The domain name TextAlerts.com was on sale at BuyDomains.com just a week ago with a buy it now price of $250.
There were no takers.
Instead the domain name which was owned by Domainbox Limited of the UK, when it was listed at Afternic.com/BuyDomains.com, expired, dropped and went into a SnapNames.com auction where it sold on Friday for $3,505!!!
In the drop auction there were 63 people who back ordered the domain, including myself and there were 4 bidders willing to pay $1,000 or more for the domain and three willing to pay over $2,500
Here is a screenshot of the BuyDomains.com listing, guess it goes to show sometimes there are better buys at the Aftermarket houses then in the drop channel.
Was Halverez one of the bidders?
and the middle man walks away again smiling to the bank
It’s that added sense of urgency expiring auctions present.
Also nobody scans the inventory list of just plain old listed domains. Someone really ought to optimize that so people would bother to look through it. A daily email of newly listed domains would be a good start or a daily email of price changes. There could/should be other constraints available on these daily emails as well so it’s not a mile long list of stuff nobody would even backorder for $20 at GoDaddy
domain Shame is not doing his job so is that Stevie boy.
VERY interesting commentary on human nature.
People want what they can’t have and add in the “justification” that if several people are willing to pay $1000 plus then the pricing feeds on itself.
It would be interesting to see if the new owner quietly lists it for sale for $1000 in one month if anyone would buy it.
The reason auctions tend to go for more is two major reasons –
1.) Social Proof. When other people want something it justifies the value and creates competition. That is just human nature.
2.) Visibility. The drop auctions have far more visibility than one random domain on one random venue. When someone backorders the domain it adds even more visibility, then as more bidders join it opens the floodgates.
Brad
This comes down to Buy Domains business model. Create a site that is hard to navigate and where it is difficult to search through their lists so an end user has to pick up the phone and they sell you one of their own names and not a name that someone listed there. Their site is purpose built to be difficult for the domainer and the end user and the end user has no option but to call and have someone tell them what they need to buy which ultimately is one of Buy Domains own names. I don’t think it has anything to do with more bidders justifying its value but the fact that the name is lost in the shuffle with the millions of other names listed and gains visibility on Snapnames because all it takes is one bidder to place a bid and half the world will know about the name.
Wow, now I like my chances of selling TextNotice.com.