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GoDaddy

GoDaddy is a privately owned, Internet-based company that provides a variety of services including domain name registration, web hosting and e-business software sales. The company, which is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded by Bob Parsons. Parsons previously owned a financial services software company, which he sold in the mid-1990s upon retirement. He came out of retirement in 1997 to form Jomax Technologies, the predecessor to GoDaddy.

Since it’s inception, GoDaddy has risen to become the largest domain registrar in the world, with tens of million of domains registered to its clients. The company ranks as the world’s largest ICANN-accredited registrar; it’s approximately four times larger than its nearest competition. Recent corporate acquisitions include Outright, Locu, Afternic, and Media Temple.

GoDaddy has redefined Internet hosting services, and it has been the recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades. Among these awards are the 2001 Arizona BBB award for Business Ethics and the 2011 SC Magazine award for Best Security Team. In 2011, it ranked number four in the Phoenix Business Magazine list of “Best Places to Work in the Valley” and it made the 2012 Forbes list of “Best 100 Companies to Work For.”

Known for its sometimes controversial commercials and interesting spokespersons, GoDaddy also sponsors a number of charitable causes in support of domestic violence and child abuse awareness, and sports events, including NASCAR and the Super Bowl. In 2013, the company shifted its advertising strategy to focus more on small to medium sized business owners (SMB). Reflecting this change, its commercials and advertising materials shifted from “sexy” to smart.

Goodbye, Dan.com

23

I’ve done quite a bit of business with Dan.com. In fact, I probably have more deal revenue on Dan.com than anywhere else other than private sales. The platform has been easy to use as a seller and as a buyer. The only real knock I’ve ever had with Dan.com is their brand wasn’t well-known, and it may not have had a trust factor when doing large deals or long-term deals. GoDaddy’s acquisition of Dan.com helped rectify that issue, and it’s been relatively smooth sailing since then.

This morning, Afternic made an announcement that has been in the works for a while. The sales platform launched a GoDaddy-branded landing page that is very similar to Dan.com landing pages, without the Dan.com branding.

Giving LTO Option to DBS Broker

I received a GoDaddy Domain Broker Service (DBS) inquiry for one of my favorite domain names. The offer was $25k, which isn’t enough to start a conversation. The broker understood this, likely because he can see at least one higher offer for this name and several other offers in the database. I joked with him that GoDaddy has made more money on DBS lead fees than I’ve made from this name – yet.

In speaking with the broker, he indicated that the buyer – whose identity and other background information was not shared with me – would be a good fit for the domain name. When I shared what it would take to get a deal done, he did not sound too optimistic about the buyer having the budget. Whether this is true or a negotiation tactic to get a better deal for his client is neither here nor there.

GoDaddy Auctions Running NameFind Auctions

GoDaddy is running a featured auction via its GoDaddy Auctions platform with domain names from its NameFind portfolio. While I would argue the domain names aren’t as valuable as they were in its NameFind auction last year, there seem to be some good inventory-quality domain names up for bid.

When sorted, I can see there are 4 pages of auctions with the maximum 100 domain names shown. The auctions have minimum bids ranging from $299 to $7,999. This is more than the starting price for its traditional expiry auctions. I do not believe there are reserve prices beyond the minimum bid amounts, so if someone bids on a domain name and there are no other bidders, it will be sold.

CEO: Namecheap “Most Likely” to Exit Afternic Network

I don’t always check where my Afternic-sold domain names are transferred post-sale, but I have noticed quite a few transfer to Namecheap. This is because Namecheap is a part of Afternic’s network, and Afternic-listed domain names show up in the Namecheap registration search path.

This may not be the case for much longer, according to Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall. In a reply to a conversation on X, Richard indicated that Namecheap will “most likely” exit the Afternic network, eliminating a very large source of buyer leads:

Would You Like to See Private Auctions on GoDaddy Auctions?

I just received an email from my Account Manager at GoDaddy announcing a new round of private auctions featuring GoDaddy-owned inventory. At the end of 2023, the company also auctioned hundreds of its own domain names, including two that I won – Posto.com and DogSitter.com.

While the fact that GoDaddy is running another auction with its own inventory is somewhat notable, something in the email caught my attention:

“GoDaddy is continuing the momentum by hosting another auction event to gather more feedback from investors before potentially opening the doors to other domain sellers.”

The bold emphasis was added by me.

2 Major LTO Changes at Afternic


Afternic recently introduced the lease to own (LTO) purchase model for domain names bought via GoDaddy. Domain names listed for sale via Afternic with LTO enabled have been shown to US-based buyers with the LTO options next to the BIN price.

This morning, the company announced two changes to its LTO offering that should benefit sellers:

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