Be careful at NameJet pre-release auctions

[tonecas]

Check the domain whois and history to see if it is a "legit" pre-release (expired) domain or a domain being sold through NameJet (which supposedly doesn't accept clients domains for sale).

In the last days and the next days to come, there are bunch of domains that are being sold by the same owner that is puting fake bids at the minimum price ($69) and then removing them at the last minute. There is tipically 3 or 5 bidders with the maximum bid at $69 and the domains are crap. So, if you see them and wonder why they have some backorders then backoff.

This an advice that should be followed everytime but in this case the seller is so dubious, with so many changes in the whois of his domains, and with this fake bids scam so clear that one has to wonder how NameJet is permiting such an activity.

Money talks...

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

Bids dissapered last few minutes, now I'm the one that HAS to buy it.

How do they do it?

Name expired last month, difficult to now if bids will be retracted.

How many bids is OK to participate?

If I found this post hours earlier would not have acted.

Thanks for sharing experiences.

This has going on for months with different players and methods.

Now the scam is going on from Fabulous that sends domains that are expired to NameJet and then some probably fake accounts place bids on them in advance to appear that the domain might have interest (and also for the domain to appear in the top listing when one orders the pre-release list by number of bids of bid value).

In fact, those fake bids are removed just in the last minutes of the auction backorder deadline.

In the current case, all the domains seem to come from the same owner which leads me to think that this is going on with the knowledge of him.

Maybe it's time to stood up and take this to the front pages.

Regards,
tonecas

 

[play]

They must have various accounts at namejet or they may be a group doing it. What do you think?

I got telefonointernet.net When I joined about half hour before the end I was fourt or fifth bidder.

 

[tonecas]

just a very quick scan for today:

Ahogar.com (5)
guardas.net (4)


on a side note, BuyDomains is selling qccs.org on NameJet and it has also 3 bids.

lets see if those bids are removed... NameJet herself can be puting fake bids just to mark the domains up the list. For what i have been seing in the last months i now consider everything possible.

Really sad to see this. How far do you go to rip of some bucks...

regards,
tonecas

---------- Post added at 01:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 AM ----------

They must have various accounts at namejet or they may be a group doing it. What do you think?

I got telefonointernet.net When I joined about half hour before the end I was fourt or fifth bidder.

Don't know if all are related OR if NameJet itself is puting those bids. After warning them several times they still let this happen. So one can only assume that, at minimum, NameJet clear knows what's going on. It is impossible not to.

Its also easy to have fake accounts on NameJet and other auction/drop catchers houses. For low value domains the controls in place are ridiculous.

I would ask for a chargeback. If everyone at least does this, soon the scam will be over.

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

for today:

Juege.com (4)
mycreditchoice.com (5)
mctvisa.com (4)
preuni.com (3)
saxoflute.com (3)
secretsong.com (3)

regards,
tonecas

 

[Mokum]

Hello Tonecas,

But if someone preorders (just only for 5 minutes) they can see if all the time the same screennames are listed for those names. Publicize the screennames of the bidders, and i for one will not bid if i see any of those screen names anymore.

Did anyone inform Namejet about this?

Mokum

 

[tonecas]

Hi Mokum,

The problem is exactly that and that is why this scam works. We can't see who the bidders are (and this is correct and can not/should not be changed) until the auction begins (which is then too late) only how many bidders there are. Then, if someone bids on it and gets the name, NameJet has allways the tag line of the auction contract that is "you should only bid on a domain you are willing to buy".

The small problem is the contract has already been breach by NameJet because there is no way that NameJet can't detect/know about this. If i was the developer/manager of the platform or even the risk manager one of the things that i would monitor would be the backorder activity of users. It is so easy to detect these patterns...

I've already seen domains listed on the front page of NameJet with max bids on the $1xx and with *no bidders*. So, there is no need to put fake backorders on a name so that it gets listed when we order the domains by current backorder value (which is the default action). Even if it was necessary then one bid should suffice. The fact that we are seeing 2,3,4 backorders systematically put on names that belong to the sames owners it is a clear indication that something is wrong.

I already warn NameJet several times about this but the scam keeps going on and NameJet argues that backorders can be removed. This can only lead to the conclusion that NameJet knows about this, supports it and even can itself put those bids on some names.

This will go one until we stand up and take this to the front pages. Maybe alerting DNJournal? and what about NamePros community?

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

a few more in the last days:

montadura.com (6)
terribles.net (5)
zhaiwuren.com (5)
9651.net

financialcreditservice.com (6)
dominacija.com (5)


for today:

amarathon.com (5)
bestcardz.com (5)
chineserestaurantsonline.com (6)
dischargeofbankruptcy.com (5)


regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

for today:

mymuslimtv.com (5)
mclittle.com (5)
putasx.com (4)

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

for today:

Molal.com (5)
bitloader.com (7)
pillsonly.com (6)

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

for today:

favoritepills.com (6)
emoped.com (10)
emopeds.com (10)
homechair.com (11)

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

more today:

adicionales.com (6)
agregadores.com (6)
aquadia.com (6)
lineck.com (5)
municipiodepanama.com (5)
pindobacu.com (5)
schoolofcommerce.com (7)
shangfun.com (5)
unblocksurf.com (5)

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

decollage.com (3) X
fanel.com (4) X
helpusmarry.com (3)
quadromania.com (3)

regards,
tonecas

 

[Mike Robertson]

Hi Tonecas,

I would suggest contacting NameJet directly with any concerns you may have. If you need a contact over there, PM me and I'll be happy to provide a name/email for you.

Just so everyone is aware, we do have an "Expiring Domains" program, which is opt-in. Fabulous customers can choose to have their expiring domains listed at NameJet. Apart from actually listing the domains at NameJet (and completing sales), Fabulous has no further involvement.

For this reason, as mentioned, should you have any concerns, please contact NameJet asap.

If there are any specific questions about Fabulous and our Expiring Domains program, please let me know and I'll do my best to address them.

Cheers,

Mike
Fabulous.com

 

[tonecas]

Hello Mike,

Thank you for your input regarding what's going on. I'm pleased to see that Fabulous is not involved in this blatant scam.

I have contacted NameJet several times and alert them. Their refusal to see what's happening is an indication where one of the weakest link is.

Maybe we will get a SnapNames scandal on a smaller scale.

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

for today:

eurocurrencyexchange.com (4)
crecimientodelcabello.com (5)
memoriasdeazael.com (5)

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

for today:

decaer.com (3)
decimetro.com (3)
decretar.com (3)
denotacion.com (3)
desechar.com (3)
enojones.com (3)
resignar.com (3)
tamizado.com (3)

benefit of doubt:
immigrationsattorney.com (Karim movies inc.) (3)
likesomeone.com (Accilent Corp.) (6)

regards,
tonecas

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

Any updates on this?

The problem here is that non-proxy pre-bidding policy at Namejet. Before the name goes to auction, if you put in $250, that will be your starting bid, even if others drop out; once the auction starts that will be your opening bid, and if you are last bidder standing, you WILL pay the $250, not $69.00.

I think Namejet ought to get rid of the non-proxy pre-bidding AND stop people from dropping out during the last 24 hours of pre-bidding. That, alone, would cut down on shill bidding and fraud. You could still allow bidders to JOIN the auction, however.

Imagine a shill bidder (or cohort) being forced to buy back his/her own crappy domain at a premium price.



The trick is: during pre-bidding, always put in the minimum bid of $69.00, even if there are higher bids. I discovered this, quite by accident. Even with your minimum bid (even if it's way below the current non-proxy bid), you'll get in the auction.

Better yet, don't bid on crappy names, just to see final bids. If it's a large final bid, you'll find out via DNjournal and other sources. If not, then you'll know it sold for less than $1,000.

In other words, bid ONLY on those domains that you really want.

*

 

[tonecas]

The scam seems to have been stopped but I am not yet sure about it since I still see the scammers list their (expired) domains, typically through Fabulous, who seems to have update their rules for sending expired domains to auction platforms and tighten the rules and consequences of wrong actions (welcomed move).

In any case, NameJet has still not recognized that it has been occurring shill/fake bidding on their platform. Still digressing around and looking to the other side...

Specially in this market, the web of complicities, the "you give me some money to gain now and i will give you some money to gain later" and the "let me list some names on your system and i will let you take commissions on other deals i make" is so pervasive that it takes down the fairness, justice and confidence in the all market. Then people get surprised to see many guys that are not in this business see us like a bunch of parasites and crooks.

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

got to love these Pre-released auctions...

tampadivorceattorney.com: (supposedly) expired on 2010-03-22 but it's listed with a minimum bid of $500 (!!). "sent" by Register.com that gets "piggyback" by Enom before entering NameJet's listings...

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

still on...

for today:
rn1.net (3)
hdtw.com (4)
kegui.com (4) X

yesterday:
chanzong.com (5) X
fundacion.net (8) X
losforos.net (3)
tropicalproperty.com (3)


regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

today:

awnings-canopies.com (3)
myclix.com (3) X
verkleidung.com (3) X

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

let me know if someone gets these:

RoyalPortal.com (3)
rapidwine.com (3)

regards,
tonecas

 

[electrojon]

Lot of Shenanigans

I am glad I found this thread. I bid on namejet because they get a lot names from networksolutions.

Other than that, I caught them more than once playing games too.

This one takes the cake.. I bid on a domain name and I know for a fact, I was the only one.. The auction is over as you know at 8:00 PM PT but somehow, the next day even before the confirmation email is sent at 11:00 AM PT, a new bidder enters at 10:30 am PT.

They totally refuse to answer my complaint on support.

I also had bidders totally disappear too. Even if there was 2 previous place bids.

Did anyone see computersupply.com.. How many times did that go up for bid? at least 3 ?

 

[tonecas]

I am glad I found this thread. I bid on namejet because they get a lot names from networksolutions.

Other than that, I caught them more than once playing games too.

This one takes the cake.. I bid on a domain name and I know for a fact, I was the only one.. The auction is over as you know at 8:00 PM PT but somehow, the next day even before the confirmation email is sent at 11:00 AM PT, a new bidder enters at 10:30 am PT.

They totally refuse to answer my complaint on support.

I also had bidders totally disappear too. Even if there was 2 previous place bids.

Did anyone see computersupply.com.. How many times did that go up for bid? at least 3 ?

hello,

the first case can be because NameJet seems to (sometimes ?) change the bid time for the starting winning bidder. also, there are some that use bots to subscribe to auctions in the last minutes, to get the final auction prices, so that they don't enter in auctions with less than 3 to 5 bidders.

computersupply(.)com is one in a increasing list of domains that are showned in pre-release lists and then go to deletion. the situations vary and NameJet answers that it is the Registrar option to send or not domains to NameJet (which is true but is somewhat odd when the domains come from the shareholders of NameJet).

for today:
privatejetaircraft.com (5)

not hiding now who the owners are but with new whois contacts...

regards,
tonecas

 

[tonecas]

smirinoff.com
luxuryprivatejet.com
nyhe.com
nyid.com
nyln.com
waoa.com

regards,
tonecas