Obviously the biggest story in domaining this week was NameJet. There was some shady behavior uncovered, there were some that jumped to conclusions that may have proven to be premature or wrong. I tend to agree with Shane Cultra when he said the industry needs NameJet. The industry needs well run, properly monitored auction sites.
Now some called for a blackballing of those dealing with NameJet in any capacity, such as listing names there, taking them as an advertiser, etc… Others have called for a boycott.
So the question today is will you do business with NameJet going forward?
Will you do business with NameJet going forward?
Yes to pre-release + pending delete. No to third party listings.
Sometimes pre-release is a third party.
Interesting that pre-release is third party too as it doesn’t appear to define that in their FAQ section. I recently won a pre-release auction that had a bidder I didn’t understand why they would even be interested in the domain. Now I’m wondering if they were somehow connected and had an interest in the name. Can’t seem to find back Whois data to confirm or support though.
End users now and then (non regular bidders wanting the one domain).
They need to come clean, and bring in a 3rd party audit. Then yes.
Agreed!
Will be less likely to bid on any 3rd party name.
We recently made multiple bids on NJ for the pinyin word weida.com which means ” great” in Chinese. It sold for about $25,000 which was low. I was traveling and not paying attention or would have bid higher but I’m sure there were no “shill” bids so if course we’d still deal with NameJet
Had enough of being raped. No.
If I bid on a name and I am happy with the price I guess the answer would be yes
Why alter my behavior? This scandal doesn’t change my opinion of any marketplace or any seller in the industry. (Reading between the lines is encouraged.)
Yes, I’ll continue to buy domains I want to buy at prices I want to pay wherever they’re for sale.
Should sellers engage in shill bidding or other fraud? No. Should auction houses police bidding? Yes. Should misbehavior or inattention be criticized? Yes. In the meantime, should I buy only from saints? Or wait for the 2nd coming for perfect marketplaces?
If I go to buy a used car, then expect the salesman and the dealership to try to cheat me. Domainers ought to expect even lower standards of ethics or regulation in the domain industry.
As a seller, though, I wouldn’t put my inventory up for sale at any auction house that can’t control it’s shill bidding problem. Ethical sellers can’t compete for attention with unethical sellers who engage shills to bid their stuff up. Over the years, there have been a few auction venues I’ve quietly stopped selling at once I decided that fraudulent sellers were in the way.
Buying domains is different. You can’t go buy the same pre-release domain elsewhere. Either you buy it where it’s for sale. Or you limit yourself.
> “the industry needs NameJet. The industry needs well run, properly monitored auction sites”
How does anyone know they are “properly monitored”? Does anyone know? Monitored by whom or what? it would certainly be news to me. Is it any different now from unregulated online gambling and poker in that regard?
Unethical “domainers” and their accomplices are one thing, but what about when it is unethical companies? What if it’s a NameJet employee bidding a domain up as a matter of policy? What if it’s NameJet itself not honoring an honest back order that other people missed and claiming a last second bidder jumped in to trigger an auction when they realize the name is valuable but in reality no such thing truly occurred?
Who is in favor of some kind of “proper” and adequate government regulation as being long overdue in the Wild West world of such things?
I do like the analogy to online poker, as I am a fan of both domain auctions and online poker. Everyone goes in thinking stuff is monitored, or funds are in segregated accounts. Everything is cool until it isn’t.
I think there has to be some industry standard on what is the best practice for security when it comes to bidding and accounts.
Can that be done? Will everyone get together at NameJet,GoDaddy,Flippa, Sedo, Afternic etc…?
The advertising industry does it through the IAB, The Interactive Advertising Bureau is the “information hub” for the interactive industry, featuring the most current guidelines, best practices, research and resources to prove and promote the effectiveness of online advertising to leading media decision-makers.
Maybe domain aftermarket sites need their own IAB.
The industry needs professionals who have integrity and do the right thing based on proper ethics.
Too many have alliances with others without really contemplating what is right for the company or the end user or for the good of the industry.
Many are professionally bound by company policies which do not always advocate what is right for the end user or industry as a whole – especially when they are paid well and have great stock options which really ultimately that’s what counts – the stock price!.
For those who are not professionally bound by corporate policies “tied” to the stock price, then there is the lack of transparency especially when many of these folks have been in the industry way too long to care to do what is right.
The industry needs professional leaders with integrity, leading with dignity and doing what is best for the overall industry.
No, thanks, NameJet is done in my book
Nope. Find another sucker.
Same with Flippa.
Too many times bidders — bidding against themselves, and in increments of not just $5, or $10, but several hundred, and several thousand dollar increments!
Again, this occurs when there are no other bidders.
Totally ridiculous.
Things were better when Kevin was there.