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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[GraceGraham]

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.

Thank you for replying to this thread.

Can you give us an idea how soon the signups will open again?

We appreciate that you have been having issues with some "ha-ha" users, but disabling signups for everyone is too aggressive a move for your "not-haha" users.

If possible, can you also clear the air about the software remaining free in the future? As a community we understand if you want to convert it to a paid tool - you have every right to earn well. But a little transparency would go a long way.

 

[stewmath]

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

 

[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.

 

[GraceGraham]

@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.

I had an account, but no longer remember which email address it was signed up with. My computer crashed a few days back and I lost my saved expireddomains[dot]net login. I figured I would simply sign up with a new account, but not been able to.

I filled up the contact form expireddomains[dot]net/contact/. I did not send you an email because I could not find one on your website - just the contact form.

I've just sent you a direct message with my email address.

 

[Michael M]

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

 

[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!

 

[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.

 

[Ollie3000]

Works fine for me to - I use this site a lot - It's awesome! I have noticed this week though that a few really good domains it says are available, are not.

 

[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.

 

[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