Last week GoDaddy announced they would be changing how they handle closeouts on GoDaddy auctions. No surprise many are not happy. The discussion over at Namepros has gotten a bit spicy.
The pricing structure will be handled in Dutch Auction format.
Day 1: $50
Day 2: $40
Day 3: $30
Day 4: $11
Day 5: $5
There was also mention in the thread that API access would be going away. This is something that has upset many and they feel Huge Domains has an unfair advantage.
I messaged Paul Nicks to ask if API access for closeouts was going away? He told me no, nothing changed on API for closeouts.
@WWWWEB noted:
At this point there is no point in waiting 5 days, and paying $5, instead of $12 if name is still there at that point. Really the system is designed to inflict maximum financial pain.
Another thing I see mentioned over and over for the last year and change. Many people claim to be not using GoDaddy auctions anymore. I don’t know if that’s true because there is still a lot of action there.
To the notion that this might be good for the little investor, most disagree.
Freety85 asked
won’t API users pull the trigger on any worthwhile name at 40-50 USD detected by their bots?
Can HD and others even check which domains are on watchlist so once we add them or proceed checkout they are suddenly gone?
in case the reason of this decision was to prevent sniping, why just not block API access for everyone?
Bob Hawkes had a good take on the change.
While Dutch auction formats have some fairness, it seems that the main effect of this will simply be domain investors paying more for domains that passed auction without bid. The automated bids make the auctions challenging as is, and now one pays much more for closeouts, in most cases. And if you don’t have a discount cost membership, high renewal/transfer tacked on as well.
Instead of this route, why not go full Dutch auction and dispense with the normal auction first? Start at some price, maybe based on their estimate of worth, then have the auction count down steadily in price by the hour. This down auction only would mean that as far as I can see the bots with API access would lose most of their advantage in that system.
Once someone meets the price it has gone down to, the domain is sold. If the increments were small, then any speed advantage of the bot would largely dissipate. Anyone could place a private bid that would be placed once the price reached that level. Everyone on equal footing.
To make it really fair, a portion of the proceeds should go to the person/business/organization who held the domain prior to expiry, who created it in many cases. But now I am dreaming…
So what is the best way for GoDaddy auctions to do business? I think many agree API access should be disabled, at least for closeouts.
Will this backfire like some are saying and hoping for?
Agree with Mr.Hawkes, true Dutch Auction. NameLiquidate is a great product but so much hate against Epik it gets overshadowed.