Thoughts on NameBright?

[agentscarn]

Saw a nice post on DNW about namebright and now the bright orange banners here on namepros. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with them?

 

[Rebies]

hippoking - I have someone looking into that.

ecuadorbusiness - yes, when you transfer a domain it adds one extra year onto the domain name's registration. Your example of August 13 is correct. If your domain expires August 13, 2014, after it has transferred it will expire August 13, 2015. To answer your second question, here is the full price list:

https://www.namebright.com/Pricing?q=allTLD

 

[VURG]

Initial Impressions:

Like the simple clean website
Like the .com & .net pricing
Disappointed that .org pricing is put a lower priority than .net pricing

I'll try to remember this site for the future. I'm in no rush to change where I have my domains but if they maintain a good reputation, then I'll consider changing where I register and renew my .com and .net domains.

 

[Name Trader]

I agree with VURG. .ORG should also be at the at cost pricing deal.

 

[Rebies]

I probably agree with both of you. I will be looking into getting the .org prices cheaper. It was not a big priority before launch, but is probably something we can get fit in the near future. (I hope, don't hold me to that)

 

[Coral Cove]

My experience with NameBright...

So I have now attempted several bulk domain searches at NameBright (about 5-20 domains each time) and every time I experience an EXTREMELY slow load time (using Chrome). I wrote them about this but no resolution. Also I did a bulk search this morning for 16 names and after it finally loaded it said all 16 names were unavailable. Literally 1 second later I went to GoDaddy and quickly did the same bulk search with four of the names available for registration. I have no idea what the issue is but anyone experience anything similar.

Would love to get a NameBright rep on this. And also just wanted to put it out there in case anyone else is turning up these kind of results. Make sure you crosscheck at another registrar.

I have already purchased a few names with NameBright, so I'm not saying I don't like them or trying to put down their product. I actually wish I had bought these names at NameBright (would have been over 50% off of what I paid at GoDaddy) but right now it seems their search may be a little unreliable, slow or just not up to par with some of the bigger guys.

 

[Rebies]

Rader - we're on it and looking into it. If you don't mind, can you PM me a list of domains you tried to check so we can run some tests with these exact domains? Thanks

 

[Coral Cove]

Michael - we're on it and looking into it. If you don't mind, can you PM me a list of domains you tried to check so we can run some tests with these exact domains? Thanks

Rebies, the names I searched would have no affect on a search. I don't understand why you ask for this. Another rep asked the same thing when I emailed them. It is a recurring issue. If you want i can get a screen video of the search delay next time I do a bulk search.

 

[ecuadorbusiness]

Rebies, the names I searched would have no affect on a search. I don't understand why you ask for this. Another rep asked the same thing when I emailed them. It is a recurring issue. If you want i can get a screen video of the search delay next time I do a bulk search.

They probably have a powerful reason to ask for the exact names of the domains you tried to register. Some bugs are triggered for certain actions and that is why when you report a bug on an online game you are asked to tell exactly what were you doing before the game client shut down.

 

[Rebies]

We believe we found the issue and have fixed it. I have asked Rader in PM to confirm, but have not heard back yet. It was a small edge case which usually would not happen. Our fix is in place and we will be doing some more testing of the issue in the morning. I do not expect anyone to have this issue again. Thanks for pointing it out Rader.

 

[Coral Cove]

I am officially done using NameBright! I am actually quite livid right now and will try hard to make sense.


I no longer trust the motives of this company. I have been very weary and cautious about how long it took NameBright to bulk search domain names and now I am officially convinced that they are monitoring every domain search you make and in fact telling you that some names are registered when they actually are not so that their sister company, HugeDomains.com can register the names (at NameBright or NamesHere.com) and then of course list them for sale.

I don't know how many of you are aware of this, but HugeDomains.com is closely associated with NameBright.com. I'm guessing they belong to the same owner. I actually had an issue with both companies in the past. The issue: I purchased a name at HugeDomains.com and they automatically pushed it to their registrar, NameBright.com. They created an account there on my behalf and without asking where I wanted the name transferred, they automatically pushed the domain here. I actually had a lawyer involved with this issues as it got so out of hand.

Anyway, this isn't the issue I am now having with the company. This is related to them taking domains that I am searching for. I did a bulk search for 6 domain names this morning, all set to expire today. My retention rate on expiring domains that I am searching is something like 60%-100%, meaning when I search for a group of .com domain names set to expire I typically acquire over half of them if not close to all of them.

4 OUT OF 6 OF THESE DOMAINS THAT I SEARCHED ARE NOW REGISTERED BY HUGEDOMAINS.COM AS OF TODAY! All 4 of them registered under the admin address [email protected]. The others were also registered at a couple of very obscure registrars with admin addresses, meaning they were registered by the company and not an individual. I wouldn't be surprised to see them listed at HugeDomains soon.

I think this is far beyond a coincidence and I am extremely upset that they are violating my privacy. And you should too. If you have been searching for expiring domains at NameBright and you have been unable to attain them then I suggest you find out who registered them, because my guess is that it is NameBright.com or NamesHere, or DomainGetter.com (NameBright older names but still in use) and even NameShare.com. All of these are associated with the admin address in the whois as [email protected].

Below are the details of the 4 domain names (you tell me that this doesn't look suspicious!) Why would [email protected] spread out their registrations? I'm guessing to attempt to coverup what they are doing:

Registrar: NamesHere.com (http://www.nameshere.com)
Domain Admin [email protected]
Domain Name: FileDeck.com
Creation Date: 11/26/2013

Registrar: NamesHere.com (http://www.nameshere.com)
Domain Admin [email protected]
Domain Name: VisUlex.com
Creation Date: 11/26/2013

Registrar: DomainGetter.com (http://www.domaingetter.com)
Domain Admin [email protected]
Domain Name: JoinWire.com
Creation Date: 11/26/2013

Registrar: DomainGetter.com (http://www.domaingetter.com)
Domain Admin [email protected]
Domain Name: MallRush.com
Creation Date: 11/26/2013

You're getting great discounts because they are getting ALOT more from you than what you think.

Dear NameBright,

Push me all of these domains that you stole from my search queries or I will do everything in my power to make your sly motives known. I will also keep this post posted here on NamePros and update it periodically with more I discover about your company. I am also a member of many other popular domaining websites and own a marketplace and blog that gets thousands of unique visitors everyday. I won't stop until I have made a good-size dent in your reputation.

NamePro members, I apologize if I seem too upset and perhaps unfounded in your opinion and that this vilifying is too swift, but this is the second run-in I have had with this company and I don't doubt now for a second this company is doing some very disgraceful things.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they are automatically registering all domains searched that come up as available on their end but monitoring certain, active accounts, where they know they will generate good domain leads. They likely plan to put these up for sale in hopes I really need one or all of them and come back to them to purchase at an astoundingly marked up price.

 

[alien51]

Anyway, this isn't the issue I am now having with the company. This is related to them taking domains that I am searching for. I did a bulk search for 6 domain names this morning, all set to expire today. My retention rate on expiring domains that I am searching is something like 60%-100%, meaning when I search for a group of .com domain names set to expire I typically acquire over half of them if not close to all of them.

4 OUT OF 6 OF THESE DOMAINS THAT I SEARCHED ARE NOW REGISTERED BY HUGEDOMAINS.COM AS OF TODAY!

I already asked that in the very first page of this thread. And they already said they don't do that kinda thing. There is no way to prove it (or maybe you found one, i dunno about that), so you just have to take their word for it.

However, i am not sure if you really can beat Andrew's namedrop catching software. This could really be a coincidence.

What i don't like, is they holding on to drop domains for a year, in the premise that you could get it back in case you changed your mind. I don't remember ICANN rules to be like that on dropping domains. If a domain has dropped, you have to let it go through the normal drop process just like everybody else and make it available to others within the standard designated time frame. Holding it out for a year is way too long and opportunistic. That would be like Namebright scrapping the entire sea floor and leaving no fishes behind. Not even the small ones.

Imagine if all the quality drops are coming off domainers, and domainers are regged with Namebright, then ALL quality drops will land with Andrew with no software dropcatching competition anymore. Like getting handed to him in a silver platter with little to no effort at all. The drop pool will be dead.

 

[Joseph Green]

Rader,

I did a bulk search for 6 domain names this morning, all set to expire today.

4 OUT OF 6 OF THESE DOMAINS THAT I SEARCHED ARE NOW REGISTERED BY HUGEDOMAINS.COM AS OF TODAY!

I'm certain that this is a coincidence. I've been observing HugeDomains for a long time, because they typically beat everyone on expiring domains, even NameJet and Snapnames. HugeDomains registers a HUGE number of domains every day, as many as 500 domains per day from what I've observed. The chances of them registering most of the domains you are going after is very high. It may seem like they are "stealing our domain ideas" but the fact is that our ideas are not all that unique. Their algorithms are great at picking out the quality names from the drop list each day, so the domains you want have likely been on their radar for several days.

Why would [email protected] spread out their registrations? I'm guessing to attempt to coverup what they are doing

I'm not sure how much you know about drop catching, but it can be simplified as the following: the more registrars you have going after the same domain, the better your chances of winning that domain. In other words: each registrar has the same chance of winning each domain (assuming competent drop catching software and allocation of resources), so to increase the likelihood of winning a domain, increase the number of registrars that go after the same domain.

Simplified example (a fair system): Since the probability of winning at any single registrar is the same across all registrars, attempting to drop catch 500 domains using 50 registrars will result in ~10 domain names at each of the 50 registrars. Now, the distribution isn't this clean because there are many competing registrars and resources are allocated differently depending on each domain's quality, but you get the idea.

I find it extremely odd that they decided to catch the same names I happened to be searching for with over thousands and thousands of other dropping names in the list.

You'd be surprised, but the daily drop list only contains about 100 "decent" (not "good or "great" but "decent") domain names in it each day. Less than 1% of the drop list is worth the registration fees, and HugeDomains goes after 1-2% of the list, so if you do win an expired domain, it's a domain that their algorithm either missed or deemed as unworthy.

I suggest you find out who registered them, because my guess is that it is NameBright.com or NamesHere, or DomainGetter.com (NameBright older names but still in use) and even NameShare.com

HugeDomains does not manage NameShare.com but here is a list of some that they do:

• accentdomains.com
• acquirednames.com
• aviddomain.com
• blastdomains.com
• blockhost.com
• comfydomains.com
• domainahead.com
• domaincraze.com
• domaincreek.com
• domaincritics.com
• domaindelights.com
• domainextreme.com
• domainfalcon.com
• domaingetter.com
• domainhood.com
• domainladder.com
• domainlocal.com
• domainpicking.com
• domainprime.com
• domaintact.com
• domainwards.com
• dotnamed.com
• echodomain.com
• glamdomains.com
• insanenames.com
• litedomains.com
• namebake.com
• namebrew.com
• namechild.com
• nameforward.com
• namejolt.com
• nameling.com
• namesay.com
• namesector.com
• nameshere.com
• namestrategies.com
• nametell.com
• nameturn.com
• noticeddomains.com
• presidentialdomains.com
• pronamed.com
• reclaimdomains.com
• registrardirect.com
• thenameco.com
• totallydomain.com
• tradenamed.com
• visualnames.com
• whatisyourdomain.com
• worthydomains.com
• zoomregistrar.com

As seen here: http://www.icann.org/registrar-reports/accreditation-qualified-list.html

Conclusion
It was only a matter of time before this type of confusion occurred, and I'm sure many others will experience it in the future. HugeDomains has worked hard to have a great advantage in the drop catching space, and that advantage is going to cause some NameBright users to think that their privacy has been compromised, but that is not the case. HugeDomains has been winning the majority of domains that people want to drop catch long before NameBright was offered to the public.

 

[alien51]

How do you explain the 1 year holding period for expired domains? Is it fair? As far as i know, the rule is, if you drop it, you lose it. Your only chance is within the redemption period. I've never heard of a redemption period that spans 1 year.

 

[Garandy]

Rader - You searched for expiring names and were upset when they came back as being unavailable? If I had to hazard a guess, I would probably say that the difference is that GoDaddy is willing to take a backorder on an expiring domain, while NameBright gives the actual availability (which, being that you cannot buy a name that hasn't expired, would be "unavailable").

While it sucks they bought your names later, I agree with the conjecture that maybe your ideas weren't all that original, and that they likely had them already picked before you even tried to purchase/backorder/check them.

Also, if I'm reading this whole situation right, I'd hazard a guess that NameBright is the registrar for HugeDomains' properties, which is probably why they move your domains there - unless they're still under a 60-day registry lock from being purchased, it should be trivial to move them to another registrar.

Your complaints seem less like problems and more like not understanding what's going on around you.

 

[Rebies]

Radar,

You are 100% inaccurate in your assessment. You are accusing us of Front-Running. I will say this very clearly…… We do not look at any queries people make to our system! We do not do anything of the sort, and I (Andrew Reberry) stand behind that! This is the truth and your posting is completely inaccurate!

All of the domains you listed above were dropping today. We have targeted domains like this for years and years. There is nothing new here.

Do not use the bulk search if you do not trust me. Furthermore, do not use NameBright.com anymore if you do not trust our company. In this case we appreciate that you are taking your business elsewhere. It is a good time for us to part ways.

Andrew

 

[Coral Cove]

@Garandy you joined NamePros just to make this post? Do you work for NameBright? And I am totally aware of what is going on around me. I've been in domaining for quite some time now. I don't trust NameBright or HugeDomains. And like I said, I search names almost on a daily basis. That nearly all the domains I wanted were taken by the same registrar that I was searching on says too much to me.

Never had a single issue like this at GoDaddy for the many years that I have been registering there. And regardless of what is actually happening and if I am totally wrong, what NameBright (or HugeDomains) is doing is very controversial to say the least. They offer a product to register names but they themselves also register names. This act is frowned upon in so many industries and actually illegal in a lot of them.

Hey NameBright, you think your domainer customers (your prime target) are fond of you competing with them?? What customer of yours if they knew your actions in its entirety would be happy with your actions??

So here's what I gather, they have multiple crap registrars that catch all the great expiring names and then have a registrar for us chumps who register the left over crap, which only puts the domains in their hands anyway but leaves us with the costs of registration. They then have sweet rules that work in their favor (like 1 year holding periods for expiring names).

 

[Joseph Green]

I would never fault someone or a company for their success(es), especially when their business model is identical to ours, just on a larger scale. I am a proponent of capitalism, and while I share some envy here, I have nothing but the utmost respect for what Andrew has built. It's motivational, in my opinion.

Domaining is a tight-knit community. There are lots of great entrepreneurs who are honest, generous, and work very hard to move this industry forward. There is plenty of room and opportunity for us all. We should support one another.

 

[alien51]

@Garandy you joined NamePros just to make this post? Do you work for NameBright? And I am totally aware of what is going on around me. I've been in domaining for quite some time now. I don't trust NameBright or HugeDomains. And like I said, I search names almost on a daily basis. That nearly all the domains I wanted were taken by the same registrar that I was searching on says too much to me.

Never had a single issue like this at GoDaddy for the many years that I have been registering there. And regardless of what is actually happening and if I am totally wrong, what NameBright (or HugeDomains) is doing is very controversial to say the least. They offer a product to register names but they themselves also register names. This act is frowned upon in so many industries and actually illegal in a lot of them.

Hey NameBright, you think your domainer customers (your prime target) are fond of you competing with them?? What customer of yours if they knew your actions in its entirety would be happy with your actions??

So here's what I gather, they have multiple crap registrars that catch all the great expiring names and then have a registrar for us chumps who register the left over crap, which only puts the domains in their hands anyway but leaves us with the costs of registration. They then have sweet rules that work in their favor (like 1 year holding periods for expiring names).

Bro, seriously, that front-running conspiracy you brought up is not a smoking gun. I symphatize with you, if that is true -- if -- ..... However, their robot is really good. I bulked searched somewhere else and i can't believe they snatched what i had in mind. Putting a Terminator against living beings like us, is not fair, but i can live with that. I can't accuse them of front-running, though.

But given, as it may, that i get beaten by a software. The final straw is when Andrew wants to keep expired domains for 1 YEAR for the excuse that maybe.... just maybe.... the guy who dropped it "might" want it back. C'mon, man, for 1 YEAR ???

 

[Jasonn]

Andrew/hugedomains/whatever doesn't need to monitor queries at namebright to catch just about every decent dropping domain under the sun. As Andrew said, they've been doing this for years. Its no surprise at all that this happened as it happens to me every single day. Not because of anything nefarious happening, simply because they catch so much. However yes, if you are into expired domain using NameBright is supporting the competition. For this reason I can't see myself ever using them. I am sure they offer a fine place to register domains. I just have no interest in "feeding the beast".

 

[Rebies]

alien51, to add more clarification.

After a domain name expires, it goes through a 30-day Auto-Renew Grace Period where the registrant can still renew the domain name for $8.03 (assuming a .com domain.) After the Auto-Renew Grace Period, there is a Redemption Grace Period which lasts for 30-days where the registrant can redeem the domain name for $85. (This is as high as $250 at a lot of other registrars.)

If you do not renew the domain during the Auto-Renew Grace Period ($8.03) or redeem the domain in the Redemption Grace period ($85.00), the domain is no longer yours. This is how it is with every registrar. (plus or minus a few days)

The only difference… we are saying if you let a domain at NameBright expire, HD controls it, and you want it back, you only have to pay $8.03 renewal fee to get the domain back for one year from the original expiration date. If HD bought it, we probably want it, but we want to be sure our customers are taken care of first.

 

[ecuadorbusiness]

@Garandy you joined NamePros just to make this post? Do you work for NameBright?

Never had a single issue like this at GoDaddy for the many years that I have been registering there.
.

Well, perhaps someone can also say you are working for Godaddy. I mean I do not know how law works in your country but in mine it is a criminal offense to accuse someone without evidence. You assume the things you have posted but everything is circunstancial in my poor understanding of law.
Curiously some days ago I was looking for a just expired domain I liked, it had decent stats and the name was about a popular software. I typed it on Godaddy and the price was $250, perhaps the site automatically overprice a just expired domain I cannot know. I thought the domain was just acquired by Godaddy and put to sale. Then I had the idea of searching in other registrars and my first thinking was NameBright, I searched the name to hand register and it was there available at only $4.99 as they offered on their opening promo.
Do not take me wrong, I am not saying Godaddy.com is doing wrong or such, they have the right to put whatever price they want to their domain registration and I have the right to look for the cheapest one.
In risk you say I work for NameBright I just can comment that I do not think Mr. Reberry has the need to do what you have said. He has been catching dropped domains more time that perhaps you and me can combine in domaining.
Look at this thread, it is from months ago:

https://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/788139-so-who-has-solution-andrew-reberry.html

Since then he already was considered an unbeatable drop catcher. We cannot blame him for catching what others drop and sell it to the right person. It is childish and envious to think like that. My two cents.

P.D.: I think you should depart from NameBright as Mr. Reberry invited you, it will bring you peace of mind.

 

[JJSavard]

What i don't like, is they holding on to drop domains for a year, in the premise that you could get it back in case you changed your mind. I don't remember ICANN rules to be like that on dropping domains. If a domain has dropped, you have to let it go through the normal drop process just like everybody else and make it available to others within the standard designated time frame. Holding it out for a year is way too long and opportunistic. That would be like Namebright scrapping the entire sea floor and leaving no fishes behind. Not even the small ones.

How do you explain the 1 year holding period for expired domains? Is it fair? As far as i know, the rule is, if you drop it, you lose it. Your only chance is within the redemption period. I've never heard of a redemption period that spans 1 year.

@Alien51

I think you have misunderstood NameBright's offer.

After the Renewal Grace Period (RGP) & Redemption period have elapsed, for all intents and purposes the domain has expired. As with any registrar, NameBright is allowed to 'renew' that domain moments/seconds before it would be placed in pending delete (PD) status [once it enters PD status, the domain is 100% guaranteed to drop 5 days later- unless the registry itself interferes].

When a registrar renews the domain at the last second, like anyone else they must pay the registry renewal fee & ICANN fee. Sometimes called 'domain warehousing', this is actively practiced by all the biggest registrars - included Godaddy, Moniker, eNom, Network Solutions, TuCows, etc.

NameBright is not proposing to do anything different than all these other registrars - with 1 big exception:

Anytime during the next 365 days, the customer may request the domain be returned to his/her account.

So long as the domain is still under the control of NameBright (e.g. they did not already sell the name to someone else) they will transfer it back to you. The only fee you pay is the standard 'transfer fee' (which includes a 1-year renewal); just as you would pay for a transfer at any registrar.​

Try to make a similar request to GoDaddy or Network Solutions and see how they reply:

"Hi GoDaddy ... I know I forgot to renew my domain when it expired 11 months ago; but I see you 'caught' it, paid for it, and are now the legitimate owner of the domain. However, I've changed my mind and decided I'd like it back now - so please have it transferred back into my account. Oh, and I am only able to pay $10. Thanks."​

To summarize - NameBright is NOT 'holding' the domain as you claim. They are in fact registering it (or more accurately, renewing it as explained above) AND paying for the domain, as all registrars are able to do. The only difference is unlike all other registrars, NameBright will transfer the domain back to you at your request within 1-year from when you let the domain drop.

Hope that clarifies things.

Steve

 

[freespeech]

i wish they would use their blog for system updates. ive been trying to login for 2 hours now and their site will not load properly.

 

[Joseph Green]

i wish they would use their blog for system updates. ive been trying to login for 2 hours now and their site will not load properly.

Most companies use their Twitter account to provide those updates.

NameBright seems to work fine for me. Maybe try a new browser? Google Chrome is the best.

 

[Rebies]

We have setup both NameBrightBlog.com and our Twitter feed (Twitter.com/NameBright/) for major issues / downtime alerts, etc.

But I can not see issues with logging in last night. freespeech - do you use 2-factor authorization? Can you PM me your username at NameBright so we can look into this in more detail on Monday? Thank you.