Domain Auctions

Contest: Guess the Sale Price of Social.org

I told you about the upcoming auction of Social.org on NameJet. Backorders for the auction need to be placed by March 19th, and the no reserve auction will run from March 20-23. There are already over 300 bidders and the current bid is close to $4,000.

I am running another contest on my blog, and the winner will receive a $200 bidding credit on NameJet, courtesy of me. The person who guesses closest to the final closing price of the Social.org no reserve auction will be the winner. If there’s a tie, the $200 bid credit will be divided amongst the winners.

Entries must be submitted via comment in this post by March 20th at 10 AM eastern time. Post your best guess before the entry close date. One guess per person, and if you guess more than once, you are disqualified. Also, the winner does not need to tell me his or her NameJet bidding handle. I will email Matt Overman your email address and you can connect with him to have the bidding credit added to your account.

*I wasn’t asked or compensated in to post this contest, and I am personally paying for the NJ credit.

March Great Domains Auction Picks

Great Domains is holding its March auction beginning tomorrow, and you might notice something difference when you visit the website. Sedo announced a GreatDomains.com site redesign last week, although the functionality remains the same.

As of right now, there are fewer than 100 domain names up for auction this month, but there are a few really good names at fair reserve prices. My top five picks from the auction are listed below along with the reserve price (I do not have any names in the auction). The auction ends on March 22.

  • BloodPressure.net – Reserve: 1,000 – 4,999 USD
  • RiskManagement.com – Reserve: 50,000 – 99,999 USD
  • Medals.com – Reserve: 10,000 – 24,999 USD
  • Weights.com – Reserve: 10,000 – 24,999 USD
  • MNK.com – Reserve: 5,000 – 9,999 USD

Why a Winning Bidder May Become a Non Paying Bidder

Just about every domain sales venue and platform has to deal with non-paying bidders on domain listings, sales, and auctions. It’s happened to me before and I am sure it will continue to happen to others as well. Frankly, it’s frustrating as hell when you reach a deal to sell a domain name and the buyer fails to follow through.

One slimy tactic I’ve witnessed and heard about are people who agree to buy a domain name (whether it’s at an auction, aftermarket venue, or private  acquisition), and before paying, they try to sell the domain name to other companies.  If they can’t find a buyer for the domain name at a profitable level, they don’t pay for their purchase.

I’ll share an example of this with you. Recently, I was involved in an auction at NameJet, and someone offered to sell me the domain name before the auction was over. The person ended up winning the auction but was a non-paying bidder, presumably when he couldn’t find a buyer. NameJet lost out, and someone who bought it to re-sell it likely lost out since this person probably reached out to many prospects already.

Recourse for the domain owner is generally limited to litigation and/or having that user banned from the platform in the future. Litigation can be expensive, so most people generally let it go without doing much of anything. It’s very frustrating to have a deal fall through, and it’s especially annoying to find out that the buyer has gone out to contact leads for your domain name, potentially hurting your chances of selling the name in the future.

In my opinion, trying to sell a domain name you don’t have the intention of buying unless you can flip it is wrong. If you are new to the domain industry, I caution you to not do this.

January Great Domains Auction Results

Sedo’s  Great Domains auction ended last week, and the auction netted over $115,000 in domain sales. I was a bit surprised that Zimbabwe.com didn’t sell at its reduced price. I guess it might be tough to monetize. Don’t forget to check out the Sedo 2011 Market Study when you have a chance.

The full list of sales is below.

goldchains.com 32000 USD
economize.com 10099 USD
sucre.com 10000 USD
mayan.com 9000 USD
balletshoes.com 8500 USD
gentler.com 5100 USD
interviews.net 5000 USD

Report: “Hackers Infiltrate Domain Name Auction House”

I am not a user of this particular domain auction house so I didn’t receive any official notice from the company, but according to an article on Australia’s The Age, “computer hackers have penetrated the database of Australia’s biggest internet domain name auction house, possibly accessing client home addresses and encrypted credit card numbers.”

The hacking reportedly happened on Netfleet, a website that specializes in .AU domain names. Netfleet was the venue where the $129,000 USD sale of InvestmentProperty.com.au took place last year, the largest .AU domain sale at the time.

According to the article, Netfleet sent out emails to users informing them of the news. If you received the email from Netfleet, it may be a good idea to contact your credit card company to see if any unauthorized activity has occurred. You may want to see if you can change card numbers just in case.

In addition, if you happen to use the same log in information and password on other websites, you should change your passwords ASAP. It’s never a good idea to use the same password for your auction, registrar, email…etc. accounts for this reason among others.

I wish Netfleet a smooth recovery and hope this serves as a warning for other auction houses and domain platforms to ensure their websites are protected and secure.

20% of DomainFest Auctions Have Bids

With a couple of days to go until the DomainFest live auction, a little under 20% of the auctions already have bids. The live auction, also found online via Snapnames, will take place on Thursday,  February  2nd at noon EST. I have highlighted the domain names I like in the auction and welcome your feedback.

Domain Name Reserve Current Price Bids

  • stripmall.com $201 – $500 $425 5
  • civilunion.com $1,001 – $2,500 $1,650 3
  •  avengers.com $501 – $1,000 $691 3
  • qe.com $25,001 – $50,000 $65,000 2
  •  californiarolls.com $201 – $500 $325 2
  •  rentaltrucks.com $5,001 – $10,000 $5,251 1
  • guitarclasses.com $5,001 – $10,000 $5,200 1
  •  margo.com $2,501 – $5,000 $2,500 1
  •  liberalartscolleges.com $1,001 – $2,500 $1,234 1
  •  weddingcards.net $501 – $1,000 $590 1
  •  antiqueguide.com $501 – $1,000 $500 1
  •  plasmatv.com $25,001 – $50,000 – 0
  •  12.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  1800business.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  activitycenter.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0
  •  autosupply.net $201 – $500 – 0
  •  banquethall.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  bargain.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  cardswiper.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0
  •  catfood.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  •  cheyenne.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  cloudmusicstorage.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  democracy.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  • drill.com $25,001 – $50,000 – 0
  •  eco.org $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  emails.com $500,001 – $750,000 – 0
  • empire.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  eo.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  eve.com $500,001 – $750,000 – 0
  •  feuds.com $5,001 – $10,000 – 0
  •  guavas.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  homeowner.com $250,001 – $500,000 – 0
  •  host.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  •  hotcoupons.net $201 – $500 – 0
  •  icard.com $5,001 – $10,000 – 0
  •  internetradio.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  jackpot.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  juice.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  liverdonor.com $201 – $500 – 0
  •  loveline.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  nurseries.com $25,001 – $50,000 – 0
  •  planners.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  •  platinum.com $750,001 – $1MM – 0
  •  prescriptionrefill.net $201 – $500 – 0
  •  promo.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  • qr.com $250,001 – $500,000 – 0
  •  reconnect.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  • security.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  •  servers.com $250,001 – $500,000 – 0
  •  sox.com $50,001 – $100,000 – 0
  • sportstherapist.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0
  •  surveillancecamera.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  trinkets.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  unplugged.com $100,001 – $250,000 – 0
  •  videodownloads.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  vintagemirrors.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  work.com $1MM – $5MM – 0
  •  workscited.com $10,001 – $25,000 – 0
  •  xeam.com $501 – $1,000 – 0
  •  xegg.com $1,001 – $2,500 – 0

As always, this is going to be an exciting auction to watch, as there are several domain names I could see selling for 6 figures. For instance, Empire.com would seem like the perfect name for insurance giant Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

What are your favorite domain names in the live auction?

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