Pheenix -- I beat them by hand!!

[Dropcatch_Murphy]

So, I am new to the drop catching world and have been looking at a domain that expired April 11, 2015 that was registered to Gandi.

Researching here, I felt Pheenix was my best option based on what I was willing to pay.

The drop date was today, June 17, 2015. It was 3:15 pm in the afternoon and I hadn't got an email from Pheenix about the backorder I had setup, so I checked out the who.is because I forgot/was very curious and it was open for purchase. So it must have dropped, right?

I went on NameCheap and they were showing it as available?! Now I'm really confused.

So I go onto Pheenix and the backorder is still up. They had my card information on file and all was kosher.

I go back to NameCheap and then purchased the domain for $9.84 out the door at NameCheap at 3:18 pm eastern time (in Pittsburgh, PA).

Now, I was shocked that Pheenix didn't work. Questioning their capabilities big time...uber confused now about Pheenix and what in the sam hell happened??

Happy I got it for way less money though

Domain is winningcalls dot com for people wondering. Using for political consulting purposes and expanding my services.

This site was used by a national political robocall company for over 10 years.

There are quite a few back links and the site is directly cited in a handful of scholarly articles on google.

Their twitter account was open and had an Uncle Sam graphic when I last checked a week ago...now it's the twitter blank egg and the account is protected...they had not tweeted since 2010 or 2012 and had the website URL in their bio and now it is gone...

I'm kinda confused, but stoked on my domain pickup!!

 

[Qubelycom]

Pheenix has been getting progressively worse at catching domains. There was a time a couple of months ago when they would catch a good portion of dropping domains, but now you would be lucky if they catch any.

I picked up "whoisify.com" by hand today which I had backordered with Pheenix, they keep having days like this.

I was also thinking of purchasing another domain today which dropped at around 19:45 GMT and it took Pheenix a while to get that domain (more than 10 minutes).

 

[Dropcatch_Murphy]

Ya, I won't use them again. I'd buy software before I tried them again.

Who did you hand reg with? How much?

 

[ApeXX]

I've been pretty disappointed with Pheenix's pickup rate also. I'd say it grabs ~15% of the ones I actually submit -- and it's always the least competitive ones.

 

[Qubelycom]

3 days later and I have placed backorders on 100+ domains and none have been caught by Pheenix, think I'll send them an email tonight asking what is going on and if they will ever be back to normal.

 

[Dropcatch_Murphy]

Yikes!

Batting a thousand!!

 

[dnsolutions]

So, I am new to the drop catching world and have been looking at a domain that expired April 11, 2015 that was registered to Gandi.

Researching here, I felt Pheenix was my best option based on what I was willing to pay.

The drop date was today, June 17, 2015. It was 3:15 pm in the afternoon and I hadn't got an email from Pheenix about the backorder I had setup, so I checked out the who.is because I forgot/was very curious and it was open for purchase. So it must have dropped, right?

I went on NameCheap and they were showing it as available?! Now I'm really confused.

So I go onto Pheenix and the backorder is still up. They had my card information on file and all was kosher.

I go back to NameCheap and then purchased the domain for $9.84 out the door at NameCheap at 3:18 pm eastern time (in Pittsburgh, PA).

Now, I was shocked that Pheenix didn't work. Questioning their capabilities big time...uber confused now about Pheenix and what in the sam hell happened??

Happy I got it for way less money though

Domain is winningcalls dot com for people wondering. Using for political consulting purposes and expanding my services.

This site was used by a national political robocall company for over 10 years.

There are quite a few back links and the site is directly cited in a handful of scholarly articles on google.

Their twitter account was open and had an Uncle Sam graphic when I last checked a week ago...now it's the twitter blank egg and the account is protected...they had not tweeted since 2010 or 2012 and had the website URL in their bio and now it is gone...

I'm kinda confused, but stoked on my domain pickup!!

Same here. Was able to hand reg 5 names that were submitted for backorder... an hour and a half after the drop time.

3 days later and I have placed backorders on 100+ domains and none have been caught by Pheenix, think I'll send them an email tonight asking what is going on and if they will ever be back to normal.

If you do, please keep us posted. If you don't mind.

 

[Qubelycom]

If you do, please keep us posted. If you don't mind.

I sent them an email back in February when the lower that average catch rate started and they said that they were testing a new backordering program and that it should only last a couple of weeks, fast forward 5 months and the catch rate isn't any better and I just received an email saying that they are going through a "transitional stage" and that they have "big plans" for their new system, no timeframe for this "transitional stage" though.

I have asked them if they have an ETA on the new system so that I can stop wasting my time looking for domains to backorder as Pheenix is the only service I use (and will continue to use after the "transitional stage") so I will keep you all in the loop as to what they say.

 

[NameOmnia]

I too have noticed that their catching rate has gone down the drain. They were not able to catch not even one of the last 20 names I backorderd...

They were used to be much better; but I guess something must have happened (?)

EDIT : posted before I could read qubelycom post. That is, indeed, quite an explanation for the issue we all are having with them

 

[dnsolutions]

I sent them an email back in February when the lower that average catch rate started and they said that they were testing a new backordering program and that it should only last a couple of weeks, fast forward 5 months and the catch rate isn't any better and I just received an email saying that they are going through a "transitional stage" and that they have "big plans" for their new system, no timeframe for this "transitional stage" though.

I have asked them if they have an ETA on the new system so that I can stop wasting my time looking for domains to backorder as Pheenix is the only service I use (and will continue to use after the "transitional stage") so I will keep you all in the loop as to what they say.

Appreciate it. Thank you.

Well at least it's good to know they ARE doing something. I guess they didn't have a way to compete with how DropCatch.com does things. I wouldn't mind a little increase in backorder fees if it means a higher catch rate.

 

[Qubelycom]

Appreciate it. Thank you.

Well at least it's good to know they ARE doing something. I guess they didn't have a way to compete with how DropCatch.com does things. I wouldn't mind a little increase in backorder fees if it means a higher catch rate.

Over the last 5 months they have added quite a few things like the new marketplace and I believe from my last encounter with they are going to allow users to sell the domains that they own there as well which in my opinion will do a lot for them.

I personally wouldn't mind them increasing the backorder price a little either if the catch rate increased, I am a student and a hobbyist in this industry so I wouldn't want the price to rise too much but an extra $5-$10 wouldn't really change my decisions when adding domains to my list.

I'm guessing most of their money comes when they catch a decent domain that sells for $xxx+ so maybe a price increase wouldn't really add much and it would be better for them to keep it lower to entice new clients/customers.

DropCatch has really shaken up the drop catching industry.

 

[dnsolutions]

Over the last 5 months they have added quite a few things like the new marketplace and I believe from my last encounter with they are going to allow users to sell the domains that they own there as well which in my opinion will do a lot for them.

I personally wouldn't mind them increasing the backorder price a little either if the catch rate increased, I am a student and a hobbyist in this industry so I wouldn't want the price to rise too much but an extra $5-$10 wouldn't really change my decisions when adding domains to my list.

I'm guessing most of their money comes when they catch a decent domain that sells for $xxx+ so maybe a price increase wouldn't really add much and it would be better for them to keep it lower to entice new clients/customers.

DropCatch has really shaken up the drop catching industry.

I'm a student too, and I agree with you that the price increase shouldn't be too high. I use Pheenix BECAUSE of the low backorder fee.

 

[Dropcatch_Murphy]

I'm a student too, and I agree with you that the price increase shouldn't be too high. I use Pheenix BECAUSE of the low backorder fee.

Right, same here sans the student, other than being a student here lol

I'm not dropping $69 a pop...the good reviews here had me looking for the worm and the $18.95 entry price point reeled me in, but after I realized the worm was a lure...I spit it out

 

[Qubelycom]

I'm a student too, and I agree with you that the price increase shouldn't be too high. I use Pheenix BECAUSE of the low backorder fee.

As long as they keep the price reasonable (lower than others) and catch a couple of domains out of the 30+ I backorder I will happily still use them.

 

[ApeXX]

anyone having issues with Pheenix today? I haven't been able to login since this afternoon -- I get a bunch of what appear to be database errors when I load the login page.

 

[gr8trfoo]

Good luck keeping the names you catch. I tried once to get authcodes, never could get them. No one would respond to emails about it. Just a piss poor company all the way.