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NamePros: Back In 15 Minutes (Updated)

I was checking in on the important NameJet thread on NamePros this afternoon when I saw a maintenance message on the website. I visited from a couple of browsers, and I saw that the site was down and it wasn’t a browser error on my end.

I reached out to NamePros CTO Paul Buonopane, and he let me know the site will be back in about 15 minutes – potentially sooner.

I am not a regular contributor on NamePros, but I am a regular reader. I shared some advice for NameJet a couple of days ago on my blog, and I strongly urge the company to have a third party audit that is shared with the public. In a press release last night, the company “confirmed that there was suspicious activity relating to certain names being sold on NameJet,” and I think bidders and sellers deserve to know the extent of this with an audit conducted by a non-stakeholder.

Update: NamePros is back up. Here’s what I am told happened: “Logs for our new backup system took up more storage than expected, and the database system shut down to prevent data loss. We’re adding more storage space, at which point the site will be back online.”

Some Advice for NameJet

I have been following along the NamePros thread and article on TheDomains.com about alleged bidding irregularities at NameJet. I have also been in communication with NameJet General Manager Jonathan Tenenbaum, asking to receive updates as the company addresses the allegations and investigates the situation.

A few minutes ago, Jonathan emailed me a statement with a status update from the auction platform:

“In an effort to keep everyone current as to where we stand on this matter, I wanted to share the following update. There have been some inaccuracies and misconceptions that have been brought forth by such a spirited discussion. And it would be a challenge to respond to all of them – therefore, I want to bring the discussion back to the heart of the matter.

As stated earlier, we take the issue of shill bidding on NameJet very seriously and we are conducting a thorough investigation, keeping in mind that the integrity of our platform is of utmost importance to us. As I have said repeatedly, we do not condone shill bidding of any kind. We would never encourage, promote or otherwise be involved in any such thing and our position is clear – it is never allowed on NameJet!

In our current investigation certain auction activity has come to light that we deem questionable and a possible violation of our terms. This kind of activity is not acceptable to us and we are taking steps to deal with it. We have suspended several accounts while working through the information we have available.

I thank everyone for their patience as we work through these issues. Our goal is to best serve our customers and we are working hard to that effect.”

When it comes to auction venues and domain name marketplaces, trust is the most important component. As a NameJet customer and someone who writes about the domain investment business, I want to share some advice for NameJet:

Everphone.com UDRP: Despite Front Running, Domain Registrant Prevails

Front running is the act of attempting to sell a domain name that is not owned by the person who is making the sale attempt. Unfortunately, front running has become more common, and I wrote about front running during NameJet auctions  a few years ago. There was an interesting UDRP decision that domain auction participants will want to note because front running almost cost the domain registrant a domain name.

A company called Everphone GmbH filed a UDRP to get the Everphone.com domain name. This domain name sold on NameJet for $842 in January of this year, according to NameBio. According to the complainant in this UDRP, it seems that two entities contacted the complainant either during or prior to the auction claiming to be willing to sell this domain name. Because the complainant had been dealing with entities that seem to have been front running this domain name, the auction winner and current registrant was not aware of these other emails when the complainant approached him about selling the domain name.

In the UDRP decision, the domain registrant’s attorney Jason Schaeffer (of ESQWire.com) did a good job explaining that the two prior contacts were made by front runners and not made by the domain registrant, who didn’t own the domain name at the time time. In the decision, the three member panel understands what happened and did not hold it against the domain registrant:

PuffDaddy.com Expires and Goes to Auction

I saw an interesting name coming up for auction on NameJet, which was also mentioned in the DSAD auction list yesterday. PuffDaddy.com expired in late May, and it is set to go into auction this afternoon.  Sean Combs is a famous musician who was once known by the “Puff Daddy” moniker. His nickname has changed over the years (Puffy, P. Diddy, Diddy…etc) but many people would still recognize the Puff Daddy name.

Prior to its expired status, the domain name was registered privately, but before that, it was registered to a business called Puff Daddy Merchandising, Inc. I believe this business was associated with Sean Combs. If this wasn’t some sort of oversight, I think it was a shorted sighted decision to let the domain name expire.

In my opinion, companies and brand owners need to continue to renew domain names that are relevant to their brand, even if they don’t actively market the brand any longer. It is very likely that these domain names will be bought by someone unaffiliated with the brand. The short term cost is

Tucows Sending Expiry Inventory to NameJet

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NameJet LogoAccording to an email sent to NameJet customers earlier this afternoon, the auction platform is now auctioning Tucows’ expiring domain name inventory.  Here’s what NameJet sent to its customers today announcing the new auction inventory:

“NameJet announces a substantial increase to our registrar expiry inventory with the addition of expiring names from Tucows. Tucows has been an ICANN accredited registrar since 1999 and possess a large number of aged domains. This recent integration means more inventory of quality names are being made available every day on NameJet!”

I just learned that Tucows is now sending all of its expiring inventory to NameJet. When asked to comment on this via email, Tucows CEO Elliot Noss referred me to Steve Barnes, Vice President of Retail & Aftermarket at Tucows. “We’re now sending all of the Tucows expiry to NameJet,” Steve told me.  I am unsure about how many domain names a month this will add to NameJet’s inventory.

I also reached out to

I Use GoldNames to Track NameJet Bidders

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I have most likely  spent six figures on NameJet auctions in the last year or so. It’s not something I really track, but I am an active buyer on NameJet. I only mention this because it should go without saying that I trust the fairness of the platform, otherwise I would not participate in auctions.

One of the features of NameJet is that I am able to see who else is bidding on an auction. Even though I don’t personally know many of the bidders I regularly compete against, it is good to know that if I don’t win the other competitors are going to follow through and pay. As a seller on NameJet, it is also helpful to know that someone who is winning an auction is actually going to pay should their bid be the highest.

Because I don’t know all NameJet bidders, I regularly turn to the GoldNames.com blog to see if I can find a bidder’s history. GoldNames seems to track many (maybe most but I don’t know) of the auctions that are run on NameJet. GoldNames also tracks the winning bidder of the auction.

I sometimes find it easier to use

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