Back in 2016 we started a series here that looked at the best and worst about companies in the domain industry. Over the last 30 months a lot has changed at many companies so we are revisiting the good, the bad and the ugly.
Each post will deal with just one company, readers are encouraged to share their positive and negative experiences. Suggestions for improvement are also encouraged.
One of the goals of the column is that company representatives will see how their customers think of them. This can lead to a conversation on fixing problems.
What is not allowed:
- Personal attacks on individuals at the chosen company
- Promoting a competitor
- Posting domains for sale
The company in the spotlight today is DropCatch .
Founded in 2014
What is the nature of the relationship between DropCatch, the registrars and ICANN?
How are decisions made as to what domains are made available?
What conditions within participating registrars that supply DropCatch and other registrars with names that are not renewed by the domain owners, make the names made available?
Predatory actions by registrars are responsible for the theft of names, in essence.
How is done, that well heeled domain kingpins game domain name drop sites and services?
The dirty, disgusting nature of the domain name business is best reflected in the blatant shill bidding corruption of Drop Site and Services.
I would bet that the domain elite, the large portfolio holders and sellers have soiled themselves in acquiring names on the drop and I would bet more that they will remain silent on the matter.
Status quo please, thank you very much.
A perfect illustration for how corrupt and crooked the domain name business is the fact that I have not sold a name in almost 18 months. I dedicate what is becoming an embarrassing number of hours, daily to developing my domain portfolio, in light of the lack of a sale in the last 18 months.
I am not stupid, nor lazy. I work like a slave at it. I will put my hand registered portfolio of names of the last 9 years up against any domain on the planet. Yet, I can’t sell a name.
This is not an accident. It is a result of the corruption in the domain name business.
What genius or group of geniuses came up with the idea of scooping names that go unrenewed, to be offered at auction on drop sites, heads the list of crooks. But, status quo please. Shhhh, quiet.
Don’t say anything. Shhhhh. I have the chance, shhhh to get a great name, for shit.
Shhh
Good – sometimes they catch some good names that NameJet could not catch
Bad – your names end up at Namebright and they are not that bright
Ugly – once you become the owner of the domain, spammers will keep calling you, texting you, and emailing you about building a website on your domain name
I have always had concerns of shill bidding at this venue, some very strange characters ie) 420domains, and one by the name of chwskjhashjsr or something that show up at the end and push prices up but never win.
420domains did win a domain called fivenines.com for about $36K there, and simply parked it at afternic after taking much longer than the allotted time to pay. I have never been able to track down who this person is as they use fake whois, and spam phone numbers, but oh well.
TRUST is my #1 concern with this venue.
GOOD — a large network of registrars, DC is one of the best chances to land an expired name.
BAD — DC requires copies of a government-issued photo ID to bid in auctions. This company already has a horrendous reputation for ethics — they shouldn’t require bidders to compromise their IDs and potentially fall victim to identity theft or worse.
UGLY — DropCatch is part of TurnCommerce, which also owns NameBright and HugeDomains,
A DropCatch service that can and does compete against bidders with the largest domain marketplace in the world is ugly, particularly when this domain marketplace is notorious for its immoral business practices, including ransoming highly, highly niche domains at exorbitant prices.
CONCLUSION – DropCatch services allow the wealthiest companies to dominate the industry by buying up registrars. They profit by auctioning off common property and by cherry-picking names they like for themselves. This is an unfair oligopoly (DC, SN, NJ) and should be regulated. An independent organization like ICANN needs to step in and take control of the drop, and that organization should of course be prevented from picking up any drops for itself.
ICANN is no angel, seems to be full of people whose self interests come first, and everyone seems to want to pull the string on the golden parachute. ICANN is rotten from within, and needs serious oversight. They got a taste of tens of millions from the gtld expansion, and their thirst for greed will only get worse, given this is not their mandate.