Sometimes we learn things from facts and looking at things from a different perspective… so here are some quick facts using data I gathered on GoDaddy Auctions with some tools that I use!
These facts are estimates, as data changes constantly! These are facts, because at the time I downloaded the data, these were the numbers.
Backorder Bids (1 Bid, $10 current bid expired domains)
7 one word domains have bids
745 two word domains have bids
837 three word domains have bids
71 two word domains w/ hyphen have bids
45 three word domains w/ hyphen have bids
267 “popular” domains have bids (popular = 2 letter/character, 3 letter/character, 4 letter/number)
5,386 total (2,778 .com, 285 .net, 265 .org )
Domains in auction (5 yrs or older, English dictionary)
34,647 total
151 one word domains (6 .com, mainly .us domains)
6,055 two word domains (3,838 .com)
6,681 three word domains (5,119)
495 “popular” (251)
Domains in auction with bids (nearly all are expired domain auctions)
5,386 total (4,110 .com, 360 .net, 411 .org)
7 one word domains
745 two word domains
837 three word domains
71 two word domains with a hyphen
45 three word domains with a hyphen
267 “popular” domains
3,417 “other” domains
Ending
38,396 domain names “ended” at auction on 6/7/2014 (this is mainly expired domain auctions, with a few member listed auctions)
35,431 domain names with end today at auction 6/8/2014 (this is mainly expired domain auctions, with a few member listed auctions)
43,051 domains will end on 6/9/2014 (this is mainly expired domain auctions, with a few member listed auctions)
On average, I would estimate 40,000+ domain name auctions end daily, with the vast majority of those being expired domain auctions.
Odds and Ends
The oldest (domain age) domain currently at auction is: InterWeb.com @ 20 years old (first registered 5/5/1994).
Expired domains that Sold / Ended at auction recently:
- Ideas.net $2,610
- Smartphone.net $6,700
- Rau.com $12,805
- Och.com $24,369
- Shih.com $1,825
- Penner.com $1,506
When a domain name auction is won at GoDaddy, the winning bidder must pay the final auction price, plus the cost for 1 year domain name renewal. For an example, auctions start at $12 for all expired domain names. If a person were to win an expired domain name auction for $12, the total cost would be: $12 bid price, $12.99 renewal (for a .com/current standard price) plus $0.18 ICANN fee. $25.17. So, $12 is really $25.17!
Personal opinion: GoDaddy makes A LOT of money every single day, just from expired domain name auctions. I would bet $100K+ or more (much more when one single domain like Och.com ends for almost $25K )! Keep in mind, GoDaddy is really “selling” something they do not “own”. The expired domain names are those of it’s customers… that the customer did not or has not renewed. When the domain name is auctioned, technically speaking, the “owner” of the domain name is the past registrant still, as they can renew the domain for up to 5-7 days after an auction ends.
GoDaddy has “well over 51 Million domains under registration”
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The GoDaddy Auction life cycle of an expired domain name:
Day 1. The first of three billing attempts to renew the domain name. If the billing fails, the domain name expires. Standard renew rate.
Day 5. The second billing attempt. If the billing fails again, the domain name is parked with the domain name servers changed. Standard renew rate.
Day 12. The third and final attempt to renew the domain name. Standard renew rate.
Day 19. The domain name can be renewed by the registrant for the standard renewal rate plus an $80.00 redemption fee.
Day 26. The domain name is added to an expired domain name auction.
Day 36. The expired domain name auction ends. If there are no backorders and no bidders in the expired domain name auction, the domain name is listed in a closeout auction with the price dropped to $11 and continues down to $5 buy it now.
Day 41. The closeout auction ends.
Day 46. The domain name is awarded to the winner of the expired domain name auction, backorder, or closeout winner if paid for, if not paid for, the second highest bidder is offered the domain. If there are no bidders, the domain is returned to the registry.
A registrant can renew an expired domain name at no extra cost up to day 18. If they renew an expired domain name anytime between day 19 and day 42, they must also pay an $80.00 redemption fee plus the standard renewal rate.
The domain name may not be available for renewal after day 42. (clearly a gray area)
Great post. Thanks for the data.
I stopped listing my Godaddy names in Premium because no matter how close they are to the searched domain, they don’t show up (ie. listed premium may be beautifulsunsets.com – search for beautifulsunset.com does not offer the listed plural for sale)
Not sure what the “secret sauce” is for how they calculate what “premiums” to show, but why pay a 30% commission for me having to drive traffic to my own listing?
@Sony,
I agree that “similar” domains displayed should be better! (ie. I searched for “FixFast.com” and the two premium listings displayed were “FastPCRepair.net” and “BigFix.org” (at the bottom of the list mind you). I have “FixedFast.com” listed as a premium listing and it didn’t display in the results at all. FixFast.com is nearly an exact match to FixedFast.com). This wouldn’t prevent me from listing my domains in the premium listings, because exact match searches are important as well and they are displayed then!
I agree. Auction listings also show up for exact match searches. There is a 5 day hold on premium payout. If your listing price is higher than $1000 on auction, it automatically goes to escrow (and usually takes about the same time to complete the transaction and get paid)
In my opinion, the only benefit to a premium listing is the customer gets the domain within hours.
I think GoDaddy has the best platform on the market, but why give away 20% commission, when premium listings should have more exposure with sale potential for “near matches”.
Something does not “seem right” with their premium display algorithm.
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The expired domain can be renewed up to 45-46 days after expiration.
In a few cases, if a past registrant whines loud enough, Go Daddy can “claw back” the domain after it’s been awarded to the winner, award the past owner the domain, and refund the money to the buyer.
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@Ms.Domainer,
I added some more info as to the time frame it can be renewed. I said 5 days after an auction ends.. but it is really closer to 7. So I added 5-7. GoDaddy says, basically, they will not renew after 42 days from expire date.. because day 42 is the 7th day after an expired auction ends and is the day the domain would be delivered to the auction winner. 5-7 days is the normal range I get them in.
I just called a GoDaddy representative who suspiciously answered “Sales and Tech Support” (a clear conflict of interest). He explained that they are obligated by ICAAN to hold ownership of a domain for its owner for 90 days, the previous owner always 1st preference, they”pretty much bombard them with emails” to renew/reseem if someone else is interested via auction (where the previous owner can participate) or backorder… forget 45 days! :-/
Hello Jamie, your article is really nice. Thank you for such a useful post.