A lot of info is coming to light on Namepros and to a lesser degree on TheDomains where people are commenting on NameJet bidding practices.
It seems to me that another company should also be working to get their act together, GoDaddy.
At least at NameJet we have bidder id’s, and I think it’s very important that GoDaddy introduces them. If people are possibly engaging in shady activity where you can track their id and whois info, then bidding on a platform where you just see bidder1, bidder2 in 2017 is just ridiculous.
You are the 800lb gorilla in the domain business, it’s time to do the right thing and initiate bidder id’s.
Optics matter
Q says
absolutely, thank you for posting this.
Kate says
I agree, there has to be transparency and accountability.
Kevin says
Definitely agree Ray. Thanks for bringing it up.
nik says
To keep the auction market unbiased and uninfluenced by big guys, it is best, as is.
Q says
No it’s not, there needs to be transparency.
nik says
why you need transparency? Do you think you have more to lose than Godaddy? or Godaddy have no control over bidders? In both cases, Godaddy have one of the best system, in place to detect most frauds.
Frank says
You sound like an employee. If you don’t why there should be transparency. Well there is nothing left to say.
It would be very easy to run a shill operation on Go Daddy.
Brad Mugford says
I have been saying this for years. It is a major reason I rarely participate in GoDaddy auctions any more.
Brad
Mark Thorpe says
Agreed, long overdue!
Paul Nicks says
Hi Ray, thanks for bringing it up. Just so I’m clear, is the concern that our public auctions are susceptible to suspicion due to protecting the bidder’s identification, or our expired auction business?
I think with public auctions a good case can be made and I will discuss with our product team. For expiry auctions, where there is no seller beyond GoDaddy I believe it is in the best interest of our bidders to protect their identity.
Raymond Hackney says
I think transparency matters, I have never agreed with bidding against anonymous bidders, been doing this for 20 years this year. This business thinks it can do all these things that don’t exist anywhere else in the real world.
Look Brad Mugford posted here, Brad is a pretty active buyer/seller and doesn’t do business with the 800 lb Gorilla when it comes to auctions. If you and Blake don’t see how that’s a problem? I guess there is no sense in discussing anything.
Jamie Zoch says
Paul,
One thing to consider and a reason the bidder’s ID should be required even for expired domain auctions:
Bidder 1 places a bid
Bidder 2 places a bid
Bidder 2 drives the auction way up (using a fake account of sorts) off a proxy bid from bidder 1 and nobody else bids
Bidder 2 doesn’t pay, bidder 1 gets the domain for it’s initial bid due to the NPB. (from my understanding, GD does not re-auction domains)
I’m sure this happens and to what scale, I’m not sure. I’m sure it’s twisted more than just 1 & 2 bidders and could include 3 or 4 bidders, where the bid price isn’t always very low to throw flags.
There is no way to associate if the winning bidder got the domain after the auction. If it was renewed, second bidder got it etc. Since that is the case, it creates questions. If I can see I was bidding again a specific bidder ID and later whois records make sense, then I wouldn’t question it. Bidder 1 doesn’t help me with that.
Dn Ebook says
The tribe have spoken ……
Alvin Brown says
Agreed!
nick says
Are there really any problems when it’s an auction for expired domains though? Isn’t the problem just with people bidding on their own auctions?
Ian Ingram says
I agree it’s time for bidder ID’s and here are a few more reasons:
1. It’s possible for even the best & most well intentioned company to have a bad seed that could get creative in a Halvarez (SnapNames scandal 2009) way. Most know about the GD Adam Dicker situation in 2008. These things can and do happen but it’s much harder for scammers when there are bidder ID’s.
2. Several have admitted to testing the market & getting a real world appraisal by letting a domain expire and then renewing it. We all know this happens. I suspect it’s also not uncommon for a shady owner (or a family member of the owner) to bid against the top bidder(s) in an expired auction to see how high they will go, knowing that they are going to renew it anyway…
Why? Even when there’s only 1 bid and the auction is about to expire, a domain owner could be hiding behind a Bidder 2 (anonymous handle) and bidding up the real bidder (either themselves or through family or a friend) to find the real bidder’s ‘max’ price.
At that point, the domain owner can renew the domain (prior to the 2 day payment deadline) by paying $80 through GoDaddy or transferring it out to another registar for ~$10. They now have inside info when/if that “Is your domain for sale” inquiry arrives a few days later from the other bidder.
The “sale” and price may also become documented at NameBio or another blog even though it didn’t actually sell, once again benefiting the owner as they now have a domain it looks like they “bought” at a much higher price should they decide to sell to another interested party down the road.
In this scenario, with only 1 real & 1 fake bidder, the real bidder likely assumes that at least one other “real” person wants that domain and is prepared to pay nearly as much as them for it.
When they inquire, and the current owner says “someone else just inquired and they are willing to pay $xxxxx”… Is that person more or less likely to believe that statement having just gone back and forth with another bidder at auction? They may even come up further if told that the other party is now willing to pay more.
3. Or, the owner has two fake accounts that drive the price up as high as they want with NO real bidders and generate a large “real world” appraisal (that only they know is actually fake). The owner renews the domain and someone records the sale. It’s now easier to convince someone to pay a higher amount when there is a documented sale at a high amount.
In the above scenarios the person getting taken advantage of could be a domain investor or an end user. Regardless, it’s not right. The ultimate end user sale could also occur through GoDaddy and they could be benefitting by getting a larger commission as a result of someone’s fraudulent activities.
Probably several more scenarios like this… The point is that it’s a lot easier for someone to game the system without bidder ID’s. Issues will always arise, ID’s or not, but patterns emerge and repeat violators will eventually get caught.
Lastly, I know it has been beaten to death, but if the auction were pushed off 7 days and the owner could NOT renew a domain that someone else had won at auction, that would solve some of these issues.
For the most part, I have favored GoDaddy over any other company in the industry. I have made a lot of money because of them and am grateful they exist.
On this issue I do have to call it like it is. I’m trying hard to figure out how protecting a buyer’s anonymity trumps the issues I and other’s have raised. If anything, it DECREASES the likelihood that any fraud can or will be detected. It INCREASES the likelihood that GoDaddy will make money through illegitimate bids & it DECREASES the opportunity for anyone to spot and remove bad seeds from the industry.
A more secure marketplace will make more money in the long run, imo. I know a lot of people who would spend a lot more, including myself, if there were bidder ID’s.
Jamie Zoch says
Great job Ian! Many very valid points you bring up, which further illustrates the need for bidder ID’s at GoDaddy.