HUGE DOMAINS SNIPING GODADDY CLOSEOUTS

[wwwweb]

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.

 

[pb]

Its not about being desperate. Its about being willing to pay more than $12.

If you don't like a domain enough to pay more than that why go after it in the first place.

My point exactly. Why start the auction if you're not willing to bid high.

 

[namesway]

.

 

[pb]

I know for fact they are doing it on purpose. I have heard of a guy who places bunches of $12 bids b/c he can't get API access. And determined to nuke all domains he thinks he is not going to get in closeout.

Here's an idea for that guy:
1. make a list of domains that you think you can't get at closeouts.
2. Try to actually get them.
3. If you get at least one (and you probably will), you'll know you've been just shooting yourself in the foot all that time.

 

[namesway]

.

 

[pb]

I don't this person. I just being told by a fellow domainer

Yeah, I know, but maybe he reads it.

 

[DomainVP]

Placing $12 bid on a good name sometimes gives more chances to get it it compared to chances to snipe it from closeout.

I hear what you are saying but statistically speaking if you don't place a bid at all you have more of a chance to catch it during snipe than if you place a bid.

If you place a bid with minutes remaining you are 100% guaranteed to have the HD bot enter a bid war with you.

Conversely, there are some good domains I've watched completely fall through to the closeout without a single buyer. Sometimes I add DNs to my watch list but then decide to focus on another name, that happens with others too - so there might be a good name you can get for $20 and sell for $200 but I'll pass and aim for the one I can get for $20 and sell for $1500+.

This isn't just my experience, you can see others have the same experience with this...

Small domainers have very little chance to win a bidding war, we have bigger chance of "hand-sniping" a domain as it goes to closeout. Personally I never managed to get a domain at gd auction (I started in January and don't have the API access) but I got a few half-decent domains after the auction, sometimes even the ones that had many refreshes as the auction ended (refreshes mean there are real people trying to get the domain, api bots don't need to do that). So it's never a better option to place the initial bid, unless you're desperate to get the domain.

If you place a bid on that name then HD bot will bury you in bids and the resale value of the domain is gone.

If you just wait for closeout you might have a chance.

Even a slim chance is better than no chance.

 

[uzver]

You really think you going to get away with a $12 bid. As soon as you place the bid. You already lost the name. If you get a domain for $12, it must be a name that nobody want.

If you place a bid on that name then HD bot will bury you in bids and the resale value of the domain is gone.

If you just wait for closeout you might have a chance.

Even a slim chance is better than no chance.

I totally agree.

At the same time, it’s just so demotivating to skim through hundreds of names daily, add them to your watchlist, then refreshing the page many times and see nothing there (instead of Buy Now $11). So I personally become very irritated and lose patience — that’s when I start bidding just to “hurt” HD and make them pay to compensate for the time I wasted.

 

[DomainVP]

At the same time, it’s just so demotivating to skim through hundreds of names daily, add them to your watchlist, then refreshing the page many times and see nothing there (instead of Buy Now $11). So I personally become very irritated and lose patience — that’s when I start bidding just to “hurt” HD and make them pay to compensate for the time I wasted.

I hear you, but keep an eye on where DishWorks.com ends up in 6-7 days.

According to GD it had a previous sale of $1200 and was regged in 2001 so I was incredibly shocked when this went through to the closeouts.

This one was weird though when it went to closeouts - the page itself usually says 'auction ended' when someone buys it but it was in limbo for 5 minutes or so. It was the longest I've seen a domain hang in between auction and closeout.

Point being - these vanishing closeouts aren't HD for the most part. It's people with the know how or the API. If you have both then you can pretty much take any closeout domain you want.

 

[namesway]

.

 

[DomainVP]

I got that one. no need to wait 6-7 days

Do you have API access?

Yes, I do.

Well there you go. 100% Confirmed.

The know how + API = the ability to clean out any closeout you want.

This is how GoDaddy policy is jacked up.

Sure you need to know how to program, or you could hire a developer (which Joe Styler has recommended in a previous post), but the inability to have API access completely disables anyone else from even having a chance.

It's no secret I'm a developer myself, so figuring out the snipe is not a problem. But not having API access puts others at a significant disadvantage because it adds at least 3-7 additional seconds to the process that an API user can just skip over.

So why can't we ALL have API access?

This is what we've been asking @Joe Styler and the GD team for years, and to just flat out tell people that you aren't allowing access to something that gives a significant advantage is biased at best illegal at worst - especially on an auction platform.

 

[namesway]

.

 

[DomainVP]

not really, I loose more than I win. my success rate is about 60%. not very high when other domainers go after it. it was more of a luck than anything else. what I am saying is not a silver bullet as you may think. it is very slow. I win some, loose some.

My internet was extremely slow today too, damn Covid everyone is watching netflix ad it slows the local area pipe. I was cursing at my terminal, "WHY ARE YOU SO SLOW!" lol.

You know there were at least 5-10 bots pounding away at that. I don't think you were lucky, you have API access plus an effective .NET bot. That was a well deserved win. Kudos.

Just would be nice if we all had that same advantage.

 

[uzver]

So why can't we ALL have API access?

This is what we've been asking @Joe Styler and the GD team for years, and to just flat out tell people that you aren't allowing access to something that gives a significant advantage is biased at best illegal at worst - especially on an auction platform.

At the very least, they should disable it until they are ready to open it for everyone.

what I am saying is not a silver bullet as you may think. it is very slow. I win some, loose some. other people with access are doing exactly the same thing you doing. and one person can have the domain.

Considering my current success rate of almost zero, 60% is a silver bullet.

As to the rate limit issues, etc. At least you’re having fun doing what you like (coding, running the Terminal commands) and have some results. Refreshing the page and see nothing is not the same feeling.

 

[namesway]

.

 

[uzver]

I am not really here to argue with you. chill.

Sorry if I made you think that way. I wanted to share my opinion from the other side of the wall (API access), and I didn't mean to argue with anyone personally.

Perhaps, I'm just jealous

 

[h2o]

I am going to share some insights on my Godaddy bidding strategy

I am also an eCommerce seller and a few times a week I manually search tdnam for keywords related to my niche. I purchase these domains by the dozens so that I could increase my branding abilities, marketing campaigns, direct traffic, and especially to keep good brandable names away from my competitors. I am the ultimate end-user/domainer duo

For domains that have no bids I simply "Watch" the domain and make note of the ending time and time zone. I jot down the info on sticky notes as well as set my alarm as a reminder in some cases.

I wait until about 5 minutes and 5 seconds before the auction ends before I manually place a bid. I have had great success with this technique. That way, I keep the domain away from the eyes of other domainers who use filters like looking at names with bids on tdnam itself or expireddomains.net

These domains are worth at least $100 to me, and oftentimes they are worth at least low to mid x,xxx especially to me the end user.

So as an example, I just finished an auction and got a nice name related to one of my main eComm sites for $12 by doing the "place a bid at 5 minutes, 5 seconds" technique. I would gladly pay at least low x,xxx obtaining this name. And just the other day, I got a nice brandable name for under $100. And that particular name actually had a sales history of selling for about $4,000 previously!!

My 2 cents

 

[uzver]

I am going to share some insights on my Godaddy bidding strategy

I am also an eCommerce seller and a few times a week I manually search tdnam for keywords related to my niche. I purchase these domains by the dozens so that I could increase my branding abilities, marketing campaigns, direct traffic, and especially to keep good brandable names away from my competitors. I am the ultimate end-user/domainer duo

For domains that have no bids I simply "Watch" the domain and make note of the ending time and time zone. I jot down the info on sticky notes as well as set my alarm as a reminder in some cases.

I wait until about 5 minutes and 5 seconds before the auction ends before I manually place a bid. I have had great success with this technique. That way, I keep the domain away from the eyes of other domainers who use filters like looking at names with bids on tdnam itself or expireddomains.net

These domains are worth at least $100 to me, and oftentimes they are worth at least low to mid x,xxx especially to me the end user.

So as an example, I just finished an auction and got a nice name related to one of my main eComm sites for $12 by doing the "place a bid at 5 minutes, 5 seconds" technique. I would gladly pay at least low x,xxx obtaining this name. And just the other day, I got a nice brandable name for under $100. And that particular name actually had a sales history of selling for about $4,000 previously!!

My 2 cents

What’s so special about adding those 5 seconds? How did you come up with that number?

 

[Keith]

What’s so special about adding those 5 seconds? How did you come up with that number?

If you bid with under 5 minutes to go it adds time to the auction. At 5 minutes and 5 seconds no time is added.

 

[uzver]

If you bid with under 5 minutes to go it adds time to the auction. At 5 minutes and 5 seconds no time is added.

Yes, I know that. And I noticed many people (myself included) start bidding just between 6 to 5 minutes before the end. My logic behind it is that the listing won’t get an “extended” label in auction list.

If I understood above post from @.h2o. correctly, when he bids at that specific time HD bot keeps sleeping.

 

[h2o]

Yes, I know that. And I noticed many people (myself included) start bidding just between 6 to 5 minutes before the end. My logic behind it is that the listing won’t get an “extended” label in auction list.

If I understood above post from @.h2o. correctly, when he bids at that specific time HD bot keeps sleeping.

Exactly, I have had good success with bidding as close to the 5 minute mark as possible. I do it all manually with no special software or tools. I am not sure how the HD bot is programmed but my experience proves that the bot doesn't bid on domains 100% of the time. And even if the bidder that drives the domain price up further was it fact HB, my experience shows that the bot isn't smart enough to look at previous sales of the same exact domain that is being auctioned!! It stops at the $50 to $80 mark making it still a very good value for resale purposes.