I had a Go Daddy Auction win get renewed over the weekend, I was reading the email and got a call from a friend in the business. I mentioned that the name just got renewed and that I have had good luck with auction wins, but lately the last three got renewed. He told me he does it all the time now, let’s his names run through the whole auction process and then transfers them out.
Many on the Namepros Go Daddy coupon code thread have expressed their displeasure with not finding many Go Daddy coupon codes that work for renewing their 
domains. The transfer out is the new renewal. Of course portfolio size plays a big part in that, its easy for me to do as I don’t carry a lot of domains, someone with 1000 domains may find the task daunting.
Now back to Go Daddy auctions, when I asked my friend if he let every name go through, he said absolutely, “if they are going to give me a free look then I am going to take it.”
It does not always work that way as an accurate gauge where you can turn around and sell for anywhere close. Last year Adam Dicker had some 4L.com close at $2,500, I suggested to Adam after he renewed that we put them up with a 7 day auction, reserve price. None of the three names that went for $2,500 expired got over $400, and of course did not sell.
Over the last two weeks Adam had a few go the same way, Layr.com went over $3,000, Gelv.com $3,000, Vamy.com $1,001, oopo.com $2500, and uago.com at over $500. Any of those names Adam is prepared to move for a discount to their closing price right now, so if interested leave a comment or contact him at Adam@dcg.com.
I know I had forgotten about a Go Daddy auction win Wingo.org, a year later it was expired and closed at $120, I transferred to Name.com for $8.25. The name has never even had a lowball offer not that $120 is a lot but I was surprised it got one bid, let alone closed at $120.
I pointed out to my friend don’t get trapped by these real world appraisals on meaningless names, sometimes they get bid up but you don’t know if someone is playing games. If I go back to oopo.com which I think is a very good name, it has gone to expired auction twice in two years, both times over $2,500 but Adam has not received any offers on the domain in that two year span. Expired it has a lot of interest, owned by the registrant, not so much.
That is why I don’t buy expired domains at Go Daddy any more.
A lot of non-paying bidders, crazy prices and insecurity from start to finish.
No thanks.
I know a few people that have done what you have for the very same reason, they have found it to unpredictable and tied up money and felt like they wasted their time.
Oddly, many people think they are getting a great deal simply because a name expired and has bids. Yet they wouldn’t even consider buying the same domain if it was still “owned” and for sale, even at a lower price. It’s just human psychology and a bit silly, like black friday sales and such.
Rob I am with you been saying this for 8 years now, and not just talking to talk, have tested it with many names, all over the value spectrum.
I do it all the time too I want to see what every name goes for then I just simply transfer out easily to fabulous
When Adam let 1000 or so 4L.com’s expire and go to auction last year we picked up 50 or so each time and as expected they all ended up being renewed… It might be a good strategy for a seller but for a buyer it can be a huge time suck. It seems that over the last year or two, larger dollar amount expired auction purchases are almost always renewed.
GoDaddy auction prices have also gone up by quite a bit over the last few years. Domains that could be picked up for a few hundred 4 or 5 years ago are often going for several times that now.
How can you keep/renew a domain sold at auction. Is there a loophole?
Yes Chris, Paul Nicks answered it in an interview I did with him last year.
Ms Domainer, re: the 42/45 day question:
Good question and one that I sincerely hope I can clarify. First, I’ll underscore a point I made in the interview, we created the system to give our registrants the ability to keep or redeem their name as long as possible. With that as the backdrop, hopefully the following explanation will make more sense.
For many TLDs we are given a grace period of up to 45 days after expiration to decide whether to keep or drop a domain. On the 25th day after expiration, after three attempts to contact the registrant, we put our expiring inventory onto the Go Daddy Auctions platform to see if any of our other customers are interested in acquiring them. During the entire time a domain is at auction the current registrant is able to redeem that domain, albeit for a fee.
On the 42nd day we will cancel the domain name if no other customer has expressed an interest in it via either the auction system or a Go Daddy backorder. If, however, a customer has expressed an interest via either of these platforms we will move the domain to their account on day 43. Since the domain is still in the Go Daddy ecosystem we do allow, in rare circumstances, the original registrant to get the domain back via our redemption system up until day 45 which signifies the end of the grace period.
Our help documentation (http://support.godaddy.com/help/article/608/what-is-your-process-for-handling-expired-domain-names?locale=en) specifies day 42 for deletion because our registrants need to understand that if they do not redeem prior to that date they could lose their domain forever. However, we will continue to err on the side of the registrant when it comes to the edge cases where a domain owner calls asking whether they can get their domain back after day 42.
I hope that helps ease any confusion around this topic.
-Paul
Hi Raymond,
Though there’s a $80 redemption fee. So its not free correct? if someone testing or deliberately letting it expire to see to auction price then they still have to pay the $80 correct? please explain if theres another loophole where they dont pay the redemption fees? Thank you. Peer
You don’t pay $80, you transfer out to a place like Name.com for $8.25, everyone I know doing this transfers out, if you wanted to stay with Go Daddy you would have a redemption fee, most people don’t want to pay the $11 renewal so they transfer out.
How do you get an EPP code o once name no longer appears in your account? GD support seems to think it’s impossible to transfer out once domain no longer in your account admin.
Richard when someone wins a name even if they buy it at $5 on closeouts, they don’t get the name right away, the registrant still has the domain in their account.
Even after the purchase you can request the EPP code and transfer out.
Some domain owners are really out stupid. You can make an offer on a domain and the usual reply is, “offer is to low.” Then the owner lets the domain expire, transfers or renews, and then tries to get as much money out of the auction.
It just doesn’t work that way people. GD auctions has all power to get the most of a domain name you don’t. Why not sell for a reasonable price?