops a few bucks after that. I know that I’d be willing to pay $75 or more for many domains that close with no bids.

Raising the price will have two effects.

First, people will be more willing to bid in the regular auctions rather than wait for closeouts. The potential savings of waiting won’t be as great.

Second, GoDaddy and its partners will make more money.

The only people who will lose out are those that have perfected their systems for sniping closeouts.

Share7
Tweet9
Email
16 Shares

GoDaddy is closing an expired domain “loophole”

by — Expired Domains 18 Comments

Last second backorders will no longer circumvent closeout process.

Auctions for expired domain names at GoDaddy can get competitive. With no backorders required, domain names can go from $0 to hundreds of dollars even when no bids are placed until the last few minutes.

This is complicated by the closeout process. If you bid on a domain in the live auction it will likely be bid up to over $100. If you can snag it when it goes into closeouts then it’s only $12 plus the renewal fee.

Unfortunately, there are lots of people with API access and computing power who treat the closeout like a drop. They start sending calls to buy the domain as soon as the regular auction closes.

But there has been a loophole that has helped people like me. If you place a backorder the second an auction closes, you can win the domain for the cost of a backorder before it gets placed in closeouts.

For the past year or so, I will closely watch auctions and be ready to bid if someone jumps in at the last minute. If the auction ends with no bids, I’ll place a backorder at the second the auction ends.

Historically, this has helped me scoop up a lot of domain names. About 95% of the domains that make it through the auction with no bids. But it’s gotten tougher this year.

Starting in January I noticed a lot of people placing backorders with a few minutes left in the auction. I’m not sure why they were doing this because it triggers a $10 bid and then everyone can pile in.

Then a few weeks ago I noticed that many of the domains I was backordering at the last second were getting scooped up by other people. My success rate went from 95% to about 25%. My guess is that they automated the process for backordering to get the timing just right.

While the backorder loophole was nice while it lasted, GoDaddy is about to eliminate it.

Joe Styler explained this change in a post on NamePros this week.

So now the options are either bid regularly and fight with everyone else, or program a system to snipe domains the minute they hit closeouts.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. At least now I won’t log into GoDaddy to place a backorder, only to be frustrated when someone places a last minute bid.

Share7
Tweet8
Email
15 Shares

Please, GoDaddy, don’t add watcher data to expired domains

by — Expired Domains 47 Comments

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.

Share6
Tweet17
Email
23 Shares

Tucows moves expired domain names back to GoDaddy Auctions

by — Domain Sales 7 Comments

Move back to GoDaddy suggests that GoDaddy generates substantially more revenue per domain for registrars.

Domain name registrar Tucows has moved its expired domain name inventory back to GoDaddy Auctions, Domain Name Wire has discovered.

In September 2016, Tucows became the first third-party registrar to send its expired domain inventory to GoDaddy Auctions, switching from SnapNames. But Tucows acquired a 50% stake in competing expired domain service NameJet this year as part of its acquisition of Enom. Tucows subsequently moved its inventory to NameJet.

When Tucows moved its inventory to NameJet this year, GoDaddy VP Paul Nicks told Domain Name Wire, “…We believe Tucows saw great results and we feel confident that GoDaddy’s performance will speak for itself and that we’ll earn the opportunity to win back that business.”

That was a bold statement to make after a company moved its inventory to a platform it co-owned. But apparently, it was accurate. Click here to continue reading…

Share14
Tweet18
Email
32 Shares

3 Tips to Discover Expired Domains Available at Hand-Registration Fee

by — Expired Domains 6 Comments

[Editor’s note: I’m pleased to have Alvin Brown join as a contributing author on DNW. Brown is a fellow Austinite, domain investor and digital marketer. He posts great tutorials at KickstartCommerce.com, and will be writing posts for DNW that will help domain investors.]

Each day I spend my fair share of time reviewing a vast number of expired domain auctions to share with others and bid on personally.

Although I review a number of aftermarket platforms of expired domains daily, I often use GoDaddy’s aftermarket platform.

I actively bid and secure a growing number of competitively-priced expired domains through GoDaddy’s aftermarket platform every week.

If you use GoDaddy’s aftermarket platform to bid and purchase expired domains, then you’ll want to continue reading as I share 3 tips to discover expired domains available at hand-registration fee (hand-reg fee).

If you are not familiar with the GoDaddy Aftermarket, please allow me a moment to help you get acclimated. [Read more…]

Share5
Tweet11
Email
16 Shares