GoDaddy Can Kiss My @ss

[BatRastard]

1) Hope I am not violating any rules. No way in hell that I can read that damn novel you guys put up for rules. I have severe dyslexia and It would take me four - six hours to read that if I even could. SO PLEASE cut to the chase and condense all that crap...


2) Go Daddy has just lost all of my domain business. What they are doing is unethical and may well be illegal. Here's the run down. It has to do with their back orders, go figure.

Seems that some while ago GD changed how they hand;e back orders for names registered through them. Now, any name that is reged through GD automatically goes to auction. Your $18.99 is actually waste as they only give you credit for $10 as an opening bid at the auction. Now they don't start the auction until about seven weeks after the name expires. Then they hold it another 8-10 days (just in case the previous owner renews, WTF). So I ended up having to pay an extra $66 on top of my $18.99 for the name. Then they finally get it to me but they leave the registration date at the old date or expiration. So for my $84.99 I don't even get a full year registration. I basically am paying for two months that I didn't own the name. When I asked about it they say they do that cause it makes the name more valuable. Total horse shit. I could care less what a name is worth. I buy a name because I have a use for it and I expect 1st to get my back order that I paid for and 2nd to get the full year I pay for. So I wasted the $8.99 part of the back order, had to pay $66 MORE because they didn't even honor the back order I paid for, and then they cut my registration short two months. I don't have a lot of name, only about 70 or so, but you can bet your ass not one of them will be with GD after the end of the week.

FLAME OFF...

 

[JoshuaPz]

NOTE - I am in no way, shape, or form affiliated with GoDaddy. My responses in bold:

Seems that some while ago GD changed how they hand;e back orders for names registered through them. Now, any name that is reged through GD automatically goes to auction. Your $18.99 is actually waste as they only give you credit for $10 as an opening bid at the auction.

This has been true as far as I can remember. I understand why you may not feel too fond of this policy, but every single other backorder service out there except Name.com's works exactly the same way: multiple backorders are allowed and backorders issued prior to redemption period are made public. So if you're morally opposed to this Darwinian-style paradigm -- and there are some very interesting debates happening as to whether registrars should be able allowed benefit financially from expired domains as the domains still "belong" to the prior registrant in a sense -- you're pretty much stuck not being able to backorder expiring domains. So the organization deserving of your indignation is actually ICANN, which has set very liberal and ambiguous policies regarding registrars' rights over expired domains, allowing this sort of "survival of the wealthiest" behavior to flare unchecked. I do agree though that GoDaddy should change its "Backorder Now" button to "Place a Bid" as the latter is less deceptive.

When it all comes down to it, however, GoDaddy is actually the best backorder service in terms of the bang for your buck you receive. SnapNames and NameJet, each charge you about $70 minimum for each successful capture of a pre-release expired domain, no matter how mediocre its quality. GD backorders are mininally $11.49 prior to redemption period and $8.99 afterwards.

Your best bet is to simply adapt. Place your backorder on the domain name a couple of minutes before its TDNAM auction concludes in order to minimize the period during which attention is drawn to it.


Now they don't start the auction until about seven weeks after the name expires. Then they hold it another 8-10 days (just in case the previous owner renews, WTF).

Again, this behavior is due to ICANN regulations. GoDaddy, like all registrars, is obligated to provide a "redemption period" during which the prior owner may renew the domain name. Personally I agree with this policy. Even with the extensive redemption window, legitimate businesses lose their domains all the time due to negligent IT managers, full e-mail boxes, etc., but not as often as back when domain names became available the moment they expired.

More information here:
ICANN | Life Cycle of a Typical gTLD Domain Name

So I ended up having to pay an extra $66 on top of my $18.99 for the name.

Well, if you were willing to pay $66 on top of your $18.99 than GoDaddy then from the standpoint of the relationship between you and GoDaddy, GoDaddy exercised business tactics. You paid what the domain name was worth to you, and GoDaddy maximized their profits. You would be a fool not to do exactly the same as a business owner. It's just supply vs. demand economics.

Then they finally get it to me but they leave the registration date at the old date or expiration. So for my $84.99 I don't even get a full year registration.

Then GoDaddy made a mistake. Winning a domain at auctions.godaddy.com should always cause the domain to renew an additional year. If you like, I can run this issue by my executive rep. The regular support reps. aren't always competent.

While I've certainly had my share of problems with GoDaddy, I also think domainers are fond (too fond) of bashing GoDaddy because GoDaddy represents the largest and most successful company (aside from VeriSign) affiliated with domain name registration. But if you do you'll research, you find that (1) ICANN and VeriSign are more culpable for any of these issues than GoDaddy is, and (2) When push comes to shove, GoDaddy is the most domainer-friendly of any registrar (except for their ridiculously slow and resource-intensive domain manager, which they're currently working on slimming). Bang-for-the-buck wise, GoDaddy is the best for .COM domain registration, .COM renewals, and backorders. You just have to read up a little on promo codes and timing your backorders properly so you could best take advantage of GoDaddy's offerings from a domainer/wholesale standpoint. I'd be happy to help in any way I could.

 

[ComKid]

Then they finally get it to me but they leave the registration date at the old date or expiration. So for my $84.99 I don't even get a full year registration

Then GoDaddy made a mistake. Winning a domain at auctions.godaddy.com should always cause the domain to renew an additional year. If you like, I can run this issue by my executive rep. The regular support reps. aren't always competent.

Y sounds like mis-communication somewhere along the line or an honest mistake. GoDaddy is only doing what they have access to as well as all the other registrars.

This has been true as far as I can remember. I understand why you may not feel too fond of this policy, but every single other backorder service out there except Name.com's works exactly the same way: multiple backorders are allowed and backorders issued prior to redemption period are made public. So if you're morally opposed to this Darwinian-style paradigm -- and there are some very interesting debates happening as to whether registrars should be able allowed benefit financially from expired domains as the domains still "belong" to the prior registrant in a sense -- you're pretty much stuck not being able to backorder expiring domains. So the organization deserving of your indignation is actually ICANN, which has set very liberal and ambiguous policies regarding registrars' rights over expired domains, allowing this sort of "survival of the wealthiest" behavior to flare unchecked. I do agree though that GoDaddy should change its "Backorder Now" button to "Place a Bid" as the latter is less deceptive.

JoshuaPz, you are very keen on the ICANN (UCAN'T) Regulations as I totally am hung up on these allowances for registrars and auction houses making a buck off everyone's expiring name(s). Not just in Backordering but I'm hung up on a Business offering me a service to sell my domain name on their platform and then when my name expires because it didn't sell it , the auction house (whom I pay $) then gets the name and makes a special platform for selling them at $65 a pop almost everytime one gets listed. And I can't put my names up on this platform before my $8 goes down the drain after I can't sell it on their OTHER platform? That is why Bido is a time and money saver and a sight for sore wallets!

While I've certainly had my share of problems with GoDaddy, I also think domainers love bashing GoDaddy because they're the largest and most successful company (aside from VeriSign) affiliated with domain name registration. But if you do you'll research, you find that (1) ICANN and VeriSign are far more responsibility for any of these issues than GoDaddy, and (2) When it all comes down to it, GoDaddy is the most domainer-friendly of any registrar (except for their ridiculously slow and resource-intensive domain manager, which they're currently improving). Bang-for-the-buck wise, GoDaddy is the best for .COM domain registration, .COM renewals, and backorders. You just have to read up a little on promo codes and timing your backorders properly so you could best take advantage of GoDaddy's offerings from a domainer/wholesale point of view. I'd be happy to help in any way I could.

I agree! GoDaddy has always stepped beyond the call of duty for me anyways , and the only problem I ever had was when a .TC expired on me without warning and I learned .TC is seperately regulated tld and has a sooner expiration than .com's. That is unfortunate about your backorder disappointment though and I am thinking a mistake on GD's part.

 

[Tippy]

I dont use GoDaddy unless its to take advantage of them like when they offer 1.99 reg special codes etc... everything else about GD sucks. When time comes to renew I transfer them out to another registrar. GoDaddy needs to come back down to earth and get off their high horse.

GoDaddy certainly aint what it used to be.

 

[BatRastard]

Oh I understand redemption period and all. That is not an issue that is relevant at all. That just fine and dandy, but GD does NOT have to take a name that has been back ordered and then send it through an auction (especially one that ends before the redemption period) and THEN when someone wins the name and pays a back order fee PLUS registration fee, PLUS the unnecessary auction expense, they short change them to where I only have the name for 10 months! Redemption is NOT the issue.

I am adapting alright, I am taking all of my names elsewhere. They made me pay for a full year registration and only gave me 10 months. That has to be illegal or against whatever rules are in place. Thats the real thing that pisses me off on top of everything else.

 

[JoshuaPz]

They made me pay for a full year registration and only gave me 10 months. That has to be illegal or against whatever rules are in place. Thats the real thing that pisses me off on top of everything else.

Again, this is due to an ICANN/VeriSign restriction. Domains can only be registered in year-long blocks, and GoDaddy sends domains to TDNAM about 1.5 months following their expiration. If the domain is won, GoDaddy then calls on VeriSign's interface to extend the domain's registration date for one year following its prior expiration (1.5 months back), hence only 10.5 months remain on the reg. VeriSign makes no interface available to registers to renew .COM domains for, say, an additional 13.5 months, so I'm not sure what else you expect GoDaddy to do in this situation.

In a sense, however, you are actually are getting the domain for 11.5 months, not 10.5, since GoDaddy allows you to renew a domain at no extra charge for up to 30 days following its expiration.

 

[BatRastard]

Again, this is due to an ICANN/VeriSign restriction. Domains can only be registered in year-long blocks, and GoDaddy sends domains to TDNAM about 1.5 months following their expiration. If the domain is won, GoDaddy then calls on VeriSign's interface to extend the domain's registration date for one year following its prior expiration (1.5 months back), hence only 10.5 months remain on the reg. VeriSign makes no interface available to registers to renew .COM domains for, say, an additional 13.5 months, so I'm not sure what else you expect GoDaddy to do in this situation.

In a sense, however, you are actually are getting the domain for 11.5 months, not 10.5, since GoDaddy allows you to renew a domain at no extra charge for up to 30 days following its expiration.

Noe of the other back orders I have won elsewhere have EVER done that. I get the name registered as of the date it dropped and the beck order was successful. In GD's card game, the name really never does drop and technically is NEVER back ordered. So they are ripping off their customers on 2-3 levels in that charade... Its not a Verisign issue, its a GD issue and they are ripping people off. Like I said though, I'll never spend another penny there. They are very misleading with their whole process. There is absolutely ZERO gain by back ordering a name from GD, in fact you end up paying MORE than if you simply registered the name on drop. Hell all back order does is give you the first bid at auction and THAT is actually detrimental since it shows a bid history from jump street.

---------- Post added at 06:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:45 PM ----------

BTW No you do not get 11.5 months, because that renew may be ACCOMPLISHED during the 30 days but it remains the same expire day. Damn now you are starting to sound as full of crap as GD is.

 

[JoshuaPz]

Noe of the other back orders I have won elsewhere have EVER done that. I get the name registered as of the date it dropped and the beck order was successful.

You're comparing apples and oranges.

If you backorder a domain in its pendingDelete stage at GoDaddy, SnapNames, NameJet, or Pool.com and one of the four captures it, then you receive the domain for a FULL additional 12 months as it represents a "fresh" registration.

If you "backorder" a domain prior to its redemptionPeriod stage at its partner auction service (SnapNames pre-release, NameJet pre-release, or GoDaddy Auctions) -- in which case your backorder acts more like a bid -- and you win the auction, then the domain is renewed from the point it previously expired, usually about 45 days prior, and you are granted ownership over the domain for only 10.5 months.

You can compare GoDaddy pendingDelete backorders to NameJet pendingDelete backorders, and GoDaddy Auction "backorders" to NameJet pre-release orders, but it makes no sense to cross-compare between these two paradigms The underlying technical mechanisms registrars use to implement pre-release versus pendingDelete orders are completely different, but in the cases of both these paradigms GoDaddy acts like every other registrar out there: 12 months for caught pendingDelete domains, 10.5 for won pre-release domains. Your prior experiences probably involved pendingDelete domains, which is why you observed yourself receiving 12 additional months of registration in those case.

If you want to rant against GoDaddy because doing so makes you feel better, then fine -- it's a free country, and GoDaddy certainly has other nuisances you haven't alluded to yet -- but based on what you've said so far, your beef should be with ICANN/VeriSign, not GoDaddy.

 

[MicroGuy]

I don't have a lot of name, only about 70 or so, but you can bet your ass not one of them will be with GD after the end of the week.

So you're going to pay mid $xxx to move 70 domains by the end of the week? I've heard this song and dance before, but nobody ever leaves crack daddy. He's got us all hooked with his low prices and pretty girls.

 

[garptrader]

JoshuaPZ-great summary of the drop/renewal process. I debated with my Godaddy once regarding Godaddy's policy of granting less than a full year for Godaddy expired domains. He stood firm stating pretty much that's the way it is. I don't think it is right because if I were to hand register the name I would get 12 full months. But what choice do you have if the name was previously registered with Godaddy? So I dropped the issue.

 

[JoshuaPz]

But what choice do you have if the name was previously registered with Godaddy?

You could wait until the domain reaches its pendingDelete stage and then backorder it on GoDaddy. If GoDaddy catches it, the domain will be registered to you for a full year. But of course, if somebody else backorders the domain on GoDaddy prior to its redemption period or a backorder service other than GoDaddy captures the domain after it drops, the domain will be lost to you entirely. So, you'll need to choose your timing and method based on the quality of the domain you're after, and you can do this with very high accuracy once you have few weeks' worth of practice up your sleeve. Naive domainers gripe; professional, successful ones adapt.

VeriSign probably wrote their registrar API over 10 years ago, and since then I doubt they've updated it much to suit the times, and probably never will. VeriSign's executives have worked extremely hard to get where they are today, and now they're sitting in their cushy mansions and reaping the rewards of their entrepreneurship.

 

[garptrader]

My view is that from a customer vantage point it is a legitimate gripe but that the quality of the domain captured is more critical than the ~45 days of registration lost. But all venues have their gripes.

 

[labrocca]

So you're going to pay mid $xxx to move 70 domains by the end of the week? I've heard this song and dance before, but nobody ever leaves crack daddy. He's got us all hooked with his low prices and pretty girls.

I had no problems taking my business to another registrar. Any domains I buy that are at GD get transferred out to Moniker.

GD has terrible policies imho. However in their defense on this particular thread the OP is complaining about some ICANN policies more than GD's.

 

[HBK216]

I had no problems taking my business to another registrar. Any domains I buy that are at GD get transferred out to Moniker.

I follow this way of doing business as well. I only register a name at Go Daddy if they have a ridiculous .99 - $1.99 sale going on. A few names I have there are from the rare E-Bay or forum purchase (although not lately). I have downsized the names I have, especially at GD considerably.

The only reason I can never fully get away from them is due to TDNAM purchases. However once the 60 days are up, I already have them prime & ready for a transfer to Moniker.

 

[Kate]

godaddy should have honored the previous terms for backorders purchased prior to the new conditions ie. exclusive slot & reg price included. If not then customers have wasted money.

 

[onewordonly]

I never use backorders but i hate the way new windows open evertime i logon there now, very annoying.

 

[DnEbook]

So you're going to pay mid $xxx to move 70 domains by the end of the week? I've heard this song and dance before, but nobody ever leaves crack daddy. He's got us all hooked with his low prices and pretty girls.

Was crack daddy in the starsky and hutch movie ???

 

[Carlton]

I remember discovering this GoDaddy practice some years ago. I had been buying backorders on various GoDaddy domains. You used to be guaranteed to acquire the name if your backorder was the one & only available slot.

Then one day, the drop and reassignment had resolved, but someone else had the name instead. How'd that happen? It was then that I discovered that backorder names were being sent automatically to tdnam.

 

[MyNet-Tony]

yeah godaddy backorders are a waste of money. and its not about multiple backorders.

If godaddy has the domain, it goes to TDNAM no matter what in hopes of getting an auction with lots of bidders. I would gladly pay the $20 to avoid waiting for the auction to end and then buy it for $5 when it goes to Buy It Now.

GoDaddy would rather waste time and piss off customers hoping to score more money on an auction.

The only thing I like about it is that I get a crack at the domain in TDNAM before it goes to the ripoffs that are NameJet and SnapNames.

 

[FreshAvails.com]

VeriSign probably wrote their registrar API over 10 years ago, and since then I doubt they've updated it much to suit the times, and probably never will. VeriSign's executives have worked extremely hard to get where they are today, and now they're sitting in their cushy mansions and reaping the rewards of their entrepreneurship.

Suit the times? This has nothing to do with VeriSign but rather ICANN policy. The whole idea of backordering with the registrar/tdnam/namejet is to ensure that the name doesn't drop from the registars without them having a chance to profit from every single name. As far as ICANN is concerned, the name still belongs to the registrant even while it is up for auction. It is a way for them to "Game the system" that was initally set up to allow a registrant to renew a name that expired due to a lapse/mistake.

Here is how it works. A domain name expires-Registrar is charged for a renewal from Verisign(The name is now in EXPIRED status) At this point, the owner can renew (15-45 days typically-Registrars choose the length) If there is a backorder for this name, it goes right to auction/sale after this period expired. If no interest or backorders for the name appear at the registrar, they tell the registry to put the name in REDEMPTION status (30 days) At this point the registrar gets a full refund on the name from Verisign but has the exclusive right, until the end of this 30 day period, to buy it back from the registry. This is when the majority of names are floated to buyers for backordering, auction prebids. If noone wants it, they push the name to PENDING DELETE staus and 5 days later it drops. It is simply domain tasting done by registrars rather than registrants...without the pesky uproar.