Be careful at NameJet pre-release auctions

Hey guys,

Can you please take a look at my screenshot before I bid on this again...the auction will close today in the afternoon and I really need this domain.

Obviously i'm the ddzc bidder but yesterday there was a bidder with a wacky username for +$96 bid and within the same minute another bid +$10. What kind of idiot would bid a day before the auction ends with such a high increment...why not $5 or $10...why even bid so early, why not wait until the last minute. The other bid within the same minute seems fishy to me too, what are the chances?

Do you guys believe these bids are from insiders trying to jack the price up?

What are your thoughts?

Your he0lp would be much appreciated...I never have thee problems in Godaddy auctions..

hi,

it's hard to say without knowing what the domain is. you need to check the whois history for the domain to see if it belongs to someone fishy.

I don't have access now to the bidder aliases in NameJet but I can check later in the day to see if those bidders are new to the platform or not.

regards,
tonecas

since NameJet seems to accept and promote scammers here are some more:

showerchairs.com
xxxteenparty.com
sexxxxxxxxxx.com
wearelesbians.com
organicyogurt.com
portlandrental.com
wrinklesvanish.com
orlandoescapes.com
tulsarentals.com
skinny-girls.com
privateadoption.com
stemcellresearch.info
scottsdalerentals.com

regards,
tonecas

This seems to never stop.

another round:

tnjf.com
ylbn.com
pgnj.com
ranh.com
gospeltv.org
marijuana-legalization.com

regards,
tonecas

a few more:

lollopalooza.com
mountainclimbing.info
californiaparks.org

regards,
tonecas

a lot more hiting the pre-release list, again previously listed and bid on NamJet. what a bunch of crooks...

almost half of LLLL.com for today are from the same scammer. and at least these more:

wrinklesvanish.com
beautifulboobs.com
adultfilmclub.com
aphrodisiacs.info
beachliving.com
genotyping.net
bookdealer.com
cannabisdispensary.org
homedecoratingtips.com
christianrealtors.com

regards,
tonecas

So what's the scam again? Say for beachliving that has 129 bids, one of them being mine.

putting fake bids on domains to simulate interest and them remove them before the auction so that the first bidder after the fakes gets the domain - at least a nice $69 on crappy domains.

pumping prices up with fake accounts and then not paying for them, and months later list them for auction again to see if they can scam someone.

regards,
tonecas

this is getting ludicrous. namejet is now THE website to dump your crap and for laundering of domains. tired of seeing the same s*** over and over again.

if you don't sell them now, lower you reserve a bit the next time and try again.

they are so many i will list only a few:

elperro.com
pilt.com
lmar.com
hbba.com
lpnt.com
hdsn.com
tsae.com
plnb.com
misleader.org
offenbach.org
goantigua.com
hackysacks.com
goatrental.com
thenationaldebt.com
nashvillerental.com


regards,
tonecas

Potential new scams at NameJet?

tonecas said:

the "Reactivation Period" is a new development specically to Enom. Usually that means that the domains are really expired - but does not mean that the owner doesn't renew the domain before the auction.

the whois changes on the beginning of the auction as the Registrar "confirms" the domain extension for another year, so you will see the expiration date going to 2012.

one of the scams described on this thread is to put a domain that it is not expired (or it is expired but did not went through the expiration cicle before being put to a pre-release auction) place some fake bids on them to get attention to the domains and then removing the bids in the last minute(s) of the pre-auction deadline or not paying for the domain auction and leave the domain to the next high bidder on the line.

the big source of scammers seems to come from Fabulous and Enom, Enom that has a long track record of not doing anything against domain abuse by owners in the most various forms. so you should be wary of domains coming from them and check the current WHOIS and history.

regards,
tonecas

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the hard work on this blog. I currently have a bunch of $69 bids in - on names I believe have value (I don't care if others bid or not - if I like a name, I buy it if I can get it for a price I believe is reasonable). Some have no other bidders - others have many.

However, there does appear to be some fishy stuff going on. Here are 2 examples:

I bid on SUMMON.COM along with 55 others. Seems weird that this is even listed here - as it doesn't expire until 2018. So why is it listed? It currently has 56 bidders. Will this name be pulled because it doesn't expire - or did the guy list it via Fabulous or some other place - and just wants to see what he can get (and then he'll pull it if he's not happy?) Or did he renew it recently - after it went to 'auction'.

The second listing is for MILLIGRAM.COM. It has 130 bidders - with a high bid of $600. Seems legit - although it doesn't expire until Jan 2013. Shouldn't all pre-release names show expiry dates that have passed? As well - it sold in 2011 for >$1,000 via NameJet. So why would they guy let it expire - and then NameJet resells it? I don't get it.

Are these new scams?
Thanks much.

Interesting thread had not read before a lot of good points. Of course some who sell there call these names quality.

Sperry8 said:

Thanks for all the hard work on this blog. I currently have a bunch of $69 bids in - on names I believe have value (I don't care if others bid or not - if I like a name, I buy it if I can get it for a price I believe is reasonable). Some have no other bidders - others have many.

However, there does appear to be some fishy stuff going on. Here are 2 examples:

I bid on SUMMON.COM along with 55 others. Seems weird that this is even listed here - as it doesn't expire until 2018. So why is it listed? It currently has 56 bidders. Will this name be pulled because it doesn't expire - or did the guy list it via Fabulous or some other place - and just wants to see what he can get (and then he'll pull it if he's not happy?) Or did he renew it recently - after it went to 'auction'.

The second listing is for MILLIGRAM.COM. It has 130 bidders - with a high bid of $600. Seems legit - although it doesn't expire until Jan 2013. Shouldn't all pre-release names show expiry dates that have passed? As well - it sold in 2011 for >$1,000 via NameJet. So why would they guy let it expire - and then NameJet resells it? I don't get it.

Are these new scams?
Thanks much.

Click to expand...

Obviously, something fishy is going on. Could registrars renewing expired domain names and removing them from Registrant accounts before registry deletion have anything to do with situations such as the above bolded?

Sperry8 said:

Thanks for all the hard work on this blog. I currently have a bunch of $69 bids in - on names I believe have value (I don't care if others bid or not - if I like a name, I buy it if I can get it for a price I believe is reasonable). Some have no other bidders - others have many.

However, there does appear to be some fishy stuff going on. Here are 2 examples:

I bid on SUMMON.COM along with 55 others. Seems weird that this is even listed here - as it doesn't expire until 2018. So why is it listed? It currently has 56 bidders. Will this name be pulled because it doesn't expire - or did the guy list it via Fabulous or some other place - and just wants to see what he can get (and then he'll pull it if he's not happy?) Or did he renew it recently - after it went to 'auction'.

The second listing is for MILLIGRAM.COM. It has 130 bidders - with a high bid of $600. Seems legit - although it doesn't expire until Jan 2013. Shouldn't all pre-release names show expiry dates that have passed? As well - it sold in 2011 for >$1,000 via NameJet. So why would they guy let it expire - and then NameJet resells it? I don't get it.

Are these new scams?
Thanks much.

Click to expand...

Hi,

NameJet does not clearly say that they list domains for auction from private sellers. they have been however increasingly tipping that of on some help pages.

nonetheless, they clearly do not distinguish expired domains from private sellers to generate confusion and hide the fake bidding going on for years. I know some bidders would not bid if they knew that the domain is not really expired.

they have even placed fake bids *themselves* in the past so to list private sellers auctions on the top of their main pages and lists (if a domain does not have any bids it will be placed well into the deep expiring domains lists).

so, it is very simple actually. if you want to be legit you have to first look legit. NameJet hasn't taken any steps so far to improve this. nonetheless they have revamp their site with no truly useful feature and without clearing up this mess. again, we can only conclude that this is has been done because there is money being taken from the table with the current status quo.

also, you can be wary of any domain not expired coming from Enom and Fabulous. there are some unscrupulous owners there. no, many domains that come from these registrars show no problem and are from honest people, but the fact is the scams are always from these registrars. Enom is one of the shareholders of NameJet so one could only imagine the s*** that is going on.

again, we are all too occupied with taking our piece of the expired and fake expired action that we look the other way.

regards,
tonecas

---------- Post added at 07:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:25 PM ----------

bulkdomainz said:

Obviously, something fishy is going on. Could registrars renewing expired domain names and removing them from Registrant accounts before registry deletion have anything to do with situations such as the above bolded?

Click to expand...

yes, registrars can do AND do that.

actually, what registrars do is to renew domains from owners at the registry level to allow them to renew their domnains *after* the expiration date. if the owners don't renew them they can return the domains to the registry so that they may enter the Redemption Period AND recover their fees paid for renewing the domains. ICANN rules don't state the deadlines for the "grace renew period" and registrars take this somewhat fuzy rules to arbitrarily decide when the owner has or has not rights to renew the domains. typically, when a domain auction is started on NameJet the previous owner will not have a chance to recover the domain auctioned if it is a John doe. If you have contacts inside Network Solutions or Enom or you are a big company however rules will be bended. One notable case was the NFR.com auction two years ago. I know of no John Doe having had the correct action taken on the part of NameJet stake holders, including some poor widows and living owner that have lost the domains with no appeal.

considerations aside, the fact is that Registrars have been warehousing domains by this method and retaining them in their own portfolios or selling them in expired auctions.

one day this will to come back to hunt our industry and is in fact hunting our industry right today because this is unfair competition.

regards,
tonecas

so, another thing to pay attention to.

The acquisition of Network Solutions by Web.com, following the acquisition of Register.com is showing signs of change in market rules. Notwithstanding being two of the most expensive registrars of the market Network solutions has been asking current owners to pay a re-activation fee of $25 besides their renewing fee of more than $35 when a domain gets expired. It still puzzles me why people still keep using these registrars that give a lower quality of service for the worst price possible but, moving forward, there is now a new trend in NameJet expired auctions.

Network Solutions is putting a minimum bid above the usual $69 on several domains. This is something new. What is strange is that there are backorders being place precisely at these raised bids with just one guy bidding.

for instance:

mhplanet.com $500
fingerut.com $307
thenavajotimes.com $149
chennytroupe.org $142

lets see how this will play out.

regards,
tonecas

knit1mag.com $1,904 min bid

from Network Solutions, supposedly expired

regards,
tonecas

weedhopperusa.net $565
2myflorida.com $934

myflorida is TM... similar domains have been successfully challenged.

Enom also playing the game

19ccc.com $500

and some more from netsol

sedonaweather.net $258
freesermon.com $106

regards,
tonecas

chwbenefitconnect.com $1,309
iqselection.com $482
allcandid.com $500

let's see how many will get sold.

regards,
tonecas

alwaysgreat.com $500

regards,
tonecas

I honestly don't really understand this scam.

It sounds like you're saying that fake bidders are bidding $69 on pre-release DNs, and then withdrawing those bids before the DN goes to auction...so what's the problem exactly? You're saying that those "fake" bidders make a DN look really popular, so will entice real bids from others who may think that many other people want a particular DN?

If that's what you're saying then...hm, I'm not quite sure I see the problem. Who bids on a DN based ONLY on seeing other people bidding for it? You should be doing your own research. Don't just blindly say "well, it must be worth SOMETHING if 5 other people but in $69 bids"! I don't have much sympathy for that kind of a bidder. I mean: it's a little shady, but I don't see how you can call that a scam.

As far as the other shadiness being alleged (like auctioning off DNs for private sellers who have no intention of actually selling, or putting in shill bids and then not paying them) well that stuff sounds unethical. But as far as just removing $69 bids before pre-release (something anyone can do, right?), I'm not sure I see what the huge uproar's about. Presumably if you bid on a DN, it's because you actually want to buy it...not just because you see other people doing it, so you figure you should be doing it too.

I understand your point of view, but a scam is still a scam.

there are people who even enter auctions with more than X bidders in the last minutes with bots, to get the sale prices or decide later if they want to bid on them depending on the price action.

if you take a step further, in a poker game you can play a hand just because of the action of other players, or in the financial markets you can trade a security just because of its price action without having decided before to purchase or sell that security.

furthermore, the scam stinks even more because NameJet as been alerted for that and, besides not having take action, they even promote the scammers by listing their sh*** domains.

regards,
tonecas

---------- Post added at 10:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 AM ----------

regarding the pricey expired domains from NetSol, they are being bought mostly by the deep pockets guy from HK, Isaac Goldstein.

tonecas said:

I understand your point of view, but a scam is still a scam.

Click to expand...

This isn't a scam. It's slightly deceptive, that's all. Restaurants seat people in the windows to make their restaurant look full even when. Nightclubs keep a line outside to make their club look popular even when it's nearly empty inside. It's something that anyone can do, and Namejet explicitly allows it. You're complaining that people are being duped into bidding on domains they don't actually want. Huh? Why would you bid $69 on a domain name you don't actually want?? I don't have much sympathy for lemming bidders like that.

tonecas said:

furthermore, the scam stinks even more because NameJet as been alerted for that and, besides not having take action, they even promote the scammers by listing their sh*** domains.
regards,
tonecas

Click to expand...

Perhaps you're just leaving out what the real scummy / unethical part of the NameJet pre-release process is. They make it so that you can withdraw $69 bids, but not bids that are higher than $69. In other words there is no reason to ever bid more than $69 on a pre-release domain name. Anyone who bids the minimum $69 will be entered into the private 3-day auction after the pre-release period expires. Even if the NameJet "auction" for a pre-release name shows a high bid of $100, you can still bid $69, and you'll be admitted to the private 3-day auction where you'll have the chance to out-bid the highest bid. And remember, any $69 bid can be withdrawn. HOWEVER, if you bid $70 or higher, that bid CANNOT be withdrawn. There's absolutely no reasonable rationale for allowing a $69 bid to be withdrawn, but a $70 bid to be firm.

But I'm about to tell you why they do this.

NameJet is taking advantage of people not knowing the above because think about it: people think an auction works like this > you see a bid, and you have to bid more than the current highest bid, right? So what do you think people do when they see a high bid of $69. They don't understand the NameJet process, so they think "Oh, well if the current high bid is $69, then I need to bid $70 or more." Namejet explicitly exploits the fact that users don't understand that they don't have to bid more than $69 in order to be entered into the private auction. And when they bid more than $69, their bid can't be withdrawn. So NameJet's entire pre-release "bidding system" is set up to exploit the fact that users don't understand that they're involved in a custom bidding system with specific rules, not a traditional auction where you need to bid more than the existing high bid.

Namejet, of course, doesn't want anyone to know this, and so they bury that info in the fine print.

domino66 said:

This isn't a scam. It's slightly deceptive, that's all. Restaurants seat people in the windows to make their restaurant look full even when.

Click to expand...

when you list a domain for sale, or have it expired and gain a percentage of the sales proceedings, and then you go ahead and use fake accounts to bid on your domains and just remove then in the last hour, you are doing a scam and are a scammer. there is no other way to go around this.

regarding the rest you are right. namejet is shady and unethical.

regards,
tonecas