Last night, I received quite a few emails from NameJet. This is not uncommon when domain names I have backordered are about to hit the auction block. What was unique about these emails are that they advertised domain names that were available to purchase on NameJet without going through the auction process. Instead, NameJet is now offering domain names for purchase with a buy it now price.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the many emails I received with some details redacted:

I want to share a bit of a weird story. Yesterday afternoon, I received an Auction Start email for a domain name I had backordered at NameJet. When I saw that I was the High Bidder, I was surprised because I am pretty sure I placed this backorder after seeing it had already received at least one other bid. I was expecting to be an underbidder, giving me additional time to decide whether to bid further. This happens, and bidders should always be prepared to be the high bidder.

When I visited the auction page, I saw that it was a “Direct Lister” auction, meaning that it was privately listed for auction and was not an expiry auction. I was curious to see who listed this domain name for sale, so I did a Whois search. Much to my surprise, my company is the registrant of the domain name, which was created at the end of September.