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Namecheap Auctions from $400 —> $10

Buying Domain Names
Domain Auctions

Elliot Silver

October 23, 2025

I’ve been bidding on and following Namecheap expiry auctions for .AI and .IO domain names. Most auctions have a standard starting bid of $15 plus the renewal fee. There are some that have $5 or $10 minimum bids, but most seem to be $15.

One thing I noticed is that some auctions have a starting bid of $400 with standard renewal prices. I believe these higher bid amounts are set by the registry operator, Identity Digital, and they impact certain names the registry identifies as “premium,” or some other designation they choose.

Advice
Buying Domain Names

Elliot Silver

October 16, 2025

deBridge is a “cross-chain interoperability and liquidity transfer protocol” startup that has operated on the deBridge.Finance domain name. As one might have imagined, the company pined for its brand matching deBridge.com domain name, but it did not have any luck trying to acquire it – or even receiving a reply to its inquiries and offers.

That changed this past Spring when the company was able to acquire deBridge.com in an expiry auction on NameJet. The company acquired deBridge for $50,999. In a long post on X, deBridge Co-Founder Alex Smirnov detailed the efforts he went through to try and acquire the domain name, and he shared how the domain name was ultimately acquired.

Buying Domain Names

Elliot Silver

September 30, 2025

I don’t closely track the percentage of domain extensions in my portfolio. I could have 75% .com or I could have 99% .com domain names in my portfolio, and the only implication is higher (in general) renewal costs. Because I buy more domain names that I sell, my portfolio has been growing each year, so tracking the increase in renewal costs isn’t really helpful in seeing how the percentage of .com domain names is changing.

I’ve primarily invested in .com domain names since I started my business 20 years ago. I think great one and two word .com domain names are the most desirable assets for businesses around the world, and I have always wanted to invest in domain names like these that sell themselves.

Buying Domain Names
GoDaddy

Elliot Silver

September 19, 2025

One of the things I enjoy most about domain investing is the negotiations. Most don’t work out, but I enjoy the thought and effort that goes into a negotiation. It stimulates my brain in a way most other aspects of this business do not. This goes for both buying and selling my domain names.

On occasion, I will use GoDaddy’s Domain Broker Service (DBS) to try and buy a domain name. If I am not hearing back from a domain registrant and don’t want to continue to press, I might connect with a DBS broker to attempt to get a price. In these cases, I am probably not making a substantial enough offer to elicit a reply, so the broker won’t usually be able to help.

Buying Domain Names
Domain Sales

Elliot Silver

June 2, 2025

For domain investors and entrepreneurs, it can be frustrating to come across a company that owns a valuable domain name that isn’t being used, but the company won’t consider selling it. It might seem like a missed opportunity for the company to sell an unused valuable asset, but there are reasons behind this.

Here are some of the most common factors that explain why some companies simply won’t sell a domain name regardless of the offer or buyer’s interest:

Buying Domain Names

Elliot Silver

March 17, 2025

In early February, I noticed that Kicks.com changed hands. The valuable one word .com domain name had been owned by Reflex, and transferred to a registrant called Domain Licenses Limited, which I believe is an entity that acquires and/or holds domain names on behalf of other companies.

I detected this Whois change with the help of the DomainTools Registrant Monitor.

Looks like https://t.co/d4ITR8l1j0 changed hands.

The domain name was previously registered at Namecheap and owned by Reflex. It is now registered at Com Laude and owned by Domain Licenses Limited.

The domain name does not yet resolve.

Spotted via @DomainTools.

— Elliot Silver (@DInvesting) February 3, 2025

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Buying Domain Names

Namecheap Auctions from $400 —> $10

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