advice Retract back order until closer to auction?

[elltingle]

Hi all,

I set up a business a few years ago, and the .com domain I wanted to match my business name wasn't available at the time (registered but not active, and not for sale). I went for the .co, and placed a back order on Namejet just in case. I have been trading under that name in the UK for over 2 years now.

I got an email a few days ago to say that the .com domain has just entered pre-release. I just left my back order there at the starting bid (probably stupid of me, but I'm not really into this whole domaining thing, and I thought that was the whole point of a back order).

I was the only bidder originally, but someone else has now bid on it. The domain contains no keywords that anyone would search for, and I don't know whether the other bidder also wants it for a business website or is speculating.

So, a few questions...

1. Should I retract my bid until closer to the private auction so as not to attract too much attention to the domain in the meantime? Or is there no point now?

2. If I retract it then can I still bid again later on NJ in the pre-release stage?

3. If they are just speculating, should I expect them to go close to the Estibot value, or even higher? Just wondering whether to bother or just stick with my .co

Any advice much appreciated

 

[anantj]

Welcome to Namepros. You've come to the right place to learn more about domains and domaining. I'll try to answer your questions below.

1. Should I retract my bid until closer to the private auction so as not to attract too much attention to the domain in the meantime? Or is there no point now?

There is no point now. If you retract your bid, the other bidder will win the domain outright. Besides, since you bid only the min bid, you gain no advantage by retracting your bid.

2. If I retract it then can I still bid again later on NJ in the pre-release stage?

Yes, but make sure you do so before the pre-release ends. Else you risk missing out on participating on the auction.

3. If they are just speculating, should I expect them to go close to the Estibot value, or even higher? Just wondering whether to bother or just stick with my .co

Absolutely no relation between the estibot value and what a speculator/bidder might bid. If another end-user like yourself, they might bid high. You should definitely try to get the domain but use a simple strategy: Define your budgets - Something that you're comfortable paying and a number that is your absolute maximum (both can be same). You can either set your budget as proxy bid OR, wait until the dying stages of the auction - say the last 10 minutes) and then bid up or even your max proxy bid. With some luck, your competitor might be in a different timezone and might be asleep, busy or not interested and you might win the auction.

Whether you win the domain or don't, I'd be interested in knowing the domain name

Good luck

 

[elltingle]

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated!

 

[anantj]

What happened finally? Did you get the domain?

 

[elltingle]

Yes, I did in the end, although I'm sure I paid well over the odds for it. It was threebees.com

 

[anantj]

Yes, I did in the end, although I'm sure I paid well over the odds for it. It was threebees.com

Congratulations. Did not understand what you meant you paid well over the odds...