Is Expireddomains.net turning into a paid-only tool?

[GraceGraham]

I am unable to sign up at expireddomains[dot]net. I filled their contact form more than 24 hours back, but have not gotten a reply back.

I see the following error - "Sign up is closed at the moment. Please try again later."

Anyone else have the same issue?

The only reason I can think of is that they are planning to go from Free to Paid.

 

[kostaki]

Signup will be open again soon!

I just need a break from "oh-you-disabled-my-account-I-will-just-signup-new-haha" users. Lately they seem to multiply and dealing with them eats up a lot of my time... It's annoying and I need a break from them.

 

[kostaki]

If you are passioned about it, just stick with it and practice, practice, practice. I started almost 20 years ago and just now I'm getting decent with it.

 

[Michael M]

@kostaki - I do appreciate the service you provide. Very functional and reliable. A+

 

[Michael M]

This doesn't necessarily mean that it is moving to a paid service or that they are shutting down...

It is very possible they are making an update to the site and temporarily closed down new signups while they finish it or work out bugs. Or they could be close to exceeding capacity on their current server and are curbing new signups to limit traffic until they can remedy it. It could be a number of things...

No way to know for sure but from a developers point of view this doesn't signify anything yet... I'd recommend waiting a couple of days and there is a good chance it will be back up.

 

[kostaki]

I don't think it is a big problem for the community. Most people have an account and are unaffected by this. If any long time namepros member needs one, they can just dm me.

@GraceGraham: You seem to be new here. Also I can't find an email from a Grace Graham. Just send it again referring this thread.

@stewmath: Mostly automated requests. Some people sell programs that require accounts on my website.

 

[anantj]

@kostaki: Another off-topic but I think relevant - Do you have a gift/donation option? Even if you continue to keep it free, I'd still like to do something like that to show my appreciation. I can unequivocally state that besides the registrars themselves, ExpiredDomains.net and excel are the two most important tools for me in domaining.

 

[anantj]

I am fine with an aggressive move that quickly solves problems. However, it's been almost a week now with no resolution. Every contact with @kostaki results in a question back instead of solving a user issue. Every email takes 24 hours for a turn around and a week of my life has been lost waiting.

Have you considered Time zone differences, @kostaki having an actual life and time management for projects he might be involved in? Especially for a free service that he gives out? Life happens and while it is inconvenient for you, it is @kostaki's prerogative to devote as much or as little time as he wishes.

For anyone who has the same issue, please, please just purchase a subscription with freshdrop and be done with it. You will thank yourself for being treated the way a customer should be treated.

Yes you can. ExpiredDomains.net is a free service and it works extremely well for a free service. That said, your comparison of a paid service vs a free service is quite inaccurate and not apples to apples.

Brings to mind what they say about Facebook - "if you are not the customer, you are the product."

Not at all directly applicable. Afaik, @kostaki does not have any more information from you than you share and does not monetize YOUR data and connections nor does he display any ads on the website. This statement is more hyperbole than fact. I understand you are frustrated and that shows but don't throw out wild accusations which have no factual basis.

 

[Michael M]

I certainly hope they turn to a paid service rather than shut down. Quite a few good free services have been lost over the past year or so.

Expireddomains.net provide a really useful service so I don't see any problem with charging a flat monthly membership fee ($10-20) or introducing a tiered membership system (i.e. limited $0, basic $10, active $20, pro $50).

From what I understand the site is just a spare time hobby project for the owner. If he turns it into a paid service and runs it more like a business I would expect more funds to go towards developing additional features and filters as well, and such a change could ensure the longevity, and improve the usefulness, of the service.

I would think if he were to move to a paid membership model that more competetion would crop up and some of that would likely be worthy.

I would recommend that it could be very profitable with (a reasonable) amount of ads and affiliates.

But every website owner needs to do what they think is in their best interest.

 

[GummerPop]

I have to agree with @Arca - this is a really good move and I think the pricing should be significantly higher than he suggests. The competition is charging $50 to $80 per month.

If the business owner makes more money, he might be willing to give the site a complete overhaul and finally bring it to the 20th century. It still looks like it was made in the early 90s and the UX is pretty darn bad.

 

[Chris Hydrick]

i❤expireddomains.net

 

[stewmath]

How can the users exploit the site so much that they get banned? What would they need to do?

 

[CollinsKele]

I don't think it is a big problem for the community. Most people have an account and are unaffected by this. If any long time namepros member needs one, they can just dm me.

@GraceGraham: You seem to be new here. Also I can't find an email from a Grace Graham. Just send it again referring this thread.

@stewmath: Mostly automated requests. Some people sell programs that require accounts on my website.

My question is off this topic but i hope you respond..

How can i be a Good programmer like you.. ?

I know it sounds funny but iv been finding it difficult to grasp learn a proper back end language though i have passion for it..

Cheers!

 

[rafaelo0]

Just saw this thread now and was going to ask @kostaki to shed some light on the subject but it seems he already did.

I completly understand @kostaki and @GraceGraham might see this has a aggressive move but it isn't and when you deal with some recurring problems for 20 years it can really drag you down, take up your time and simply get annoying.

Also @kostaki i want to thank you for all the help and service you provided me and other members, i think you don't get the thanks you deserve so often.
Expireddomains.net has made my domain life easier and saved me lots of precious time.

Plus if you ever put up a donation section you can count with me

 

[Kate]

I would guess bots, scrapers and leechers. When you run a successful site, people steal your content.

 

[anantj]

just curious, why do peoples accounts get disabled there? for which reasons?

I would guess bots, scrapers and leechers. When you run a successful site, people steal your content.

What Kate said. @kostaki alluded to this here

And also from the expireddomains.net website -

2017-12-04
3rd party tools
If you use a 3rd party tool to connect to the member area, your account will be closed! There is no 3rd party tool with permission to use the member area in their software!

 

[NameOmnia]

It works fine for me, I have just logged in.

 

[GraceGraham]

It works fine for me, I have just logged in.

I think it is allowing existing users in. But if you click on the sign-up page it might show you the same error.

Can you let me know if it is allowing you to sign up?

 

[NameOmnia]

Yes it looks closed for me to if I click on sign up

 

[DomainVP]

Interesting...

You would think that the referrals would pay for everything.

Hopefully they will provide existing users with free service while they test out whatever new approach they are taking.

 

[alcy]

nice service.
used by many
hope they aren't shutting down completely
and not letting in new users anymore is not first step toward that

@kostaki

 

[Stevenstar]

I see the same error on sign-up. I can use the software without any issues with my account.

I hope they don't make the existing user accounts paid. Only new ones.

 

[Kuffy]

Works fine for me - and today's list has just started to build.

 

[Arca]

nice service.
used by many
hope they aren't shutting down completely
and not letting in new users anymore is not first step toward that

@kostaki

I certainly hope they turn to a paid service rather than shut down. Quite a few good free services have been lost over the past year or so.

Expireddomains.net provide a really useful service so I don't see any problem with charging a flat monthly membership fee ($10-20) or introducing a tiered membership system (i.e. limited $0, basic $10, active $20, pro $50).

From what I understand the site is just a spare time hobby project for the owner. If he turns it into a paid service and runs it more like a business I would expect more funds to go towards developing additional features and filters as well, and such a change could ensure the longevity, and improve the usefulness, of the service.

 

[Arca]

more competetion would crop up and some of that would likely be worthy.

Wouldn't that be a good thing?

I would recommend that it could be very profitable with (a reasonable) amount of ads and affiliates.

Most domainers use an adblocker. Hardly anyone clicks on ads.

I know NameJet pays certain sources that have been highlighting their domains. They could seek out some sponsorship arrangement with them, as NJ likely a lot of highly targeted traffic from expireddomains.net.