alert Why You Can't Trust GoDaddy Brokers

[jberryhill]

It is important to understand that GoDaddy brokers are not working for you.

I'm currently defending a UDRP which, although it will be an easy win for the domain registrant, would have been completely unnecessary if GoDaddy was honest with its own customer.

In the course of fielding an inquiry to buy a domain name, GoDaddy broker John Campanaro received this email:

The "buyer" was claiming to have a trademark and threatening legal action.

Now, in the course of this negotiation, the parties ended up being extremely close. The margin between the final offer of the "buyer" and the domain registrant was around $1000.

Had GoDaddy's customer realized that the "buyer" was now claiming to have a trademark and threatening legal action, that would have given GoDaddy's customer an opportunity to consider whether to lower their offer simply to avoid a frivolous legal dispute, or at least to have some warning that GoDaddy knew what the "buyer" was going to do next.

So, what did GoDaddy broker John Campanaro do next?

He lied:

If you were formerly a Uniregistry customer and have been moved to GoDaddy, you need to understand that some very basic principles of customer service did not survive that transfer.

GoDaddy will withhold information from you, and will not tell you if the other side in a negotiation is making legal threats, so that you can make a rational and informed decision. Instead, they will drive you right over the cliff and even, as happened in the longer course of this negotiation, make up stuff, attribute it to you, and then it will turn up in a UDRP or other legal dispute filed against you.

GoDaddy will dig a hole and push you right in.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Is there an update or even a comment from GoDaddy reps about this? Was the broker fired at least?

Mike Fear was my GD account representative. He and i had a pretty decent relationship whereby he was the one who was able to retrieve the domain reservations.online for me and deposit it back to my account for which i have a receipt, but it was soon to be taken back for a second time. It's important to note that Mike was on the corporate side and not Afternic where the actual domain brokers reside.

It wasn't too long after all this occurred that i was assigned a new representative Adam Ridgeway, and i have a newer one yet today Kimberly Mays.

One of the biggest problems at GD is, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The reps on the corporate side either didn't or pretended they didn't have a clue how Afternic worked, and they wouldn't even speak to each other

As i said, everything I'm saying is documented to include an email from GD attempting to sell me reservations.online for 500K.

Finally, i've been told about a whistle blower of sorts who may be able to help me with the sudden appraisal/valuation changes at GD that have had a severe negative impact on my portfolio. Like i said, Go Daddy is the most corrupt company I've had the displeasure of dealing with since starting my first business over 50 years ago.

 

[SpareDomains]

Is there an update or even a comment from GoDaddy reps about this? Was the broker fired at least?

Probably busy flushing email servers as doubt this was his first transaction so probably a career of similar behavior. Is he the only one or more using similar tactics?

We just get updates when they add new features like multiple template changing from inside your account and only needing to use 1 set of nameservers now, ya know same thing Sedo implemented just a few decades earlier.

My GoDaddy domains all in route to Dynadot and I'm actually considering eliminating Afternic MLS and just using Sedo MLS to supplement my Efty, Dynadot, etc... pages. Losing da gorilla of GoDaddy will probably have an effect but I've never disliked this gorilla more than in 2023 so might be time for me to stop feeding him.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Probably busy flushing email servers as doubt this was his first transaction so probably a career of similar behavior. Is he the only one or more using similar tactics?

We just get updates when they add new features like multiple template changing from inside your account and only needing to use 1 set of nameservers now, ya know same thing Sedo implemented just a few decades earlier.

My GoDaddy domains all in route to Dynadot and I'm actually considering eliminating Afternic MLS and just using Sedo MLS to supplement my Efty, Dynadot, etc... pages. Losing da gorilla of GoDaddy will probably have an effect but I've never disliked this gorilla more than in 2023 so might be time for me to stop feeding him.

The rationale behind many of Go Daddy's defensive action refers to the "small print" or TOS when you purchase a domain from them. That said however, if what is said in the fine print doesn't meet standards of "The least sophisticated consumer", it renders GD's defense useless imo.

Jay, i wasn't born yesterday and even though I'm not a lawyer i know right from wrong and the difference between ethical and unethical

 

[Digital Nomad]

Fair enough.

It would be helpful if James Illes and Joe Styler chimed in, as they are the Liaisons between the Domain community and GD Corporate.

There has been enough evidence presented in this thread to indicate a need for an in-house investigation into the behavior of brokers at GD brokerage.

Is this deceptive, negligent behavior actions of a few rogue brokers, or has an unethical culture become the norm at GD Brokerage?

This is something James Isles and Styler can help determine.

@James Iles @Joe Styler

 

[Joe drake]

Godaddy constantly getting sued for not doing their job. Too many times they blow the fu--ing deal. Why in the world contact me and kill the inpulse buy when I have all accross the board reserve 5k, min bid 5k, buy it now 5k floor 5k, why contact me with a bid 2k lower or $200 lower when your asking me to fill out all your BS forms.
Again I must stress NEVER EVER NEVER EVER,put fast transfer on any of your domains , godaddy and afternic recognize past owners on names in your account and their old approvals will pull the domains right out of your account. I recently bought and paid for a domain I owned ,if I would have had fast transfer on it ,they would have taken my domain and paid the other guy that was negotiating with me. Also fast transfer is very hard to remove ,godaddy has so many deals with different time frames and contracts and programming thatthey cant keep up with this. You may have a domain that suddenly becomes super hot ,because of trends and it will be gone b4 you know it ,at least you always have an option ,godaddy constantly backs out of deals and claims their gonna punish the seller,then you see the domain listed for 5x higher by the same sell ,SCAM ,its all BS. I will publish about 5 lawsuits that were filed by godaddy customers with valuable domains.By the way @joestyler enjoy my 750 commission on my sale last week and thanks for the 20 dollar renewal bill.for a dot com without privacy. Also a new service is coming out soon that will be very easy to list domains that will send afternic and gd scrambling thats this is the reason dan.com sold out. The developer are well known in the domaining business. Look out for this.

Status	ABOUTExtension▼ ▲ Domain Extension The domain extension is made up of the characters after the first period. The most common examples are: .com, .net, and .org.	AFTERNIC SERVICESFast-transfer	AFTERNIC SERVICESAppraisal	AFTERNIC SERVICESParking -Parking	PRICINGBuy Now	PRICINGFloor	PRICINGReserve	PRICINGMinimum OffeS

 

[bmugford]

The rationale behind many of Go Daddy's defensive action refers to the "small print" or TOS when you purchase a domain from them. That said however, if what is said in the fine print doesn't meet standards of "The least sophisticated consumer", it renders GD's defense useless imo.

Yeah, pretty sure that is not how it works.

The term "least sophisticated consumer" appears to be used mainly in the field of debt collection, related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Regardless, good luck making these arguments in court.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

@James Iles @Joe Styler

Additionally, as a member of the ICA I would like to ask @Paul Nicks to publicly make a statement on this.

The ICA has introduced a Broker Code of Conduct.

https://www.internetcommerce.org/brokerage/#:~:text=Voluntary Broker Code of Conduct&text=I shall endeavor to provide,competence in providing those services.

Are GoDaddy brokers going to adhere to the Broker Code of Conduct standards?

Do you think what went on here was acceptable behavior by the broker?

Brad

 

[Rippa]

Do you think what went on here was acceptable behavior by the broker?

Brad

Based on the info presented thus far, NO

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Yeah, pretty sure that is not how it works.

The term "least sophisticated consumer" appears to be used mainly in the field of debt collection, related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Regardless, good luck making these arguments in court.

Brad

I should know Brad....i helped draft the FDCPA back in the seventies

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Additionally, as a member of the ICA I would like to ask @Paul Nicks to publicly make a statement on this.

The ICA has introduced a Broker Code of Conduct.



Are GoDaddy brokers going to adhere to the Broker Code of Conduct standards?

Do you think what went on here was acceptable behavior by the broker?

Brad

i just joined ICA Brad after a personal zoom call I had with Gerry Levine. Go Daddy's name came up, but he wasn't able to comment due to a conflict of interest.

I'll have to check out ICA's "Broker Code of Conduct" and share my thoughts.

 

[NameInbox]

Why You Can't Trust GoDaddy Brokers?​

@jberryhill Truth is only on God, and a little bit inside me
p.s. Don't trust any Brokers, Rockers or so

 

[bmugford]

I should know Brad....i helped draft the FDCPA back in the seventies

Great.

I guess the question then would be what does debt collection have to do with GoDaddy's TOS?

They are completely different fields, unless you are implying that would be the standard in any contract.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

https://aboutus.godaddy.net/investor-relations/governance/default.aspx

PDF: https://s23.q4cdn.com/406380394/files/doc_downloads/gov/2022/GD-Code-of-Business-Conduct-Ethics.pdf

 

[bmugford]

Show attachment 238565

https://aboutus.godaddy.net/investor-relations/governance/default.aspx

PDF: https://s23.q4cdn.com/406380394/files/doc_downloads/gov/2022/GD-Code-of-Business-Conduct-Ethics.pdf

You can read the communications posted by @jberryhill.

It is clear from those communications that the broker mislead both parties and made false statements. One of those false statements was used in the UDRP filing.

Initially this was just about the disclosure of a TM threat, now it is also about a broker that appears to have not acted within that code of conduct.

I don't think any reasonable person would find this behavior acceptable.

Is it an isolated issue or a systemic problem at GoDaddy?

So now the question becomes is GoDaddy going to make a statement about this or just try to ignore it?

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

@James Iles, @Paul Nicks, @Joe Styler

@GoDaddy

Your thoughts please?

 

[Joe drake]

Hello Sir,there are a lot of things you dont know about your own company ,most of the brokers are good especially the older crew.How in the world can one of your brokers from domain buy services tell me " This guy was not going to back out he owes me I gave him a lot of freebies'' My response to your salesman was why the hell if he gonna spend $3500 on my domain when your leading him to deleted domains and closeouts. Ive spent hundreds of thousands at your company and all the courtesy is gone. I have helped your tech team in the way past pointing of problems and I cant even get a response from your team here. But watch out someones gonna eat afternics lunch soon. Good Luck ,and get my stock up its been as good as your salesman lately. Also if I put all the domain reserve/minbid/floorprice/buynow. Why are your salesman even engaging in conversation with buyers.THERE KILLING THE IMPULSE BUY. and thats what most strategies are based on.

 

[Joe drake]

https://www.wired.com/2008/06/godaddy-vp-caug/

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Great.

I guess the question then would be what does debt collection have to do with GoDaddy's TOS?

They are completely different fields, unless you are implying that would be the standard in any contract.

Brad

Regardless of whether it's the domain industry, the debt collection industry or even the real estate industry, "TOS" are mostly written to protect the industry and NOT the consumer.

You'll find that most consumers never read the TOS, and even if they do, they're so complex and convoluted they're not understood by the least sophisticated consumer.

Greed plagues this industry like no other. You need to look no further than comments made by Verisign like;

"Flipping domain names or warehousing them to create scarcity adds nothing to the industry and merely allows those engaged in this questionable practice to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and businesses."

Actually Verisign was referring to the likes of Go Daddy when they said this. And it was GD who sold me the domain reservations.online for the promo price of $1.17 (for which i have a receipt), took it back and sent me the following email;

Dear Valued Customer,

"Thank you for contacting Godaddy. I am a member of our Advanced Technical Support team and would like to thank you for your patience while we investigated this matter. Your request regarding reservations.online has been directed to our department for review. At this time, we have heard back from the registry. The domain is available for a $500,000 one-time price or may be available for a smaller recurring yeary price from other registrars. If you are interested in the one time price, please contact us and we can move forward with the transaction.

Again, thank you for your patience. Please feel free to contact us 24/7 should you need any further assistance.

Regards,

Alex M.
Advanced Technical Support"

Can anyone reading this believe that GD had the gaul/greed to try and sell me a domain they had previously sold me for $1.17, for 500K That's greed on steroids if you ask me.

 

[Joe drake]

Effects of godaddy fast transfer listing ,partner registrars have absolutely no control of their programming. Just tried to register a domain name DrugSalesman.com.Even though this domain dropped 5 days ago the afternic bots signaled to the partner registars that the domain was still listed at afternic and still registered domain for sale at enduser prices.
I tried 4 registrars till I got to my cosmotown.com account and I was able to register without a 5k to 6k bill. It cost 7.77 reg fee. No doubt that if I would have paid the 4 grand bill some scumbag from godaddy sales would have gladly hand regged the domain and pushed throught the sale. So again I must say Never ever never ever ever a million times set up fast transfer with godaddy.com .you will only get f--ked in the end. By the way my regged domain at cosmotown.com had afternic nameservers still attached to the domain. Thats how powerful and deceptive godaddys programs are.Once a domain expires it should be total reset. verisign is doing a crapy job at enforcing this. IF anyone would like to share this same experience please let the community know. Thanks

 

[Digital Nomad]

@James Iles, @Paul Nicks, @Joe Styler

@GoDaddy

Your thoughts please?

The sound of silence

 

[Finest]

@James Iles, @Paul Nicks, @Joe Styler

@GoDaddy

Your thoughts please?

The sound of silence

 

[ThatNameGuy]

The sound of silence

Yes, it is interesting isn't it Same goes for another thread I started about Go Daddy being in the appraisal business. Go Daddy's silence speaks volumes.....but a "class action" might change all that.

 

[Digital Nomad]

Yes, it is interesting isn't it Same goes for another thread I started about Go Daddy being in the appraisal business. Go Daddy's silence speaks volumes.....but a "class action" might change all that.

It surprised me that especially @James Iles is quiet, he used to be so active here. I guess the higher ups now decide what he can say.

 

[topdom]

Let everyone cheat a little bit. But also give me tools to block or minimize it, without putting a sale at the risk of those games.

For example at Afternic I put a fixed price, and to pay 15 pecent commission instead of 25 percent, I have to choose their nameservers. And they don't show the price on the landing page, and get all traffic and emails, an. d we are not informed about leads coming from contact form on the landing page. This is slavery. We need to have some control over our sales, not give their agents full manipulation power whichcan mean failed or cheap sale, and on the average, 1 percent of actual success potential (10x less price, and 10x less likehood of sale).

 

[william]

I think I would side with GoDaddy on this one. If the GD rep mentioned legal action, it could seem like they are trying to get the seller to sell more urgently. Additionally, how does GD or anyone else know that this is anything more than a threat? Anyone can claim that they will file a UDRP if their offer is not accepted. I think they made the right decision to withhold the information in this case. Regardless to what it lead to.