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[amoeba]

I've been working on a new dropcatcher. So far it's just been for personal use, but I really like it and I'm thinking of developing it into a public site. I need some feedback as to whether people would use it or not.

Note: This dropcatcher is not intended to compete with SnapNames or Pool. It works well for picking up names from domain tasters though, and costs much less. I think the price will be $7.99 per .com/.net/.org/.info caught successfully (that's a subject of the survey).

It's been running about a week, and so far it's caught me all the names I wanted from tasters that dropped.
It also works as a drop-notifier. You can have it watch names and email you when they drop. Here's a screenshot from the interface (this is from earlier in the week, it has more stuff now): http://survey.amoeba.net/dropbot.png

Here's the survey: http://survey.amoeba.net/
Include your NP username so I can give you rep. Please also post in this thread when you complete a survey, it makes adding rep much easier. Also, feel free to share your thoughts on the idea here. Is this something you would want to use?
Thanks!

 

[Deaol]

Checked and did the survey :D

 

[Krossat]

went thru the survey.
when r u planning to launch the beta version?
do send a mail when u do.

 

[scooby47]

Another drop alternative would always be intersting to try out. Happy to be a beta tester if I meet your criteria..

 

[louddrums]

filled out survey

it would be cool if you can have a function in it to set each name for auto backorder and the option to notify by email if it is available but with a link in the email to click once to place order with the credit card on file (this way you can think about whether you want it or not).

John

 

[amoeba]

Thanks for the input guys, rep added. Keep 'em coming!

when r u planning to launch the beta version?

Depending on how many people are interested, the beta test could be ready to go within a week or two. Payment is the biggest issue, because I have to maintain a certain balance at the registrar to get the good prices. I think it will be prepaid system, where when you catch a name it's deducted from your balance. For the beta I'll probably just have the testers paypal me however much they want to prepay to add to their balance.

Edit:

it would be cool if you can have a function in it to set each name for auto backorder and the option to notify by email if it is available but with a link in the email to click once to place order with the credit card on file (this way you can think about whether you want it or not).

That's a great idea! I don't know why I didn't think of that. It would probably be a link to register with your existing balance though, I don't have any plans to take credit cards yet.

 

[-Raja-]

submitted my opinions, how long might the beta take to come out?

 

[-NC-]

Survey completed + a long winded suggestion or two in the comments box

 

[champ_rock]

done the survey and informed you of my suggestions and thoughts.

 

[NickRac]

sounds great! I did the survey

 

[MNADomains]

Submitted survey with my opinions and some questions. Has been asked already curious when the beta is scheduled?

Cheers

 

[alibaba]

survey

i hope things u say comes true , sounds great...

 

[amoeba]

Thanks for the responses everybody, rep added. To answer some of the questions people have asked in the survey:

does the $7.99 include a year of registration?

Yes, it does. I've updated the survey to clarify that.

do you think you can beat snapnames?

No, I don't (as stated in the original post). That's not the point; It's good for catching names that don't go through the major auction houses and are picked up by tasters. These can be really good names sometimes!

when will the beta be available?

Depends on how many people show interest, maybe within 1 or 2 weeks.

 

[mwzd]

Done, also included some comments.

Isn't $7.99 too low? How do you intend to make money long term?

I don't think it should be this low or available to more than one person at a time.

Hence a higher price will be justified and you are sure it won't goto auction.

Just my 0.02

Good Luck

 

[louddrums]

is the 7.99 on top of the reg fees? I was thinking, why not make it 5.00 like tdnam and work off the volume? basically you're just charging for the monitoring of each name we add in (non-public list), right? And when we click the link showing on our list, it'll forward to the registrar of our choice ready to be purchased with the name filled in.

what do you think?

John

 

[notlikeyou]

filled out survey
it would be cool if you can have a function in it to set each name for auto backorder and the option to notify by email if it is available but with a link in the email to click once to place order with the credit card on file (this way you can think about whether you want it or not).
John

I second this idea, an existing balance is a good alternative as well.

Survey complete.

 

[buckshotdots]

I like the non-auction format. I tried premiumdrops com (which I found out about on here) and tried for 200 domains (2 accounts as they have a 100 limit) and did not get one What a waste of time. Anyways the one thing I liked was no auction, first come first served. Cant wait for the beta!

Also took you survey

thanks, gary.

 

[PowerUp]

Survey submitted. Will you charge for this service during beta?

 

[amoeba]

Isn't $7.99 too low? How do you intend to make money long term?

I don't think it should be this low or available to more than one person at a time.

Hence a higher price will be justified and you are sure it won't goto auction.

Depending on how many people use the service, I can get better prices on each domain registration. I would make anywhere between $0.50 - $1.50 on each $7.99 reg. I guess I might also put up Adsense ads. If a lot of people use it, that should be more than enough to support it.

To repeat once again, the chances of this system beating SnapNames or pool are vanishingly small. So I see it as more of a way to grab "niche" names, or brandable ones, or just ones you personally want. Since the $7.99 backorder price is competitive with most registrars for new names, I think a lot of people might use it. I know that I've seen a name I kind of want dropping, but said to myself, damn, I don't want to drop $60 on it at SnapNames if I don't have to. This is for those situations.

is the 7.99 on top of the reg fees? I was thinking, why not make it 5.00 like tdnam and work off the volume? basically you're just charging for the monitoring of each name we add in (non-public list), right? And when we click the link showing on our list, it'll forward to the registrar of our choice ready to be purchased with the name filled in.

The $7.99 includes a year of registration, as stated above. I'd rather keep it free to monitor a name, and only charge to actually register it. You can still ask it to just email you when a name drops, and from there you can register it with the registrar of your choice. Of course, if somebody has ordered the same name, you're out of luck. I think if that happens I'll have it say "This name is backordered by someone else on the system" so you have fair warning.

Will you charge for this service during beta?

Nope, not besides the reg fees. Users will have to prepay at least $8 if they want to catch any names, but there will be no extra charges.

 

[-LB-]

Finished survey. =]

Seems like a really good idea. I'd definately be interested in participating.

 

[dhscott]

I asked a question in the survey; I'd be highly interested!

 

[amoeba]

I asked a question in the survey; I'd be highly interested!

To answer your question: It's not gonna be its own ICANN-accredited registrar. (I wish! Maybe someday...)
At this point the system is using OnlineNIC's API. I've found they have a good combination of price/features/API responsiveness. For one thing, registration is split-second realtime
The other benefit is that with the API, you can set a password to manage a domain through their interface, which doubles as the auth-code. So it makes it really easy for users to manage their domains and transfer out to whatever registrar they want.

 

[Smiler]

I just finished the Survey. I also advocate for no auction as well as lowering the price to $5.00. I think people would buy much more dropped names if the price is $5.00. There is something about the $5.00 value that is more enticing than $7.99 but I just can't figure it out yet. Hmmm.

 

[amoeba]

I just finished the Survey. I also advocate for no auction as well as lowering the price to $5.00. I think people would buy much more dropped names if the price is $5.00. There is something about the $5.00 value that is more enticing than $7.99 but I just can't figure it out yet. Hmmm.

Thanks for the input. But, did I make it clear that the $7.99 includes a 1-year registration? You're not gonna find that for $5 anywhere.

Rep added to all who took the survey. Keep em comin'!

 

[compas]

My survey was succesfull.. let's get this party started!