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

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Arca

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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



Related: HUGE DOMAINS SNIPING GODADDY CLOSEOUTS
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
The only way to buy cheap domains at GoDaddy auctions now seems to be to let domains expire with 0 bids

Exactly. I have analyzed this case. It's way better to let the domain enter "Closeout" status and then try to snatch it , knowing that you won't be successful 100% of the time (but this is true even when you make a bid - only difference, you pay a lot more on average !).
 
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I found 119 domains in my list all registrar Godaddy and all owner HugeDomains
Majority 5L chips :xf.grin:

HPSJW.COM
YDZFW.COM
KRKQW.COM
LDDMW.COM
SZMBZ.COM
XLJHW.COM
WSNMW.COM
TPTKW.COM
LBTZW.COM
XQMQW.COM
JRYXW.COM
FHCYW.COM
 
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Interesting find - many had commented about the high percentage of low-quality domains in HD's inventory. Well, I guess one way to go after better domains is to pursue those which other people are bidding on. I am a little surprised however they would bid that aggressively on some of the names above.
 
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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

Thanks for that info. Have you noticed whether they have a preference for domains over a certain age?

Just wondering if they filter domains by age, keywords etc, as well as having been bid on.
 
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Really interesting thread @Arca. I didn't know this. Jeez! Where are HD not interfering with our lives? Of course. They have every right to, in a free market. I'm sure it makes GD really happy :) I think I start bidding on some domains with the intention to make them buy even more :)
 
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Really interesting thread @Arca. I didn't know this. Jeez! Where are HD not interfering with our lives? Of course. They have every right to, in a free market. I'm sure it makes GD really happy :) I think I start bidding on some domains with the intention to make them buy even more :)

:xf.smile: I wonder what would happen if people put a min bid on every domain, would HD buy every one?
 
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Also. The prices of my domains just went up again because of HD's pricing :)
 
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:xf.smile: I wonder what would happen if people put a min bid on every domain, would HD buy every one?

If I were them. I'd have a minimum of 2 bidders before I'd jump in :)
 
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Thanks @Arca for highlighting this!

Would be nice if they engage in regular auctions as well ;)
 
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Competition has been getting fierce lately. it's becoming tough to acquire decent names for decent prices at auction. Even the drop has gotten way more competitive I been building lists of domains to see if they would drop and everyone has been caught over the last week. At the current time we as domainers need to get crafty, lucky or overpay to get good names.
 
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It just seems like such a crazy business strategy. I don't see how it could be profitable, or sustainable. They have to sell roughly 20% of their inventory to cover their acquisition costs. My guess is they sell around 2%, like everyone else (though maybe not even that with all those crappy domains - who would ever spend $2700 for fivesecondrule.com?!)

The only way it really makes any sense is as a very long term strategy. It's a big number but there is a finite number of aftermarket domains (ones that have any conceivable enduser market). Perhaps they plan to buy them all up (or as many as become available through GD auctions). After that, they just have holding costs, which are manageable on a ~2% sell through.

Another thought is that it is in fact a strategy to put the little domainers - ie, us - out of business.
 
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It may suck, but I would probably do the same thing if my wallet was as "HUGE" as theirs.

Who knows, they may have had a killer year in sales this year. So, with the end of year taxes coming up maybe their budget for spending isn't exhausted just yet. They may need to offset their sales income to spending a little more for less taxes due. I guess this theory will be figured out after the beginning of 2017 if they are still doing the same thing. We shall see.

But if this does happen more and more just think of it as glass half full.
Like Stub said...

Also. The prices of my domains just went up again because of HD's pricing :)
 
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VbBtNYg.jpg
 
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yes i noticed an influx of competition in the last year or so, i would have been able to grab some of the names for under $100... now, the same quality names are selling for $300 - $1,200 on auction.

one example i missed out to them;

Clipcard . com - $455
 
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I really like their style. Go huge or go home. Wealth always tends to favor the bold.
 
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If I were them. I'd have a minimum of 2 bidders before I'd jump in :)

i agree, they may get stuck with a name only one out of a billion people want, lol
 
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i also don't bid ahead of time (i dont want to tip people off), i know there are people scanning the expired auctions that only have bids on them. they just don't have the time to scan all the names - and they may assume if one or more people like it, it must be a good name.

Some auctions i did win:

W i s h F i l l .com
P u r p l e C o u p o n .com
S w a g M a i l .com
 
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As a newbie I start to feel sick of them, but it's a free market...
They have huge capital, they could do whatever they wanna do...
Capitalism is really a toxic...
 
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Look at the positive side, they are buying up inventory making good domains harder to find in the market for end-users. That means (assuming you already have good names) you would be able to make more money per name.
 
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Competition has been getting fierce lately. it's becoming tough to acquire decent names for decent prices at auction. Even the drop has gotten way more competitive I been building lists of domains to see if they would drop and everyone has been caught over the last week. At the current time we as domainers need to get crafty, lucky or overpay to get good names.
Or consider New"G"s- the .com ROI's are thinning.
Happy Hunting
 
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You can choose not to give them your business, if they are using your money to compete with you effectively. It is feeding the perfect circle, don't support their products.

Same can be said about other vendors in the space, who bid against you on say namejet etc...

Maybe it is time to draw the line, and withdraw the use of their services, as effectively this is how you pay for their services, if enough people do so, maybe they will back off a bit.

These are names that used to sell for $11-$100 back between 2008-2012. The holding cost of such $500 type names which can take years to sell, it's really a huge burden for a one off domain investor. A few of those $500 names paid up, and stuck in a portfolio for many years really puts a burden on cashflow.

I am taking December off from the aftermarkets, as they are just to expensive, letting the guys who want to pay up, stock up, and realize what a grind it is to carry inventory, as average turnover is 1-3%.
 
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I've noticed HD buying up.

On the other hand Namepros Auctions has some good opportunities that HD doesn't touch at least for the moment (y)
 
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