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HUGE DOMAINS SNIPING GODADDY CLOSEOUTS

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So annoying Godaddy hasn't stopped Huge Domains from sniping Godaddy Closeouts with their automated tools, no way a human bidder can win a even closeout.

First they were sniping with the backorders, now you cut that out, and you are letting them snipe via automated tools.

So what do you say @Joe Styler , you want to even the playing field a bit, as your partners are bidding everything in a split second, from $12, to $11, and bidding everything else into the hundreds from a simple bid. I would rather pay a Huge Domains surcharge at checkout.


Huge Domains has an unfair advantage on the auction platform, essentially taxing every user for using it with their automated access advantages given to them thru the house.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
why would GD do this, what for? They are happy now... ;-()

GD has shown it can't be trusted to self-regulate. We need a higher authority.
 
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Let’s be real... have you seen most of these closeouts ::poop:: people don’t bid on them for a reason.

Other than the closeouts and the API bidding is the $10 backorder on almost all aged DNs that are 5L and less.

The game is cooked boys. Focus on smart acquisitions.
 
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Don't think they can get that many domains with the 60 requests limit. Not knowing when GoDaddy will move the domain to closeouts is a challenge in itself. It could be in 30s or 4min. If you have API access, you will know that you have to get the price first which means you have to keep sending requests first till you get the price before you can purchase the domain. If they send request for more than one domain, that will count against their limit. What you saying is only possible if they have 100 or more accounts with API access. They will run into 60 wall like everyone else b/c GoDaddy will block their API access for half HR or so. And honestly, it is more of luck than anything else.

That is the point though. Before, you did not know. Now, the move is INSTANT. So, they can tune the bot to place the bid at the exact second and be the first, as they are in the same building, from what was discussed in the thread. And I don't believe in coincidences in things like this.
 
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Another proposal that most likely will level up the playing field, I have noticed that %80+ of my list that snapped by bots, was available after 30 seconds after the end of the auction, so i believe most successful API bots will delay for 30 seconds after the auction ends then check domain 2 times per second (60times per 30 seconds with in the limit) so if godaddy limits the number of checks to one time per second instead of 60 times per minute it will kill this trick that i believe used by couple of successful bots.

Drop times are indeed not too randomized. It is pretty easy to estimate at which time intervals the probability of domain to hit closeout is much higher than average one.

Those who use web interface should take it into account, as it seems that the number of allowed refreshes/minute is less than number of allowed API calls/minute.
 
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Drop times are indeed not too randomized. It is pretty easy to estimate at which time intervals the probability of domain to hit closeout is much higher than average one.

Those who use web interface should take it into account, as it seems that the number of allowed refreshes/minute is less than number of allowed API calls/minute.

For sure and it get worse when a few users refresh page at the same time, you will notice a huge delay in contrast to API users.
 
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Just the better ones...

They tend to get the ones with an older reg date. They're not good at futurecasting. Heck, I don't know how good I am, but they don't dabble much in the trends I am working in the closeouts.
 
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If you take closeouts out of that equation, what is your average price then?
Don't have those numbers ATM, but I buy 90-95% closeouts. Of the names I bid on and lose, HD wins over 50%. I only very rarely buy a name for over 100 bucks at GD these days because of my aversion to the HD whale. I have a sense for where he is (almost everywhere) but there seem to be niches that do not interest the whale.
 
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Ok, so movie rights sold, make a noise and the huge domains bot will devour you. Not even a mouse click is safe.

9AFA4C8E-2EDB-4A29-961D-0381DCCFE49C.jpeg
 
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I thought I'd look back at the domains I was outbid on over the last couple weeks. Just about every single one has Huge Domains in there bidding, and mostly winning. Often it is just me and them as the only two bidders. They seem to like the names I like (and others don't), which makes it really a pisser for me.

The fact that there aren't more bidders in the auctions and aren't more others outbidding Huge Domains, tells me the domain market is WEAK. At this point, unless I really, really want a name and outbid HD, I'm just waiting for the ones that I like and they miss, and picking them up for $5 - $11.

Let HD pay millions or tens of millions each year on the names. They'll be left holding the bag and the domain investment business gets slower and slower.
 
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This is interesting: I made an embarrassing mistake today. I bought futurenglish.com. I didn't notice that the name is missing a second E. Damn it. $127 wasted.

But here's what's interesting. Huge Domains was the other bidder that ran the name up to this level, with their one and only bid at $124. Why would a sophisticated bot not notice that this name is not made up of two whole words? What made HD buy it? Was it an algorithm? Was it a human who made the same mistake as me? Obviously it's worth anything. Very strange.
 
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HD usually doesn't make mistakes. Their algorithms assigned it value for a reason.
 
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HD usually doesn't make mistakes. Their algorithms assigned it value for a reason.
Or, to be more specific, they likely placed a bid with some reason. Auto-valuation might not be too relevant...
 
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Does HD participate in user auction or only in Exp?
 
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Does HD participate in user auction or only in Exp?

huh? i thought both.

i avoid the place altogether, unless closeouts

@Joe Styler and GD refuse to change this...

Samer
 
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Why they should change anything if it's making them money. My question is these practices are legal? it seems like it's not a fair auctions/competition.
 
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Does HD participate in user auction or only in Exp?
Both, user auctions are more complex, they could zone in on you if you the only one making a single bid in the last minute, and put a proxy with $1xx price, forcing you to pay almost $200, or let i it go.

The closeouts you have no chance, because a bot can snipe the auction the milli second it goes live at $11, you wouldn’t even be able to react by the time it’s already in their cart.
 
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Why they should change anything if it's making them money. My question is these practices are legal? it seems like it's not a fair auctions/competition.

Exactly -- this is why we have to stop petitioning GD and start petitioning regulatory agencies.
 
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This is interesting: I made an embarrassing mistake today. I bought futurenglish.com. I didn't notice that the name is missing a second E. Damn it. $127 wasted.

But here's what's interesting. Huge Domains was the other bidder that ran the name up to this level, with their one and only bid at $124. Why would a sophisticated bot not notice that this name is not made up of two whole words? What made HD buy it? Was it an algorithm? Was it a human who made the same mistake as me? Obviously it's worth anything. Very strange.
Because other users (us here) are doing the work for them. They don't need much of an algorithm when others are doing the looking for them. All they need to do is query the API for names that have had a bid on them, then they assume it has a value. So when you make a mistake, they make a mistake.
 
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I am so excited...think I have finally cracked some of 'tech' behind the daddy huggy program...testing it now.
 
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I am so excited...think I have finally cracked some of 'tech' behind the daddy huggy program...testing it now.

Clarification if you please...
 
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Okay...we all know what is happening with respect to the auction vs bidding vs closeout process where no one can get a name once it has no bids (unofficially that is) due to huggy having access to the auction closeout process (I and several others used several computers over a period of time to test different methods of bidding).

Explained well here: https://www.namepros.com/threads/huge-domains-sniping-godaddy-closeouts.1135689/page-23#post-7637159

There is a mathematical ratio (algorithms if you prefer) to the buying/bidding process and it has been bugging me for a while. It seems the highest bid amount reached, once someone other than huggy started/triggered bidding, has a cap based on a value determined within their system (I don't believe there is any human oversight until/unless a certain level of bidding is reached). Tons of data out there and it is not that hard based on prior auction closings what the range is for 'ordinary' names.

So (still crunching data so still speculating alot) it is clear there is some advantage, either provided within the auction process or there is a server, operating a really well built program, doing the bidding within immediate proximity to the auction origination (server proximity is the only answer if a 'x' second lead time is not being allowed).

There is a clear point at which the huggy system will bail on bidding unless a human intervenes. I feel the operation is so large and their business model does not require this happen alot. They know that they can pay xx, xxx for a name and get low to mid xxxx for it in time...volume speaks volumes here.

I tested many auctions today (at risk of great expense to myself) to see how/when the ceiling would pop...gladly the only names I broke through on I can move without too much hold time (a couple gems) at a small profit.

It is necessary to make my motives clear here...I am a big fan and also quite jealous of huggy and the empire as far as their portfolio and sales operation works. They are an important part of holding domain name volume which helps keep pricing for all of us higher that it would be. What leaves a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth is that the playing field may not be level...ESPECIALLY when it comes to the period between auction and closeout status.

Much of this info has been mentioned before in this and other threads but had to test it all for myself. Man, my head hurts and my fingers a little numb from the activity...have to read for a while!

ADD/EDIT: I just now started reading from where I from last stopped reading and I see the API information...that would explain the access allowed by a 'volume' buyer. Having dealt with the day trade trick of renting offices by the exchange to trade on percentages, I like the (conspiracy theory) idea of a server stack nearby! :xf.smile:
 
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Okay...we all know what is happening with respect to the auction vs bidding vs closeout process where no one can get a name once it has no bids (unofficially that is) due to huggy having access to the auction closeout process (I and several others used several computers over a period of time to test different methods of bidding).

Explained well here: https://www.namepros.com/threads/huge-domains-sniping-godaddy-closeouts.1135689/page-23#post-7637159

There is a mathematical ratio (algorithms if you prefer) to the buying/bidding process and it has been bugging me for a while. It seems the highest bid amount reached, once someone other than huggy started/triggered bidding, has a cap based on a value determined within their system (I don't believe there is any human oversight until/unless a certain level of bidding is reached). Tons of data out there and it is not that hard based on prior auction closings what the range is for 'ordinary' names.

So (still crunching data so still speculating alot) it is clear there is some advantage, either provided within the auction process or there is a server, operating a really well built program, doing the bidding within immediate proximity to the auction origination (server proximity is the only answer if a 'x' second lead time is not being allowed).

There is a clear point at which the huggy system will bail on bidding unless a human intervenes. I feel the operation is so large and their business model does not require this happen alot. They know that they can pay xx, xxx for a name and get low to mid xxxx for it in time...volume speaks volumes here.

I tested many auctions today (at risk of great expense to myself) to see how/when the ceiling would pop...gladly the only names I broke through on I can move without too much hold time (a couple gems) at a small profit.

It is necessary to make my motives clear here...I am a big fan and also quite jealous of huggy and the empire as far as their portfolio and sales operation works. They are an important part of holding domain name volume which helps keep pricing for all of us higher that it would be. What leaves a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth is that the playing field may not be level...ESPECIALLY when it comes to the period between auction and closeout status.

Much of this info has been mentioned before in this and other threads but had to test it all for myself. Man, my head hurts and my fingers a little numb from the activity...have to read for a while!
So how much did you end up costing them today, 4, or 5 figures?
 
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So how much did you end up costing them today, 4, or 5 figures?

:xf.smile: My goal wasn't to cost them money but to see if my insane excel work had taken me in the right direction...I guess my bidding caused a 4 figure change...nothing they will notice. :xf.grin:
 
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GD valuations trick many by assigning values to worthless names that are

a) non-brandable misspell of a great name (there are brandable misspells and those are valuable of course. I almost bought GlobalEnterpise.com, for example. GD put value on it higher than on many of my nice pronounceable 4L.coms, for comparison.

b) names that include a famous trademark. Not necessarily TM violation, but the only reason they are recognized as valuable is because of GD's faulty algorithm. For example, they have bunch of names on auctions/closeouts right now that are Top USA sports team + Bank.com Those worthless bs names are valued at top dollar. And then names that might include top company names also can get huge valuations. GD has to stop this practice of encouraging on potential TM infringements while profiting from it.
 
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