HugeDomains.com is Buying 50%+ of Expiring Domains at GoDaddy.com

[Arca]

I've been wondering about the competition in auctions for expiring domains over at GoDaddy.com, because somebody is paying hundreds for seemingly every domain that gets a few bidders.

I’ve also noticed a clear pattern, with the last bidder (or one of the last bidders) entering the auction winning most of the time, which made me think that there is one large corporate buyer piggybacking of whatever domains other people find and bid on. Turns out that is the case: HugeDomains.com is buying most domains over at GoDaddy.com expired auctions. I looked up the WHOIS of the past 150 auctions I have lost at GoDaddy.com, and 84 of those are now owned by HugeDomains.com and listed for sale on HugeDomains.com.

While 50%+ may not be representative of overall domains bought at GoDaddy, they do seem to buy far more domains than anyone else. The 66 names not bought by HugeDomains.com were bought by a number of different individuals and companies (BuyDomains.com bought 6 of those 66, for example), so 50%+ were taken by HugeDomains, while "the rest" of the auction wins were by a number of different individual domainers and companies.

This might not be news to some, but I've never seen anyone mention that HugeDomains is this active over at GD expired auctions, so I thought it might be interesting for some people to know who is outbidding everyone in the lower range over at GoDaddy. I've read people mentioning that HugeDomains buy names in close-out status over at GoDaddy, but never that they buy most of the domains in auctions too.

HugeDomains absolutely dominates all auctions below $5XX, and they only picked up a single name above $5XX (cakemart.com) in my sample of 150 names, so $5XX seems to be a self-imposed limit for them. If I only checked domains sold below $5XX, the percentage bought by them would be even higher. I've been the second highest bidder in lots of auctions that HugeDomains.com won, and in my experience they will keep bidding until you give up or until the price passes $5XX. By outbidding most bidders in the lower end, and acquiring more than half of the domains other people also have interest, it leaves a far smaller pool of names for the rest of the domainers to compete for, so I guess that's part of the reason why the reseller prices for names keep increasing so much for names in this range.

The only way to buy cheap domains at GoDaddy auctions now seems to be to let domains expire with 0 bids, so that they go to close-out status, and then try to snipe them as soon as that happens. However, some domainers seem to think it's smart to bid $12 on any decent name when there is 1-15 minutes left, hoping that nobody else is going to place a bid, so fewer and fewer decent names are let to expire with 0 bids. However, that strategy never seems to work (I've tried it myself lots of names, and it did not work even one time), because there are always other people watching and waiting for the name to go to close-out, and they jump in and bid if you make a $12 bid, and most of those names are eventually won by HugeDomains.com. What experiences do other people have at GD recently? Anyone else have any good strategies for buying expiring domains @ GoDaddy.com these days?

Some examples of expired domains bought at GoDaddy.com auctions by HugeDomains:
Domain: skillsharing.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $540
Asking price (at HugeDomains): $2995

Domain: ledmaster.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $537
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $2195

Domain: cyberstrategies.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $262
Asking price (at HugeDomains): $2895

Domain: crablab.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $320
Asking price (at HugeDomains): $1895

Domain: dailyportal.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $560
Asking price (at HugeDomains): $2895

Domain: fivesecondrule.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $42
Asking price (at HugeDomains): $2695

Domain: deltacloud.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $365
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $1795

Domain: itace.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $499
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $2595

Domain: sunnykitchen.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $200
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $2595

Domain: baristaschool.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $449
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $2895

Domain: cakemart.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $695
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $3495

Domain: visuala.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $315
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $2795

Domain: massanalytics.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $130
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $2095

Domain: edusport.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $535
BIN price (at HugeDomains): $2995

Domain: acneguru.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $52
Asking price (at HugeDomains): $2495

Domain: stylefolio.com
Purchase price (at GoDaddy): $195
Asking price (at HugeDomains): $1995

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Related: HUGE DOMAINS SNIPING GODADDY CLOSEOUTS

 

[Fuadiansyah]

i have heard of some domainers letting it go to expired auctions to test the waters, they watch to see how far its bid up, renew it and hope the previous auction buyers approach them.

It sucks but it's legal...

 

[urlurl]

i wonder if GD has to allow extra days grace period or they do it for the original owner as a customer service feature

 

[trelgor]

i wonder if GD has to allow extra days grace period or they do it for the original owner as a customer service feature

I think they would be getting a lot of bad press if someone important discovered they forgot a renewal and that the registrar subsequently sold their name for 30k. You would think that a mom & pop branded company with customer interest at heart would atleast send a small and modest reminder if your name was being auctioned at 3750 X registration cost?

 

[wwwweb]

Observation of the day pixelpick.com, was nearing $12 closing at Godaddy, last minutes bid, caused another counter bid, then another bidder. So Bidder 1 was quickly taken out, then bidder 2 & 3 battled the domain from what would have been a movie ticket & popcorn $20, to what is 2 days full wage for the average worker $300.

It's not a bad little name, but sometimes you can get lucky with a quick sale, but MOST of the time they just never sell, and most go to the brandable sites grave to die a slow death.

Even at $500 this one is break even with fees, and the hour the bidders wasted of their time. Anything more than that they profit, if it ever resells above that.

 

[Asfas1000]

Observation of the day pixelpick.com, was nearing $12 closing at Godaddy, last minutes bid, caused another counter bid, then another bidder. So Bidder 1 was quickly taken out, then bidder 2 & 3 battled the domain from what would have been a movie ticket & popcorn $20, to what is 2 days full wage for the average worker $300.

It's not a bad little name, but sometimes you can get lucky with a quick sale, but MOST of the time they just never sell, and most go to the brandable sites grave to die a slow death.

Even at $500 this one is break even with fees, and the hour the bidders wasted of their time. Anything more than that they profit, if it ever resells above that.

Very well said. I wonder why people don't just gamble on the closeout. There are a few free hundred $$$ there !

 

[urlurl]

Observation of the day pixelpick.com, was nearing $12 closing at Godaddy, last minutes bid, caused another counter bid, then another bidder. So Bidder 1 was quickly taken out, then bidder 2 & 3 battled the domain from what would have been a movie ticket & popcorn $20, to what is 2 days full wage for the average worker $300.

It's not a bad little name, but sometimes you can get lucky with a quick sale, but MOST of the time they just never sell, and most go to the brandable sites grave to die a slow death.

Even at $500 this one is break even with fees, and the hour the bidders wasted of their time. Anything more than that they profit, if it ever resells above that.

agreed, its a $12-$50 invest all day long,

 

[Fuadiansyah]

Again, a little update about my watch on GoDaddy expired auction of mediocre to quite good quality domain which still doesn't get bid at last 2 hours or bought as soon as the domain entered Closeout.

I found Mike Mann! And the domain is LandToRent.com. Good name obviously. I don't know whether it's him who own the name previously, accidentally slip to GD expired auction and renew it asap. I forgot to check the whois when it's still on auction.

And it's Wenjie Jiang who bid for mirrorly.com @dotbay. He bid and win another good names too...

 

[urlurl]

i am also wondering if HD has employees/spies on this forum that store up names in a list from 'names wanted, and other posts, wait for them to expire and then reg them. example; i had a name expire April 2015. i checked to see if the name was still available. it was registered by HD Aug 2016 - way after it expired. its a not so great name, non specific brandable type name. very coincidental if you ask me.

 

[creataweb]

HD bought some names I used to own. Hey HD, have fun sitting on them for years

 

[urlurl]

HD bought some names I used to own. Hey HD, have fun sitting on them for years

did they get them from drop catching them or were they reg'd months after they expired?

 

[creataweb]

did they get them from drop catching them or were they reg's months after they expired?

From what I gathered they were caught. I'll double check possibly though via a little research.

 

[urlurl]

i checked my email when it expired and when it was registered

 

[wwwweb]

i am also wondering if HD has employees/spies on this forum that store up names in a list from 'names wanted, and other posts, wait for them to expire and then reg them. example; i had a name expire April 2015. i checked to see if the name was still available. it was registered by HD Aug 2016 - way after it expired. its a not so great name, non specific brandable type name. very coincidental if you ask me.

The owners are members of the forum, I doubt they have time to check, or care.

Their systems are automated, and it is simply a volume business, in, and out. catch, and release.

Just keep moving inventory.

 

[webquest]

The average price on a portfolio purchase is said to be around $500 per name.

That means all your good ones and all your crappy ones together.

This is why a portfolio sale like Berkens, which had many LLL.coms which were later sold at market price seems not to make much sense.

The buyer, remember, only paid $500 per name.

It's just a numbers game.

So seeing what HD is doing and knowing $500 is about the average price per name, I'd say they are getting ready to try to sell the whole thing (like I said earlier here).

I could be wrong...but just sayin.

Otherwise, paying $xxx for names that sell for low $x,xxx does not make much sense at all.

Let's see what 2017 brings.

 

[wwwweb]

The average price on a portfolio purchase is said to be around $500 per name.

That means all your good ones and all your crappy ones together.

This is why a portfolio sale like Berkens, which had many LLL.coms which were later sold at market price seems not to make much sense.

The buyer, remember, only paid $500 per name.

It's just a numbers game.

So seeing what HD is doing and knowing $500 is about the average price per name, I'd say they are getting ready to try to sell the whole thing (like I said earlier here).

I could be wrong...but just sayin.

Otherwise, paying $xxx for names that sell for low $x,xxx does not make much sense at all.

Let's see what 2017 brings.

There is a big difference between huge domains names, and Berkens names, which many were hand vetted by him personally. His sales to renewal ratio is much better than huge domains, which is riddled with automated pick up, and many trademarks.

Berkens had an amazing liquid portfolio, and many high end one words like dirty.com, along with one of the best legal portfolios out there.

I don't think you can compare the two. Godaddy already gets 20% of huge domains sales via there platform, they have no reason to buy that renewal heavy portfolio. They are very quality specific, they take alot of crap, but they get some 1 off category defining domains that are unattainable at the same time, which is worth all the crap.

That is why Berkens portfolio is so diluting to everyone here, because Berkens had an emotional attachment to every name, he did not give anything away, he fought for record sales on every deal. Godaddy is simpy turning, and churning revenue, and it is all about percent of what they paid, and what they make. The $500 number, they have lots of inventory about 400K, and they have that low to mid 4 figure sweet spot on most of those names.

The thing about Godaddy is they are liquidating those short 3 letter .com/.net's very quickly instead of holding out for that big buyer. Otherwise they have everything in place to make a go of it.

When Endurance bought buydomains, the number was like $33 that is what hugedomains could expect to receive on a nearing 3 million strong portfolio, which would equate to $100M. That is a $25M annual renewal bill. Which would mean they need to sell 1000 domains per month, at an average price of $2100 at a gross level just to break even on renewals, before deducting for any other operating expenses, and commissions.

All I know is this increased demand is causing many people to overpay, and underthink the true cost of carrying a large portfolio in this industry. China and India are more active in the auctions, as they weren't even visible a few years back.

You didn't have to bid against guys in China who were willing to pay $5K for domains like BioBanking.com in aftermarket auctions.

 

[webquest]

There is a big difference between huge domains names, and Berkens names

You can try to disqualify my post but like I said, "but just sayin."

Take it as you will.

 

[wwwweb]

You can try to disqualify my post but like I said, "but just sayin."

Take it as you will.

No, by no means, just saying no way anyone will pay HugeDomains $500 per domain.

Maybe that is what they are doing is trying to build the quality of their portfolio up, and spending a lot of money doing so, but at the end of the day, how many players in this industry can pull of a 3 million domain portfolio buy. Most of those domains they are bidding against other people here, godaddy is already profiting off them from the expired domains they keep the proceeds from. No need for them to buy their domains back, at $500 a pop.

Huge Domains has the money to buy all these names, as domainers use their services, and provide them profit to effectively compete right beside them.

The industry is changing everything from aftermarket costs, to escrow processing, costs are going up, hopefully everyone asks more for their domains in turn.

We are all here to learn from each, nobody gets anything for being right or wrong.

 

[webquest]

I hear ya....but there's no money in buying domains for say an average of $300 to sell for $1,800.

Well, there is, if the sell thru rate is crazy high, but that's not the case with these names.

There is something else at work here.

Maybe a domain buying addiction perhaps? LOL

I think not though.

 

[urlurl]

keep in mind you still need at least two to bid up the names

 

[Asfas1000]

Perhaps they *had* to somehow spend some money on domains and decided to spend it on domains with some bidding action.

 

[168]

From now on, before I drop any names, I'm just callin HD for a quick sale.

 

[dordomai]

From now on, before I drop any names, I'm just callin HD for a quick sale.

you could list them on NJ. Does anyone know if Hugedomains is active on NJ too?

That would be a good way to unload lesser quality domains.

 

[dordomai]

No, by no means, just saying no way anyone will pay HugeDomains $500 per domain.

Maybe that is what they are doing is trying to build the quality of their portfolio up, and spending a lot of money doing so, but at the end of the day, how many players in this industry can pull of a 3 million domain portfolio buy. Most of those domains they are bidding against other people here, godaddy is already profiting off them from the expired domains they keep the proceeds from. No need for them to buy their domains back, at $500 a pop.

Huge Domains has the money to buy all these names, as domainers use their services, and provide them profit to effectively compete right beside them.

The industry is changing everything from aftermarket costs, to escrow processing, costs are going up, hopefully everyone asks more for their domains in turn.

We are all here to learn from each, nobody gets anything for being right or wrong.

I think Hugedomains names are worth maybe 1/10 of that. Still a lot of money. 3 million x 50 =150 Million

 

[Arca]

Again, a little update about my watch on GoDaddy expired auction of mediocre to quite good quality domain which still doesn't get bid at last 2 hours or bought as soon as the domain entered Closeout.

I found Mike Mann! And the domain is LandToRent.com. Good name obviously. I don't know whether it's him who own the name previously, accidentally slip to GD expired auction and renew it asap. I forgot to check the whois when it's still on auction.

And it's Wenjie Jiang who bid for mirrorly.com @dotbay. He bid and win another good names too...

Thanks for making these reports.

Can you please start to include how many domains make up 100%? The total number of domain sales included in your sampling would give us a much better idea of what we are looking at, in terms of how active these buyers are.

If you have more detailed info to share regarding sales prices or price ranges, that would be welcome too of course. One entity may buy as many names as possible in the low $XXX and below range (or bought right after hitting closeouts, as you mentioned you have also included), thus buying a lot of names in terms of quantity, while another buyer might be more focused on quality, buying fewer names but paying mid-high $XXX and up for most acquisitions, spending more in total.

 

[Fuadiansyah]

Thanks for making these reports.

Can you please start to include how many domains make up 100%? The total number of domain sales included in your sampling would give us a much better idea of what we are looking at, in terms of how active these buyers are.

If you have more detailed info to share regarding sales prices or price ranges, that would be welcome too of course. One entity may buy as many names as possible in the low $XXX and below range (or bought right after hitting closeouts, as you mentioned you have also included), thus buying a lot of names in terms of quantity, while another buyer might be more focused on quality, buying fewer names but paying mid-high $XXX and up for most acquisitions, spending more in total.

OK, I'll try in the next report. At the moment, the sampling is not too big, it's only about 50 domains as I also quite picky about the domain quality itself, but it will grow as I continue the watch....