Happy Enom Bidding
You have to figure-out the diffrent kind of auctions. Enom basically does the following (note $ figures I am talking here have to have normal reg fee added):
Club Drop auctions:
They take pre-orders (so-called "back-orders", simular to what namewinner.com, pool.com, and snapnames.com do) for domains BEFORE they drop from the registry. These names start out at the $30, and get auctioned-off to the highest bidder if more than one person has it listed in their account by drop-entry deadline (the 10am). If only one person has it in their account, then they get it for the $30. Enom starts these at $30 becuase once the name is entered into atleast one member's account prior to the drops, Enom's systems have to try to beat the other drop back-order services for the name when the registry drops it. This takes high-speed computing, bandwidth, ect. for alot of names (try...try...try...till you catch name or someone else does, since Enom, nor any of the others, know the exact drop time for a particular name - is a time-frame, random name order, and names drop over several hour period, but snatching them can be a millisecond diffrence). Enom, charges the $30 minimum to cover the cost of this work by their systems. Hopefully, you find a name no-one else either notices or wants, but that you do, and you can get it for only the $30+reg (assuming Enom is the service able to grab it).
Reverse auctions:
The $10 ones that it picks up on the drops, that you are seeing, are usually not of the better quality (however, with so many names, you occassionally find one that is a steal - but, don't count on it). They are names that Enom picked up on the drop, or after the drop when no other service grabbed it, that did not have any opening bids on it prior to the drop. This usually means they are names that either no other back-order service had a member going after the name, or that the name was regged with Enom and had no pre-drop bids on (hint: all these domainers who go through the "dropping today/tomorrow lists" , and no one went after it..lol). These names start out at $120, usually, and go in reverse-price-order over 3 days till either no one gets it or a member snatches it at whatever price before another member sees it at a price they will pay does. The lower-quality of these names (ie: those no Enom member goes for) can get down to $0, $10, or $15 + reg fee (which of those 3 being set by Enom when name is entered into system...and based on what they think is minimum Enom should get for the name for having grabbed it - or having held onto it, if it was regged with them in the first place). Alot of names that end-up in this reverse auction are names Enom already had regged with them prior to the drop, and they just renewed them at the registry in hopes that some member will want them (or that more than one will, and they get alot higher price by someone snatching it at a high dollar-figure becuase they are afraid if they don't someone else will). These are set at only 3 days, becuase if the name gets all the way down to the minimum with no takers, Enom staff can either decide to relist the name in another auction format, or they can return the name to the registry (they have 3-day grace period to get their registrar fee back on the name - about $2.25 for most domain extensions).
Pre-Release auctions:
Same deal, basically as the "Reverse auctions", except that all of these names were regged at Enom prior to the drop. This is where you had the confusion about "
i noticed on the "premium names auction", some of the bids were in as $10". Names that had no bid on them prior to the drop, that Enom thinks are higher-quality, are considered "premium names". They are up for "public auction" versus being up on a "reverse auction". This is to say, if no bids were on the name at the drop, and Enom had the name regged with them, while at the same time Enom doesn't think it a "high quality" name, they will put it in a reverse auction. If on the other hand, they think it high quality, they start it out low, in the hopes that members will raise the price by having a bidding war on it. Sometimes, however this doesn't happen, and Enom ends up with only one bid on the name or none at all - they thought it "premium", but no members did, so Enom looses-out on that one somewhat. Summary: Enom has name prior to drop, and no bids on it at drop-time, the name starts high and goes in reverse, unless they think it higher-quality, in which case the revers happens. Bidding on a "Public Auction" listing at the $10, unless the time is about to expire, you may find yourself outbid. Bidding on one listed as a "Reverse Auction", and the name is yours for the $10+reg. Just be aware that these names are here becuase no one had them in their drop-bids list prior to the drop, so you won't exatly be getting a A-class name - choose smart. This is becuase those they think are premium are not listed here, but put in the "start low..go to highest bidder" auctions.
Public auctions:
Names previously won (by any auction type) that winner did not pay for. If the name had only one bidder (the non-paying member), then the price starts out at whatever they bid, and goes up from there. If more than one bid was on the name, and the winner did not pay, then the new auction on the name will start at whatever was the highest bid by the runner-up (next highest bid at time auction was ended last time). These can sometimes lead to some very decent names, becuase if you were the second-place bidder, but not able to pay the "way to high" fee that some idiot bid above you (folks often do it just to drive the prices up, with no intent to pay for it - albeit in fairness to folks, some just run into money trouble or credit-card trouble), then you can often end-up with the name at the price you "max'd" out at last time; that is, unless, a new member sees it and decides to jump in and also outbid you.
Private auctions:
These are where the best names usually end-up. They are names (rather regged at Enom or not, prior to the drop) that Enom had more than one bid on at the time of the drop. This means, the name was good enough for more than one person to want it, and they bid knowing it may go above the $30 starting bid. Only ones who can bid in these "private auctions" are the ones who had the name in their drop-list account prior to 10am on the drop day. This is the same as you hear (or read about) in the forums at NamePros about other back-order services. It is basically a fight to the highest bid by all the members who had back-orders placed at Enom on the name prior to it dropping. These are the best names usually, and end-prices often prove this point.
Drop Deals:
Names Enom picked-up, after the normal drops where over, that no one wanted (otherwise it would have been snatched by another back-order service who had a member with it in their list, or Enom would have it elsewhere). It is very rare to find true quality names here, but you never know if you will find a half-decent one occasionally, that Enom just picked-up on the side, in the hopes of making more than reg fee on. All available at a "Buy Now" price. First person to "buy now" at the $10+reg gets it. These are generally the "no one wanted these at the other back-order services or here" names - or, if you are very lucky no one noticed it, and lucky enough to see it on the Enom site before others do, you may find the occasional "worth more than $10+reg for sure" name (but not likely).
It helps to visit
http://www.enom.com/help/faq_clubdrop.asp (and the links on the right) for better explainations. I may have helped you understand it, or I may have confused the issue more. I hope the former of the two
Have any questions, reply back, and I'll try to go into more detail about your issues (Is that possible? :p ).
