GoDaddy Auctions, NameJet, and DropCatch.com are domain name expiry auction platforms that primarily cater to domain investors. These platforms are all open to the public, but I would imagine the vast majority of participants are investors seeking to buy domain names at wholesale prices.

When a domain name expires, most domain registrars place an expiry notice on the top of the landing page to inform visitors of the expired status. The notices typically contain a link to the auction for the domain name should it not be renewed by the registrant in time. These notices can be helpful to companies who may wish to purchase a domain name at auction once it goes through the expiry cycle.

Josh Schoen recently noticed an end user company bought a domain name via GoDaddy Auctions. Via Twitter, Josh mentioned that a company called McHale Performance bought McHale.com at auction for $10,000 (confirmed via NameBio) in early April:

An end-user was the winner of the https://t.co/Cu32jcAcwq expired auction at GoDaddy earlier this month. → Read More

The other day, I realized that NameJet still had the NamesCon link in its header, and now I know why. NameJet is re-auctioning a large group of domain names that did not sell during the NamesCon live or silent auction.

According to an email I received from NameJet announcing this "NamesCon 2018 Remix," there is a secondary auction made up of unsold NamesCon auction domain names. Many of the reserve prices have been lowered by their owners to help induce a sale. People who kept their backorders for auctions likely noticed the domain names coming up for sale again, but others may wish to take another look to see if the reduced reserve prices make some of the domain names more interesting.

Some of the better domain names that are coming up for auction again include the following: (more…) → Read More

If you are a regular bidder on GoDaddy Auctions, you likely noticed a new design on individual domain auction landing pages. On each page, GoDaddy shares a variety of data about each domain name, including the following attributes:

• Age


• Type of auction


• Auction page visits


• Appraised value


• Parking statistics

When a GoDaddy-registered domain name expires, the company takes down whatever website existed and puts up an expiry notification landing page. The purpose is to notify the owner that the domain name expired and to let visitors know the domain name is coming up for auction. The company also monetizes landing pages with pay per click (PPC) links.

Of note, the company is now sharing "estimated monthly pageviews" and "estimated monthly revenue" for each expiry auction domain name. Paul Nicks, VP of the Aftermarket at GoDaddy told me the estimated monthly revenue takes into consideration the PPC revenue earned from parking in the 20 or so days the company has control of the domain name and that figure estimates → Read More

If you follow the domain name drop lists, you probably noticed some high value hotel-related domain names coming up for auction. It looks like a major hotel company let some valuable domain names expire, including the following names:

• AtlantaHotel.com


• HoustonHotel.com


• HollywoodHotels.com


• OntarioHotels.com


• LosAngelesHotel.com

These domain names seem to be pending delete, and I could be wrong, but I do not believe they can be renewed at this point. There are other hotel related domain names not included in the list above that appear to be in a similar status. The domain names show the registrant as Six Continents Hotels, Inc. This company operates well-known hotel chains around the world, including Intercontinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Staybridge Suites.

These domain names are registered at (more…) → Read More

MillionDollar.com is coming up for auction on NameJet. From what I can see, the minimum bid is listed at $900 rather than the standard $69 minimum bid amount:



Based on the "pendingrenewalordeletion" email address, it looks like this is an expiry domain name rather than a private listing. The NameJet auction page also confirms that this is an expiry channel listing rather than a privately owned "Direct Lister" listing.

The high bid is listed at $69, and there is one bidder for this auction at the time of publication. I believe people can place the $69 minimum bid to observe the auction, but if it ends at below the $900 minimum bid, the domain name will not sell. I am not sure whether the (more…) → Read More

Saving money is important for municipalities. Taxpayers tend to ask their elected officials to spend less money, and elected officials probably want to save money however they can. I urge municipalities to not let previously used domain names expire!

This afternoon, I noticed a domain name formerly owned by a local municipality coming up for auction. This .org domain name is a pending delete domain name, so I do not believe the former registrant can renew it at this point in time. The domain name appears to have been used as a website, but the website is now resolving on a different domain name affiliated with the municipality. The Twitter account for this town agency still has the old domain name listed in its profile (the domain name that is coming up for auction), and I presume there are probably quite a few backlinks that reference the domain name.

Once the domain name goes to auction, it is almost certain that a third party will own the domain name unless someone from the town (or a benefactor) decides to re-purchase it. → Read More