advice Back-ordering strategy (end-user) : what do you think?

[Hetfield67]

Hi everyone,

In a couple of days I will attempt my first domain purchase ever. I intend to use this domain to promote a business that I’ll start after summer. I’ve done a lot of reading about drop catching lately, but before I place my orders I would appreciate some feedback from the pros!
I thought I’d start with the domain description. It’s a .com domain, with a nine letter made-up name (no hyphens, no numbers: LLLLLLLLL.com), built with two parts of well-recognizable technical words (something like TechnoPlast.com : technology + plastics). It’s easy to spell and pronounce in all the regions I'll be targeting, and it clearly relates to my business. From an SEO viewpoint though, I don’t *think* this domain has much value (made-up name, no backlinks, and very little traffic). And that’s fine by me as I intend to operate B2B in a niche industry. All I want is a catchy domain name. I’ve done an extensive Google search and there are only a handful of very small, very local businesses that could be interested in this domain name. But judging by their geographic location and online presence so far, I would say that the risk that they will try to purchase the domain is rather low.

In a nutshell, it’s a great domain name for me and maybe a handful of other small businesses, but it may not have a clear value to a domainer so far.

I’d like to use a drop catching service to secure the domain at the drop just in case, but I want to avoid bringing my domain to the attention of domainers. I’m considering the following approach:
1. Place an order at DomainMonster and Name.com (“first come, first served” services - no auction)
2. Place an order at Dynadot (keeps number of placed b/o secret and only uses private auctions)
3. Monitor the domain at SnapNames and NameJet, and only place an order there if I see that someone else has done the same, so I can take part to the private auction.
4. (Not sure about this one) Place an order on SnapNames and NameJet just a few minutes before the deadline, hoping to avoid the private auction.
5. Join the public auction in case the domain is caught by DropCatch, Pheenix or BackOrderZone (hoping that no one or more than one person have placed an order there!)

Now my questions to the pros:
1. First and foremost, what do you think of my strategy overall?
2. Do you confirm that Name.com applies the first come, first served principle?
3. Last minute b/o at SnapNames and NameJet: keeping in mind that I would only have one domain to monitor, should I be first to place an order, or is it safe to wait for someone else to place an order?
4. It seems like some b/o services are a lot more effective than others at catching names. Is there any history, or suspicions, of DomainMonster, Name.com or Dynadot selling b/o info to another service more likely to be catching the drop, like e.g. DropCatch? (I’m a little paranoid after all I read lately!
5. Some service providers encourage the users to inform about their highest bid in order to secure adequate amount of resources for catching the drop. What would you recommend?
6. I’ve skipped Pool.com so far simply because I don’t fully understand their auction policies. In particular: what happens if the winning bidder of the initial auction doesn’t pay? I want to avoid a public (re)auction. Also, what do they mean by "reserve bid" at the discretion of pool.com?..
7. I think I’ve read somewhere that when b/o companies have partnerships with a registrar they can simply purchase the domain during the “pending delete” period and resell it at an arbitrary price and bypass the actual drop, especially once a potential buyer has expressed an interest by placing an order. Do you confirm, and how can I find out which company has a deal with the current registrar?
8. How would you interpret section 5.h.vi of the Registration Agreement of Name.com (I'm not allowed to link here)? It says “If the price for a secured domain name is higher than the price paid to place the initial backorder you will be immediately responsible for paying the difference in price”. If I am responsible for the price increase because e.g. I have placed a higher bid, fine. Otherwise I’m not sure what they mean…

Please let me know if I can provide any additional info that can guide your answers!

Thanks for reading!
/JB

 

[cocaseco]

So I assume it is deleting soon? It doesn't sound like the chances of anyone else grabbing it are very high? Why not just hand reg as soon as it drops? Why even mess with back ordering it anyway?

 

[bashariqbal]

if it is a good brandable then there is chance of it to be backordered but more likely on pheenix, dynadot or backorderzone bcz of their price tag.

 

[Hetfield67]

Thanks guys,
@cocaseco: yes, the domain should enter pending delete period by the end of the week. I've considered a simple hand reg, but it feels like more than myself should find the domain attractive. If not an end user, a domainer. This is why I thought I should place a couple of b/o. But to be truthful I don't know what routine domainers use to spot a good domain, so maybe the domain would stay under the radar until the drop.
I'll read more about this interesting topic and reassess the risks.

 

[Hetfield67]

Alright.
So after further researching, it appears that the domain I'm after has no value whatsoever for someone who would like to redirect to a pay site. However, I have found a few similar domains advertised on brandbucket.com for 1500-2500 USD. I'm not sure if those sell well, but it seems to confirm that such domain may be targeted by a domainer at the drop.
Next question being, how likely is it to get spotted? I'll keep reading about this cool topic but any further input is much appreciated!

 

[NameAgency]

First, you must be sure thar this domain is not currently regged in a registrar with agreement with major backorder services. If this is the case, it is possible that the domain will be in prerelease at namejet or at snapnames. If not, simply put a backorder in all sites.

You mentioned to join the auction at pheenix or dropcatch. This is possible only at dropcatch. You must request a previous backorder at Pheenix to have a seat in the auction.

 

[Grego85]

So did you get the name?

 

[sin]

If you place a backorder at backorderzone, what if other people backordered it there, or somewhere else, I am wondering. Does it go to closed auction? I am curious who can confirm some first come first serve services for expired/deleting names. I believe namesilo operates this way with names registered through their service. Correct me if Im wrong.

 

[RegFee]

Did you get it? If not, send me a PM with the keywords or theme you're looking for and I'll see what I can do.