4 ms·

This article is from 2005. Are its precepts still valid?

by martey 17y ago

rms 17y ago
I'm not sure. The only time I did this was in 2007 or 2008. I saw that the expiring domain was hosted with Godaddy, so I concluded without any research that I should use Godaddy's domain backorder service. It cost $17.95 + registration and it worked.
- zach 17y ago
  I did the exact same thing with my startup's name in 2007 and it was amazing, but in 2008 they went to an auction system (their "domain name aftermarket"). It was a super-hot deal at the time.
asb 17y ago
Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable can fill in the details, but my understanding is that for godaddy domains they are auctioned on tdnam.com before they are dropped. Therefore, even before placing a backorder you probably want to try to snatch it there.
stingraycharles 17y ago
I'm not sure, but I recently snatched the domain adfeeling.com via Godaddy's domain backorder system. I probably was pretty ignorant on the whole thing now I read this story, but in the end, it all went pretty smooth and the costs were predictable.
- ja27 17y ago
  I got back a friend's domain through GoDaddy's backorder system. He'd let it expire and someone else held it for a year. I tried to buy it from them for $100 but they wanted more. In the end, I got it for a $20 backorder fee.
qeorge 17y ago
Yes and no. Here's how it works: If you buy a domain and don't renew, theres a ~45 day "redemption period", during which you can pay a fee to get it back (GoDaddy charges $80 for this). If you don't, the domain is released back into the wild by Verisign, and all registrars get an equal crack at it. The reason Pool has such a good chance is that they own 80 registrars, so they have 80 horses in the race. That's what the original article discusses. However, in the last few years drop-catching has become largely irrelevant. Here's why, using GoDaddy and TDNAM as an example: During that 45 day redemption period, GoDaddy auctions off the right to buy the domain via the TDNAM. If someone pays the fee, they'll renew it themselves to sell it, it never hits the wild again, and the drop catchers never get a shot. This is how I got GeorgeWBushLibrary.com for $15 (paid TDNAM fee), which I then sold for $35,000 less than a year later. Network Solutions has NameJet, enom has one too (forget the name). Between those 3, most domains are covered, making drop catching a dying art. Edit: Its important to note that each aftermarket can only sell domains currently registered at their registrar. So TDNAM only sells domains regged @ GoDaddy, NameJet only sells domains regged @ NetSol, etc.
- mcantor 17y ago
  So, to get involved in this "TDNAM," all you have to do is pay GoDaddy's $20 backorder fee and wait for the expiration date to hit?
  - qeorge 17y ago
    No, GoDaddy backorders is a drop catching service. For it to work, the domain has to hit the wild, so if someone bought the domain in TDNAM you wouldn't get it. Basically: If the domain you want was regged with GoDaddy, Network Solutions, or eNom, buy it out of their aftermarket (much cheaper, better chance). Otherwise hire drop catchers. You can hire several, because you only pay the winner. However, be careful what you're getting yourself into here - for that the original article is still very relevant.
  - terrellm 17y ago
    Just go to Godaddy.com and click on Domain Auctions. Their dropcatching of deleting names isn't that good, however, it's the place to go to get a name that was registered at Godaddy/WildWest. For expired names that were registered at Godaddy/Wildest, the name goes into a 10 day auction around 25 days after expiration. At the end of the 10 days, it goes to the highest bidder. Then the winning bidder has to wait another 7 days before the domain is in their possession.
terrellm 17y ago
I've spent some time studying domain names as I found the topic interesting and I have seen the value in a good domain name. Several of my software programs and websites target the agriculture industry. The whole web 2.0/misspelling/non-.com extension/drop-the-vowels doesn't work well there as it just confuses people. As far as the players, SnapNames, Godaddy, and Pool still are still around. Enom's Club Drop is now NameJet. As mentioned in the article, Network Solutions had an exclusive agreement with Snap (now they are using NameJet). In the past few years, many more registrars have adopted this strategy where they partner with an auction service and make money when the domains are sold. Most names with these partner agreements become available around 35 days after expiration. These names do keep their original creation date so it's as if the original owner transferred it to you rather than it actually deleting and being re-registered. If the name is with a registrar who does not have a partner agreement or a name that is not backordered during the auctions, it eventually deletes around 75 days later where the actual dropcatching referenced in the article picks up.
kareemm 17y ago
i used info in this article to buy digitalnomad.com in april. it ended up going to an auction on pool.com with one other bidder, which i won for $170. i had emailed the original owner about a year before and he wanted a couple grand for it.

This article is from 2005. Are its precepts still valid?

by martey 17y ago

This article is from 2005. Are its precepts still valid?

rms 17y ago

I'm not sure. The only time I did this was in 2007 or 2008. I saw that the expiring domain was hosted with Godaddy, so I concluded without any research that I should use Godaddy's domain backorder service. It cost $17.95 + registration and it worked.

zach 17y ago
I did the exact same thing with my startup's name in 2007 and it was amazing, but in 2008 they went to an auction system (their "domain name aftermarket"). It was a super-hot deal at the time.

asb 17y ago

Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable can fill in the details, but my understanding is that for godaddy domains they are auctioned on tdnam.com before they are dropped. Therefore, even before placing a backorder you probably want to try to snatch it there.

stingraycharles 17y ago

I'm not sure, but I recently snatched the domain adfeeling.com via Godaddy's domain backorder system. I probably was pretty ignorant on the whole thing now I read this story, but in the end, it all went pretty smooth and the costs were predictable.

ja27 17y ago
I got back a friend's domain through GoDaddy's backorder system. He'd let it expire and someone else held it for a year. I tried to buy it from them for $100 but they wanted more. In the end, I got it for a $20 backorder fee.

qeorge 17y ago

Yes and no. Here's how it works: If you buy a domain and don't renew, theres a ~45 day "redemption period", during which you can pay a fee to get it back (GoDaddy charges $80 for this). If you don't, the domain is released back into the wild by Verisign, and all registrars get an equal crack at it. The reason Pool has such a good chance is that they own 80 registrars, so they have 80 horses in the race. That's what the original article discusses. However, in the last few years drop-catching has become largely irrelevant. Here's why, using GoDaddy and TDNAM as an example: During that 45 day redemption period, GoDaddy auctions off the right to buy the domain via the TDNAM. If someone pays the fee, they'll renew it themselves to sell it, it never hits the wild again, and the drop catchers never get a shot. This is how I got GeorgeWBushLibrary.com for $15 (paid TDNAM fee), which I then sold for $35,000 less than a year later. Network Solutions has NameJet, enom has one too (forget the name). Between those 3, most domains are covered, making drop catching a dying art. Edit: Its important to note that each aftermarket can only sell domains currently registered at their registrar. So TDNAM only sells domains regged @ GoDaddy, NameJet only sells domains regged @ NetSol, etc.

mcantor 17y ago
So, to get involved in this "TDNAM," all you have to do is pay GoDaddy's $20 backorder fee and wait for the expiration date to hit?
- qeorge 17y ago
  No, GoDaddy backorders is a drop catching service. For it to work, the domain has to hit the wild, so if someone bought the domain in TDNAM you wouldn't get it. Basically: If the domain you want was regged with GoDaddy, Network Solutions, or eNom, buy it out of their aftermarket (much cheaper, better chance). Otherwise hire drop catchers. You can hire several, because you only pay the winner. However, be careful what you're getting yourself into here - for that the original article is still very relevant.
- terrellm 17y ago
  Just go to Godaddy.com and click on Domain Auctions. Their dropcatching of deleting names isn't that good, however, it's the place to go to get a name that was registered at Godaddy/WildWest. For expired names that were registered at Godaddy/Wildest, the name goes into a 10 day auction around 25 days after expiration. At the end of the 10 days, it goes to the highest bidder. Then the winning bidder has to wait another 7 days before the domain is in their possession.

terrellm 17y ago

I've spent some time studying domain names as I found the topic interesting and I have seen the value in a good domain name. Several of my software programs and websites target the agriculture industry. The whole web 2.0/misspelling/non-.com extension/drop-the-vowels doesn't work well there as it just confuses people. As far as the players, SnapNames, Godaddy, and Pool still are still around. Enom's Club Drop is now NameJet. As mentioned in the article, Network Solutions had an exclusive agreement with Snap (now they are using NameJet). In the past few years, many more registrars have adopted this strategy where they partner with an auction service and make money when the domains are sold. Most names with these partner agreements become available around 35 days after expiration. These names do keep their original creation date so it's as if the original owner transferred it to you rather than it actually deleting and being re-registered. If the name is with a registrar who does not have a partner agreement or a name that is not backordered during the auctions, it eventually deletes around 75 days later where the actual dropcatching referenced in the article picks up.

kareemm 17y ago

i used info in this article to buy digitalnomad.com in april. it ended up going to an auction on pool.com with one other bidder, which i won for $170. i had emailed the original owner about a year before and he wanted a couple grand for it.